We are delighted to announce the publication of the latest report from the Independent Schools Inspectorate.The School has been awarded the highest possible grade of “Excellent” for both pupil achievement and pupil personal development, and has also passed the accompanying compliance inspection.Head Master Alastair Tighe comments:“I am thrilled to share this report. While these headline judgments of “Excellent” are wonderfully positive, for me the true value of this outstanding report is found within the detailed examples and evidence the inspectors... Read More
On the weekend of 5th-9th May, six of our Lower Sixth specialist musicians, Christy Hui, Dawid Kasprzak, Jeremy Tan, Luke Doyle, Rania Dereka and Wilamena Dyer, travelled to Helsinki. Flying from Heathrow on Friday morning, the group performed a concert as a duo and quartet at the Itä-Helsingin Musiikkiopisto (East Helsinki Music Institute, IHMO) that evening! The following day, they visited the Sibelius Monument, which Jeremy described as his favourite part of the trip, before performing in a collaborative concert at the... Read More
On Sunday 14th May, the Little Wellies and Pre-Prep team walked 10k in memory of former pupil Ottie who tragically died from a childhood cancer last year, together with her family. A distance that may not seem very far for some, but for them it was the perfect way to feel her with them in the sunshine as they picked flowers and blew bubbles with her sister. The team are overwhelmed with the support they have had, having raised over... Read More
From Thursday 18th-Sunday 21st May, many of our pupils were involved in the Sound of Wells Festival.Beginning on Thursday lunchtime with a recital given by our pianists, the Ascension Day Festal Eucharist in the evening saw the premiere of a new introit by Joey Hardin (Upper Sixth). On Friday lunchtime there was a recital of new music composed over the past year by pupils, and on Saturday evening the Choristers sung in a joyous ‘musical fanfare’ celebrating all of Wells... Read More
A huge well done to Mr Poxon, Head of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, on his completion of the Birmingham Half Marathon! Mr Poxon ran 13.1 miles around the city in aid of Kids Club Kampala, a children’s charity in Uganda supporting vulnerable children in the slums of the capital city. Over the past two years they have provided 27 million meals, supported 290,000 people with COVID-19 relief, educated 311 children with home learning, cared for 55 children at their Ewafe... Read More
We are delighted to share that we have been named as finalists in the Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards for the Special Sixth Form and Inventive Sports Programme (Senior School) awards. This follows on from our success as finalists for the Most Creative Learning through Play award last year. The winner of each category will be announced on Wednesday 7th June – until then, our fingers will be tightly crossed!
The School was involved with the King’s Coronation Celebrations in Wells, with the Senior Jazz Combo headlining the event and Woody Collins (Year 10) and Meg Curl (Lower Sixth) performing solo sets on the Cathedral Green Stage to a large and appreciative audience enjoying the music and sunshine. Mr Wells also hosted a welly throwing stall!The Choristers sang at Matins on the day of the Coronation, and at a civic service the following day. They also attended a street party... Read More
The Concerto Competition Finale saw six outstanding performances from Lily Owens (flute, Year 11), James Mayhew (piano), Kamil Kulich (piano), Jeremy Tan (violin), Sean Foong (double bass) and Harold Lee (oboe, Lower Sixth). The competition was adjudicated by Jeffrey Sharkey, Principal of the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, and he awarded the prize (performing the concerto with the School Symphony Orchestra next summer) to Lily. He praised her communication, storytelling, listening and poise. Lily will play the Flute Concerto by Huw Watkins (who has... Read More
On the evening of Friday 21st April, pupils enjoyed a rare opportunity to gain a new and enriching perspective on the familiar, yet always breathtaking, architecture of Wells Cathedral at CHATS Talk 14 ‘Heaven on a Human Scale’ in Cedars Hall with Cultural Historian, Gavin Plumley. Gavin encouraged his audience to consider both the significant challenges faced in the building’s construction and, unlike many other Cathedrals, the ‘human scale’ of its architectural form. The evening provided pupils with a thought-provoking... Read More
We’re celebrating the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla through a range of activities over the coming weeks.Head Master Alastair Tighe has issued the following statement on behalf of the School:“As a School, we are absolutely thrilled to be celebrating the coronation of King Charles III – our Royal Patron for many years – and Queen Camilla. The King has visited Wells on a number of occasions, including notably to plant “The King’s Tree”, the glorious... Read More
Congratulations to Ralf Warner (Year 11) who has been selected to be part of the Bristol Bears U18s Academy. Ralf played in selection games at Warwick University, the University of Surrey and a home game in Bristol against other academies during the Easter holiday, and is one of 44 chosen from a group of 450. This huge commitment begins as soon as he has finished his GCSEs; he will take part in three training sessions every week throughout the summer. Well done Ralf, we wish you the best of luck with... Read More
The tenth Iceland field trip enabled the study of aspects of Geography and Geology including plate tectonics, volcanoes, geothermal hot springs and geysers, waterfalls, glacial processes, geotourism and settlements. The group of 33 Geographers and Geologists packed in a huge amount in the five days, visiting sites across the south of Iceland familiar not only from text books and TV news, but also many which featured in films such as Batman Begins, Die Another Day, Tomb Raider, Luther, Star Wars... Read More
