Wellington College, Berkshire
Wellington College, Berkshire, the national monument to the Duke of Wellington, is an English public school, which was granted its royal charter in 1853. Its first Master (Headmaster) was Edward White Benson, later Archbishop of Canterbury. Currently, the college's Visitor is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The college was designed by John Shaw Jr (1803–1870) and is perhaps his finest piece of work [1]. It is located near Crowthorne, Berkshire, England.
Currently a co-educational public school (UK), the College has approximately 800 pupils of the ages between 13–18. Famously, pupils are at Wellington to "learn how to live" and correspondingly the College excels at both academic and leisure activities. Wellington College was one of the 22 founding members of the Rugby Football Union, and historically, pupils at the school have excelled at Rugby Football, Field Hockey and Cricket. The school has one of only around 20 racquets courts in the UK, and until recently three Fives courts.
It is located in a 400 acre (1.6 km²) estate in South East England, in the county of Berkshire, approximately 30 miles (50 km) from Heathrow Airport and close to the railway 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 in a style loosely termed "French Grand Rococo" and the chapel was designed by George Gilbert Scott.
The school has a diverse and extensive range of distinguished alumni including accomplished novelist George Orwell, 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, world champion motor racing driver James Hunt, Opposition Leader of the House of Lords Lord Strathclyde and the UK Pop Idol winner Will Young to name but a few. It has been claimed that Jeffrey Archer, who was actually educated at the less prestigious Wellington School, Somerset, falsely claimed that he had been to Wellington College.
Common to other public schools, Wellington has its own peculiar slang. Words includes "Swipes" for mid-morning snacks, "Brews" for the in-house kitchens, "Grubbies" for the school shop, "Bims" for inter-house junior sporting leagues and "Bigside", "Derby" and "Turf" for playing fields. Wellington's slang has many similarities to that of Rugby School, where its first Master, Edward White Benson, began his career.
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.
Tenuous relations exist with the Wellington College in Wellington, New Zealand. Possibly the most famous example was during World War II when Wellington College NZ converted its playing fields into a small farm and sent food over to Wellington College, Berkshire.
Wellington College is no stranger to press attention. Newspapers, in particular the Daily Mail, have covered numerous stories involving the college, most recently the violence that took place between students and locals during the annual November fireworks celebrations. It is thought that the ridiculous pomp and provacative behaviour of the Wellington students inspired the violence which took place in retaliation to earlier acts commited by the said students. Wellington College is also now advertising in newspapers and other publications its move to co-education under the 13th Master of the College, Anthony Seldon.
There are 15 houses in the college. Unlike other public schools such as Tonbridge, every house contains boarders and day pupils. Each house is either an 'in-house' or an 'out house'. In-houses are located within the main school building whilst out-houses are located elsewere on the grounds. Each house has aspects which differentiate it from other houses, such as its own colours, emblem and a defined house spirit.
| House | Colours | Emblem | Gender | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglesey | Pink/Black | Star | M | Out-house |
| Apsley | Blue/Black | Pineapple | F | Out-house |
| Benson | Blue/White | Flower | M | Out-house |
| Beresford | Light Blue/Black | Horseshoe | M | Out-house |
| Blücher | Black/White | Feathers | M | In-house |
| Combermere | Brown/Yellow | Dragon | M | In-house |
| Hardinge | Green/Brown | Anchor | M | In-house |
| Hill | Purple/Silver | Skull and Crossbone | M | In-house |
| Hopetoun | Yellow/Blue | Moon and Star | M | Out-house |
| Lynedoch | Navy Blue/Black | Iron cross | M | In-house |
| Murray | Purple/Black | Moon and Star | M | In-house |
| Orange | Orange/Black | Double-headed dragon | F | Out-house |
| Picton | Pink/Brown | Eagle | M | Out-house |
| Stanley | Red/Blue | Unicorn | M | Out-house |
| Talbot | Red/White | Specific Design | M | Out-house |
The Orange was previously a boys' house, but was changed to a girls' house in 2005. The boys in the Orange moved in with the Beresford to become an out-house. The same will be happening to the Hardinge and Combermere in future years.
There are also traditional rivalries between houses on the sports field. Most noticeable is the rivalry between the Hill and the Murray - the two houses are located next door to each other in the West Block.
External link
www.shaw-hardwick.co.uk - Website in memory of John Shaw the architect