Wellington College Belfast
Encyclopedia
Wellington College Belfast (better known as Wellington College or WCB) is a co-educational
grammar school
located in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
. The current principal is Mr Matthew Pitts. The school was formed when, in 1990, the all-boys' Annadale Grammar School
and the all-girls' Carolan Grammar School merged to become a single co-educational school. The school is named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
.
takes its blue colour from that of the British Army
during the 19th century which was the uniform
worn by the Duke of Wellington during his service. The sports kit for Wellington was changed in May 2011 and is now only available at Podium 4 Sports. The new sports kit will be available from July 2011. The girls skirts are meant to be changed so they can only be knee height however some have said that no uniform change will be happening due to boys and girls complaining that it won't look good. There was speculation that the boys were going to get shorts which would be optional but Matthew Pitts confirmed that the boys would have no uniform change. Many pupils however wanted the wool blazer to be changed as unlike the nylon blazers other schools have, the wool one smells when they get wet and are heavier than the nylon blazers. On August 31 2011, there was more talk of a new girls skirt uniform change.
Activities include;
and Brian Turner
.
Dale was the only student from Northern Ireland to achieve a gold medal and book prize in the Olympiad. This accolade means that he is ranked within the top 50 mathematicians of his age in the UK. Mr Cantley, head of the Mathematics department at Wellington, stated that everyone at the College is absolutely delighted by Dale’s achievement. Mr Cantley, who has taught Dale for the past three years, stated that Dale is a truly remarkable young mathematician, having obtained an A* in GCSE Mathematics at only 14, an A* in both GCSE Additional Mathematics and ‘A’ Level Mathematics at 15 and first place in the 2010 Northern Ireland GCSE Additional Mathematics examination.
Pupils involved:
Teachers involved:
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
located in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The current principal is Mr Matthew Pitts. The school was formed when, in 1990, the all-boys' Annadale Grammar School
Annadale Grammar School
Annadale Grammar School for Boys was an all-boys school located on the Annadale Embankment skirting the River Lagan in south Belfast, Northern Ireland...
and the all-girls' Carolan Grammar School merged to become a single co-educational school. The school is named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
.
Headmasters/Headmistresses
- Derrick Woods 1990-1995
- Jaqueline Weir 1995-2000
- Ronnie Hassard 2000-2004
- Heather Reid 2004-2009 (Previously Vice-Principal 2000-2004)
- Dr Ian Drysdale 2009-2010 (Acting, re-prised role as Vice-Principal in 2010)
- Matthew Pitts 2010–present
Uniform
The Wellington blazerBlazer
A blazer is a type of jacket. The term blazer occasionally is synonymous with boating jacket and sports jacket, two different garments. A blazer resembles a suit coat cut more casually — sometimes with flap-less patch pockets and metal buttons. A blazer's cloth is usually durable , because it is an...
takes its blue colour from that of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the 19th century which was the uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
worn by the Duke of Wellington during his service. The sports kit for Wellington was changed in May 2011 and is now only available at Podium 4 Sports. The new sports kit will be available from July 2011. The girls skirts are meant to be changed so they can only be knee height however some have said that no uniform change will be happening due to boys and girls complaining that it won't look good. There was speculation that the boys were going to get shorts which would be optional but Matthew Pitts confirmed that the boys would have no uniform change. Many pupils however wanted the wool blazer to be changed as unlike the nylon blazers other schools have, the wool one smells when they get wet and are heavier than the nylon blazers. On August 31 2011, there was more talk of a new girls skirt uniform change.
Prize Day
Every year, Wellington holds it's annual Prize Distribution Day. Prize Day awards children for their work, progress and contribution to the college. The event takes place in the schools sports hall and tea & refreshments are served in the Assembly Hall. Dale Walmsley tends to win the most awards over the last few years. Pupils who are not being awarded a Prize may go home before the event at 11:50am however, Year 8 pupil must attend Prize Day. Prize Day starts at 1:00pm and ends at around 3:20pm (the normal school end time). It is held on the last Friday of September.Extracurricular activities
Wellington offers a number of extracurricular activies to it's pupils. These normally run after school, or during lunch time, and are generally overseen by members of the teaching or library staff. In some cases a specialist in a particular subject may be invited to take a course(e.g. In January 2008 Neil Best and Rob Dewey helped with rugby training)Activities include;
- Scripture Union
- Science Club (Current club founded 2009)
- Art Club
- Chess Club
- Maths Support
- ICT club
- Games Club (Launched 2011)
- English Club (Launched 2010)
- Boys Rugby
- Boys Football
- Boys Hockey
- Tennis
- Girls Football (Ending)
- Girls Hockey
- Golf
- Band & Orchestra
- Boy's Choir
- Junior Choir
- Senior Choir
- Junior Brass Group
- Senior Brass Group
- Woodwind Group
- String Trio
- Duke of Edinburgh Gold
Former Activities
- German Club (German is not taught at Wellington any more and ran as a club until June 2011)
- WCB Summer Sports Academy (Launched for Summer 2011)
- Duke of Edinburgh Bronze
- Duke of Edinburgh Silver (Stopped 2011)
Awards
- 2005 International School AwardInternational School AwardThe International School Award is a British Council accreditation scheme rewarding schools with a notable global element in their curriculum.The scheme began in 1999 and since then, over 1000 International School Awards have been granted....
