Wellington College is a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

(English

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

day and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

) in the village of

Crowthorne Crowthorne is a large village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire, England. It had a population of 6,711 at the 2001 census, which rose to 6,902 at the 2011 census. A 2020 estimate put it at 7,808. Cr ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 and 18, per annum. The college was built as a national monument to the first

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

(1769–1852), in whose honour it is named.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

laid the foundation stone in 1856 and inaugurated the School's public opening on 29 January 1859. Many former Wellington pupils fought in the trenches during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a conflict in which 707 of them lost their lives, many volunteering for military service immediately after leaving school. A further 501 former pupils were killed in action in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The school is a member of the

Rugby Group The Rugby Group is a group of 18 British public schools. The group was formed in the 1960s as an association of major boarding schools within the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. As with the Eton Group, which was formed a few years ...

of 18 British public schools and is also a member of the

G20 Schools G30 Schools, formerly known as G20 Schools, is an informal association of secondary schools initiated by David Wylde of St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown, South Africa and Anthony Seldon of Wellington College, Berkshire, United Kingdom in 2006. A ...

group.

History

Wellington College was granted a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

in 1853 as "''The Royal and Religious Foundation of the Wellington College''", and was opened in 1859. Its first Master, which is the title of the headmaster, was Edward White Benson, who later became

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. The college's Visitor is H.M. the Queen. Originally, the school educated sons of deceased officers who had held commissions in the Army. In 1952 a Supplementary Royal Charter extended the privilege of eligibility to the orphan sons of deceased officers of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. By the 1960s, the school was considering becoming co-educational, but for some years the lack of financial resources prevented it from doing so. The first girls were admitted into the

Sixth Form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

in the 1970s, and the school became fully co-educational in 2005. A recent change to the scheme of reduced fees early in 2006 extended the privilege to the orphan children of deceased servicemen or servicewomen of His Majesty's Armed Forces irrespective of rank, and to the orphan children of persons who, in the sole opinion of the Governors, have died in acts of selfless bravery. However, only a minority of the children at the school now come from military families. On 6 September 2013, readers of ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's ed ...

'' magazine voted Wellington College "The Most Forward-Thinking School in the UK", and four days later ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' magazine chose Wellington College as the "Best Senior School in Britain", at its Schools Awards evening in London.

The Wellington Academy

Wellington has sponsored the founding of a new independent state school in Wiltshire, The Wellington Academy,The Wellington Academy.
/ref> which opened in 2009.

Wellington College International

Wellington is in partnership with

Wellington College International Tianjin Wellington College International Tianjin (天津惠灵顿国际学校) is a British international school in Hongqiao District, Tianjin. It is affiliated with Wellington College in Berkshire, England and serves students 2-18; senior school serves ...

, in the city of

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

in mainland

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, modelled on the buildings and ethos of the college, and which opened in August 2011. Wellington is also partnered with

Wellington College International Shanghai Wellington College International Shanghai is a co-educational day and boarding school with over 1,100 pupils, aged 3 to 18 years old. Wellington shares its not-for-profit status and royal foundation with its sister school, Wellington College in ...

and Huili School Shanghai in the city of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, and Wellington College International Hangzhou and Huili School Hangzhou in the city of

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

(also in mainland China), and Wellington College International Bangkok in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Architecture

The college buildings were designed by John Shaw, Jr., who had previously worked as an architect for

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. For its time, the design of the College was unusual compared to the popular form, but Prince Albert, who assisted in choosing the architect, was more interested in Shaw's classical approach, having already seen the architect's design for the old

Royal Naval School The Royal Naval School was an English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of ...

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwic ...

, London. The main buildings were designed in a style loosely termed "French Grand

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

",. The chapel, notably only half its originally intended size, was designed by

Sir Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

. There have been several modern buildings, the best of which follow Shaw's grand rococo style: for example, the new Nicholson modern foreign-languages building. The college was used as a filming location for the Netflix series ''The Crown'' as a stand-in for Kensington Palace (designed by Sir Christopher Wren) in both season 2, episode 10, and season 3, episode 10. One of the college's original mottos ''Heroum Filii'' is visible in a scene of the Queen arriving at the palace and the college's official motto, '' Virtutis Fortuna Comes'', is visible in a scene of the Queen leaving the palace.

Location

Wellington College stands on a estate in

South-East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, ...

, near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and Sandhurst. The grounds of the college include a 9-hole golf course, extensive woodland, and many playing fields, particularly those for

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. The woodland area of the college is listed as a local nature reserve called Edgbarrow Woods. The grounds also contain a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, Wellington College Bog.

Academic results

In 2019, 57% of pupils scored A*-A for their A-Levels examination, whereas 83% scored A*-A for their GCSEs. The school had an average IB score of 40.2.

