11 May 2016  

RIP Seb Adeniran-Olule

The Wellington Community is deeply saddened to hear of OW Seb Adeniran-Olule’s untimely death in a road traffic accident. Seb joined Wellington College in 2012 and had an outstanding school career academically, on the rugby pitch, and in the Hill, where he was very popular and an inspiration to those around him. Having represented England Rugby at Under 18 and 20 levels, and having signed a professional contract with Harlequins, Seb had a very bright future ahead of him in the game. He was a true Wellingtonian in every sense and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this deeply sad time. May he rest in peace.

14 December 2015  

Three ‘parish notices’:

First, the 2014-15 edition of the Year Book is at the printers and will be posted out shortly.

Second, the 2015 edition of the Register is almost complete but I am waiting for three items from College and would not wish to proceed without them. I hope the Register will go to the printers in early in the New Year.

Third, this is the final week of the College term with the end of term being Friday 18 December 2015. College returns for the Spring Term on Monday 11 January 2016. There may not be a physical a presence in or around the OW Office over the Christmas and New Year periods but emails and telephone calls should prompt timely responses.

15 November 2015  

Ladies and Gentlemen

OWs, like all members of the Wellington community, will be shocked and saddened by the events in Paris. The OW Society is a close-knit group and we have a wide network of contacts, and we will have a presence in Paris and France. I am sure that OWs would be quick to respond if there should be an OW or anyone of the wider Wellington community who has been caught up in these attacks or who are stranded in France as a result of them. At the moment it seems that Wellington has been fortunate in that we are not aware of any OWs or anyone with a connection with College who was involved, but perhaps it is too early to be certain and we stand ready to help if we can.  The OW Office’s contact details are:  01344 444127 or gros@wellingtoncollege.org.uk.

02 November 2015  

A number of OWs had expressed concern in the past that College no longer seemed to welcome the children of OWs

A new Admissions Officer, James Dahl, listened to the concerns of the OW Society and the concern has been addressed. I am delighted to be able to report that, for the third year running, the proportion of offers to children with OW connections is just over 10% – the latest round of offers is for 3rd Form entrants in 2017 –  whereas in previous years this had fallen to around 4% per entry. More importantly, a high proportion of OW-connected applicants are successful in securing places each year. It is no mean feat to secure the offer of a place at Wellington as there are around eight applicants for every 3rd Form vacancy, hence pre-testing at 11 has become necessary, but applications on behalf of children with OW connections are warmly welcomed by College. I am happy to chat to OWs, off the Admissions ‘radar’ if preferred, if they should wish to discuss any aspect of the admissions process. My experience is that my approaches to College on behalf of OWs are answered swiftly and constructively. I would thus argue strongly that College is demonstrating by action rather than words that applications on behalf of the children of OWs are very welcome! However, I would encourage OWs to consider Wellington early as we are now beginning to look at the 2018 entry and it is difficult to secure a place as a late starter in the competition!

12 October 2015  

Old Hall has been refurbished and now looks fantastic!

OWs will remember Old Hall as a rather shabby, dark, room with dingy matt brown panelling. The room was the original refectory or dining hall when College first opened in 1859. Since then it has been used for many purposes. In my days as a pupil in the 1970s it was used for assemblies, concerts and exams, so was not a place the average Wellingtonian was keen to visit!

The refurbishment has transformed the space. The panelling, gifted to College as a memorial to 2Lt. J C B Capper MC (OW) who was killed on the Somme on 27 September 1916, has been retained, cleaned and revarnished. College’s collection of Napoleonic pictures has been hung on the walls. The Stocks copy of Maclise’s Wellington meeting Blucher at the conclusion of the battle of Waterloo, which once hung in the Waterloo Hotel but was purchased by a generous group of OWs at an auction at Bonham’s earlier this year, is the centrepiece. Callum Stewart (OW) has loaned eleven pictures while another OW, Chris Graham, has loaned a portrait of his antecedent, Lord Lynedoch.

The refurbished Old Hall has now been renamed as the Waterloo Hall and becomes a permanent marker of College’s commemoration of the bicentenary of the battle. The Hall will be formally unveiled on Tuesday when a lunch will be held there following the planting of two trees: the first, a sapling from the Duke of Wellington’s estate at Stratfield Saye; and the second, a sapling from the battlefield at Waterloo.