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SCHOOL
Spring 2 2015
News
FROM CHARLOTTE KERR - School Captain
As the end of my time at Wellington School draws ever nearer, I do wonder where the last nine years have gone.
It is hard to comprehend how I have nearly completed A-Levels, applied to universities and chosen my degree,
when it seems only yesterday that I first arrived at Wellington. Having started in Year 5 and gone all the way
through the senior school, it is fair to say I have accumulated a number of fond memories of my time here, from
picking up my first hockey stick, to visiting parts of the World I would never have been lucky enough to see;
Barbados, Greece and New York to name a few. When I consider what I have enjoyed most about Wellington,
my most vibrant and memorable times have undoubtedly been the last two years spent in Sixth Form. As a
School Captain, this year I have found myself talking more and more about school, whether it is whilst touring
inspectors and prospective parents, or interviewing Deputy Head applicants. Each time I am asked what
especially I like about Wellington School, my answer is always the same. There are endless opportunities to
get involved in a huge range of activities and events and everyone has a “can do” attitude and is willing to
fling themselves into these with great enthusiasm. There are many examples of this attitude, including the
recent return of the girls’ football team, who each Thursday head out to muddy Bulford, lacking boots and any
knowledge of the game, to play alongside the boys. Falling over the ball or hitting the corner flag instead of
the goal is not a problem - we get dirty, involved, and most importantly, have fun. This for me encapsulates
everything Wellington stands for -willingness to make the most of the opportunities, to have a go and to not
worry about the outcome. What is more, it is invigorating to see that at such an important yet stressful time in
our lives, Sixth Formers embrace this ethos and set an example to the rest of the school.
When we move on from Wellington School to new places and meet new people, I hope that whatever the
future brings, this is something that will always stay with us.
Old Boy Simon Singh delivers anniversary Passmore Lecture
Wellington School staff, pupils and Old Boys were delighted to welcome the internationally acclaimed writer and presenter Simon Singh to deliver
an annual lecture. The Tom Passmore Memorial Mathematics Lecture is a long-standing tradition at Wellington School and this year was the 25th
lecture to be delivered to a packed audience. The Memorial lecture was set up by the parents of Old Wellingtonian and keen mathematician, Tom
Passmore, who died tragically in a flying accident.
This event attracts many pupils and staff and is always delivered by notable mathematicians. This year was no exception, as the packed audience
was captivated by Simon’s accessible attitude to maths. We heard with interest about the Bible Codes – prophecies encrypted in Hebrew
manuscripts, before hearing about Fermat’s Last Theorem and the excitement
when mathematician Andrew Wiles finally found the proof in 1994. We heard
how Simon had queried the scientific validity of some of the lyrics in the Katie
Melua song “Nine Million Bicycles”, re-wrote them and the song was then rerecorded by Katie with Simon’s lyrics.
The majority of the lecture focused on Simon’s most recent book, “The Simpsons
and Their Mathematical Secrets”, which is based on the premise that “many of
the writers of The Simpsons are deeply in love with numbers, and their ultimate
desire is to drip-feed morsels of mathematics into the subconscious minds of
viewers.” Simon entertained the audience with mathematical references used
throughout the show.
“We were delighted to welcome Simon back to Wellington School and
hear such an entertaining lecture,” commented Head of Maths, Peter
Buckingham. “Simon met up with some of his old Maths teachers,
and donated copies of his books to be sold for Comic Relief. The
lecture was fascinating and gave us a superb insight into some more
obscure elements of mathematics that are all around us. Rather than
just explaining the mathematical concepts in the context of how they
relate to the relevant episodes of The Simpsons, Simon uses them as a
starting point for lively discussions of mathematical topics, anecdotes
and history.”
News | from Wellington School
TRIPS
Morocco Geography Field Trip
Wellington School Year 12 Geography students spent an action
packed half term travelling to Morocco.
After flying to Marrakech, the group travelled across the Haouz
Plain and over the Atlas Mountains. First stop was Ouarzazate, a
small city where the students enjoyed authentic cuisine. They then
pressed on to Zagorah, a town near the Tinfou Dunes, which are
incredible structures straight out of Lawrence of Arabia.
