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Key research linking Wells and Transatlantic Slavery attracts international acclaim as conference date nears

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...
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Chorister’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Race

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....
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Promenade Concerts

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...
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Swimming Gala

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...
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Netball with Eboni Usoro-Brown

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...
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Introducing… Wells Cathedral Prep School!

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...
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Senior School Ski Trip

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...
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Chair of Wells Cathedral School retires

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,...
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10 Book Challenge

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...
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Year 6’s Sevington Victorian School Trip

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...
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CCF Train For Field Gun Competitions

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...
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Choristers Sing For Charity

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...
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Mila’s Pie Jesu EP

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...
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Christmas Cards for Care Homes

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...
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Christmas Festivities

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...
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Madison Joins Team Bath Netball U18s

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...
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Chicago: Teen Edition’s Success

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...
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Isabella’s LAMDA Distinction

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!

Mayor’s Christmas Card

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...
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Autumn Netball Overview

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...
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Wells Cathedral School Musicians Celebrate National Recognition

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...
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Robin Class Have Been Singing For The Brain!

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...
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Dame Evelyn Glennie Hosts Percussion Workshop and Concert

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...
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Stuttgart Exchange

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...
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Cory Brass Band Workshop

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...
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Oskar is Selected for England U18s

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...
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Wells Remembrance Commemorations

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...
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Dr Sarah Upjohn Gives Wellbeing Talk To Musicians

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...
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Experiencing Chorister life: Wells Cathedral welcomes forty aspiring Choristers for ‘a day in the life’

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...
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Hockey County and Talent Academy Selections

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...
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History Trip to Berlin

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....
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Sixth Form in Sierra Leone

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,...
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CHATS Talk 9 with Rachel Campbell-Johnston

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...
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Netball Successes

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...
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Wells Cathedral Choristers excel in Edinburgh

The Choristers of Wells Cathedral have just returned from a musically 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...
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Wells Cathedral Pre-Prep is Highly Commended at ISOTY Awards 2022

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...
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BBC Young Musician 2022 Category Finals

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...
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Community Service Litter Picking

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...
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Heads of School Conference

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.

Lunchtime Concerts Launched By GMAs

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...
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Stage Combat Workshop With Mark Ruddick

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’,...
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Wells Festival of Running

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...
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Professor Ronald Hutton Gives Bernard Society Talk

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...
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Save the Children Sponsored Walk and Fundraising

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...
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Food For Life Served Here

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...
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Independent Pre-Prep School of the Year Finalists

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...
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England Hockey Challenge Cup Selections

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...
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Wonderful GCSE results for Wells Pupils

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,...
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Mrs Williams Is Named Army Netball’s Tactical Coach

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...
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Wells Pupils celebrate Superb A Level Results

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...
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BBC Young Musician 2022

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...
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Hetta’s Glastonbury Performances

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...
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Mrs Fairey Wins Nations Cup For England

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!

Woody Sings At Song Academy Young Songwriter Showcase

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...
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Community Action Day

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...
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Lower Sixth Build Bridges

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!

Update On School’s Sierra Leone Project’s Support In Freetown

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...
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Year 9 Visit Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

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...
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Pre-Prep Sports Day

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...
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Petra Sings In Bath Abbey Concert

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,...
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Belinda Sings With The Orchestra Of St John’s

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!

Science Club Airboat Race

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...
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Year 3 Enjoy Ancient Rome Activity Day

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...
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School Celebrates Piano Successes

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,...
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CCF Annual Awards

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...
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Clay Shooting Activity Group Celebrate First Year

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...
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Art And Photography GCSE And A Level Private View

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...
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Junior School Shine In Shrek The Musical

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...
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Wells Cathedral School Appoints New Bursar

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...
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Very Revd Richard Lewis

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...
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School Celebrates Drama Successes

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...
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HRH The Prince of Wales Presents RCM Awards To John Byrne and OW Ashby Mayes

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...
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Head Of Grounds & Gardens Joins Turfcare Education Group

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...
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Wells Hosts South & West Bunbury Festival

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...
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Year 4 Music, Drama and Dance Performance Platform

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...
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Somerset U17 Rugby Squad Selections

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,...
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Onyx Brass Workshop

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...
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DofE Pupils Join HM Lord-Lieutenant Of Somerset On Jubilee Jaunt

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...
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Choristers Meet David Briggs

Choristers Belinda (Year 6) and Michael (Year 6) were very excited to have the opportunity to meet world-renowned organist David Briggs at Wells Cathedral on Saturday 21st May.David was an Organ Scholar at King’s College Cambridge and now teaches at Cambridge University whilst serving as Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. He frequently gives master classes at colleges and conservatories across the globe and serves on international organ competition juries. David was performing...
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School Library Features Diversity Display

