Wellington College, Belfast
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Wellington College Belfast (better known as Wellington College or WCB) is a
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
,
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
located in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. The most recent principal is David Castles. The school was formed when, in 1989, the all-boys'
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. In 1990, Annadale Grammar School (all boys) amalgamated with Carolan Grammar School (all girl ...
and the all-girls' Carolan Grammar School merged to become a single


History

Wellington College was founded in 1989 after Annadale Boys and Carolan Girls merged. The school is named after
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
. The school moved to its current location on Carolan Road in 2002, which included 2 new rugby pitches, a gravel pitch, an astro pitch and a running track. In 2002 the new school buildings were officially opened by
Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
who met staff and pupils and had lunch with the Head Girls and Boys.


Principals


Uniform

The Wellington
blazer A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...
takes its blue colour from that of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
during the 19th century which was the
uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...
worn by the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
during his service. The sports kit for Wellington was changed in May 2011.


Extracurricular activities

Wellington offers a number of extracurricular activities 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) Activities include; *Scripture Union *Science Club *Art Club *Concert Band *Boy's Choir *Junior Choir *Senior Choir *Junior Brass Group *Senior Brass Group *Woodwind Group *String Trio *School Council *Senior Chess Club *Senior Photography Club *Drama Club *Rugby Team *Hockey Team


Awards

* 2005
International School Award The International School Award is a British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the Un ...
* The school KLQ team won the
Kids' Lit Quiz The Kids' Lit Quiz is an annual literature competition, in which teams of four students, aged 10 to 14, work together to answer wide-ranging literary questions. The winning team from each region competes in the national final. The winner of the n ...
in 2007 at the world final in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. *Wellington received an award for raising money and providing donations of items to
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
after the earthquake. *In 2012, three pupils in Year 11 won the Northern Irish Regional heat of the WorldWise Geography quiz and then became runners up the next year. The team consisted of Jack Taylor (captain), Adam Callender and Marc Thompson.


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 21 March 2011 for the competition, getting the chance to meet
Ainsley Harriott Ainsley Denzil Dubriel Harriott (born 28 February 1957) is an English chef and television presenter. He is known for his BBC cooking game shows ''Can't Cook, Won't Cook'' and ''Ready Steady Cook''. Early life Harriott was born in Paddingto ...
and Brian Turner.


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. 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 at that time, stated that everyone at the college is absolutely delighted by Dale's achievement. Mr Cantley, who taught Dale since third year, stated that Dale is a truly remarkable young mathematician, having obtained an A* in
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
Mathematics at only 14, an A* in both GCSE Additional Mathematics and
A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
Mathematics at 15 and first place in the 2010 Northern Ireland GCSE Additional Mathematics examination.


Notable former pupils


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Grammar schools in Belfast Kids' Lit Quiz winners Education in Belfast Secondary schools in Belfast Educational institutions established in 1990 1990 establishments in Northern Ireland