From the Headmaster’s Study
The Lent term is finishing in some style with a plethora of wonderful events for pupils, parents and staff to enjoy. Last week we enjoyed a wonderful music evening for our middle and senior school pupils, which, aside from showcasing the talent of our brilliant pupils, also highlighted the inclusivity at Wellesley, evidenced by the diversity of the performances on show – for which my thanks go to our team of staff. On Saturday, we headed to Denne Hill for the first time in 3 years. Of course the fun and frolics of a good hard race was enjoyable, however, it was the opportunity for our community to be together, thanks to the superb generosity and hosting of the Loder-Symonds family, that was and always has been the main purpose of the event. These such days are a great reminder of the importance of the wider Wellesley community – with the Loder-Symonds family being former Wellesley parents and great supporters of our school. I feel so fortunate to lead a school with such a strong sense of community.
Gavin Franklin
SAVE THE DATE – SATURDAY 11TH JUNE – FAMILY & FRIENDS BARN DANCE
The Friends of Wellesley are holding a Barn Dance next term on Saturday 11th June. Please save the date for this event, dig out your cowboy boots and start practising your reeling. More details to follow at the beginning of next term.
School Last Week
Wellesley Haddon Dene Music Evening
On Friday evening, in front of a packed Old Hall, we hosted our Middle and Senior School music evening. It was an evening of great entertainment, with members of the audience wowed by the talent and diversity on show. Following a rousing trumpet rendition of the National Anthem, during which we were all upstanding, the show started with a superb debut performance from our newly formed orchestra and concluded with a stunning vocal performance from the choir. In between, there were drums, trumpet, violin, harp, guitar, piano and a thumping DJ set. Our congratulations go to all performers and thanks to Mr Barnes, Ms Greig, Mrs Spencer and our team of peripatetic music teachers for making music at Wellesley so inspiring.
Denne Hill Cross Country
On Saturday afternoon in bright sunshine, all pupils from Block 4 upwards headed to Denne Hill for the first time in 3 years. After an energetic and professional warm up led by our Director of Sport Mr Boyne, the race began with the sound of Mr Spencer’s starting gun. The middle and senior school pupils had been joined by some ultra keen Junior House pupils who were desperate to take part too. Whilst many treated it very much as a “race” some of the pupils were content to take in the beautiful surrounds and environs of the Denne Hill estate during a gentle jog or brisk walk. Following the run, which had been superbly supported by a huge number of parents, we descended on the barn where all enjoyed sandwiches, tea and cakes courtesy of our brilliant team of Block 1 parents. The parents also enjoyed some sloe gin courtesy of our wonderfully gracious and generous hosts, Caroline and Sacha Loder-Symonds. We were absolutely delighted that Mrs Loder-Symonds presented the Denne Hill trophy to the winning set: the Saxons. Thank you to everyone who was able to come to support, to the Block 1 parents who provided and served the teas afterwards, and of course to the Loder-Symonds family for hosting us so warmly.
Rowland Constantine IAPS General Knowledge Competition
Our General Knowledge team enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of challenging questions at King’s Rochester last Monday and represented the school with real pride, and no less intelligence. Indeed, they performed so well that Wellesley are through to the next round of the IAPS competition. Very well done to Margot Grand (Block 1), Raf Cable (Block 2), Freya Ralph (Block 3) and Septimus Oduwole (Block 4).
Sunday Trip
The boarders enjoyed a super sunny trip to Deal castle on Sunday afternoon. A stone throwing/ bouncing competition into the rolling waves on the beach was another highlight of the day.
British Science Week
It’s been a busy week in the science department! Take a look at this video to see what we have been up to.
Pre Prep
Thank you to all parents, friends and grandparents who supported the Junior House and JL poetry competition. It was a fantastic event, sensitively adjudicated by Mr B-V. All the children should be commended on their courage and the enjoyment they all showed in performing.
Last Friday we welcomed prospective families to our last Stay and Play session of the term. All the children enjoyed spring activities and an Easter egg hunt.
Upcoming events
Wednesday 23rd March – 11.45am whole school easter egg hunt
School This Week
Mark Reading
The third industry marks of term have been given and the Set standings will be announced in Final Assembly on Wednesday.
Wellesley Challenge
We very much look forward to the finals of the Wellesley Challenge taking place in the Old Hall on Tuesday afternoon, hosted by Mr Hallam and Mr Latteur. Good luck to all involved – fingers on buzzers!!!
Photography Competition
Ampleforth College is running a junior photography competition for years 5 to 7. The theme this year is ‘WORK’ and you are invited to interpret this any way you like.
The rules:
1 JPEG entry per pupil.
Please take the photograph yourself.
Be sure the quality of the image is good; be conscious of the focus and composition of your subject within the frame.
Do not over edit it in Photoshop or similar.
If you would like to enter please email a copy of your image to Mr Parfitt after the holidays, you could win a £50 gift voucher!
The Wellesley Haddon Dene BIG History Competition
Mr Kearns is holding a History Competition for ALL of Wellesley Haddon Dene School which will cover a variety of skills and age groups. Entry is completely voluntary. Click here to learn more.
Easter Egg Hunt
The Friends of Wellesley have kindly donated Easter eggs for all the children in the school and we are thoroughly looking forward to hunting for them all together on the last morning of term.
Park Run
It’s great to hear that many of our pupils are completing junior and in some cases senior Parkruns. If you are running them, don’t forget you can put Wellesley Haddon Dene down as your running club. We can then see where you are all running. If you have never run a Parkrun but Denne Hill has inspired you it’s a free event for all ages. Mr Waldie will be looking to see who is running over Easter and would love to see some new names and locations. Happy running.
Atom Learning
Atom Learning has a programme of events for Free Live Lessons running from the 28th of March to the 14th of April. Please click here to learn more.
Exeat arrangements for the summer term
Please note that on Exeat Fridays next term, pre-prep pick up will be at 3.30pm and for middle and senior school, it will be at 4.40pm. All of these dates are outlined in our google calendar.
End of term arrangements – Wednesday 23rd March
Pre-prep children can be collected from Junior House at 1pm and pupils in Years 4 to 8 will be ready for collection at 1.30pm from the usual pick-up points.
Full and weekly boarders will return to school on the evening of Wednesday 20th April. Mrs Spencer will send separate details to individual families about return times and arrangements.
Day children return to school at 8.20am on Thursday 21st April.
Wishing everyone a very happy Easter holiday.
Matches This Week
Tuesday, 22nd March
Rugby v Sunningdale: 1st XIII (h) 11am
Please always refer to the website calendar as it is the most up-to-date place to check for fixture changes and locations.
If your child has been selected for a fixture, we will email you each Tuesday morning with information regarding the recommended pick up time from Wellesley.
Matches Last Week
| Fixture | Result |
Maylam Cup – Hockey | Pool Z – 3rd |
Squash v Tonbridge: 1st VI | Won 3-2 |
Rugby v Dover College: U11 | Won 7-3 |
Netball v Duke of York: U13 | Drew 14-14 |
Netball v Duke of York: U12 | Lost 21-13 |
Netball v Dover College & Northbourne: U10/U9 | Won 5-4 Won 5-2 |