Twenty very lucky Drama and Theatre Studies pupils flew with Mr Todres and Mrs Deans to one of the most iconic cities in the world at the start of the Easter break: New York City! Famous for its film, theatre and television industries, New York also boasts one of the most vibrant arts and culture scenes in the world. Staying in an Art Deco hotel right in the heart of Times Square, the group certainly had a packed program full... Read More
Congratulations to Luke Doyle (Lower Sixth) who was appointed Leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales during the Easter holiday. Luke is one of the youngest leaders ever!Mr Smith, Co-ordinator of Strings Studies, commented; “This is a superb achievement and wonderful opportunity for Luke. He has already proved in ensembles at Wells that he is an excellent leader and will no doubt excel in this exciting role.“Alex Laing, Director of Music, added; “We are pleased and proud of Luke’s... Read More
Once again, our musicians turned out in force to participate in The Mid-Somerset Festival, and took home a huge number of major awards.This highly competitive festival, the largest of its kind in the West of England, provides an annual platform for children and adults to showcase their skills in creative writing, speech and drama, music, musical theatre and dance. Rufina Lok (Lower Sixth) won both the Piano Concerto and the Premier Award – two of the most prestigious awards in... Read More
The School were pleased to welcome speakers from Britain and the Caribbean when they came together in Cedars Hall on Thursday 16th March for a thought-provoking and inspiring day, sharing the findings of research focused on Wells and its links to transatlantic slavery.The conference, which was co-chaired by Jess Witchell, Wells Cathedral Learning Manager and Susann Savidge, Somerset African Caribbean Network, included talks that gave a range of histories and perspectives including contributions from partners and historians from the Caribbean. The... Read More
After witnessing the devastating scenes following the Turkish earthquake, Defne Anar (Lower Sixth) was determined to raise money for the Red Cross appeal, and took it upon herself to organise a charity concert. Teagan Craggs, Freya Green and Holly Reinhardt (Year 11) performed with Luke Doyle, Sean Foong, Christy Hui and Jeremy Tan (Lower Sixth). The concert poster was designed by Meg Curl (Lower Sixth) and the programme included three of Defne’s own compositions, one of Teagan’s compositions, two duets... Read More
From the Nursery to the Sixth Form, pupils across the School were thoroughly engaged in British Science Week, a celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths. Pupils in the Nursery and the Pre-Prep have been watching fun science experiments, with children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 visiting a Senior School science lab (and showing off their very best safety goggle wearing skills!), and everyone took part in a Zoo Lab session to meet and learn about lots of... Read More
Mr Bowen, our Senior School Head of English, has recently released the two latest books in his ‘The Art of…’ series, which he co-authors and edits on a range of literary topics. The series began with a couple of books on how to write literary essays to plug a gap he perceived in what was available for teachers and pupils. As these were so well received, he went on to co-produce around 20 books on teaching and reading poetry at... Read More
On Thursday 23rd February, the Religion, Philosophy and Ethics department hosted its first South West A level conference in Cedars Hall. 250 pupils and 37 teachers from 17 schools across different sectors attended, with three more schools joining online. Chris Eyre, Principal Examiner, really challenged the pupils to look carefully at arguments for and against the existence of God, question whether there is any such thing as right and wrong, and then ended the day with a session on whether... Read More
We are honoured to be hosting a conference in Cedars Hall on Thursday 16 March 2023 which will see research findings from the Wells and Transatlantic Slavery Project presented publicly for the first time, alongside a number of talks designed to give a range of histories and perspectives on the issue.Since the conference was announced in January 2023, a number of prestigious international figures have expressed their support for the project, including internationally-acclaimed opera singer, Peter Brathwaite, who said:“I’m delighted... Read More
The Choristers joyfully took part in their annual pancake race along Vicars’ Close on Shrove Tuesday. Eagerly anticipated each year, the pancake race is one of many traditions involving the School’s Choristers. The Choristers are a core part of life at the Cathedral and the School and have a duty to represent both at the highest standard. However, their important role is not without its fun and the joy was evident on their faces as they stood wielding their frying pans.... Read More
The Epiphany Term saw the return of our ever popular Promenade Concert series in Wells Cathedral.We were delighted to share this year’s Brass and Percussion Promenade Concert “Old/New” with a huge audience on a cold January evening. The Promenade Concerts have been a highlight of the Brass and Percussion Departments’ musical calendars for many years, and this year they were delighted to be collaborating with pupils and colleagues from the Composition Department. The programme explored music from the 13th Century to... Read More
On Thursday 2nd February, the School hosted a Swimming Gala for the first time in three years, welcoming King’s Bruton for a fast-paced afternoon of even faster swimming.The Wells Swim Squad have been hard at work in their training sessions throughout the year and were keen to use the Gala as an exercise to test their progress against some strong opposition ahead of larger upcoming competitions. Swimming captains Mia Coakes Santamaria and Lara Keirle (Upper Sixth) led the warm-up and... Read More
