Wellington College Yearbook 2010/2011 | Page 10

the wellington college year book 2010/2011 Future so, in tune with our founding mission. I ask all of you to give to these causes if you feel able to support us. I think Wellington is doing powerfully well at the moment. Thanks to you, the parents, and thanks to our teachers, colleagues, governors, and students, We have every reason to be proud, but we have no desire to be complacent. We drive on from here and these fresh buildings and more bursaries will help us achieve our mission educationally and morally. By Waterloo Day 2015, our aim is to become the twentieth school in the country academically, everyone maximising their Eight Aptitudes, sixth in the country at sport, fifth for music and the arts, and first for innovation and first for service. If we take those together, they spell out the following date: 18.6.2015. On that 200th anniversary, we are going to have the most enormous party and I want you all to be there ! Dr Anthony Seldon aspirational aptitudes the bursar’s review g lo ica ling l uis ti c The Outer Self l cul tu ra l Intellectual Interpreting the World cia The Body The Individual spir itu y ph al Eve of Speech Day Concert ral W ellington has seen a tremendous change over the last five years. Pupil numbers have grown by over 50%; the College has gone fully co-educational; results and reputation have soared and the Wellington family of schools has been founded. All of this is being achieved within a framework model of human development called the ‘Eight Aptitudes’. Depicted diagrammatically here, this essentially reflects a view that the areas of development for a child can be helpfully categorised into eight different areas and that unless each area is developed and flourishes to some disagree, the individual won’t flourish to their full potential. Looking Inside The Inner Self al Seeing the World on sic al well-being pers At Wellington itself, we will be opening our new library this year, and Selangor Court, which will double the size of the v&a. Between the Chapel and the Theatre, we will be opening the new Mandarin Centre, a wonderful resource for the school. In Combermere Quad, we are appealing for funds for a statue of the head of Copenhagen, sculpted by parent Nic Fiddian-Green, whose horses heads are also to be found at Ascot and at Marble Arch. We will also be appealing for funds for a new running track on Rockies, where we will all be seeing half an hour of athletics finals this afternoon from 2.30 until 3.00 p.m., just before the Field Gun Run. Further ahead, within the next two years we hope to extend and cover the amphitheatre to create a theatre and an assembly hall to seat all 1,000 students. We launch today also the Prince Albert Bursary Fund, to raise money, by houses and centrally, for children to attend Wellington, who would not otherwise be able to do so I want to look ahead in the final part of my address. We are seeking to make Wellington the most innovative school in the country, and the most inspiring for its students. Reconnecting with the spirit of our foundation is vital in this process, which is why I am so thrilled that Wellington Academy has now been opened in its new buildings by Lord Adonis. Two weeks ago, Michael Gove was speaking at Wellington Academy. Wellington students will have regular opportunities to visit the Academy, and within five years I would like all of them to visit Wellington in China or in the other branches that we hope to open in the bric countries and beyond. David Cook, headmaster of Wellington Tianjin, has flown in, and has a short message for us today. While he is talking, you will see some fresh images of Tianjin, beginning with an aerial shot taken last month of the campus, of the buildings being opened by Prince Andrew. 11 mo 10 the wellington college year book 2010/2011 So how does this find concrete expression in what has gone on and is planned for the next few years ? In terms of physical chan ges, the College has built a new Modern Languages centre, focused clearly on the linguistic aptitude. We have opened a social area called the v&a, used by pupils and staff and visitors, right at the heart of College. This is often used to display cultural artefacts such as paintings and sculpture created by the pupils. Building works start in Summer 2011 to transform the under-used Library into a space that, using digital media, will bring to life the power of the internet and new technologies for learning and collaboration. We would like to be able to transform the Quad between these two spaces, and the Chapel, to create an area that encourages peaceful and contemplative thinking and engagement. At the centre of this we would love to have a statue of Copenhagen, Wellington’s horse, as a constant reminder of the College’s core values and history. Outside of the core College buildings, and reflecting a growing internationalism in outlook, we are close to securing funding for a new Mandarin Centre. The timing of this will fit perfectly with the opening of Wellington College Tianjin for the academic year 2011/12. This wonderful new building—reminiscent of College in every aspect—will start with over 200 pupils and expects to grow rapidly to