In the Merzouga Desert they all enjoyed a camel ride and camped
overnight with the local Touraeg tribe. All the students observed
many interesting geographical desert features including alluvial
fans and canyon-like badlands at Methsa and the Djbel Saghro – a
huge range of mountains. A wonderful trip.
Madrid Spanish Exchange
Berlin Visit
Students of German headed off to Berlin during half term for a trip
which took in the sights but also developed language skills. Pupils
stayed with host families and attended a language school during
their stay. The group got to grips with the sights of this oncedivided city; visiting the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag.
The highlights of the trip though were the excursions into Berlin’s
near past with pupils taking in Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall
Museum and the centre of old East Berlin, Alexanderplatz. Pupils
also enjoyed indulging their chocolate passions in some of the
world’s biggest chocolate shops.
The Spanish Department ran a wonderful exchange to Madrid over
February half term. Pupils stayed with families to fully immerse
themselves in the language and enjoyed a range of cultural
excursions to the museums and galleries of the city. Pupils saw the
Royal Palace, taking in the Gran Via and the Plaza de Espana. The
famous Real Madrid Bernabeu Stadium was also a must see. The
highlight of the trip was touring Goya’s frescoes and the El Prado
Museum. The final day was spent in the shopping district and
sampling the famous Madrid speciality of chocolate and churros.
The Spanish students returned to Wellington in late March.
www.wellington-school.org.uk
TRIPS
Dubai Cricket Tour
Senior and Junior Cricket sides travelled to Dubai in half term for
training at the ICC Academy and six matches against Dubai teams.
Both teams performed well, with the Seniors winning all their
matches. There were some outstanding individual performances
but the results were a reflection of the unity of the group and the
fruition of much hardwork during the off-season.
The pupils also had the opportunity to visit the Zayed Mosque,
enjoy the atmosphere of the souks and take a dune safari with a
BBQ in the middle of the desert.
Throughout the trip the boys were a credit to the school and the
older pupils acted as willing mentors to the junior players. A great
reward for all the effort these cricketers have put in during their
winter nets sessions.
Caving
At half term a group of six cadets set out to descend Swildon’s Hole
in the Mendips. In a five hour trip they were pushed to their limits
but came out smiling.
The descent started with a squeeze down through rocks to meet
the stream. Despite the sunny day the water was at about 5°C.
After the cave briefly opened out, the cadets then had to slide
down between boulders, again accompanied by the water. We
then met the first significant obstacle, a slot in the floor leading to
a 5m climb down.
We were rewarded by reaching the Old Grotto. This beautiful
chamber marked the first rest and a chance to turn out all the lights.
We pressed on to Water Chamber where the main flow comes in.
A climb up led to ta traverse along the top of the passage and a
couple of squeezes to the top of the ‘Old 40’. One at a time the
cadets abseiled down this 13m pothole, several getting soaked by
the stream gushing out part-way down.
The way on was through a series of stoops and small climbs in the
stream to the head of the ‘20’. They descended this 8m pitch on a
wire ladder, alongside a waterfall.
The next section was more walking, punctuated by ‘The Troubles’.
These are two tricky climbs down waterfalls with deep pools below.
All but one made it, the victim receiving the traditional baptism of
‘Son of Mendip’.
On reaching Barnes’ Loop it was decided to turn round due to time
pressures. The group then had to return the way they had come,
retrieving all the ropes and ladders they had carried in with them.
Ten Tors Training
The Ten Tors team were out training in half term. They camped out
on Dartmoor that weekend in some very cold weather conditions.
The team walked from Okehampton to Burrator in the south moor,
finishing at Willsworthy covering 35 miles. Training is progressing
well with only 3 more training session before the event in May. The
team is now down to eight from the training of twenty four that
started training in October. Only six are allowed to take part.
News | from Wellington School
MUSIC
Pupil wins Royal Opera House Competition
Freddie Renyard in Year 10 won a hotly contested music competition,
beating aspiring composers across the country.
Each spring, The Royal Opera House in London runs a national
competition to find 10 young composers aged 11-16 who create their
own fanfares which are then played each night before the performances
of the Opera House’s summer season.
