From the Headmaster’s Study
We were delighted to welcome back more pupils for this final week of term, whilst not forgetting those who can’t be with us at present, who continue with Wellesley Online until the end of term. Our thoughts this week are very much with our leaving pupils and their families – whether from China, Spain or slightly closer to Wellesley, we are thinking of you all and thank you for your incredible commitment and support of our great school. We very much look forward to your children – wherever they are in the world – remaining connected with us as part of the quite fantastic Old Welleslian community.
I very much hope that all Wellesley families (and extended members of the Wellesley community!) will tune in to watch our Virtual Speech Day 2020 on Wednesday afternoon. The event will be accessible from 1730 and you will be sent a link and details of how to access all of the material. You will be able to enjoy a review of the year across a range of areas, listen to speeches from the Headmaster, Chairman of Governors and our guest speaker, Mr John Claughton. More information about John can be found here. You will also have access to watching the annual prizes being announced. We look forward to “seeing” you all on Wednesday afternoon at 1730!
Gavin Franklin
Independent Schools of the Year Shortlist
We are delighted to be shortlisted for the prestigious Independent School Of The Year 2020 awards in the “Pre-prep” category within our first year of opening. The finalists will be announced in September and the winners in October. We will keep you all informed!
Digital Open Day
We have put together a Digital Open Day Pack for prospective parents. It includes a video introduction to the school, a link to our virtual prospectus and an invitation to a virtual meeting with our Headmaster. If you know anyone who may be interested in the school, please ask them to email: admissions@wellesleyhouse.net.
Virtual Speech Day
Sadly, we will be unable to meet physically as a full school community by the end of this term, so we are currently putting together a Virtual Speech Day that all families (and extended families) will be able to enjoy and access together at the end of term. It is very important to us that our Leavers and pupils can be recognised in this way. The Virtual Speech Day will be made available on Wednesday 1st July at 5.30pm. The idea will be for pupils, siblings and parents to watch the (pre-recorded) Speech Day at the same time as other families from the luxury of their own homes.
Please look out for an email on Wednesday afternoon with instructions on how to watch the Speech Day.
Old Welleslian News
We are delighted to report that 3 Old Welleslians have been appointed Heads / Captains of their Senior Schools for September.
| Zuha Animashaun | Uppingham | |
| Daisy Rex | The King’s School, Canterbury | |
| Demilade Adedoyin-Adeyinka | Charterhouse |
Head of Music and Superstar DJ
 | Our Head of Music, Mr Barnes has been recently featured in a local publication, The Thanet Tribune. The article is on DJ’s with day jobs and Mr Barnes has a whole page to himself. It talks about his illustrious DJ career as well as his passion and love for inspiring and teaching music to our Wellesley Haddon Dene pupils. The article showcases Wellesley as a school that can marry a long history with a modern outlook. |
School Last week
Early Years Bubble
The children in the Early Years bubble have enjoyed working with Mr Waldie to create a Bug Hotel. As well as going on a bug hunt around school, they have helped build the bug hotel, using an assortment of tools. The children have also enjoyed learning about symmetry with Mrs Franklin and have created some super ladybirds.
School This Week
Music on Monday
Music on Monday was provided by Heath Voisey-Stovell (Block 4) who played Cochise by Audioslave on the Drums. Well done, Heath.
Mr and Mrs Nichol | |
| After 34 years at Wellesley Haddon Dene we say Goodbye to Mr and Mrs Nichol this week. They have served Wellesley with great distinction and the utmost loyalty and they will be hugely missed by the whole community. We wish them much health and happiness in their well deserved retirement. |
The Wellesley Voice
Social distancing has not held back our team of intrepid reporters. The latest edition of ‘The Wellesley Voice’ goes live on the website today. Highlights include an interview with the esteemed Mr Nichol, a cookery demonstration and recipes from our resident chef, and our new feature, ‘Film of the Week’. I’m pleased to add that distance and time difference have not deterred Steven from offering solutions to your problems, for the final time.
Well done to all those involved, and huge thanks to Mr Martin who has transformed our old pre-Covid paper print format into a shiny new web edition, and made the whole endeavour look easy! Click here to take a look.
Housekeeping
On Wednesday evening, Mrs Baird will be collating all of the day pupils’ belongings from the classrooms, in order for them to be taken home on Thursday. For those children who are in school, they will have their belongings delivered to their bubble on Thursday morning. For those children who are not in school, we will email parents if there are belongings to collect. We will be operating a Wellesley drive-through pick-up service between 11am and 11.30am on Thursday morning. Your child’s named bag will be ready to collect outside the cold corridor.
Additional Information and Events
Social Media
As we cannot see you in person at the moment, we want you to be aware of much of the fun activity that is taking place within our community. A snapshot of this is communicated through our social media channels facebook, twitter and instagram. Do please follow us and share these links with your families should you wish and we hope that you enjoy some of the footage and information!
Senior School Virtual Open Days
Parents with children in Year 4 upwards may be interested in accessing the following virtual Senior School Open Mornings:
Harrow School – is hosting weekly live Q&A sessions. Dr Sie, Registrar will be virtually meeting with prospective parents each Tuesday afternoon. The sessions start at 2pm and last for half an hour. No need to register, please just click here.
Sevenoaks School – Mrs Arabella Stuart, Director of Admissions, is hosting online presentations every Wednesday at 1pm (UK time).
Tonbridge is offering virtual tours with online Meet the Headmaster sessions where you will hear from Mr James Priory and have the opportunity to ask questions. Please visit their website for booking information.
Wellington College – Mr Ed Venables, Director of Admissions is available for daily question and answer sessions. Further Virtual Visitor Days are being scheduled – please see their website for further details..
Please visit the appropriate website and ensure you book in advance to avoid disappointment.
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.