Wellington School

Our Sixth Formers enjoyed a glorious Christmas Ball and celebrated the end of a fabulous term.

An exciting moment for Year 10 Belle who appeared (quite briefly!) on The One Show

She was helping out at the Christmas Sparkle Project that supplies gifts to local charities for children aged between 1 and 18 living in difficult circumstances around Taunton
It really is like Santa’s grotto with people wrapping and labelling up to 2500 gifts!

The charity appeared on The One Show along with other amazing charities as they were asking for more gifts for the 17/18 year old age group.

Was an amazing experience and very humbling when you realise how little some people have at a time when we are all busy buying for our families.

Our Cross Country runners formed Team Dancer Prancer and V***n and ran a Santa relay, did a formation run as a sleigh and then navigated from the North Pole to Wellington in search of golden chocolate coins! Chocolate medals were awarded to celebrate the last session of term before the Area Cross Country.

This morning Chaplain, Charlotte retold the original Christmas story: the Nativity. The whole of Chapel were cast in the different roles for the story – we had choruses of Marys, Josephs, Angels, Shepherds, Kings and Innkeepers, all of whom delivered their (totally unrehearsed!) lines and actions with enthusiasm and aplomb. At the end of the story, the students re-enacted the famous crib scene, with representatives from each character-chorus donning appropriate costumes. It was a fun way to retell the Christmas story, getting everyone involved; and left everyone in no doubt of the ‘reason for the season’!

Year 3 had a tree –mendous day on Christmas Make Day last week. They decorated the classrooms, made bouncy Christmas snowmen, colourful Christmas cards, sculpted Christmas ornaments and designed festive postcards. Alongside this, they attempted to make the longest paper chain ever while wrapped up in their favourite Christmas jumper. It was snow much fun!

All our Christmas trees have been beautifully decorated by the houses and judged against strict criteria (creativity, recyclable materials, House colour etc) and we are delighted to announce the results;
1. Hardwick
2. Richards
3. Fox’s
4. Oak
5. Gillard's
6. Price's
The Prep School children have also decorated their tree beautifully and they had a surprise visit from that cheeky elf!

Year 9 pupils enjoyed their first experience of kayaking on whitewater on the River Dart.
Existing skills were put to good use and they learned to develop these and adapt them to the dynamic environment of moving water - excellent to see so many happy pupils making such excellent progress as the day went on.

Many thanks to the staff for accompanying the trip and Somerset Adventures and Dartmoor Adventures .adventures

Congratulations to RS teacher, Katja Sass, who has made it to the final of the NYC Midnight 500 Word Fiction Challenge 2023. The competition goal is to write a story based on a genre, action and object assignment in just 48 hours. An outstanding result as the final is for just 125 writers from an original cohort of 4200!

The Elf on the Shelf will be getting into more mischief this year, hiding in different locations around the Senior School every day! Look out for the cheeky fellow, and the first to pop into Reception each day will receive a prize. There will also be guest appearances by an Elf relative at break handing our candy canes! Let the festivities commence...

A newcomer to WPS is confidently making his mark in the golfing world! Nicholas has already won the Devon Golf Schools Championships this year & is already representing his sport at County League level (U12). His dedication, motivation & skill has now paid off with Nic being selected for the 2024 Devon County Under 14s Golf Squad at just 10 years old. What an achievement this is at such a young age.
When not in lessons at WPS, Nic enjoys competing for his home club Staddon Heights but utilises his time practising at Stover & Tiverton GC, where he clearly turned heads last summer gaining full sponsorship from an independent party. When it comes to learning, Nic is the youngest player currently being coached by well-known Professional Golfer Tyler Hogarty based at St Mellion International Resort, having started out at Westcountry Golf Academy.
The summer of 2024 will see Nic travel and compete in numerous places including taking part in the UK Kids Golf Tour, US Kids Golf Tour and the British Junior Golf Tour on days he isn’t already representing his county at both levels or his home club as part of a team. Nic is loving his time at WPS, we can not wait to see what further achievements lie ahead for him!

60 members of our boarding community enjoyed a trip to watch Exeter City take on Shrewsbury Town at St James Park in Exeter this week. Wrapped up warm, they revelled in the atmosphere of watching a game under floodlights. Some of the Overside boys even managed to get their shirts signed by the players!

Year 6 have returned home from a fabulous tour. Thank you to and Portsmouth Grammar School for hosting. We played some evenly matched rugby yesterday and the girls had some high spirited games on astro yesterday and some fast-paced indoor hockey this morning.
There were some competitive bowling games yesterday evening and then a delicious meal out. Thanks to the children for being super ambassadors for Wellington Prep, we received positive comments about their manners everywhere we went!

At the end of the season our basketball team met West Buckland, who came out firing, quickly going 10 points ahead. Wellington did not let their heads drop. They clawed the points difference back, playing their signature high energy defence and the best offensive ball movement they have used all year. Playing as a team they motored ahead to a 68 - 46 victory. A standout performance to mark the end of a tough but highly formative season. Well done everyone!

We were delighted to host a Sporting Excellence Dinner at the Somerset Cricket Club for our Year 11,12 and 13 Hockey and Rugby players. Prizes were given for excellence, performance, promise, effort and attitude and we were grateful for the beautiful trophies which were donated by the OWA - Wellington School

Huge congratulations to Joseph (Year 9) who has recently been cast in the International Tour of School of Rock. Joseph has now started rehearsals in London and sets off on tour soon after Christmas, we can’t wait to hear all about it.

Exciting times for the 1st netball team girls who had an amazing game against Truro School in the 2nd round of the Sisters in Sport competition. We are so proud of how well this team have gelled together and they showed huge amounts of determination in this game!
Well done to Gabby for Opposition Player of the Match and to Sofia and Poppy on their Wellington School first team debuts.
Watch this space, exciting things to come from this team!