Wellington School rose to the challenge this year and entered 31
fanfares composed by pupils in Years 8 and 10. The Music Department
was delighted to hear that out of 150 entries from across the country,
40 fanfares were short-listed and of those 40, 9 were composed by
Wellington School students.
Freddie was invited up to the Royal Opera House to work with renowned
composer Duncan Chapman, as well as members of the Opera House
Orchestra. He was given a tour behind the scenes, had lunch in the artists’
canteen and worked on scoring his fanfare. In April he returns to London
to hear his fanfare recorded by the orchestra under the baton of the
eminent conductor Antonio Pappano.
In May he will attend a ballet triple bill at the Opera House where he
will also hear his fanfare performed to the thousands of people in that
evening’s audience.
In addition, congratulations are due to all the short listed Wellington
pupils:
Ethan Cole and Daisy Steele-Perkins, Ellen Cowling and Joseph Stevens,
Kaja Jankowska and Emily Beacock, Albie Kynaston, Beatrice Renyard
and Hughie Vyse. Lucy Revolta, Marlena Taczarek and Kerri Curtis,
George Pocock and Lara Jay, Darcey Anderson, Emma Govey and Isabel
Colman
400 Pupils in Come and Sing Extravaganza
Spring Concert
The Spring Concert this week was an invigorating medley of styles,
groups and instruments. From the Year 7s in the Big Sing belting out
songs from Matilda and Billy Elliot to the fabulous Big Band with their
toe tapping renditions of Stompin’ at the Savoy and Duke Ellington’s In
a Mellow Tone the standard was, as usual, superb. The Senior Concert
Band’s medley of Bond themes and Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean was
superb and performed with confidence and expression. The various
instrumental groups – Brass Group, Brass Ensemble. Clarinet Choirs
and String Orchestra performed an eclectic array of pieces whilst the
String Quartet performed That’s Amore and a Haydn Presto to a highly
professional standard. The new pop choir, "4 Bars In" were excellent
as were the girls’ choir "Bel Canto" and orchestra "Sinfonietta", but the
piece de resistance had to be the fabulous orchestra with their complex
and highly rhythmic Mexican piece, conducted, directed and arranged
by Chris Sampson. Bravo everyone – a fabulous evening!
Hannam Music Prize
Our
annual
inspirational
Hannam Music Competition
saw 27 musicians compete in
three classes. The standard was
superb in all classes.
Four hundred pupils from 21 schools across Somerset and Devon sang a
wonderful array of songs from stage and screen. The children had been
rehearsing in their schools since the New Year and they came together
on the last day of term in the Sports Complex to put on a concert for
family and friends. During the afternooon a Voice-style sing-off was
held to find soloists to perform songs from Billy Elliot and Matilda.
The day culminating in an incredible concert which was enjoyed by a
six hundred strong audience.
The winner of the Foundation
Class was pianist Nathaniel
Jenkins, with his younger
brother Jonathan Jenkins and
singer/guitar player Tom Harris
awarded Highly Commended.
The Intermediate Class was won by Lydia Mitchell on her oboe,
with fellow oboist Ella Leonard, her brother Dylan Leonard with his
trumpet and lovely vocalist Isabel Colman all being named as Highly
Commended.
The Advanced Class was won by vocalist Charlie Pemberton and pianist
William Osborne was Highly Commended.
www.wellington-school.org.uk
DRAMA
The Dreaming
Pupils from Year 7 to Sixth Form presented an extraordinary
musical production, which left audiences clamouring for more. The
Dreaming transposes the story of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream” to a golden Edwardian Somerset idyll in 1914.
All the familiar elements of Shakespeare’s work are present – the
lovers, the fairies, the bewitchings and the transformations but
with more spirit, fun and momentum than could be imagined.
The Dreaming was commissioned and premièred by the National
Youth Music Theatre (NYMT), it was first performed at Northcott
Theatre, Exeter in August 2001.With music by Howard Goodall
(Blackadder, Vicar of Dibley, Bend it Like Beckham) and script and
lyrics by Phantom of the Opera lyricist Charles Hart, The Dreaming
is a truly magical and memorable production.