The Sports Department were delighted to welcome Commonwealth Games Gold medal winner Eboni Usoro-Brown to Wells. Eboni was on the England Netball team for their thrilling 52–51 win over Australia at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 and was capped 117 times before her international retirement. Alongside playing elite sport, Eboni trained and practises as a lawyer, having attended the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England. Pupils from Years 7 to the Upper Sixth... Read More
Wells Cathedral School is pleased to announce that the Junior School has been renamed “Wells Cathedral Prep School” with immediate effect.Wells Cathedral School Junior School was founded in 1948, and this year celebrates its 75th birthday. The School continues to go from strength to strength: pupil numbers are increasing, in 2022 the Pre-Prep were finalists for two major national awards, and the School’s reputation for excellence and creativity is higher than it has ever been.The new name has been agreed... Read More
Pupils enjoyed a ski trip to Les Menuires, France, over the Christmas break.Setting off bright and early from Wells at 5am on the 10th of December, the group flew from Bristol airport and were delighted by the glistening snow as their coach climbed the mountain towards the resort. After a tour of the complex and some fun in the snow, pupils collected their ski kit in the evening in preparation for the week ahead. It cannot be described as a... Read More
The Very Reverend Doctor John Davies has retired as Dean of Wells, and as Chair of Wells Cathedral School.During his 5 years as Chair, he has overseen a significant period of change and challenge – not least helping to steer the School through the Covid pandemic – and will be leaving a School that has extremely buoyant pupil numbers and has just enjoyed some of its best A and GCSE level results in recent times. In announcing the Dean’s retirement,... Read More
We are pleased to once again be running our popular ‘10 Book Challenge’ in the Senior School. Running from 4th January to 26th May, the aim of the challenge is to read one book from each of the ten categories with the title containing one of the following: a person’s name, an animal, a colour, an emotion, the word ‘and’, a verb, a number, the word ‘the’, an object or a single word. Participants will gain points for each book... Read More
As one of the oldest Schools in the world, we’re thrilled to unveil a new plaque in Cedars House to celebrate our history and pay homage to our Heads since the inception of Wells Cathedral School in 909 AD.
As part of their History topic on the Victorians, Year 6 pupils enjoyed an exciting start to the Epiphany Term by visiting Sevington Victorian School in Wiltshire to experience life as a Victorian schoolchild. Sevington School was founded in 1849 and Miss Squire, the schoolmistress, taught there for more than 50 years. The schoolroom was left untouched upon Miss Squire’s retirement which made for a wonderful experience for our Year 6 pupils and, just like a child in the late... Read More
Sixth Form CCF cadets hit the ground running on the first week of the Epiphany Term, undergoing training with area instructor Chief Petty Officer Dave Gwilliam to take part in field gun competitions against other schools. The Royal Navy’s field gun competition is a contest in which teams compete to transport a field gun and its equipment over and through a series of obstacles as quickly as they can. The field gun races originate from the siege of the British... Read More
Congratulations to our Choristers on their Christmas concerts and services. In the run up to Christmas they took part in three Candlelight Concerts and two Carol Services, and they were involved in two services on Christmas Day.Despite their busy Christmas schedule, three of our Choristers found the time to raise money for charity. Freya Williams and Belinda Gifford-Guy (Year 7) were busking in Wells to raise money for the Wells Food Bank, while Belinda joined Aleksei Lichter (Year 8) at... Read More
Congratulations to Mila Tsoneva (Year 11), runner up of the BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2021, on the release of her new EP Pie Jesu. Mila recently recorded the five song EP with organist David M. Patrick at Buckfast Abbey and it has now been released digitally by Willowhayne Records. The EP includes the world premiere recording of Buckfast monk Dom. Sebastian Wolff’s Lullaby Carol as well as some more well-known pieces and would be a wonderful addition to... Read More
Pupils across the School have been drawing, designing, crafting and creating Christmas cards for elderly residents in local care homes. Hundreds of cards were collected by former Mayor of Wells, Philip Welch, on behalf of Wells Dementia Action Alliance. Mr Welch expressed his gratitude towards the pupils and their efforts, explaining that “Christmas can be such a difficult time for people with dementia and other mental health issues” and thanking them for their time; “Wells Cathedral School’s support is greatly... Read More
Junior School and Nursery pupils and staff (including Senior School pupils remotely) took part in Christmas Jumper Day so that everyone looked very festive when sitting down to Christmas dinner! There may have even been a visit from Father Christmas…It was clear how yummy the food was by the raucous three cheers for the catering team led by Mr Wells, but it was so delicious that we’d like to add an extra one to show our appreciation: hip hip hooray!Our... Read More
We are pleased to announce that Madison Lewis (Upper Sixth; back row, second in on left) has been selected into the 22/23 season U18 squad for Team Bath Netball. Madi has worked her way up through the England pathway, having trained in the Somerset County Academy before gaining a place in an athlete development centre for Team Bath which was followed by a year playing for the Celtic Dragons U19 squad last season. Madi has moved back to Team Bath... Read More
Congratulations to Ariane Lynn-Jones (Year 7) who won a silver medal at the U16 British Taekwondo Championships, a huge achievement in its own right but especially impressive given Ariane’s younger age. She competed in the red belt middleweight division, claiming her medal in the tag team competition. Well done, Ariane!