Masters of Wellington College

Former pupils

* Historian

P. J. Marshall Peter James Marshall (born 1933 in Calcutta) is a British historian known for his work on the British Empire, particularly the activities of British East India Company servants in 18th-century Bengal, and also the history of British involvemen ...

* Field marshal Sir

Claude Auchinleck Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Army commander during the Second World War. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he rose to become Commander ...

* Field marshal Sir Geoffrey Baker * Military historian Sir

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

* Clergyman and author David Watson * Architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw * Impressionist

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...

* Pakistani politician

Hammad Azhar Muhammad Hammad Azhar () is a Pakistani politician from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He was elected from NA-126 (Lahore-IV) in 2018 Pakistani general election and remained a member of National Assembly of Pakistan between August 2018 to April 202 ...

* Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge * Theravāda Buddhist monk

Ñāṇavīra Thera Ñāṇavīra Thera (born Harold Edward Musson; 5 January 1920 – 5 July 1965) was an English Theravāda Buddhist monk, ordained in 1950 in Sri Lanka. He is known as the author of ''Notes on Dhamma'', which were later published by Path Pres ...

(born Harold Edward Musson) * Author

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

* Language school pioneer

John Haycraft John Stacpoole Haycraft (11 December 1926 – 23 May 1996) was an English language teacher and author who founded the International House World Organisation, which has shaped the evolution of the profession of English language teaching (ELT) ...

* Political journalist

Robin Oakley Robin Francis Leigh Oakley, OBE (born 20 August 1941) is a British journalist from Kidderminster in Worcestershire. From 2000 to 2008 he was European Political Editor at CNN International. From 1992 to 2000 he was Political Editor at the BBC ...

* Actor Sir

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

* Liberal politician George Ferguson who became the first elected

Mayor of Bristol The Mayor of Bristol is the head of government of Bristol and the chief executive of the Bristol City Council. The mayor is a directly elected politician who, along with the 70 members of Bristol City Council, is responsible for the strategic ...

(2012–2016) * Writer George Orwell (Easter Term 1917 only, in May 1917 he became a

King's Scholar A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's School ...

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

) * Poet

Gavin Ewart Gavin Buchanan Ewart FRSL (4 February 1916 – 23 October 1995) was a British poet who contributed to Geoffrey Grigson's ''New Verse'' at the age of seventeen. Life Ewart was born in London and educated at Wellington College, before entering ...

* Composer John Gardner * World champion

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

driver

James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...

*Rugby union player and first-class cricketer Simon Clarke * Former

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...

Lord Strathclyde * Journalist and television presenter,

Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its la ...

* The UK ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'' winner

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...

* ''Revenge'' actor

Josh Bowman Joshua Tobias Bowman (born 4 March 1988) is an English actor best known for his role as Daniel Grayson in ABC's ''Revenge''. Early life Bowman was born in Berkshire on 4 March 1988. He was educated at the Wellington College boarding school. H ...

BRIT Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

-nominated singer,

Nerina Pallot Nerina Natasha Georgina Pallot (born 26 April 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and producer, who has released six albums and over a dozen EPs. She was nominated for British Female Solo Artist at the 2007 BRIT Awards and nominated for an I ...

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

players,

James Haskell James Andrew Welbon Haskell (born 2 April 1985) is an English former rugby union player who played for Wasps RFC and Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership, and internationally for England. In August 2019 he announced he would become a ...

and the brothers Max and

Thom Evans Thom Evans (born 2 April 1985) is a Scottish former international rugby union player and model. He last played on the wing for Glasgow Warriors in the Celtic League. Evans's rugby career ended aged 24 on his tenth appearance for Scotland when ...

*Actor

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

*Actress Caggie Dunlop *Actress

Elize du Toit Elize du Toit (born 21 February 1980) is a South African-born English actress best known for playing the role of Izzy Davies in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2000 to 2004, with a brief return in 2007. Early life Elize du Toit was ...

*Actress

Ellie Bamber Eleanor Elizabeth Bamber (born 2 February 1997) is an English actress. She won third prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 2017 performance in ''The Lady from the Sea'' at the Donmar Warehouse. On television, she is known for her roles in th ...

*Olympic athlete

Morgan Lake Morgan Lake (born 12 May 1997) is a British track and field athlete, specialising in heptathlon and the high jump. She is the 2014 World Junior champion in heptathlon and high jump, and the 2015 European Junior champion in high jump. Lake broke ...

Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne, (8 May 1895 – 23 February 1939) was a British peer and soldier, the son of the 4th Baron Brabourne. Early life Born on 8 May 1895 to Cecil Knatchbull-Hugessen, 4th Baron Brabourne, a ...

* Soros family *

Getty family The Getty family of the United States identify with George Franklin Getty and his son Jean Paul Getty as their patriarchs. In the 20th century they were heavily involved in the petroleum industry. The Getty family is of Scots-Irish ancestry f ...