Sophie Bennett shimmers as the mystical Sylvia, Queen of the
Fairies, surrounded by her ethereal followers and we meet Angel the charismatic and menacing leader of the woodland boys, played
with superb presence by Tom Harris. We also meet the mysterious
boy Jack, (Finn Askew) who seeks to join Angel’s band, inspires
love in Sylvia and sets in motion a series of disastrous events which
unfold within the forest.
The songs are superb, with lilting tunes and top-tapping rhythms.
‘Jennifer’ is one of the best numbers, sung by a wildly amorous and
increasingly passionate Alexander (Anthony James) and David (Will
Hester) - the delightfully confused lovers drugged by fairy king
Angel - battling over the perplexed Jennifer (Abigail Perry). It’s a
witty, delicate and complex number performed with perfect timing.
The woodlanders, Angel and Sylvia with the boy Jack (an inspiring
Finn Askew) have some memorable songs, including the delightful
Heart of the Wood, whilst the two soaring songs chorused by the
entire cast at the end of each act take your breath away.
Director Sam Davis has used some ingenious and evocative staging
and the whole piece rattles along at a fabulously jaunty pace. But
the real star is the music, as a host of intriguing, uplifting, funny
and beautiful songs spill from the stage, led by Andrew Trewhella’s
fabulous musical direction and professional band.
The Boy Preference at Bristol Old Vic
Bound together by bewitching music, The Dreaming, much like
Shakespeare’s original, is a charming mix of magic, mayhem and
madness, which will leave you gasping with mirth and begging for
the night to continue.
Pupils enjoyed a workshop at the Old Vic in preparation
for their performance in the National Theatre Connections
Competition
Taunton Arts Festival Success
Daniel Fowler, Year 7, had a very successful
time at the Taunton Festival of the Arts
(Drama) recently. Daniel was awarded
Best Actor of the Festival overall, for which
he received the Hilda Chapman Memorial
Cup.
Daniel won the inaugural Taunton Young
Theatre Performer Competition (Junior).
In addition, Daniel won both the Year 7
and Under Solo Acting, and Year 7 and
Under Verse Speaking classes, taking
home the Fellgett Shield and Margaret
Way cup respectively. Daniel was awarded a distinction in the Sixth
Form and Under Shakespeare Acting class for his portrayal of Puck
from A Midsummer Nights Dream.
This finishes a week in which Daniel passed LAMDA Grade 4 Solo
Acting with distinction.
News | from Wellington School
SPORT
Jade Clarke selected for U20
Commonwealth Fencing Championships
U13 Runners-up at Rugby 7s Tournament
Jade Clarke, has qualified
for
the
Commonwealth
Championships. Jade will travel
to the competition in South
Africa in the summer, where
she will meet up with former
Wellingtonian, Jess Gundry.
Jade also finished 2nd in
Epee and 3rd in Foil in the
Public
Schools
Fencing
Championships and 2nd in
the Foil at the U23 British
Championships. Other notable performances at the Public Schools
Champs were Henry Savage reaching the last 32, Nina Savage
coming 16th in the U16 Foil and Olivia Savage a brilliant 6th in the
U14 Girls event.
Triathlon Success for Year 7 Pupil
Year 7 pupil, Jarvis Lumb, put in
a personal best in the run and
shoot element of the Pony Club
National Winter Triathlon Finals
to finish in 8th place out of a field
of 44 competitors.
The 12 year old took part in
the Mini boys event in Milton
Keynes earlier in March and in
his first time in the event put in a
fantastic performance to come in
the top ten.
Staff vs Students Hockey Match
The U13 Rugby Sevens team were runners up in the Berkhamsted
Invitational Sevens Shield. In a competition involving 64 teams
from all over the country, as well as Wales and France, Wellington
School fought back from 0 -14 down in the semi final to win 19 -14
but ran out of energy and players in the final.
A fantastic effort by the boys, playing with great effort and skill.
Pupils help Netball Club to Regional Finals
Beatrice Renyard in Year 8
and Georgie Simms in Year 9
played 8 matches at Exeter
University recently with their
club, Galmington.