- The school KLQ team won the Kids' Lit QuizKids' Lit QuizThe Kids' Lit Quiz is an annual literature competition, in which teams of four students, aged 10 to 13, work together to answer wide-ranging literary questions. The winning team from each region competes in the national final. The winner of the national final is then invited to the World Final...
in 2007 at the world final in OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. - The week before Pancake Tuesday, Wellington took part in a Pancake flipping day to put them and Allied Bakeries into the Guiness Book of World Records. Over 800 people (pupils and staff of Wellington and Allied) flipped pancakes for the most people flipping pancakes at the same time. The record was previously somewhere in the 400's.
- Wellington got an award for raising money and donating things to Haiti after the earthquake.
Future Chef 2011
Christopher Marshall, (a then year 10 pupil) represented Wellington in the Northern Ireland Future Chef competition 2011. He won the Northern Ireland competition on Wednesday 2 February 2011. He was then entered into the Future Chef Final and went to London on March 21 2011 for the competition and got to meet Ainsley HarriottAinsley Harriott
Ainsley Harriott is a British celebrity chef and television presenter.-Early career:Trained at Westminster College of Catering, Ainsley obtained an apprenticeship at Verrey's restaurant in the West End and later worked as a commis chef...
and Brian Turner
Brian Turner
Brian Turner may refer to:* Brian Turner * Brian Turner and field hockey representative* Brian Turner , drummer for the Seattle-based band Schoolyard Heroes* Brian Turner , British celebrity chef...
.
Mathematical Olympiad 2011
Dale Walmsley, (a then year 12 student at Wellington) was awarded a gold medal and a book prize in the UK Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad. The Olympiad is a highly prestigious competition for top achievers in the UK Intermediate Mathematical Challenge, and only 500 students throughout the UK are invited to participate in the Olympiad each year. Olympiad participants are required to solve six intractable problems, each requiring a considerable degree of mathematical ingenuity, in a two hour examination. Not only did Dale achieve a highly impressive overall score, but he produced perfect solutions to most of the problems!Dale was the only student from Northern Ireland to achieve a gold medal and book prize in the Olympiad. This accolade means that he is ranked within the top 50 mathematicians of his age in the UK. Mr Cantley, head of the Mathematics department at Wellington, stated that everyone at the College is absolutely delighted by Dale’s achievement. Mr Cantley, who has taught Dale for the past three years, stated that Dale is a truly remarkable young mathematician, having obtained an A* in GCSE Mathematics at only 14, an A* in both GCSE Additional Mathematics and ‘A’ Level Mathematics at 15 and first place in the 2010 Northern Ireland GCSE Additional Mathematics examination.
2011
- Highly Commended Award
- Eco Award
Pupils involved:
- Christopher Lynn, Head of Junior Science Team 2010-2012
- Mitchell McKee
- Jordan Knocker
Teachers involved:
- Yvonne Johnston (Head of Science)
- David Cardwell
- In September 2010, Yvonne Johnston, Head of Science and the teacher that hosts Science Club approached Christopher Lynn and asked him if he would like to join in the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition as he was keen in Science activities. Christopher agreed and took up the role of Head of Junior Science Team in the School. Jordan Knocker and Mitchell McKee later joined the team. The boys conducted an experiment on how to cut down litter in the school. In October 2010, they found out they had got through to the final in the RDS in Dublin. In January, the three boys went to Dublin with science teacher Stephen Wilson, as David Cardwell wasn't able to attend on the first day and Yvonne Johnston had work in school. David Cardwell was in Dublin for the second and third day of the competition and Yvonne Johnston attended the exhibition on the final day. The boys exhibition was on feature in the schools foyer from January 2011 to April 2011 until it was re-placed with an anti-smoking exhibition. The boys Litter exhibition was put into storage then put up in Science Lab 102 in August 2011. It will be put up in the Science corridor as planned.