* de Betak family * de Givenchy family *

Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein Prince Christian Victor Albert Louis Ernst Anton of Schleswig-Holstein (14 April 1867 – 29 October 1900) was a member of the British royal family. He was the eldest son of Princess Helena, third daughter of Queen Victoria. Early life Pri ...

* Prince Maurice of Battenberg * Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke * Count Nikolai Tolstoy *

Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλέξιος; born 29 October 1998) is a member of the non-reigning Greek royal family, the eldest son and second child of Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess ...

Prince Achileas-Andreas of Greece and Denmark Prince Achileas-Andreas of Greece and Denmark ( el, Αχιλλέας Ανδρέας, born 12 August 2000) is a member of the non-reigning Greek royal family and the extended Danish royal family. He is the second son and third child of Crown Pri ...

* Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark *

Patrick Head Sir Patrick Michael Head (born 5 June 1946) is a British motorsport executive who is the co-founder and former Engineering Director of the Williams Formula One team. For 27 years from Head was technical director at Williams Grand Prix Engineer ...

, Formula One Engineer

Sport

Wellington College was one of the 21 founding members of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

, and pupils at the school have historically played schoolboy

to the highest standard. In 2008, the College became the first school to win the

Daily Mail Cup The National Schools Cup are a set of annual English schools' rugby union cup competitions, with the U18 Cup being the main competition. The finals of the Cup and Vase competitions are held at Twickenham Stadium, whilst finals for the Plate and Bow ...

at both U15 and U18 level in the same year, beating

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding scho ...

and

St Benedict's School, Ealing From The Smallest Beginnings , established = 1902 (Renamed 1948) , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , president = , head_label ...

in their respective finals at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

on 2 April 2008. In 2014/15 Wellington College 1st XV won the Rugby World School Team of the Year award, in addition to the National Rugby Awards Team of the Year Prize. A number of Old Wellingtonians play professional rugby union, including:

(England), Paul Doran-Jones (England),

Max Lahiff Max Lahiff (born 9 December 1989) is an English rugby union footballer who plays as a loosehead prop for Bristol in the Gallagher Premiership. Early life Lahiff was born in London and was educated at Papplewick School in Ascot followed b ...

(Bath Rugby), Max Evans and

(Scotland), Sam Aspland-Robinson (Harlequins), Rory Brand (London Irish),

(Bristol Bears), and

Madison Hughes Madison John Hughes (born October 26, 1992) is a rugby union player who was the captain of the United States national rugby sevens team from 2014 until he stepped away from the team in late 2021. Hughes was named captain of the United States nati ...

(USA 7s). The school has one of only around 20 racquets courts in the UK, one of 27

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

courts in the UK and until recently three

Eton Fives Eton fives, a derivative of the British game of fives, is a handball game, similar to Rugby fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any varie ...

courts, now a café bar as part of the sports club. The school has a clay pigeon shooting range on site. Wellington College has been named as number one golf college in the UK on a few occasions with wins in 2009 at St Andrews and 2012 at Carnoustie in the Independent Schools Golf Association National Finals.

Controversies

The school has been the subject of reports on bullying. In response to criticism, in 2006, it introduced 'well-being lessons' to the curriculum, in conjunction with a team at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' newspaper, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. However, Mrs Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and were unaware of the change in the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."

Houses

There are 17

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

at Wellington. The vast majority are composed of boarders with a small number of day pupils also, although two, Wellesley and Raglan, are day-pupil exclusive. Each house is either an 'in-house' or an 'out-house': in-houses are located within the main school buildings and quads while out-houses are located elsewhere on the college grounds. Each house has aspects distinguishing it from other houses, such as its own colours, insignia, and

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

(with the crest of each house being incorporated into one of each of the stained glass windows of the college chapel). Each house was named in honour of a significant figure in history, usually although not exclusively figures associated with the

. The Orange, Combermere, Hopetoun, and Anglesey were all formerly boys' houses but converted to girls' houses between 2005 and 2011.

The Old Wellingtonian Society

The Old Wellingtonian Society is the

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

society for the college and was founded in 1890. The Old Wellingtonian Society was set up to further the interests of the college and its past and present members, and to keep former pupils in touch with each other and with the school.

References

External links

Wellington College website

Old Wellingtonians Society
– alumni website
Website of Old Wellingtonian Lodge #3404

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busin ...

website
Profile
at ''

The Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

''
The Wellington Academy website

Wellington Academy International Tainjin
{{authority control 1859 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1859 Independent schools in Bracknell Forest Racquets venues Real tennis venues Round Square schools Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference International Baccalaureate schools in England Boarding schools in Berkshire Monuments and memorials in Berkshire Schools with a royal charter Grade II* listed buildings in Berkshire Cricket grounds in Berkshire