Galmington, having already
clinched
the
County
League, came second at the
tournament which means they
have qualified for the regional
finals in Bath in late March. The
regional finals feature 4 teams
from the South West and 4
teams from the South East.
Two teams from the regional finals will then play at the national
finals in Newcastle in May.
Affiliation Parade
In a thrilling and closely fought Staff vs Pupils hockey match
the pupils scored a narrow victory 3-2
CCF
RN Hydrographic Weekend
16 CCF(RN) cadets travelled to HMS Raleigh in Plymouth for the
annual Hydrographic Weekend. The pupils experienced helming a
variety of powerboats and RIBs, yachting on a Westerley 36, taclking
the assault course and touring HMS Scott. Competing against
other schools, Wellington won the inspection and the cadets were
singled out for praise by the Captain of the Hydrographic office, for
their commitment, knowledge and teamwork.
Wellington School CCF and
Wellington ACF confirmed
their affiliation with the Royal
British Legion
An impressive parade at
Wellington School was the
final phase of confirming
the affiliation between the
Wellington branch of the
Royal British Legion,
the
Wellington School CCF and
the Wellington Army Cadets
(Rifles).
RN & RAF cadets climbed Haytor on a recent Field Trip
www.wellington-school.org.uk
CCF
CCF Field Weekend
NEWS
Pupils win Met Office Maths Feast
Army cadets were under canvas on exercise at Bovington. The
aim of the trip was to master fieldcraft. The photos below
demonstrate their ability to hide in cover.
Year 10 pupils beat
schools from all over
South West at the the
Maths "Feast" at the
Met Office in Exeter.
The team of Joey Lam,
Edward Peachey, Marco
Leong and Anton
Grishechkin
worked
well to answer a range
of difficult questions that were aimed to stretch them beyond the
mathematics they meet in GCSEs. There were 6 challenging rounds
and our team won 4 of these through hard work and strong and
consistent application of their maths knowledge, scoring 135
points out of 167 - the highest score of the day from 20 schools.
Model United Nations
RAF Flying
Wellington School took
two delegations along to
the MUN (Model United
Nations)
Conference
at Queen’s College.
The day’s conference
included
lobbying,
debating,
committee
meetings
and
a
general assembly. Our
delegations represented
Russia and Palestine! Anthony James was highly commended as
Russian ambassador on the security council and, in the Palestine
delegation, led by Sam Taylor, Lauren Thomas was highly
commended for her performance in the disarmament committee.
Physicists Visit Thomas Young’s Birthplace
RAF Cadets visited RAF Brize Norton
RN Sailing
See the video of the RN trip to HMS Bristol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMOaZLXLing
NEWS
Gliding
Head of Chemistry and Assistant Housemaster, Chris Jones, has
been taking a group of students gliding as their Saturday morning
activity.
On a sunny
Wednesday
afternoon,
some of Mr
Hill’s
Lower
Sixth Physics
set visited the
birthplace
of
scientist
and physicist
Thomas Young
in Milverton.
Born in 1773,
he confirmed Huygen’s wave model of light by his famous double
slit interference experiment. Huygen’s wave model interpreted
light as a wave though Isaac Newton’s interpretation insisted light
was made from corpuscles (particles). Newton’s reputation kept
the wave model at bay until Thomas Young confirmed Huygen’s
theory by his experiment.
Solar Eclipse
Pupils
watched
the
eclipse through two solar
telescopes set up outside
the science block. They
were also able to use 20
pairs of solar filter viewers
to watch this historic
event unfold.
News | from Wellington School
MEET THE STAFF
Mr Alastair Anderson - Assistant Head Co- curricular
September 2015 is going to be an exciting time at Wellington School, as Mr Price’s vision for a more structured
and dynamic Co-curriculum is put into practice. The fact that it is my responsibility to lead this development is
a huge privilege, and while I know there will be bumps along the way, I am looking forward very much to the
challenge.