Congratulations go to the cast and crew of Chicago: Teen Edition for their spectacular production which spanned five shows at Strode Theatre. It took a team of 90 eight weeks of rehearsals and three days to set the production to wow a total sell-out audience of 2000, including Years 7 and 8, School boarders and local schools, who hopped on a coach to show their support. The show was phenomenally well received and makes us all the more excited to... Read More
Congratulations to Isabella Jordan (Year 8) who has achieved a Distinction in her London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) Grade 5 exam. This is a particularly impressive award as Isabella prepared and entered herself for the exam, independently, demonstrating her passion and drive to excel in the discipline. Isabella played Mrs Phelps in last year’s Year 7-9 production of Matilda and is currently rehearsing the role of Miss Hannigan in this year’s production of Annie. Well done, Isabella!
The Mayor received hundreds of art entries for this year’s Mayor’s Christmas card and we are delighted to congratulate Alana (Year 4) on winning the Age 7-9 years category – her swan picture is printed on the card this Christmas! Congratulations also go to Mimi (Year 6) who was chosen as the runner up in the Age 9-11 years category. The girls received a £10 and £5 book token prize hand-delivered by the Mayor in their Junior School assembly, and... Read More
Mrs Williams, the School’s Head of Netball, has been working hard with the Sports Department to improve our Netball provision ahead of lessons beginning in the Epiphany Term (affectionately known around the courts as the Netball Term). Since September the School has been running lots of Netball sessions in preparation for county tournaments for both U14 and U19 girls. These have been extremely well attended and successfully set the girls up for their respective tournaments. The U14 girls played brilliantly against... Read More
A large number of musicians will be representing Wells Cathedral School in national-level ensembles and choirs this year, both in the UK and beyond.Five pupils from Wells (Morgan Bland, Year 10, Lily Owens and Teagan Craggs, Year 11, and Wilamena Dyer and Defne Anar, Lower Sixth) have obtained places in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYO), the country’s flagship orchestra for amazingly talented young musicians. Among the five Wells pupils, particular congratulations must go to Defne, who has... Read More
Robin Class have been joining a local group called ‘Singing for the Brain’ run by Somerset Arts Well, a wonderful project which enables people living with dementia, memory problems and Parkinson’s Disease the opportunity to connect with their loved ones through music.It was utterly joyful to see the adults’ faces light up as the children joined in with them singing the songs, playing the instruments and dancing to the music. Every single person in the room had a huge smile... Read More
We were delighted to welcome Dame Evelyn Glennie to Wells on Saturday 26th November.Dame Evelyn is the first person in history to create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist. Throughout her career she has worked with diverse artists from the worlds of pop, jazz, folk, classical and contemporary music, and collaborated with director Danny Boyle in her prominent role in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Dame Evelyn was awarded an OBE in 1993... Read More
The Music Department were delighted to welcome 44 pupils and 4 members of staff from the Eberhard-Ludwig-Gymnasium in Stuttgart, a Specialist Music School very similar to our own. Their pupils engaged in workshops, tours, the Jazz in the Foyer event and a Gala Concert in collaboration with our own pupils. Primarily a jazz tour, ‘Ebelu’ also brought their chamber orchestra along to perform a selection of jazz influenced works. It was a particular delight to see pupils from both Schools... Read More
On Saturday 12th November, members of The Cory Band, European Brass Champions 2022, were joined by over 50 young Brass players from 29 different schools for a free side-by-side playing workshop in Cedars Hall. Led by their inspirational conductor Philip Harper, the players worked on several pieces for Brass Band, including African Funk & Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, and after a visit to the Prozone Music stand to check out the latest in Brass instruments, the afternoon... Read More
Congratulations to Hockey player Oskar Edwards (Upper Sixth) who has been selected into the England U18 squad.Oskar competed for the Bristol Performance Centre against 17 other Performance Centres from around the country in the Challenge Cup in July. Each squad consisted of 18 boys, and the Cup’s most promising players were chosen to attend a series of England U18 assessment camps. Oskar impressed the selectors at his assessments and secured a place in the final 26 man squad for the... Read More
Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday were marked across the School and the Wells community last week.The Last Post was sounded by Amelie Thrale (Year 10) at the School fountain on Cedars Lawn, by Cole Craggs (Year 8) in Cedars Hall as part of the Junior School’s Remembrance Assembly and by Wilkie Heath-Ourakov (Year 10) in the Town Hall at 11am on Friday to remember the fallen of the two World Wars and subsequent conflicts. This was followed by a two... Read More
As part of our commitment to the wellbeing of our pupils and of our young musicians, Dr Sarah Upjohn visited the School to give a talk on Wednesday 2nd November.Dr Upjohn is a physiotherapist who specialises in musicians; her work focuses on helping musicians to reset physically and mentally. Her approach encourages and allows musicians to play, practice and perform in a healthy and free way which can lead to greater awareness of the body and its habits (good and... Read More
