From the Headmaster’s Study

Being a pupil at Wellesley is merely the start of the journey for our boys, girls and families and we are incredibly proud of our Old Welleslian (alumni) network and community.  Indeed, apart from some fantastic current parents(!), there are some fascinating people who have attended Wellesley Haddon Dene and St Peter’s Court – you may well be interested to scan this list to see some prominent OWs in the fields of art, politics, music and sport.

In July 2021 on the final day of term, our outgoing leaving families presented our school with their incredibly thoughtful and generous leaving gift.  We were given a baby oak tree with the poignant inscription “great oaks from little acorns grow”.  I am delighted to say that this Quercus Robur is now firmly in situ in the heart of the squarabout.  Aside from the environmental benefits of planting this tree, the baby oak signifies life, growth and hope and is a wonderful memory of the Welleslians who are flourishing in life beyond our grounds and corridors.  Please do take time to check this out when you are next visiting.   

Gavin Franklin

JDRM Gavin Portraits-2

Kent Teacher of the Year Awards 2022 – breaking news!

We are delighted to report that our immensely popular kitchen assistant, Efren Alegre, has been selected as a WINNER for the Kent Teacher of the Year Awards 2022. These awards “recognise the contribution teaching, support staff and volunteers make to a successful school or college”. Efren was nominated by a current Wellesley parent, with a supporting reference from the Headmaster, and will receive his award at a presentation ceremony and sit-down meal on Friday 20th May at the Ashford International Hotel. It is just rewards for Efren who is loved by all in our community not just for his dedication and commitment to his job but for his passion, warmth and kindness to all pupils, staff and parents. There could not have been a more deserved winner. Well done, Efren!

Northforeland Junior Golf Academy

Aside from our current and historical links with the world renowned Royal St George’s Golf Club, Wellesley are extremely fortunate to have a blossoming relationship with a superb nearby course – Northforeland Golf Club. As such, we are delighted to provide details of their Junior Golfing academy which may be of interest to some of our younger families.

Foreland Falcons

Girls’GolfRocks

 

Cricket recognition for Wellesley Haddon Dene

As we begin the cricket season, we are delighted that, once again, Wellesley Haddon Dene has been included in the “Top 50 cricketing prep schools in the UK”.  Whilst we remain proud of our cricket heritage that includes former England captains and current professionals, we are firmly focused on providing great cricketing experiences for our current boys and girls – with the recent cricketing progress of our girls being a specific highlight for us.  
 

If you would like to see a full copy of the Cricketer Schools’ Guide 2022, this can be found here.

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

6 of the Best

Six of the best for the summer term is this intricate and beautifully composed black and white collage. It has been made following the principles of Japanese ‘Notan’ design which, in a nutshell, is the balance between light and dark areas in an image. The student who made this always applies herself with determination and an open mind to any task she has been set and has consistently produced work of an exceptional standard in a wide variety of materials. She is a regular at the art extension group and it was there that this picture was made. She has a very bright future in the subject, congratulations to Grace Flowers.

 

History Shield Winners

At the beginning of this term I finally managed to finish painting the shields bought by the Friends of Wellesley. The design of each shield was subject to a competition between the children. The winning designs were from (and pictured from left to right in order) Melody Flowers, Carlos Deniz, Matthew McBride, Idris Sheppard and Stan Shoring. Well done to all who took part.
Just to remind everyone that I am holding another history competition this term, details of which are up on the notice boards.
Mr Kearns

Pre Prep

It was super to welcome all 45 children (new and old) to our Junior House last week. Nursery are excited to begin their traditional tales topic with a focus on knights and castles. As part of their new topic ‘growing’, the children in JK have already begun preparing the raised beds ready for seed planting this week. Form JB have begun reading Stig of the Dump and they loved spending time in the Forest School area where a wonderful new hideout has appeared. Very special thanks to Shaun, Mick and Jon in our maintenance team who have created such a spectacular structure for the children. The children got straight into cricket sessions, Stagecoach and tennis sessions with Mr Boyne. It is so lovely to be able to be outside so much taking advantage of our stimulating and inspiring environment.

Menus

We now include all 3 menus for you to see in the table below.  This week the kitchen will be serving menu week 2.

Pre-prep menu

Menu 1.

Menu 2

Menu 3

School This Week

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.

Exeat arrangements for the summer term

Please note that on Exeat Fridays for this Summer 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.

Menu

We now include all 3 menus for you to see in the table below.  This week the kitchen will be serving menu week 2.

Prep menu

Menu 1

Menu 2

Menu 3

Matches This Week

Wednesday, 27th April

Cricket v SLC: 1st XI (h)
Cricket v SLC: 2nd XI (a)
Cricket v SLC: U13 Girls (h)
Cricket v St Faiths: U11 A Mixed (a)
Cricket v St Faiths: U11 B Mixed (a)

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.

 

No Matches Last Week

FixtureResult

 

 

 

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