Wellesley Weekly

2nd July 2018

From the Headmaster's Study

As the term draws to a close, the pupils (and staff) seem to be as busy as ever, as you will see from the content in this edition. It is also an opportunity for me to recognise and thank the staff for all of their “extra” efforts in supporting pupils through trips, camps, excursions and the like. The role of a teacher at a school like Wellesley is multi-faceted, and I feel very fortunate to have such a committed, not to mention talented, group of teachers.

It has been an incredibly full and successful year, and as I stated at Speech Day, there have been many, many individual successes of which our pupils can be really proud. Everyone has played their part. When it comes, we wish you all a wonderful Summer holiday.

Gavin Franklin


School Last Week

Leavers’ Activity Programme

The activities for the leavers continued on Monday with an outing to SOAR Trampoline Park in Gillingham for dodgeball in the morning and then a walk from Ramsgate to Broadstairs in the afternoon. Various sporting fixtures took place during the week and on Friday morning they took part in the ‘Big Beach Clean’ at Botany Bay; the afternoon was then taken up with the Falconry Experience postponed from the previous week.

Tennis

Congratulations to the boys’ tennis team, who are champions of the Under 13 Boys Division 2 Kent League after competing against several other teams in the play-offs on Tuesday at Polo Farm. Team: Inigo Pullen, Agostino Rocca, Byron Matthews, Raul Forsythe-Artiga.

Set Shout

The Set Shout took place on Tuesday, with rehearsals concentrated into the morning and the competition taking place in the afternoon. The standard was excellent, with Danes deemed as winners for their performance of Rebecca Lawrence’s' 'The Power In Me'. Thank you to Mrs Louise Martine for judging the competition; Danes will be heard singing their song at the End of Term Concert.

Art Trip to London

Our top artists travelled to London with Miss Beaumont and Mrs Nichol on Thursday to spend the day at the Tate Modern, where they saw the ‘Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy’ exhibition.


Junior House French Soirée

What a marvellous evening this was. The children sang beautifully and the parents' French was tested by ‘Tête, épaules, genoux, pieds’. An especially big thank you to the Catering Team for all their work: among the fare provided were French bread, cheese and paté, accompanied by Gallic wines.

Cricket at Lord’s

Several members of the 1st XI enjoyed a day at Lord’s on Saturday for the One Day Cup Final. Although Kent were unsuccessful, they were able to admire the talent of Old Welleslian and former Kent captain Sam Northeast, who played a significant part in Hampshire’s win with his score of 75 not out.

Block 3 Camping

The Block 3 children were away from school from Thursday until Saturday for the annual camping trip. The campers were set the tasks of erecting their own tents and gathering fire wood; they also took in activities such as skinning rabbits, and went for a long walk to Reculver. The evenings were spent around the camp-fire roasting marshmallows, singing songs and telling ghost stories. Particular thanks to Joe Dawson’s parents for hosting the campers and to Mr Kearns, Miss Wallace and Mr Longdon for running the trip.

Leavers’ Service

We had a very memorable Leavers' Service on Sunday. The leavers selected their favourite hymns and sang them for the last time as pupils of Wellesley House. Mrs. Jane Ashton, an ex-governor of the school, a parent of four Old Welleslians and a former Chaplain of Benenden School, spoke to the leavers, and it was an emotional service for all.

School This Week

Cricket Quadrangular

The 1st XI play in the annual Cricket Quadrangular, also involving Cheam, Elstree and Ludgrove schools, on Monday. This event is hosted on a rotating basis, and this year it is our turn to welcome the other three schools. The weather forecast is most promising and we look forward to an excellent day’s cricket.

Team of the Week

The final ‘Team of the Week’ for this school year are the boys in the U13 Tennis team, for their achievement in winning their league in the play-offs last week.

Leavers’ Activity Programme

The final activities for the leavers take place across the week. On Monday, those not involved in the cricket festival or the choir outing will be taking part in a coastal walk from St Margaret's at Cliffe to Sandwich. On Tuesday evening some of last year's leavers will be talking about their own experience of the transition from Prep School to Public School. The traditional Leavers' Dinner takes place on Thursday evening and the week, and their time at Wellesley, draws to a conclusion with lunch accompanied by parents and staff on Friday, following their performance of the Leavers' Song at the End of Term Concert.

Athletics

Good luck to Toni Alaka, Gigi Dunbar Johnson and Harry Heming, who are taking part in the National Prep Schools Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Tuesday. Toni and Harry will compete in the 200 metres in the Under 13 and Under 12 age groups respectively, while Gigi will be going for honours in the Under 13 200 metres and 75 metres hurdles.

Block 4 Trip to France

Members of Block 4 depart early on Tuesday morning to spend the day in Calais with Mr Latteur and Mme Laurans. Bon voyage!

Swimming Sports

The annual Swimming Sports will take place on Thursday morning. The early start will allow the winners of the Set Competition for the whole year to celebrate with a barbecue at lunchtime. When not themselves swimming, competitors will be supporting (noisily) from poolside. All parents are very welcome to spectate. Races begin at 10.00 am.

End of Term

The final event of the school year for most of the children is the End of Term Concert, which takes place on Friday in the Sports Hall, starting at 11.00 am. All parents are very welcome to attend. Term ends at 12.30pm on Friday for all except Block 1 who have their Leavers’ Lunch.

Please remember that there are no buses at the end of term on Friday.

We wish everyone a relaxing, sunny summer holiday.

Galleries

Click below to view the latest collections of photographs on the school website.

Menu

This week the kitchen will be serving Menu 2.

SUMMER TERM MENU WEEK 2 2018.pdf

Matches Last Week

Monday 25th June

Cricket v Dane Court: U13 - won

Tuesday 26th June

Tennis - Division 2 Kent Play-Offs: U13 Boys - winners

Wednesday 27th June

Rounders v St. Edmund’s: U13 A - won 20 – 9.5

Rounders v St. Edmund’s: U13 B - won 13 – 11.5

Cricket v Northbourne Park: Colts A - won

Cricket v Dover College: U9 - lost

Thursday 28th June

Rounders v Sir Roger Manwood’s: U13 - won 32.5 – 14.5

Cricket v Trinity House: 1st XI - lost

Friday 29th June

Cricket v Kent College: 1st XI - won by 34 runs

Cricket v Kent College: 2nd XI - lost

Matches This Week

Please always refer to the website calendar as it is the most up-to-date place to check for fixture changes and locations.

Monday 2nd July

Cricket Quadrangular: 1st XI (h) (11.00 am start)

Tuesday 3rd July

Athletics: National Prep Schools Championships (at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham)

Wednesday 4th July

Cricket v Sunningdale: 1st XI (h) (11.00 am start)

Cricket v St. Faith’s: Colts A (h)

Thursday 28th June

Swimming Sports (10.00 am start)

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