On Saturday 5 November, Wells Cathedral hosted a fabulous, free, ‘behind the scenes’ day, during which children were able to experience the life of a Cathedral Chorister.Forty girls and boys aged between seven and nine came from schools across Somerset and beyond for the annual Be a Chorister for a Day event where they met the Cathedral Choristers and participated in fun singing workshops.The day culminated in singing Choral Evensong in the Quire of the Cathedral with the award-winning and... Read More
Congratulations are in order for many of the School’s Hockey players after a number of selections into Talent Academies on the England pathway and county teams. Archie Mycock (Lower Sixth) and Alex Morris, Linsey Mitchell, Tilly Matthews and Georgia Chappell (Year 10) have been selected as some of the highest potential 15-18 year old Hockey players in the country, joining one of 17 Talent Academies across the country offering weekly training sessions and competitive tournaments against other Talent Academies. There... Read More
Approximately 40 pupils from Years 10 and 11 spent a memorable few days in Berlin to reinforce their learning as part of the History GCSE syllabus. They also experienced an extraordinary city with so many stories to tell. The trip included two guided tours of West and East Berlin with a focus on the second World War and the Cold War. The tours absorbed the historical landmark, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall and the stunning Reichstag and Bundestag parliament buildings.... Read More
Eighteen pupils from the Lower and Upper Sixth travelled to Sierra Leone over the half Term break. The visiting musicians worked with the Ballanta Academy of Music and Performing Arts to teach their instruments and collaborate with bands whilst the non-musicians worked with the JT Reffel French Memorial School teaching games, French, Spanish and sudokus as a form of creative arts. Every afternoon the Wells pupils performed in outreach concerts in venues across the capital city of Sierra Leone, Freetown,... Read More
Our A level Art, History of Art and English Literature pupils benefitted from a rare and enriching opportunity to listen to Rachel Campbell-Johnston (former chief art and poetry critic of The Times and a renowned biographer) talk about the life and work of the visionary artist Samuel Palmer and the influence that an ageing William Blake had upon him. Rachel’s talk brought the work of Palmer vividly to life and provided the pupils with an eye opening glimpse into the... Read More
We are delighted to share good news about England Netball pathway opportunities for some of the School’s top Netball players from Year 8 to the Lower Sixth.Heidi Ashton (left) and Dior Adekola (right) (Year 8) have secured their place on the first stage of the England Netball pathway, and have been selected into the Somerset Satellite Academy. This is for girls who demonstrate good skills and understanding at U13 level. Heidi and Dior trialled against over 80 other girls to... Read More
The Choristers of Wells Cathedral have just returned from a musical triumphant tour to Edinburgh.Their first tour since a visit to The Netherlands in 2019, the 28 children aged from 9-15 had a fabulous time in Scotland’s historic capital.St Giles’ Cathedral was the first stop, with the Choristers giving a Saturday lunchtime concert to the Cathedral packed with locals and tourists. It was practically standing-room only, with almost all seats taken and the sides of the building filled with people... Read More
We are delighted to have been Highly Commended in the Independent Pre-Prep School of the Year category of the Independent School of the Year Awards 2022.The Awards, which are hosted by the Independent School Parent magazine, consist of 22 categories celebrating the Independent School sector. The Independent Pre-Prep of the Year Award is for Pre-Preps which offer an “outstandingly rich experience for young students” with provision meeting educational, emotional and societal needs, supporting a successful transition to the next stage... Read More
The BBC Young Musician of the Year category finals, featuring violinist Dawid Kasprzak (Lower Sixth) and French Horn player Imogen Moorsom (OW 2022), have been broadcast on BBC Four and are now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.Dawid, accompanied by Ms Walker, performed in the Strings category final which was shown on Sunday 2nd October. Simon Smith, the School’s Coordinator of Strings Studies, described Dawid’s journey to this impressive stage: “Since his arrival at Wells in Year 9 Dawid has... Read More
Community service volunteers Hana Wong (Year 11), Emily Ng (Year 11), Jimena Oliva Boesch (Upper Sixth) and Sofia Barbera Montero (Lower Sixth) did a wonderful job of litter picking around Vicar’s Close, St Andrews Street, the Cathedral Green, the marketplace and Bishop’s Palace. Every Wednesday afternoon the group will be litter picking around Wells and the surrounding villages as part of the School’s community service scheme which also includes helping with after School clubs at Stoberry Park School and assisting... Read More
We welcomed a number of local schools to attend our Heads of School conference hosted by Mr Norris, Director of Coaching, Mentoring and Student Leadership. The demanding and exciting programme got off to a fast start with a couple of energisers before the students engaged in aspects of their role that they will have to contend with in the year ahead, including stepping up into the role and being visible, managing meetings, safeguarding responsibilities and aspects of leadership.