Our Christmas Hamper Competition is hotting up and we are looking forward to donating a huge consignment of luxurious hampers stuffed with festive goodies to the Wellington Pantry for them to distribute to those in need around our local community Independent Schools Council

Congratulations to Beth from our Campus Team Groundsstaff, who won the Grounds Management Association Young Groundsperson of the Year. Beth completed her Sports Turf Apprenticeship in partnership with Bridgwater & Taunton College this summer and plays a vital role in our Grounds Department. Well done Beth, we are all really proud of you!

We really value strong relationships with our local community and we are delighted to bring you our Community Relationships Advent Calendar! 24 sneek peeks of all the good stuff going on in and around our community. Independent Schools Council

Community Relations Advent Calendar This is "Community Relations Advent Calendar" by Wellington School on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

We are thrilled to have a fabulous local independent book shop Bookshop by the Blackdowns close by and our Library helpers visited to choose new books for the Library. They came away with piles of books and lots of lovely book related goodies which the bookshop kindly gave them. The new books were added to the library and we are really please to be able to support our local businesses Independent Schools Council

AFTERNOON CLEANING SUPERVISOR
To supervise the Domestic Services team during the afternoon and evening periods, ensuring that the school is clean, tidy and hygienic for the use of all pupils, staff and visitors. The Afternoon Cleaning Supervisor is tasked with guiding, instructing and supporting the team to improve their overall effectiveness and ability, creating an environment where the team can perform at their fullest.

We are thrilled to be able to help out our local swimmers by hosting a variety of clubs while the Wellington Sports Centre is shut. We welcome Wellington Swimming Club Water Babies Tri Wellington Taunton Deane Artistic Club and AST SWIMSCHOOL
Independent Schools Council

Wellington Dance School runs sessions 6 days a week open to all children in the local community. The purpose of our Dance School is to provide RAD Ballet and ISTD Modern and Jazz classes in a fun, inspiring environment. We have classes from age 2 Ballet Tots!

Find out more by emailing [email protected]

Independent Schools Council

Three of our pupils are appearing in the The Brewhouse Taunton production of A Christmas Carol which has been written by one of our Drama teachers, Helena Payne, with music by one of our piano teachers Kimon Pallikaropoulos.
Bella in Year 6, Amy in Year 9 and Year 10 Maisie are excited to be working with Pleasure Dome Theatre Company and award nominated West End Director Scott Le Crass.
Performances run from 5th to 30th December 2023 - do come along and share the excitement! It is fabulous that so many of our students and staff are involved in community activities in the area

Pencils and brains were sharpened on Saturday as the Wellington School Maths Challenge once again attracted huge numbers of children. Almost 250 students from 58 primary schools took part in the Challenge and enjoyed the competitive spirit. The winner in this hotly contested competition was Milverton Primary School, whose team of 4 beat off all other contenders for the prize.

Now in its 28th year, this annual event is aimed at children aged 10 or 11 from schools across Devon and Somerset. Schools are invited to enter a team of four pupils who work together to solve 25 questions in one hour. Their problem solving skills are put to the test with a range of tasks which are based on principles from across mathematics.

We were delighted to see so many enthusiastic and talented mathematicians working together and pitting their wits against each other. This event has grown over the 28 years we have been running it and it is always good to see new schools joining in. These young mathematicians have impressed us all with their enthusiasm. They have successfully solved problems by working together and sharing their methods and we were delighted to welcome a school from Oman, who took part remotely.

The winners took home books, puzzles and the satisfaction of having risen to the challenge.

• First place was Milverton Primary School.
• Second place was West Buckland Primary School.
• In third place were Bolham Primary School and Bishop Henderson Primary School.
• Special mention should also be given to Thorverton Primary School for their high score on the Challenge.
• Bampton Primary School, Brent Knoll Primary School and Kentisbeare Primary School made the closest estimates of the number of sweets in the jar.
Independent Schools Council

Boarders had great fun this Sunday with a trip to Hollywood Bowl UK in Taunton. Students enjoyed some fiercely competitive games against their friends but were all smiles at the end of the day!

Congratulations to Year 10 Jonah, who has has been invited to attend the next stage of the Bristol Bears Pathway, progressing from the Aspire to Excel sessions. Jonah also plays for Wellington Rugby Club U15s.
Bears Excel is designed to further prepare players for a high-performance rugby environment. Players in this programme are aged Under 15 & 16 and are usually identified through Aspire sessions and inter-centre festivals. Players are selected through the demonstration of consistently good work ethic, attitude (on and off the field), tactical awareness and technical ability. Wellington is proud of the partnership we have developed with having had a number of students playing for them over the years, and we are grateful for the ongoing relationship and opportunities provided . Relationships with the local rugby, football and cricket clubs are also really important in the developing of community links, sponsorship and integration. Independent Schools Council

Our Prep School Choir were thrilled to open the proceedings at the Wellington Town Council festive celebrations. The High Street boasted a festive market and there was entertainment and events in the build up to the grand Christmas lights switch-on.
Independent Schools Council

We were delighted to host a fantastic Christmas Fair, with over 30 local stallholders. All the school houses also ran a variety of stalls and all the proceeds will go to School Charities Cancer Research UK . Many hundreds of visitors enjoyed the entertainment, refreshments and some fabulous Christmas shopping opportunities! Thank you to the Friends for their stupendous organisational skills and all the fabulous local craftspeople who were able to showcase and sell their wares. Santa and his little helpers made a special appearance from the North Pole and the school equestrian society brought along a special friend! This heralds the start of the ISC Partnerships Week and we are proud to celebrate the many activities we undertake with our surrounding community Independent Schools Council