Wellington College, Berkshire
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| Wellington College | |
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| Motto | Virtutis Fortuna Comes ("Fortune favours the brave") Heroum Filii (Sons of heroes) |
| Established | 1853 (opened 1859) |
| Type | Public school |
| The Master | Anthony Seldon PhD |
| Second Master | Robin IHB Dyer Esq. |
| Chairman of the Board of Governors | Sir Anthony Goodenough KCMG |
| Founder | Queen Victoria |
| Location | Dukes Ride Crowthorne Berkshire RG45 7PU England  |
| Staff | 100 (approx.) |
| Students | 900 (approx.) |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 13 to 18 |
| Houses | 17 |
| School colours | Black, grey, navy blue
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| Former pupils | Old Wellingtonians |
| Campus | 400-acre (1.6 km²) rural campus |
| Website | www.wellingtoncollege.org.uk |
Wellington College, the national monument to the Duke of Wellington, is an English co-educational public school located in the Berkshire village of Crowthorne. The school was granted its royal charter in 1853 as the Royal and Religious Foundation of The Wellington College, and was opened in 1859. Its first Master (Headmaster) was Edward White Benson, later Archbishop of Canterbury. The college's Visitor is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Wellington has approximately 900 pupils aged between 13 and 18. The School is a member of the G20 Schools group.
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[edit] Architecture
The college was designed by John Shaw Jr, who had also previously worked as an architect for Eton College. It is located in Crowthorne, a large village in the Royal County of Berkshire in south-east England. For its time, the design of the college was unusual compared to the popular form, but Prince Albert who helped choose the architect was more interested in Shaw's classical approach, having already seen the architect's design for the old Royal Naval School in New Cross, London.[1] It had been noted a few years before the college's design that Shaw's architecture reflected the work of Christopher Wren. He was related to one of London's finest 19th century architectural families, Shaw and Hardwick, and was one of the pioneers of semi detached housing in London.
[edit] Sport
Wellington College was one of the 22 founding members of the Rugby Football Union, and historically, pupils at the school have excelled at rugby union. The school has one of only around 20 racquets courts in the UK, and until recently three Eton Fives courts. In 2008, the College became the first school to win the Daily Mail Cup at both U15 and U18 level in the same year, beating Millfield School and St Benedict's School, Ealing in their respective finals at Twickenham on April 2, 2008.[2][3]
[edit] Location
Wellington College is located in a 400 acre (1.6 km²) estate in South East England, in the Royal County of Berkshire, approximately 30 miles (50 km) from Heathrow Airport and close to the town of Reading, Berkshire. The grounds of the college are notable in that they contain many unusual ant species, and were frequented by the entomologist Horace Donisthorpe, who collected extensively there. The main buildings were designed by John Shaw Jr in a style loosely termed "French Grand Rococo" and the chapel was designed by George Gilbert Scott.
[edit] Former pupils
The school has a diverse and extensive range of distinguished former pupils including architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Christopher Lee, poet Gavin Ewart, composer John Gardner, world champion motor racing driver James Hunt, Opposition Leader of the House of Lords Lord Strathclyde, journalist and television presenter Peter Snow the UK Pop Idol winner Will Young, Uk Ivor Novello and brit nominated singer Nerina Pallot and the up and coming Young English Rugby Union player James Haskell, to name but a few. It has been claimed that Lord Archer, who was actually educated at the less prestigious Wellington School, Somerset, falsely claimed that he had been to Wellington College.
[edit] Combined Cadet Force
The Wellington College Combined Cadet Force (CCF) has existed in its various forms since 1880. Commissioned members of the teaching staff who serve as CCF officers are attached to The Duke of Wellington's Regiment. The Commanding Officer of the Wellington College CCF is Lieutenant Colonel Eddy Heddon (REME). The College also traditionally has two teams of Field Gun runners, and two runs are made annually at the College Speech Day.
[edit] Press
Like many of the major public schools, Wellington College is no stranger to press attention. Newspapers have covered numerous stories involving the school, most recently the victory of the school's U18 side over Truro in the quarter final of the Daily Mail Schools' rugby tournament. Wellington is also now advertising in newspapers and other publications its move to co-education under the 13th Master of the College, Dr. Anthony Seldon.
