MILITARY FAMILIES
Wells Cathedral School welcomes families from the Armed Forces from all over the world. We are a family-orientated co-educational boarding and day school from 2-18 year olds which provides an all-round education alongside world-class Specialist Music and Chorister training.
Our vision is to inspire every individual pupil to nurture their talents in a vibrant, creative, spiritual and stimulating environment to become a responsible global citizen.
Our school has been in Wells and inspiring pupils for 1,111 years and our aim remains loyal to our Latin motto ‘Esto Quod Es’ (Be What You Are’). Our school focus is to develop an all-round character and talent in a safe, beautiful and stimulating environment.
Armed Forces Discount
Sons and daughters of members of the British Armed Forces qualify for a 15% discount off of our school fees.
School Life
Sport
We offer a wide selection of sports to all our pupils including competitive hockey, rugby, tennis, cricket, swimming, netball and badminton. We encourage everyone to take part in sport, at their appropriate skill level, to enable them to develop new skills and be part of a team. We also offer a number of sport options throughout the year which include air rifle club, athletics, rounders, running club, table tennis and volleyball.
Outdoor Learning
Pupils at Wells Cathedral School benefit from a diverse and exciting programme of outdoor education activities, which allows them access to countless courses, adventure camps and qualifications to provide further experience above and beyond the classroom.
Each year hundreds of Wells pupils take part in the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to complete Bronze, Silver or Gold levels. We also have a vibrant and active Combined Cadet Force for senior pupils, led by Director of Outdoor Learning, and former Royal Marine, Stuart Elks.
Creative Arts
Our integrated approach to teaching art, photography, drama, dance, music and food technology allows for creativity, imagination and flexibility. It helps build our pupils’ confidence and curiosity by giving them the opportunity for self-expression through risk-taking, teamwork, resourcefulness and reflection.
In addition to normal drama lessons, pupils can participate in musicals, plays, Drama Club or the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. Recent productions have ranged from works written and composed by our own teachers to Les Misérables (attended by Sir Cameron Mackintosh), Private Peaceful, Beauty and the Beast and Grease.
Music
We are the only one of the four Specialist Music Schools in England that is set within an all-round independent school. Specialist musicians receive a first-class, pre-professional training from teachers who are world-class musicians themselves, many of whom are active performers and teach at UK conservatories. Our musicians achieve great success both as performers and in public examinations. Our extensive musical programme also enables us to provide a very broad range of musical opportunities for those who pursue music as a hobby.
Academic Curriculum
Our Prep School offers a challenging and creative curriculum to inspire our children to become problem-solvers and to take risks from early in their school careers. All children are encouraged to develop teamwork and leadership skills, make friends and have fun. We also want pupils to be confident in embarking upon new challenges so we study French in Years 1-6, with the opportunity to attend a Latin, Spanish or Portuguese Club.
Our Senior School pupils have 25 subjects to choose from for their GCSE’s including five languages. Our GCSE results have been consistently high in recent years with 83% grade 9 to 5, the last three year’s results can be found here. Our Sixth Form pupils can choose from 26 subjects, however, we do vary our subject choices across the traditional divisions of the arts, sciences and humanities on demand. Our A levels results can be found here.
Boarding and Pastoral Care
My children are currently all Boarders at Claver Morris. When we first looked around the school, we immediately knew that the opportunities and experiences our children would have, would be just what we wanted for them. It was, however, the boarding house that gave us the certainty that this was the school for our family. The brilliant staff provide us with the comfort and confidence that our children are supported and cared for. They have been nurtured and encouraged, made wonderful friends and frequently refer to the house as home. Clare Rowntree and her amazing team have embraced our family, showing constant understanding and kindness and we couldn’t have asked for a better boarding experience. The children’s weekends are full of activities, without being over scheduled or over stimulating. They get to be children, playing games, baking and exercising, learning new skills, watching movies in what can only be described as a warm, family environment. Boarding can be an emotional journey, and I cannot thank the team at Claver Morris enough for everything they do.
