School
Wellington College: Crowthorne, Berkshire, UK
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Introduction
Wellington College was granted its Royal Charter in 1853 as the 'Royal and Religious Foundation of The Wellington College’, the national memorial to the Great Duke. Wellington College is an English co-educational day and boarding independent school in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire. Wellington is a registered charity and currently has 1,140 pupils aged between 13 and 18. It was built as a national monument to the first Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), after whom the College is named. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1856 and inaugurated the School’s public opening on 29 January 1859.
The school is a member of the Rugby Group, which includes Harrow School, Shrewsbury School, and Charterhouse School, and is also a member of the G20 Schools group. The Good Schools Guide calls the school „a serious player in the field of education”. With school fees of up to £59,940 (Incl. VAT) per annum, Wellington College is considered to be one of the country’s most prestigious institutions. The school is also particularly strong in sport, frequently winning many large national competitions.
Number of students
Boarding School:
Girls:
446
Boys:
463
Total:
909
Day School:
Girls:
100
Boys:
131
Total:
231
Fees
7 days boarding:
GBP 20,750 per term
About the school
Wellington College was granted its Royal Charter in 1853 as the 'Royal and Religious Foundation of The Wellington College’, the national memorial to the Great Duke. It was opened in 1859 and quickly became one of the great national boarding schools, and remains intensely proud of a fine tradition of service and of its Royal connections. Its reputation as one of the great public schools has been enhanced in recent years by its adoption of the unique eight aptitudes approach which aims to develop all of a pupil’s multiple intelligences. Wellington is a Christian foundation, though remaining open to and respectful of children from all religious faiths. The magnificent original College buildings are set in 400 acres of parkland alongside newer arts, science, technology and other facilities including the Mandarin Centre, Christopher Lee Theatre and a state-of-the-art library. A significant proportion of the estate is set aside for sport, a major strength at the school. The sports complex incorporates rackets and squash courts, an indoor pool and conditioning rooms. In addition to over 80 acres of playing fields, there are all-weather hockey pitches and tennis courts and the College has its own 9-hole golf course. Music facilities include a concert room and hall, recording studio, brass, wind and percussion suites.
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Academic life
Wellingtonians study GCSEs, followed by the IB Diploma or A Levels and, whichever route they take, results are superb. In 2024, 38.5% of grades at GCSE were 9s (the most common grade for Wellingtonians) and 65.2% were 9s or 8s. The combined total of IB and A Level grades was impressive: 31.9% of grades achieved were A*/7; 72.6% A*A/76. Remarkably of the 244 pupils in the Upper Sixth, almost 50% of the year group secured either A*/A at A Level or Higher Level 7/6 at IB, with 41 students achieving at least three A*s or three Higher Level 7s. 100 Wellingtonians have been offered Oxbridge places over the past five years, while 20-25 move on each year to American universities, including several to Ivy League universities.
Sport and culture
In 2023/24 there were over 25 different sports on offer at Wellington, involving 200 teams in around 1,200 fixtures, and it was yet another bumper year with over 30 Wellingtonians involved in national level sport, 23 teams or individuals taking part in national finals and five overseas sports tours. Notable successes included the boys’ cricket XI winning the BOWS Festival, the golfers taking the Micklem Trophy, the girls’ Under 16 hockey team being crowned National Champions, rackets trophies at Queen’s for both boys and girls and the Under 15 rugby team winning the Langley Trophy. Further national successes were recorded by the shooting team and the girls’ ski team. We are always thrilled to celebrate, nurture and support those pupils with international and professional ambitions. In 2023/24 Wellington pupils gained national and international recognition in the following
sports: Athletics, Equestrian, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey, Netball, Polo, Rugby, Rifle Shooting, Skiing, Swimming and Triathlon. In recent years many of our boys have signed professional rugby contracts, several girls have received American university hockey scholarships, and both boys and girls have been awarded golf scholarships to the USA. The College remains firmly committed to sport for all and a strategic focus to support this has seen further investment in professional sports
coaching, with an emphasis on our priority sports of Rugby, Cricket, Football, Golf, Hockey, Netball, Tennis and Rackets. There has also been ongoing investment in our facilities with a newly renovated main cricket pavilion, the laying of a third astroturf pitch for hockey and tennis, the creation of twelve new tennis and netball courts, twelve sets of portable floodlights for winter training, an indoor swing room for golf and a new gym facility aiming to provide for both high performing sports pupils, while also creating a wholistic exercise space for activities such as yoga and Pilates. Wellington remains committed to adding to its reputation as one of the UK’s strongest and most diverse schools on the sporting front, offering both challenge and support to all pupils at all sporting levels.
Location Description
Nestled in a stunning 400-acre parkland campus, Wellington College is situated in Crowthorne about 35 miles to the south-west of London and can be reached by road from either the M3 or M4 motorway. Crowthorne enjoys direct rail links to Reading and Guildford, and the closest airports are Heathrow (around 40 minutes’ drive) and Gatwick (just over an hour).
Duke’s Ride, Crowthorne, West Berkshire RG45 7PU RG45 7PU
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