7 October 2022 FROM THE HEADMASTER While attending this year’s annual HMC Conference – which was held in lovely Edinburgh – I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation from Professor Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Chancellor of Herriot Watt University. Professor Palmer’s achievements are hugely impressive. His biography on Herriot Watt’s website describes him as “…a human rights activist who works to tackle discrimination and promote equality in the UK. He was Scotland’s first ever black professor and is known to have discovered the barley abrasion process whilst a researcher at the Brewing Research Foundation.” The title of Professor Palmer’s address was ‘Equality, Education and Progress go Together’ and he spoke with clarity and conviction on how senseless, divisive and destructive the concept of race is. He shared a powerful story about how, upon his arrival in the UK as a young boy, he was described as ‘educationally sub-normal’ and, even after having graduated from the University of Leicester, was told to ‘go back to where you came from’ at his first job interview. It was shocking to hear these stories, but Professor Palmer’s journey and his remarkable success are an inspiration. While people from African and Caribbean backgrounds have been a fundamental part of British history for centuries, many feel that their value and contribution to society is often overlooked, ignored or distorted. October is Black History Month (www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk), a time when we can think deliberately and consciously on the challenges, journeys and accomplishments of black people in the UK and around the world. At the start of the academic year, staff benefitted from working with Dr Shola Rogers and Leah Morris from the African Caribbean Education Network (www.aceducationnetwork.com). Their training and support materials were immensely helpful in raising awareness about how racism and prejudice can present itself in society, and what we can all do to tackle discrimination and bias. We will be also be working with Flair (www.flairimpact.com) after the half-term break to better understand how we might further enhance racial equity across our community. Wellington’s core values are at the heart of our educational philosophy. Our belief in the importance of kindness, equality, empathy, inclusivity and community inform everything we do. Challenging ourselves, learning from others and working hard to see the world through the eyes of others are crucial to ensuring that Wellington School is a place where everyone feels safe, included and able to thrive. I hope that you have a lovely weekend. Eugene du Toit

SIXTH FORM WORK WITH DEMENTIA CARE CHARITY Sixth Form students have been out in the community working with Reminiscence Learning at their Funday Friday, providing activities and interaction for members of the community with dementia. These ranged from origami to mindful colouring and chair dancing to Connect 4! Reminscence Learning will visit MedSoc to talk about dementia to help increase our students understanding who are hoping to work in health care professions.

SIXTH FORM DRIVER AWARENESS WORKSHOP Learn2Live, a road safety education partnership aimed at young people aged 16-19 in full time education, led a workshop as part of our Sixth Form Future Steps programme. The session helped students to understand specific risks and consider the consequences of their actions. The students were encouraged to make small changes to their behaviours and develop appropriate coping strategies that they can use to make choices with regard to their safety when travelling on the roads.

LIDL DIRECTOR TALK FOR SIXTH FORM BUSINESS STUDENTS On Monday, Sixth Form Business students were treated to an excellent talk from Mr Craig Stewart, Regional Director for Lidl. This gave a great insight into the logistics of a successful international firm, which is soon going to be very local to Wellington. Students investigated a range of concepts which the supermarket has to think about when locating, and the external factors which need to be considered were explored in detail. The talk finished with an investigation of the job opportunities available at Lidl, whether this is as a career after university, or in the very immediate future! Special thanks must go to Craig for his time and efforts.

U14 HOCKEY TEAM EARN PLACE IN REGIONAL COMPETITION Well done to our U14 Girls’ Hockey team, who are through to the Tier 2 Regionals after a fantastic County tournament. The team beat Queen’s, Millfield B and Downside and drew with Wells, conceding just 2 goals. They displayed outstanding team spirit on and off the pitch and showed improvement with each match. A team to watch for the future! Great work by Mr Sampson and Mr Durston in the preparation of the team.

EXCELLENT RESULTS AT ENGLISH SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY The Wellington Cross Country Squad were out in force at the English Schools Cross Country Cup on Monday at Kings with runners in each age group. Cross Country Captain Patrick Cole got the run of the match cheered on by his Juniors’ fan club, winning the Senior Boys’ outright. In the Junior Girls’ the newly formed team of mostly Year 7 runners held their own against teams a year older to finish 4th, and in the Inter Girls’ Alice Mackey finished 12th in a competitive field. Alex Seaton had a superb run in the Junior Boys’ finishing 11th with Tom Page-Turner speeding into 17th. In the Inter Boys’ Fergus Stockman had a strong run, and one to watch now he's top of his age group this year! It was fantastic to see Maddy David supporting Carolin Backes, who was running for the first time for Wellington in the Senior Girls’.

U13 NETBALL SQUAD SHOW PROMISE Great start for the U13 Netball squad, playing a competitive game against Millfield Prep. The girls put up a good fight against formidable opposition and remained positive even after missing out on qualifying for the next round. Exciting future ahead for this squad.

NEW WELLBEING OPTIONS FOR YEARS 11-13 Wellbeing walks are a new initiative as part of the Thursday afternoon wellbeing session for Years 11-13. We focus on the physical and mental health benefits of being in nature, and are exploring different local nature reserves and walks with Dr Jolliffe. A welcome break from screens and textbooks, it is a chance to breathe and reset in a busy week.