Our School Library has recently installed a new display celebrating the diversity of our pupils’ nationalities.Including birthplace, where in the world they reside and which nationality they claim, our pupils represent 40 different countries including non-sovereign states such as Wales and Jersey. The flag of each country is displayed as part of the Library’s global display featuring stories and authors from around the world. It is also an extension of the diversity and inclusion display featuring LGBTQ+ fiction and nonfiction...
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University of Southampton Junior Maths Challenge Winners

Congratulations to En Xuan (Year 7) and Lucille (Year 8) who have each been awarded a winners certificate in the University of Southampton’s Junior Maths Challenge and will attend a Prize Evening at the University in June.The Junior Maths Challenge is aimed at pupils up to Year 8 and consists of a range of mathematical questions for pupils to complete outside of lesson time, enabling them to think outside of the box and beyond the standard curriculum. The most successful...
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Wells Girls’ Hockey Successes

The School have been celebrating some fantastic Girls’ Hockey achievements this half Term.Congratulations to Linsey Mitchell (left, Year 9) who represented the UK Lions U14 Girls in Rotterdam and Tilly Matthews (right, Year 9) who played for Clifton Robinsons Hockey Club at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in the semi final of the England Hockey Tier 1 Supra League. Congratulations also go to Tilly’s younger sister Lulu (centre, Year 7) who...
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Art Workshop With Sir Richard Long In Cedars Hall

On Tuesday 10th May, our Year 3 pupils and Year 7-9 Art Scholars enjoyed an exciting creative experience, working alongside world-renowned artist Sir Richard Long RA CBE, in the Eavis Auditorium of Cedars Hall. Richard, Turner Prize Winner in 1989 (and four times Turner Prize nominee), is one of Britain’s leading contemporary artists, creating land art and installation pieces across the globe. He very kindly agreed to work with pupils at Wells Cathedral School, helping them to create their own...
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Somerset Day Celebrations

Across the School, we celebrated Somerset Day on Wednesday 11th May. We were proud to promote the official day of our beautiful home county and had a wonderful time celebrating our heritage with bunting, craft projects and Somerset-inspired food.The School community got involved in a number of ways, with our fabulous caretaking team putting up flags and bunting across the site and our Pre-Prep children designing flags and bunting of their own. This was followed by a special Somerset taste test during...
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Josh and Justin Run To McDonald’s (And Raise Over £1400!)

Sixth Formers Josh Chong (Upper Sixth) and Justin Chan (Lower Sixth) ran 33km from Wells to the McDonald’s in Street and back again to raise money for the humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger.The duo learned to map read as part of their effort, with Josh explaining that the idea originally formed as a joke to run so far to reach the Golden Arches which, after a bit of research, became a golden opportunity to fundraise. The UN reported that up...
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Woody Is Named Song Academy Young Rising Star

Congratulations to Woody Collins (Year 9) who has been named in the Song Academy’s Young Songwriter competition as the Young Rising Star of the UK/Ireland 13-18 year old category, narrowed down from nearly 900 entrants. You can listen to his entry, Iron Fist, here:Woody was the competition’s youngest entrant and will be performing at the 2022 showcase on Saturday 25th June in Notting Hill.Well done, Woody!

Old Wellensian Annie Selected For GB Rowing Team

Annie Campbell-Orde, who boarded in Haversham from 2007 to 2012 and had great success as a netball player, has been selected to represent Great Britain in the Women’s Eight rowing squad at the Windermere Cup in Seattle. Annie took up rowing while at Loughborough University, having been spotted through the talent ID programme, and went on to win BUCS gold for Loughborough and represent GB Universities in Serbia in the European Championships. After graduating Annie based herself in the East...
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Netball Girls Watch Team Bath Netball Live In Superleague

More than eighty of the School’s Netball players enjoyed a trip to Bath to watch Team Bath Netball take on Saracens Mavericks in the Netball Superleague.The Netball Superleague is the highest level of domestic Netball in the UK and the game proved to be an exciting clash between the two sides. In the final quarter the Mavericks edged a five goal lead only for Bath to claw the game back and secure an emphatic win by one goal. The game’s...
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Year 10 Silver DofE Exmoor Expedition