– Military parent
About our Houses
We have eight houses which provide a family and community environment for both our day and boarding pupils. We are unique in that we assign our day pupils to a boarding house; we find that this creates additional opportunities to strengthen and expand friendship groups.
We offer boarding to Prep School pupils in Years 4-6 and Senior School pupils in Years 7-8 in the beautiful house and grounds of Claver Morris House. Our priority is to create a warm, caring, family environment.
For the Senior School pupils, we have seven single-sex houses providing a large family-type unit that integrates 20-40 boarding pupils with a similar number of day pupils.
Ritchie House is our bespoke, sixth form only co-educational house designed to provide a stepping stone from school life to university.
Pastoral Care
Our team of dedicated staff supports pupils through the challenges that growing up presents. Having a wide range of staff managed by Martin Ashton, Deputy Head of Pastoral Care, ensures each pupil has someone they can turn to. We believe that we must work in close partnership with parents; we initiate (and always welcome) frequent, open and honest communication.
Activities
We organise a variety of activities, from cinema, theatre and concert trips to outdoor activity centres. We also plan larger trips to theme parks, safari parks (Longleat), and city breaks. From Year 7, pupils are allowed to go into Wells unaccompanied and enjoy the many shops, cafés and weekly markets. Boarders can also make the most of our swimming pool, gym and our many concerts held in our performance hall, Cedars Hall.
The team of boarding staff could not be more caring and supportive. They go above and beyond to look after each child to meet their individual needs. Their support ranges from lifting the children’s spirits with creating dance routines, roasting marshmallows on the fire pit, finding roles for them to support older siblings at rugby games, to arranging ring fenced time to chat during difficult times, such as a parent being away for an extended period. We continue to be incredibly grateful to the whole boarding community at Wells – thank you so much.
– Military parent
Why the City of Wells?
We are located in the heart of the medieval, cathedral city of Wells, the smallest city in England with one of the most beautiful Cathedrals in the UK, Wells Cathedral. With a small population of only 12,000, we are surrounded by wonderful countryside where our children can enjoy fresh air, green fields, open spaces and freedom in a safe environment. Wells lies at the foot of the Mendip Hills, which overlook the Somerset Levels.
We are privileged to have Wells Cathedral on our doorstep as a venue for our weekly assemblies with the Head Master. The Choristers of Wells Cathedral are an integral part of our school – in fact, they are the very reason we were founded in AD909.
Convenient Location
Military Staff
We are proud to employ several serving and retired military personnel on our Board of Trustees and Governors, as well as members of teaching and support staff and these include the following:
Alastair is a son of a Royal Navy Officer and boarded at both Prep and Senior School, so he has a thorough understanding of what it’s like to have a parent in the Armed Forces.
David served in the Army for 21 years before going on to work with The Bristol Port Company in 2007 as Operations Director. He became the Chief Executive in 2016.
Chris served 34 years in the Army as an engineer who served all over the world. He was involved in numerous operational theatres including the Middle East, Central Europe, West Africa and the USA.
Glyn served two years in the Royal Armoured Corps (TA), followed by 10 years in the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. He also completed four operational tours of Northern Ireland and served 13 years in the ACF.
Lawrence served in the Intelligence Corps for four years. He was previously our Contingent Commander and Sub lieutenant in the Royal Navy section.
Fiona grew up in an armed forces family as her father was in the Royal Navy for 23 years. When she joined Wells, she established a Royal Navy section within our CCF which has now grown to 35 cadets.
Chris, who is a former pupil and chorister joined the Royal Navy as a warfare officer. He served on various ships including a Hong Kong Patrol craft, an aircraft carrier and destroyer before retraining as a lawyer. He remained with the Royal Navy reserves for a further 10 years.
Next Steps
If you would like to find out more about what we have to offer or if you would like to arrange a visit, please contact our Registrar Jo Prestidge by filling in the form below or by using one of the following methods:
Telephone: +44 (0)1749 834441
Email us: [email protected]
Arrange a Skype call: email [email protected] with times that work for you
Post: Admissions, Wells Cathedral School, The Liberty, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2ST, United Kingdom