Quilter Hall held the first of many lunchtime concerts taking place throughout the academic year, beginning with a concert by the School’s new GMAs. Mr Laing, Director of Music, stood up and introduced the group: “For those of you who don’t know what GMA stands for, it’s ‘Graduate Music Assistants’. They have come to us from top universities and conservatoires and here they act as mentors, supervisors and galvanisers with their energy and enthusiasm, and because they are not much... Read More
Approximately 56 pupils studying GCSE and A level Drama and Theatre Studies were treated to an action-packed and inspirational Stage Combat workshop from Squire Theatre’s Mark Ruddick. Mark is a hugely experienced stage combat professional who has choreographed fight sequences for the films Captain America and War Horse, as well as for the recent Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon. After beginning the session by learning how to safely execute hand-to-hand combat techniques such as the ‘parrot punch’,... Read More
Congratulations to our Sierra Leone Project runners who took part in the Wells Festival of Running as part of the group’s effort to cycle, run, walk and climb their way through 3030 miles, the distance between Wells and Freetown. The School was represented by eighteen pupils from the Junior School to the Sixth Form, four members of staff and a parent, and won the corporate prize for the largest number of entries. Grace Davies (Upper Sixth) said, “It was a great event and lovely to do something... Read More
The Bernard Society hosted the first speaker of the year on the evening of Tuesday 20th September. Professor Ronald Hutton of the University of Bristol came to speak to a substantive and mixed audience of pupils, staff and parents on Alfred the Great. In addition to a distinguished academic career, the professor has appeared on over 40 different documentary television series as a Historical Expert and been on the governing body of English Heritage. The engaging talk produced numerous questions... Read More
Thank you to everyone who took part and supported our whole School sponsored walk on Sunday 18th September – we had a great day and the weather was fantastic! Approximately one third of the pupils in the Senior School and many walkers and families from the Junior School walked either 5 or 10 miles over the Mendip Hills to experience the glorious views from the top of Bristol Hill and Ebbor Gorge. The sun shone throughout the morning and we... Read More
We’re very pleased to announce that our Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) award has been renewed.To meet the FFLSH standards, which have been created with public health and the UN’s Sustainable Development goals in mind, the School is delivering more sustainable catering made from fresh, local, honest ingredients. Our food is served ethically and responsibly and we are proud to have a long-standing relationship with our local suppliers. All food is freshly prepared and cooked each day, the meat... Read More
We’re absolutely delighted to be able to announce that we are finalists for the Independent Pre-Prep School of the Year category of the Independent School Parent’s Independent Schools of the Year 2022 Awards.The award is for Pre-Preps which offer an “outstandingly rich experience for young students” with provision providing for educational, emotional and societal needs, a successful transition to the next stage of pupils’ educational careers and the introduction of impactful new initiatives.This follows on from the Pre-Prep’s recent success as a... Read More
Congratulations to Linsey Mitchell (Year 10), Georgia Chappell (Year 10), Tilly Matthews (Year 10), Florence Gummer (Lower Sixth), Dimity Williams (Lower Sixth) and Oskar Edwards (Upper Sixth) who were selected for the England Hockey Challenge Cup.There are 16 Regional Performance Centres in the UK, each of which selected their best 16 players out of a training squad of 24 to play against the other centres in a tournament-style competition at the Nottingham Hockey Centre.Linsey, Georgia and Tilly (Year 10) represented... Read More
Once again, Wells pupils have achieved a set of outstanding GCSE results.Out of 98 pupils, no fewer than 17 achieved a clean sweep of grades 7-9 (equivalent to the old Grade A and above) and 2 of those achieved the rare and remarkable achievement of grade 9s right across the board.Pupils enjoyed great success across a wide range of subjects. In a number of subjects, every single pupil gained a grade 5 or above; these included Art, Chemistry, Classical Civilisation,... Read More
The School’s Head of Netball, Mrs Williams, has been announced as the Tactical Coach for Army Netball.Alongside her role at Wells, she will be involved in a training weekend once a month and friendly matches against Superleague teams in preparation for the Inter Services competition taking place in March 2023. Excited to get underway, Mrs Williams said; “I am thoroughly looking forward to the opportunity to work with Army Netball. Working with a group of experienced coaches and a variety of... Read More
On A Level results day, Wells pupils have come together at the School to celebrate some outstanding A Level results.Pupils enjoyed success across a range of subjects, from sciences to languages to humanities to the creative arts. 100% of pupils studying French obtained an A grade, the results in Music were exceptional even by Wells’ phenomenally high standards, with 60% of pupils obtaining an A* grade, while the best performing subject of all was Geography, where all pupils obtained an... Read More
We are delighted to tell you that two Wells pupils – violinist Dawid Kasprzak (Year 11) and horn player Imogen Moorsom (Upper Sixth) – have been announced as Category Finalists in the BBC Young Musician 2022 competition. Out of thousands of entrants, just 25 outstanding young musicians have been selected for this televised stage of the competition, which will be held in July at Saffron Hall in Essex. Earlier this week, Imogen and Dawid – along with their recital partners... Read More
Congratulations to Hetta Falzon (Upper Sixth) on her successful performances on the Avalon Cafe Stage in Avalon Field at Glastonbury Festival! Hetta secured her place at the world-renowned festival after winning the Pilton Stage Competition, competing against an astonishing 600 artists. Both of her Glasto sets were an absolute triumph, with Mr Leaker, Coordinator of Jazz & Popular Music Studies, saying, “I am absolutely delighted for Hetta. To perform at one of the world’s best known music festivals to such a... Read More
Junior School teacher Kelly Fairey was selected to represent the England Badminton Team in the Nations Cup being played in Strasbourg, France, last week. Mrs Fairey had some incredibly tough games, playing in great humidity. She won all of her matches and the England Team were crowned champions after a very closely fought final with the Denmark Team. Congratulations, Mrs Fairey!
