Considering Wellington college for DDs

[pastoralacademia]

I am considering Wellington College for my DDs this year and perhaps my DSs later on. Any feed back? Any inside information?

BlackMogul: I hope you've found the right school for your DD.
There are schools that admit that they are not academic, others that they are highly selective, so on... AS seems to be a lost soul really! His claim that all this meditation, happiness and the Harkness Method will all lead to great results naturally is just a lot of BS.
When I read few negative comments about him in the past, I thought they were a bit unfair or because he is such a rebel...blah ....blah. I must say I felt like a fool after the visit :(
About the IB: One of the girls on the stage was justifying her reason for choosing A levels! AS said that day that the IB is the logical, obvious choice! Even if the IB is the best thing on Earth I wouldn't want it to be imposed...Freeeeeeeedooooom :)

blackmogul I agree. They claim to be interested in talents in areas outside academia, but I have seen no evidence of this, going on those I know who have been selected/ wait listed/rejected. They are looking for the most academic applicants, period. It will be interesting to see how the school evolves over the next few years as the ethos changes to one of high academic selectivity rather than all round talent. As others have said lots of people want this because results are what is valued. I shall watch from the sidelines having picked an alternative route for my DCs. Hope you have found the right school for your DD.

The intersting thing about the IB is that the most selctive schools Win Coll Eton St Pauls Westminster (I only do boys) have decided not to opt for it. We received a letter from St Pauls a few years ago stating that they would not be doing it because they didn't feel it was stretching enough (especially for the science subjects) for their highly selected boys and I know from a visit to Eton that they felt the same. At the time they were both considering going over to the Pre U instead which is widely acknowedged to be significantly harder than the A/AS levels or the IB. Interstingly I've noticed that only Win Coll offer only the Pre U the others are offering to their more able pupils in a limited number of subjects.

Our family been with the Wellington establishment for 17 years. Our son, who had cruised 11 A*s at GCSE without blinking an eye, found himself with 4 shocking AS results. We set off for an emergency meeting with Seldon as soon as the results arrived. Impressive! He knew my son's date of birth (young for his year), his Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Gold & Silver Awards, his achievements for cricket, hockey and rugby and all his other input to the school over the years - he seriously wanted my son to succeed and gave him the opportunity to repeat the year (after expelling several other boys with the same potential who had done no work and displayed no remorse). He allowed him to achieve his potential and to pursue his dreams. Of course Seldon is 'eccentric' BUT Wellington needed someone like him to make a positive change to all the previously referred to downsides to the school. The demand for places speaks for itself, so I have no need to dwell on this. I currently have a daughter there who is simply thriving on every level (academia, hockey, netball, tennis, cavalry, showjumping, polo, flute, charitable work, Duke of Edinburgh etc etc) - there is something there for EVERY individual to excel at - and they are all extremely highly talented individuals - what an exciting and dynamic environment to be part of. Yes, she is doing IB, but her A level counterparts revel in the same success and attainment as she does - in her view and mine there is no differentiation. My younger daughter is however a completely different kettle of fish and she is therefore going to Bradfield where I know she will thrive. My advice to people who are reading this forum to obtain a view: don't make your judgement based on the (often ignorant?!) opinions posted here - talk to children and parents who are at the school and above all, know your own children and what makes them tick. Then do what we did - the right thing for each individual. Every school has its own merits and downfalls - nowhere is perfect, but they are all doing their best to get there! ...If you asked my older son and daughter - they'd certainly say that Wellington is as close as it got/ gets to perfect for them! Good luck! ;-)

Seldom used to be Head of Brighton College & turned it into an academic hothouse where expectation was always extremely high. DS godfather used to teach there and didn't like Seldon or his attitude. Prefers the new head even though both HTs are utterly PR savvy, but then again most school HTs are not what they were years ago.

Back to Wellington; DS has a female friend who considered Wellington for sixth form. She's been a day pupil for another co-ed mostly boarding schoolfor the past 3 years & has now considered boarding at an yet another alternative co-ed boarding school. Will ask DS if he can get more details from her as to why she didn't like Wellington.

Having visited Bradfield and St Edwards several times, my daughter and I are struggling to make a decision. She is moderately academic and moderately sporty but very musical and social. Any advise most welcome to help us make up our mind !

We did look very closely at Wellington and I have to say although on paper it looks impressive I find it is not the sort of school to suit every child. I think it primarily suits children who are very self motivated and quite competitive in nature. We visited the school on three separate occasions and found we didn't feel it was right for our ds even though half his class are due to go there. To be honest I really didn't like Seldon either although some of his progressive ideas for education are great.