WELLINGTON FILM FESTIVAL Last weekend, for two nights, the Lloyds Bank building on Fore Street, Wellington became a massive screen for moving and still images – all created by local video mapping artist Jon Stay. The images included Wellington School dancers, filmed for the project last year. On Sunday afternoon the community gathered on School Field for a screening of the family favourite Encanto.

SENIOR SCHOOL PLAY - THE GREAT GATSBY Our Senior School play this year is going to be The Great Gatsby and auditions were held this week, a highly competitive field making for a very talented cast of students.

SIXTH FORM DRAMA STUDENTS PHYSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP Our A-Level Drama students enjoyed a physical theatre workshop with Frantic Assembly, they are a company which are leading the way currently in modern theatre and we look forward to seeing them in action next week at the Theatre Royal Plymouth watching their interpretation of Othello.

SCHOLARS TRIP TO NOUGHTS AND CROSSES Our Drama and Performing Arts Scholars enjoyed their first social event this week with a trip to Exeter Northcott to see the haunting production of Noughts and Crosses. The show was inspiring across the year groups and gave us all some fantastic theatrical ideas to use ourselves in the future!

NEW STUDIO FOR DANCE AND DRAMA Our studio is starting to come alive with drama and dance for all ages! We have enjoyed capturing some of our earliest moments in the new space in our Modern and Ballet classes.

HEAD OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES SHORTLISTED FOR FICTION PRIZE We’re excited to share that one of our Senior School teachers, Katja Sass, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Oxford Flash Fiction Prize, awarded to stories of 1000 words or less. The shortlisted stories remain anonymous until the final stage of the judging process but are listed here https://oxfordflashfictionprize. com/news/ in the meantime. Being shortlisted means that the piece will be published in their forthcoming anthology. Katja is the Head of Religious Studies, co-runs the school paper The Waterloo, and is a founding member of Scribblers, the School’s senior creative writing club. Katja writes most of her stories during Scribblers, which she then goes back and edits in her free time. She is inspired by the theological and philosophical questions discussed in her classroom, although her stories come in various genres including comedy, horror, historical fiction and drama. Other stories Katja has had published can be found at Lost Futures, Ekphrastic Review, Janus Literary, Paragraph Planet, in The Loop anthology and as 3rd prize winner at Reflex Fiction. We wish her the best of luck in the next stage of judging!

MEET THE NEW STAFF - MRS CHARLOTTE KELLEY - CHAPLAIN Charlotte joined Wellington after eight years working as a secondary school English teacher. Charlotte is passionate about working with young people, providing outstanding pastoral care, and sharing the Christian faith in a relevant way. She embraces the fantastic diversity of the Wellington community, leading acts of worship for students of all faiths and none; and strives to make all feel welcome and loved.  Charlotte lives locally with her husband (who is curate of the local parish church) her young son, and her cat. A fan of all things literary, in her spare time she enjoys reading anything and everything, as well as spending time with family and friends, walking in the countryside, and cooking.  She looks forward to meeting you.

NOTICES

Sixth Form Open Evening takes place on Tuesday 11th October at 6pm, starting in Great Hall. Come along and find out all about the exciting life of a Wellington Sixth Former.

The School is collecting for the Taunton Food Bank and would be grateful for any donations. Please could donations of tinned cold meats, tinned vegetarian meals, savoury snacks, protein bars, cereal bars, chocolate and sweet treats, sponge puddings and tinned custard and instant mash be left in the Chapel by Thursday 13th October. Dulcie Harding in Year 11 is putting together a charity calendar for Feeding Communities and she would be delighted if people would submit photos for possible inclusion. The subject is Wellington - scenes of the School and local area. Submissions can be sent to Mrs Robertson. Bookings are now open for stalls at the Wellington Winter Wonderland. This event takes place in December in the Sports Complex and features ice skating, Christmas Market, Father Christmas and sweet treats. To book a stall visit https://www.trybooking. co.uk/BWEM For further information please email [email protected] A Confirmation and Baptism Service will take place in the Chapel on 20th November at 10am. All are welcome to join us for this special service.

Coming up at Wellington School....... Saturday 8th October

Kayaking Year 9 Scholars Saturday Music Hockey v Blundell’s click here for fixtures Rugby v West Buckland click here for fixtures County Netball Tournaments click here for fixtures Sixth Form Karaoke

Sunday 9th October

Boarders Trip: Escape Rooms

Monday 10th October

Boy’s Indoor Hockey County Tournament click here for fixtures Early Applicants Interview Practice

Tuesday 11th October

House Music Rehearsals Football v Kingsmead click here for fixtures Sixth Form Open Evening

Wednesday 12th October

Friends Walk ‘n’ Talk Choral Evensong: Salisbury Cathedral Netball v Churston Ferrers Grammar click here for fixtures Rugby v Penryn College click here for fixtures Basketball v Queen’s click here for fixtures Early Applicants Interview Practice

Thursday 13th October

English Trip: Othello Spain Modern Languages Trip Morrocco Sixth Form Geography Trip Girls’ Football v Taunton School click here for fixtures Hockey v Exeter School click here for fixtures Hockey v West Buckland click here for fixtures

Friday 14th October

You can keep in touch with your Wellington School community on:

[email protected] Wellington School | Wellington | TA21 8NT | 44 (0) 1823 668800

Spain Modern Languages Trip Morrocco Sixth Form Geography Trip Belgium Hockey Tour Half Term Begins