After being named as the Song Academy’s Young Rising Star, Woody Collins (Year 9) was invited to perform at the Academy’s Young Songwriter Showcase in London last weekend. Woody was the competition’s youngest entrant and was selected as the Young Rising Star over nearly 900 artists. Mr Leaker, Coordinator of Jazz & Popular Music Studies, said; “To perform for the Song Academy showcase is a richly deserved honour for Woody – his motivation for songwriting has never been stronger and becomes... Read More
On Thursday the Senior School were involved in Community Action Day. Years 7-9 were took part in a “triathlon to Ukraine” covering the distance to Ukraine to raise money for UNICEF, a community concert in the marquee and a performance of Alice in Wonderland. Years 10 and 11 held a sponsored walk to raise money for the Sierra Leone Project, while the Lower Sixth participated in a community sports day involving local primary schools, a memory workshop, art creation and... Read More
Our Lower Sixth physicists were challenged to design and build a bridge to an exacting specification in the space of three weeks. Using only balsa wood and cold melt glue, the pupils were tasked with ensuring their bridge would span 60cm and support a weight of 6kg. Congratulations to the winning team whose bridge held a record breaking 11kg!
Since its creation, the School’s Sierra Leone Project (SLP) has supported two schools in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital city, one of which being the Ballanta Academy of Music. The Ballanta has been building a new mini auditorium adjacent to its current building which the SLP has been financially supporting and we are pleased to report that although it is not quite finished, the Ballanta were able to keep the postponed date of 24th June for the opening ceremony. The Ministers... Read More
As part of the Creative Arts programme and Arts Week, Year 9 pupils were afforded the opportunity to visit ‘The Making of Harry Potter’ at Warner Bros. Studio in London to discover the roles of different film departments and what they do. The unique studio tour took pupils behind-the-scenes to explore the magic of the Harry Potter™ films and showcased the huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props. It also revealed some closely guarded secrets, including facts about the... Read More
On Wednesday, Pre-Prep enjoyed a fun-filled Sports Day with many variations of races: flat, teddy bear, egg and spoon, obstacle and seaside to name just a few. The sun shone, the races were run and best of all there were smiles on everyone’s faces! The view from the top of Cedars Field, overlooking the School and Cathedral, with us all together again without restrictions is one we will not forget for a long time. We began the day with some nerves and... Read More
Well done to Petra Kidd (Year 7) who performed in the Stardust concert held at Bath Abbey last week. Petra received a last minute call up after the scheduled performer was unwell and swooped in to save the day, singing fabulously alongside 200 primary school children. Stardust is a creative choral work following six characters as they travel through the solar system, written by Jools Scott and Sue Curtis to show how children can overcome adversity. Your performance was excellent,... Read More
Belinda (Year 6) had a wonderful experience singing with the Orchestra of St John’s over half Term. The concert was called Opera Gala Rising Stars of the Future and the other soloists were singers who had recently left music college and were embarking on their careers, making it a very special opportunity for Belinda! She sang Amarilli Mia Bella by Caccini and then a beautiful arrangement of The Oak and The Ash which was arranged for her. Well done, Belinda!
For the last two Terms in Science Club, pupils have been researching, engineering and constructing motor-powered airboats. With great excitement, they raced them in the School’s swimming pool to see which design was the most effective on water. All of the boats moved through the water and two even went in a straight line! The winning design from Mike Gillbanks (Year 9) and Alfie Carey (Year 9) was particularly impressive; it sailed the complete 25m with ease. Huge congratulations to... Read More
Pupils in Year 3 rounded off their ‘Romans’ history topic with an Ancient Rome-themed day of fun activities. In the morning, the children worked in teams to hunt for Roman town names in a Geography challenge, crack a code using Roman numerals, build a Roman temple out of Lego and even had a toga tying race. In the afternoon, the children showcased their wonderful ‘Roman Villa for Sale’ Google Slides and rounded off the day with a Roman Banquet… they... Read More
Congratulations are in order as we celebrate several recent piano pupil successes.Bridget Yee (Upper Sixth) has won first prize and Best Overall Competitor prize at the Beecham International Piano Competition, an online competition for outstanding young pianists. You can watch Bridget’s recital here: https://bit.ly/3n0kE47 Bibi Redford (Year 11) has won first prize in the intermediate class of the 2022 International Salzburg Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition. Bibi has consequently been invited to perform at the Solitär, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria on Sunday,... Read More
Wells Cathedral School Combined Cadet Force has presented its annual awards for Best Cadet in each section to Colour Sergeant William Peutherer (RM, Lower Sixth), Colour Sergeant Finn Beattie (Rifles, Year 11) and Petty Officer Oliver Pearce (RN, Year 11) for their outstanding work in leading the Contingent, consistently being good role models and typifying the values of both the CCF and the School. Numerous other promotions were made by Lt Stephanie Sheppard RN who was visiting the school from... Read More
The Wells Cathedral School Clay Shooting activity has completed its first year of instruction with the group posing for a photo at the end of the final shoot with their instructors. They are looking forward to entering their first interschool shooting competition in November after dramatic improvement over the course of the year; most of the pupils had no prior shooting experience before starting the activity and the instructors have been very impressed by their progress. There are places available... Read More