In April 2006 the college attracted widespread publicity when it became the first school in the UK to introduce 'happiness lessons' to the curriculum,[4] in conjunction with a team at Cambridge University lead by Nick Baylis. The move continued a long tradition of pastoral care at Wellington, including religious education and 'Personal and Social Development' classes.
Wellington has also attracted interest due to some of the guest speakers at the "Master's Lectures". Guest speakers have included George Galloway MP, and Simon McDonald whose son is at school at Wellington.
[edit] Houses
There are 15 houses at Wellington. Most contain boarders and a small number of day pupils, although there are those two which only accept day pupils, Wellesley and White Cairn, both introduced in September 2007.[5] Each house is either an 'in-house' or an 'out-house'. In-houses are located within the main school buildings and quads, whilst out-houses are located elsewhere on the grounds. Each house has aspects which distinguish it from other houses, such as its own colours and emblem, as well as different locations around College.
| House | Colours | Emblem | Gender | Boarding/Day | Type | Housemaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglesey | Maroon/Blue | Star | M | Boarding | Out-house | Mr Bart Wielenga |
| Apsley | Blue/Black | Pineapple | F | Boarding | Out-house | Mrs Rosie Fielder |
| Benson | Pale Blue/Silver | Rose | M | Boarding | Out-house | Mr Iain Henderson |
| Beresford | Light Blue/Black | Horseshoe | M | Boarding | Out-house | Mr Tim Head |
| Blücher | Black/White | Feathers | M | Boarding | In-house | Mr Mark Boobbyer |
| Combermere | Blue/White | Dragon | F | Boarding | In-house | Mrs Delyth Draper |
| Hardinge | Green/Brown | Anchor | M | Boarding | In-house | Mr Charles Oliphant-Callum |
| Hill | Purple/Silver | Skull and Crossbone | M | Boarding | In-house | Mr Simon Lockyer |
| Hopetoun | Yellow/Blue | Moon and Star | M/F | Boarding | Out-house | Mr Glen Waugh & Mrs Judy Waugh |
| Lynedoch | Navy Blue/Black | Iron cross | M | Boarding | In-house | Mr Mark Sayer |
| Murray | Purple/Black | Moon | M | Boarding | In-house | Mr John Rawlinson |
| Orange | Orange/Black | Double-headed dragon | F | Boarding | Out-house | Mrs Linda Raabe-Marjot |
| Picton | Pink/Brown | Eagle | M | Boarding | Out-house | Mr Nick Gallop |
| Stanley | Red/Blue | Unicorn | M | Boarding | Out-house | Mr Neill Lunnon |
| Talbot | Maroon/White | Iron Cross | M | Boarding | Out-house | Dr Paul Boscher |
| Wellesley | Pink/White | F | Day | In-house | Miss Eunice Gillan | |
| White Cairn | White/Pink | M | Day | Out-house | Mr Graeme Owton |
The Orange was previously a boys' house, but was changed to a girls' house in 2005, with the boys in the Orange mostly relocating to the newly-rebuilt Beresford out-house. The Combermere has also been turned from a boys' house into a girls' house, with the boys moving out of the Combermere and joining the Hardinge. The Hopetoun is currently in a transition phase, with its first intake of girls in September 2007. Anglesey is also set to undertake the same change in September 2009.[6]
[edit] The Old Wellingtonian Society
The Old Wellingtonian Society (OW Society) is the alumni society for the college and was founded in 1890. The Old Wellingtonian Society was set up to further the interests of the College and its past and present members, and to keep former pupils in touch with each other and with the school.
The Old Wellingtonian Society maintains a register of names of all who have passed through the College since the school's opening in 1859 and the addresses of all living alumni.
[edit] References
- ^ Paul Johnson. John Shaw, Junior (1803-70): A Brief Biographical Introduction. Victorian Web. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ O'Donovan puts on a fine performance as Wellington make history at Twickenham. The Mail on Sunday. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Huw Baines. Wellington College record historic double. Scrum.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ True happiness is a lesson well taught (HTML). The Times Educational Supplement. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
- ^ Houses. Wellington College. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Ten Year Development Plan. Wellington College. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Wellington College website
- Website in memory of John Shaw the architect
- Website for Old Wellingtonians
- Website of Old Wellingtonian Lodge #3404
- Daily Mail Cup Final 2008
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