Wellington’s ethos rests on three principles: outstanding relationships, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence. We want children to feel secure and confident, to feel supported and understood, to feel able to turn to those around them for guidance and encouragement. Our relationships are informed by values such as kindness, tolerance, inclusivity, and trust. We work together to bring out the best in one another.
As a learning community, we are process-oriented we work through problems, we don’t shy away from challenges, we understand that getting things wrong at first is part of getting them right in the end. We are ambitious in our aspirations but humble enough to accept that there is always more we can learn.
If our girls and boys feel confident and secure and if they enjoy their learning, then we believe they will rise to the high expectations we have of them. The pursuit of excellence is a mindset rather than a destination and we work tirelessly to support our children to become the very best they can be.
We are a collaborative and purposeful community. Our children are at the heart of everything we do and nothing pleases us more than supporting them in their journey and seeing them enjoy their school days.
Wellington School was founded in 1837 to provide a commercial, mathematical and classical education for boys. It was supported financially by the county authorities from 1902 and acquired its present name in 1913. The school admitted girls into the Sixth Form in the early 1970s and became fully co-educational in 1978, the year it returned to full independence. The school occupies a 35-acre site in the center of the market town of Wellington in Somerset and, in 2000, a purpose-built junior school was opened on an adjacent site. This was renamed Wellington Prep School in September 2014.
Wellington is a wonderful school and it is a privilege to lead such a happy, dynamic, and diverse community.
We delight in celebrating our pupils’ many remarkable achievements, but it is the quality of the relationships we enjoy both within the school, and beyond our gates, which we value most highly. We believe that children who are secure in themselves will be able to confidently express who they are and honesty, integrity, kindness, tolerance, and inclusivity are some of the values we hold dear.
Learning, in its many forms, is at the heart of all we do and our inspirational teachers support each pupil in achieving their best possible academic outcomes. Results, however, are only one element of the learning journey and we want our pupils to be independent, intellectually curious, creative problem-solvers who can communicate effectively and work with others to address challenging problems.
Being located in an area of such natural beauty allows our pupils to safely explore the world around them and grow in confidence and character as they do so. Exploration and discovery are central to our learning philosophy. We have high expectations of our pupils, but we don’t want them to be afraid of failure – we understand that intellectual and personal growth is often the result of making mistakes and having the resilience to overcome challenges.
We are proud of our rich history but we are as proud of being a progressive, forward-looking school that provides an outstanding all-round education. We want our pupils to be ambitious and confident, but without a hint of arrogance or a sense of entitlement. We believe that each pupil should feel known, valued, and understood. We work tirelessly to ensure that our pupils leave Wellington equipped to thrive.
A strong sense of community defines the Wellington way and we want every member of our community to look forward to arriving at school each morning. We would be delighted if you came to visit us - you will receive a warm Wellington welcome.
Wellington School was founded in 1837 to provide a commercial, mathematical and classical education for boys. It was supported financially by the county authorities from 1902 and acquired its present name in 1913.
The school admitted girls into the Sixth Form in the early 1970s and became fully co-educational in 1978, the year it returned to full independence. The school occupies a 35-acre site in the center of the market town of Wellington in Somerset and, in 2000, a purpose-built junior school was opened on an adjacent site. This was renamed Wellington Prep School in September 2014.
The school now provides day and boarding education for boys and girls, who are each allocated to one of four boarding and ten-day houses.
The School occupies 35 acres near the town center which has a population of 12,500. The town lies equidistant between Taunton and Tiverton railway stations (both approximately 20 minutes away). The character of the area, situated between the Blackdown Hills (now an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), the Brendon Hills, and the Quantocks, has remained largely unaltered for many years. The Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks and the North and South coasts are within an hour’s drive away. The catchment area for day pupils extends up to 20-30 miles around the town and buses cover the whole region.
The School has witnessed an extensive building program over the last twenty years. The new buildings having been carefully and tastefully blended in with the existing architecture. Most recent buildings include the John Kendall-Carpenter Science Centre with its state-of-the-art laboratories and lecture theatre and a £2.6m sports complex which was opened by H.R.H Princess Royal in September 2002. New English classrooms and an examination hall opened in January 2009 and major improvements to music and performing arts facilities were completed in early 2011. Further building projects, including a new study center, library, and café facility as well as a new astro-turf are currently underway.
In addition to the Olympic Standard Sports Complex, there are 5 rugby pitches, 9 tarmac tennis courts, 9 Astro tennis courts, 4 purpose-built netball courts, a floodlit artificial turf hockey pitch, and 3 grass pitches, cricket pitches, and a 300m athletics track, 2 squash courts, and a covered, heated swimming pool.
The Memorial Chapel of St Michael and George sits firmly in the middle of the site and follows the Anglican Communion. Many of our parents make significant self-sacrifices for their children’s education and, thus, there is a happy blend of pupils from all walks of life and from overseas, to form a well-bonded community.