Twenty Year 10 pupils completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Practice expedition on Exmoor over the School holiday. The weather was kind but the terrain was not with the South West Coastal Path offering up some mighty ascents and a total of 60km was covered over three days of walking. The pupils coped brilliantly showing high levels of fitness, excellent navigation skills and outstanding teamwork throughout. Mr Padget, Mrs Gray, Mrs Stockall, Mr Lancey and Mr Elks were very...
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Year 7 Cartographers Map The Combe

As part of their Thursday afternoon ‘909’ activities programme, a group of budding Year 7 cartographers visited The Combe, a nineteenth-century secret garden which lies to the north of the School. Divided into small teams, the pupils were presented with their challenge: to produce as detailed a map of the area as possible, complete with symbols, colour coding, and a key. While each team’s map-maker planned the design, their hardy researchers scampered off into the (manicured) wilderness before reporting back...
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Sixth Form Literary Seminar on Samuel Taylor Coleridge

English classes from the Upper and Lower Sixth joined together last week for a seminar with literary historian Mr Stuart Andrews on the subject of one of their A level texts, the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Mr Andrews, who is also librarian of the Wells Museum, has published extensively on the Romantic Poets – most recently ‘The Lake Poets in Prose: Connecting Threads’ (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021) – and generously gave some of his time to allow Wells Cathedral School...
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Sir Antony Gormley at Cedars Hall

For CHAT 7 of the CHATS series of talks in Cedars Hall, curated by Sophie Rucker, pupils had the rare opportunity to listen to Sir Antony Gormley OBE RA talk about his artwork, including his sculpture, Doubt, currently situated on the West Front of Wells Cathedral. The evening was both thought-provoking and highly informative, with a personal and intriguing insight into the artist’s creative concepts, views on art and the methods and techniques he has utilised to create many of his world...
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Estates Team Visit Lord’s For Groundskeeping Advice

Members of our Estates team recently travelled to Lord’s Cricket Ground, also known as the Home of Cricket, to learn about groundskeeping techniques from Head Groundsman Karl McDermott.Kindly organised by Karl, the group spent three and a half hours at the ground which has stood for over two hundred years, during which they were shown both the Nursery Ground and the Main Ground, followed by a tour of the facilities including the Pavilion, Media Centre and the newly built Compton...
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The University of Cambridge and Wells Cathedral School Help Pupils To Improve Their A Level Results

Wells Cathedral School has partnered with a department of the University of Cambridge to trial a new online assessment that promises to help pupils perform even better in their A levels.The Cambridge Personal Styles Questionnaire (CPSQ) was developed by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing, part of the University of Cambridge. The CPSQ is an online assessment that helps teachers understand the attitudes and behaviours of individual pupils, so that they can then encourage each pupil to develop better learning habits and...
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Choristers Enjoy Busy Easter Period

The Choristers are in the midst of a busy Easter period with services beginning on Palm Sunday and ongoing through to Easter Sunday.Cathedral visitors enjoyed Hosanna!, a sequence of music and readings for Holy Week on the afternoon of Palm Sunday. This is to be followed by an hour of devotion as part of the Cathedral’s Three Hours Devotion service on Good Friday and a jam-packed Easter Sunday involving Cathedral Eucharist, Matins and Festal Evensong throughout the day, though the...
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Our Musicians Impress at the Mid-Somerset Festival

Many of our Musicians attended the Mid-Somerset Festival and achieved fantastic results.The Mid-Somerset Festival provides an annual platform for children and adults to showcase their skills in creative writing, speech and drama, music, musical theatre and dance. This year, there were 5,000 entrants vying for 200 awards.Congratulations to Hetty Christopher (Year 11), who won the Concerto for Woodwind, Brass or Recorder category, and the Premier Award for best instrumentalist.Among pianists, Justus Frantz (Year 11) came first in the Romantic Piano...
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Wells Pupils Receive University and Conservatoire Offers

Upper Sixth pupils at Wells Cathedral School have been receiving and confirming offers from universities and music colleges across the UK since the start of the year.To date, pupils have received over 170 offers from Russell Group and other top UK universities including the University of Oxford, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Exeter and the University of York, to study a wide range of subjects from Architecture to Biochemistry, Geophysics to Liberal Arts. Several pupils have received multiple...
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Upper Sixth Pupil Interviews Alex Hibbert

Upper Sixth pupil Adele Beecham recently interviewed polar traveller and explorer Alex Hibbert for the Youth Perspective Interview Series on her YouTube channel. The series is an online programme where talented and innovative people share their views on current affairs through interviews with Adele.Alex is a British World-Record-holding polar traveller, expedition leader, public speaker, author and photographer. He has skied further on an unsupported Arctic journey than anyone in history. We were fortunate enough to have Alex come to the...
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