Wellington College Belfast
Coordinates: 54°34′16″N 05°55′07″W / 54.57111°N 5.91861°W
| Wellington College Belfast | |
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Una Discamus
We learn as one |
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| Location | |
| Belfast, Northern Ireland |
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| Information | |
| Principal | Mr Matthew Pitts, BA (Hons), PGCE, NPQH |
| Vice principal | Mr M. Girvin, BSc MSc PGCE DASE (Ed Man) PQH (NI) Dr Ian Drysdale, MEd DASE PQH(NI) |
| Classes | Art & Design Business Studies Careers Computing Design and Technology Economics English Geography History Home Economics ICT Languages Mathematics Media Studies Music Physical Education Politics Religious Studies Science |
Wellington College Belfast (better known as Wellington College or WCB) is a co-educational grammar school[1] 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.[2] The school is named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
Wellington College was founded in 1990 after Annadale Boys and Carolan Girls merged together. The school moved to it's current location on Carolan Road in 2002, which included 2 new rugby pitches, a gravel pitch (markings changed from football/hockey to running, javelin and hammer-throw in summer/sports term), an astro pitch and a running track (track used in Summer/sports term).
[edit] 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, reprised role as Vice-Principal in 2010)
- Matthew Pitts 2010–present
[edit] Uniform
The Wellington blazer takes its blue colour from that of the British Army during the 19th century[3] 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 was made available from July 2011.
Discussion regarding girls' skirts took place early in 2011, during which it was suggested that the skirts be altered to ensure they are kept at knee-height. This has been faced by opposition from pupils and whether or not any plans will go ahead is unclear. Matthew Pitts confirmed that the boys would have no uniform change amid rumours of shorts being included in the boys' uniform as an optional alternative to trousers. Pupils have expressed an interest in a change of material for the school blazers from wool to nylon, suggesting that nylon, a material used by other schools, makes for a lighter, more weather-resistant option when compared with the current woollen blazers. On August 31 2011, there was more talk of a new girls' skirt uniform change.
[edit] Prize Day
Every year, Wellington holds its annual Prize Distribution Day. Prize Day rewards pupils for their work, progress and contribution to the college, plus outstanding personal achievements. The event takes place in the school sports hall and tea and refreshments are served in the Assembly Hall following the distribution. Pupils who are not being awarded a prize may go home before the event at 11:50am; however, the attendance of Year 8 pupils is mandatory. 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.
[edit] Extracurricular activities
Wellington offers a number of extracurricular activies to its 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)[4] Activities include;
- Scripture Union[5]
- Science Club (Current club founded 2009)[6]
- Art Club[7]
- Chess Club
- Maths Support
- ICT club
- Games Club (Launched 2011)
- English Club (Launched 2010)
- Boys Rugby
- Boys Football
- Boys Hockey
- Tennis
- Girls Hockey
- Golf
- Band & Orchestra[8]
- Boy's Choir[9]
- Junior Choir[10]
- Senior Choir[11]
- Junior Brass Group[12]
- Senior Brass Group[13]
- Woodwind Group[14]
- String Trio[15]
- Duke of Edinburgh Gold
- Debating Society
[edit] Former Activities
- German Club (German is no longer taught at Wellington and ran as a club until June 2011)
- WCB Summer Sports Academy (Launched for Summer 2011)
- Duke of Edinburgh Bronze
- Duke of Edinburgh Silver (Discontinued 2011)
- Girls Football
[edit] Awards
- 2005 International School Award [16]
- The school KLQ team won the Kids' Lit Quiz in 2007 at the world final in Oxford.[17]
- 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 received an award for raising money and providing donations of items to Haiti after the earthquake.
[edit] BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition
[edit] 2011
- Highly Commended Award
- Eco Award
[edit] 2012
- Highly Commended Award (Snail slime and muscle power-the secret of their success)
[edit] 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 travelled to London on March 21 2011 for the competition, getting the chance to meet Ainsley Harriott and Brian Turner.[18]
[edit] 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.[19]
[edit] BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition
[edit] 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
Front Row: Jordan Knocker, Christopher Lynn]] Christopher Lynn, Jordan Knocker and Mitchell McKee were in 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 was unable 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 school foyer from January 2011 to April 2011, after which it was placed safely in storage. The exhibition was re-displayed in Science Lab 102 in August 2011. It will be displayed in the Science corridor as planned.
[edit] 2012
- Highly Commended Award (Snail slime and muscle power-the secret of their success)
Pupils involved:
- Hali Sharpe (All washed up)
- Courtney Henderson-Storey (All washed up)
- Rachel Gardiner (All washed up)
- Sarah Jackson (Changes in diversity and population size of woodlice species following disturbance)
- Chelsea Anderson (Changes in diversity and population size of woodlice species following disturbance)
- Evelyn Salt (Remembering what we forget)
- Gemma Hawthorne (Remembering what we forget)
- Erin (Remembering what we forget)
- Amy McNamara (Snail slime and muscle power-the secret of their success)
- Olivia McCulla (Snail slime and muscle power-the secret of their success)
- Amy Flanagan (Snail slime and muscle power-the secret of their success)
Teachers involved:
- Yvonne Johnston (Head of Science)
- David Cardwell
In May 2011, Science Club members were given a new leaflet on the upcoming 2012 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Yvonne Johnston would like the event to go ahead and several pupils showed interest. Four out of five groups got through to the Final in January 2012. One group out of the four won an award, a Highly Commended award. On 17 January 2012, Lynn said he is likely to return after mentioning a project to Yvonne Johnston. "Snail slime and muscle power-the secret of their success", "Changes in diversity and population size of woodlice species following disturbance", "All washed up" and "Remembering what we forget" were the 4 projects that got through to the Final. [22]
[edit] 2013
The School is now preparing for the 2013 competition. Christopher Lynn is rumoured to return to the competition with another Social and Behavioural Science project.
[edit] Notable Former Pupils
- Ryan McKee (Hand Picked by Disney PIXAR)
[edit] References
- ^ Aims | Wellington College
- ^ 20 statements about the college | Wellington College
- ^ Hussars
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/index.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/su.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/science-club.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/art-club.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/band---orchestra.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/boys-choir.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/junior-choir.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/senior-choir.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/junior-brass-group.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/senior-brass-group.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/woodwind-groups.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/extra-curricular/music/extra-curricular/string.php
- ^ http://www.globalgateway.org.uk/pdf/Full%202005.pdf
- ^ KLQ 2007
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/future-chef-2011.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/index.php
- ^ http://www.wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/galleries/events/bt-young-scientist-competition-2010.php
- ^ http://www.btyoungscientist.com/
- ^ http://www.btyoungscientist.com/downloads/2012-qualified-all.pdf
[edit] External links
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