As we approach the end of another long but highly enjoyable and fulfilling year, the annual process of emotional valedictions and wistful reflections is well under way. House and school assemblies, leaving parties for various staff and, of course, the Upper Sixth’s Graduation Day provide plenty of opportunity to look back and forward, as we reminisce both collectively and individually on our Wellington experiences.
One of our staff leavers this year is Mr David Walker, our Deputy Head Pastoral. David has completed two stints at Wellington, the first of which saw him take over as HM of a new House – a boys’ day community – which had been established in 2007. The House, located on the edge of the College campus, was originally named White Cairn after the building in which it is accommodated. In 2009, when David became HM, the White Cairn was renamed the Raglan, after Field Marshal FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, who fought alongside the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula Wars and at the Battle of Waterloo. In September 2024, the Raglan will move to a new purpose-built home right at the heart of College, on the site of the Old Laundry.
Alongside the new Raglan will be a brand new, co-ed Sixth Form House which will become our 18th House at Wellington. With these buildings due for completion next summer, we have therefore been faced with the question, “How do we go about the process of naming a new House fit for the modern world in which we now live?”
Pupil voice has been one element of the process. Without realising it was part of the consultation process, I have discussed the 18th House with just about every pupil group with whom I have shared lunch or dinner this year. They have engaged with the question in a thoroughly mature and constructive manner, and a few recurring themes have emerged. Firstly, without exception, Wellingtonians want the new name to have a meaningful connection to the history and heritage of the College. Secondly, again without exception, Wellingtonians feel that it would be a positive step to have a name which is connected to a woman. The 18th House represents the final piece of the jigsaw which will enable us to reach 50/50 boys/girls by September 2025 and none of our 17 current Houses fulfil this important criterion.
Secondly, this year we have created a Naming Committee and put together a written policy for the naming of any future buildings, Houses, rooms or facilities at the College. Among the various people who sit on this esteemed group you will find a Governor, who also chairs the College’s Heritage Committee, the College Archivist and a number of senior members of staff. Recommendations from the Naming Committee are then taken to the full Board of Governors for final discussion and ratification.
At the end of an academic year which began with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I am therefore very pleased to announce that our 18th boarding House, due to open in September 2024, will be called Elizabeth House. The qualities which defined her leadership – service, duty, loyalty and steadfastness – resonate so strongly with the sort of education which we seek to deliver here at the College, that the final decision was unanimous. As the longest serving Visitor of Wellington College, it also feels entirely right that her name should be commemorated forever within the fabric of the school.
We remain incredibly proud of our connection to the Duke of Wellington and his family. As an institution founded by Royal Charter, we are equally proud of our connection to the Royal Family and I am delighted that we will soon have a House fit for – and, indeed, named after – a Queen.