On Monday 20th June, the Art and Photography Departments held a combined GCSE and A level Private View to celebrate the creative endeavours of Year 11 and Upper Sixth pupils. Held in the Art and Photography Studios as well as the Art Courtyard, the exhibition gave a fantastic overview of the pupils’ incredible achievements within the spaces in which they had been created. The show incorporated examples of a wide variety of approaches and use of media, including aspects of... Read More
Congratulations to the Junior School on their wonderful production of Shrek The Musical!They all gave their heart and soul to the production, whether it be on stage, back stage or even IN the stage, on occasion! The singing, dancing and sheer amount of words they had to learn are all a credit to the hard work and determination that was shown during rehearsals. They displayed poise on stage and also independence backstage when looking out for their cues. Each and every... Read More
The Governors and Head Master of Wells Cathedral School are delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Bob McCartney as the new Bursar and Clerk to Governors. Bob shone at every stage of the selection process, amid a strong field. He impressed throughout a rigorous process which was overseen by external consultants Odgers Berndtson.Until recently, Bob was Head of Finance Internal Control and Compliance at Airbus SAS, based at their Head Office in Toulouse. He has previously held the roles of... Read More
It is with much sadness we report the death of Richard Lewis. Richard was Dean of Wells and Chair of Governors from 1990 to 2003. His funeral will take place in Wells Cathedral at 2pm on Tuesday 28 June.John Baxter, Head Master for much of the time Richard was Chair of Governors, has written this tribute:“One of my early duties as Head was to provide the Prime Minister’s Appointments Secretary with a “wish-list” of the qualities of an ideal Dean... Read More
We have had lots of good news from our Drama department with pupils in Years 7, 9 and 10 successfully auditioning for a range of roles.Congratulations to Oliver Jenkins (Year 7), whom you may have seen as Bruce in the School’s production of Matilda, on being cast as Colin in The Hordernciani’s production of The Secret Garden as part of the Wells Theatre Festival. He will perform in Cedars Hall from the 8th to the 10th of July as part... Read More
In May, HRH The Prince of Wales presented the School’s Head of Piano, John Byrne, and Old Wellensian, Ashby Mayes, with major awards conferred by the Royal College of Music (RCM). The presentation was made at an awards ceremony attended by influential people from across the music world, including Wells’ Director of Music, Alex Laing.Ashby Mayes won the enormously prestigious President’s Award – given each year to honour a student for their outstanding work in the community – while Professor... Read More
The School’s Head Of Grounds & Gardens, Wayne Bradshaw, visited the Leicester City FC Sports Turf Academy and Training Ground this week for an Education Group meeting of influential turfcare professionals from schools, colleges and universities hosted by Turf Business.Mr Bradshaw was given a tour of the academy and the world-class football training facilities by Leicester City FC’s Head of Sports Turf & Grounds John Ledwidge, Senior Sports Turf & Grounds Manager Callum Allsop and Pitch Manager Graeme Farmer whilst... Read More
Over the break between the Whitsun and Trinity Terms, the School hosted the South & West A and B teams as part of the Bunbury Festival, an annual cricket tournament which selects and divides Under-15 boys into four squads across the country (London & East, South & West, Midlands and North).The tournament is the first stage of the ECB’s Player Pathway to the England cricket team; since its conception in 1987, over 90 players have gone on to play for... Read More
Year 4 treated their audience to a fantastic Music, Drama and Dance Performance Platform on Wednesday afternoon. Based on the theme ‘Decades’, the children performed some wonderfully nostalgic hits including Eye of the Tiger and Rock Around The Clock, and had parents rolling in the aisles during their hilarious performance of Horrible Histories. The Platform was completed by a slick routine to Soul Bossa Nova from Austin Powers. The volume and energy on stage was palpable and it was excellent... Read More
Congratulations to Christian Jennett-Butcher (Lower Sixth), Charles Rowley (Lower Sixth) and Ben Mapleston (Lower Sixth) who have been selected for the Somerset RFU U17 Rugby squad. Last weekend Christian and Charles represented the side against Gloucestershire in the first of two games during May. This weekend sees the inclusion of all three Wells Cathedral School pupils as Ben Mapleston is added to the match day squad in the fixture against Dorset and Wiltshire. This is a huge achievement for Christian,... Read More
On Saturday 21st May, over 50 young people joined us at the School for a free workshop with leading UK Brass players Onyx Brass kindly supported by B&S and Courtois Instruments.Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023, Onyx Brass continues to be the leading light in establishing the Brass quintet as a medium for serious chamber music, combining ‘staggering virtuosity’ (Sarah Walker, BBC Radio 3) with the entertaining and articulate style that has become the group’s trademark. The workshop, led by... Read More
Twenty of our pupils participating in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme walked 10 miles from Clevedon Pier to the Grand Pier in Weston-Super-Mare alongside HM Lord-Lieutenant Mrs Annie Maw as part of her Somerset Jubilee Jaunt, a journey of 70 miles to mark 70 years in honour of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Setting off promptly after 9:30am along the Somerset Coast Path, the group were participating in the fourth leg of The Lord-Lieutenant’s journey. Mrs Maw has lived... Read More