My own love and respect for wider activities was developed many years ago. Educated initially in Glasgow,
football was a religion... but I was never much good at it, lacking the ability to control a ball in the way that so
many of my playground friends could do. This was a huge disappointment to me and I have strong memories
as an 8 year old boy of being unable to cut the mustard in street, playground or formal games. Partick Thistle
was the local club and Alan Hansen, a young centre back destined for international and media greatness, was
a pin up for the local lads. But somehow I knew I was never going to be the next Hansen...
However Glasgow Academy opened two doors to experiences that have quite literally changed my life. My
parents were both musicians: at the time my father was leader of the Scottish Opera Orchestra while my mother
taught piano, flute and guitar as an instrumental teacher. They encouraged me to join the school chapel choir,
and enrolled me into a new choral venture in Glasgow. Within 3 years my singing had taken me on European tours to Switzerland, Austria and
Yugoslavia as a boy treble with Scottish Opera, and when I moved to England later on my singing won me a choral award to Cambridge. I auditioned
in King’s College Cambridge Chapel in front of Stephen Cleobury... and getting down to the last 2 singers for a potential place in the choir I came
up short. I was offered a choral scholarship instead at Jesus College but missed my History “S” level grade by 1 and so could not take it up. Another
disappointment. But overall singing gave me a self confidence, a discipline and a willingness to graft hard at challenges in life that has never left
me. My old singing teacher, 90 years old this year, had a unique method of strengthening the voice: she used to stand on her students while they
sang, thereby strengthening the diaphragm. Not something that would be acceptable today – but moments that will live long in the memory!
The other door opened in Glasgow was to the sporting world of rugby. I couldn’t control a football very well... but I could run. And I had some
speed at that time, surprising to anyone watching me referee matches these days I’m sure. I ran the 100m and 200m in the summer, but my real
love became rugby in the winter, and we travelled across Scotland playing fixtures every Saturday for 2 terms a year. Those bus journeys were long,
but the constant exposure to cold, rain, wind, muddy clay pitches, icy hands and long runs when the pitches were frozen was invaluable – the
development of character from these early challenges cannot be underestimated, and several years later when I trialled (unsuccessfully) for Herts
U18 I had trodden a path for the previous 10 years or so that helped mould my character as much as any academic result. Ultimately I chose to read
History at university – but the person I am today is every bit as much the product of sporting and musical experience as it is of academic challenge.
Twenty years later I’m still banging the Co-curricular drum as a result primarily of those two opened doors. I enjoyed other challenges too: Duke
of Edinburgh expeditions to Brecon, Stage Musicals and Theatrical Productions every year. I took my place in the CCF Guard of Honour in my final
year at school; and at university even decided to take up cricket. But ultimately singing and rugby were the two things I was best at, and the long
hours of practice, the bitter taste of defeat and failure at times, and the exhilaration of a great game or a good performance stay with me to this
day. And a note about failure: if young people don’t experience what it is to fail, tasting the bitterness of defeat from time to time, then they will
never learn what it takes to succeed.
I will be encouraging all young Wellingtonians to walk through a few open doors in the years to come as we seek to further improve our Co
Curricular opportunities: the benefits of taking that first step can be immeasurable.
Year 9 Space Day
Careers Event
All of Year 9 were off timetable for a round robin of activities,
including a Space Academy to find out which pupils would be
likely to qualify as 'Space Cadets'. The Chemistry Department led
a session on rocket fuels. Physics teamed up with Technology
to launch the rockets that the pupils have been working on this
term, 9Q were the winning group. The group also had a hands
on exercise to appreciate the problems of trying to colonise Mars,
both material issues and social ones too.
The Careers Department hosted an informal careers networking
dinner. The purpose of the evening was for sixth form students to
network with guests from a variety of career backgrounds, both
to practice the important skill of networking and to find out more
about a wide range of careers. The event was a great success with
both guests and students rating it as a very positive experience.
The day culminated with 3 rockets made by Miss Jago and Mr
James and a larger shop bought one launching in the air to a great
height before deploying the parachutes and returning to earth. It
has to be said that Mr James' effort was the most impressive, more
so than the professionally made one.
Mr James had used the department's new laser cutter and this high
level of precision is what led to the stable flight.
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