School information Wells Cathedral School

Wells Cathedral School - Wells

Private Mixed Religious

Academic, musical, sporting, artistic and personal development lies at the heart of Wells Cathedral Senior School. Wells is a centre of excellence in the creative arts. In music, the school’s international standing offers pupils unique opportunities to discover and develop their instrumental and vocal talents to the full.

Wells has an adventurous and enjoyable environment that inspires confident, successful learning for life. Leadership is nurtured through a rigorous and competitive, yet supportive and accepting climate throughout the school; personal achievements are widely communicated and celebrated.

The school plays a creative and influential part in the formation of national policy in education and music education. Wells is one of the few independent schools to change to the six-term year. Academically it has never been afraid to embrace new ideas including teaching Mandarin, International GCSE in maths, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) at A Level and on-line courses in subjects such as law.
The Senior School consists of three sections within the overall school family: Lower School, Upper School and finally Sixth Form.

Lower School

The Lower School (Years 7 – 9) builds on the support and development that has been provided at junior level whether at Wells Cathedral Junior School or elsewhere. Care is taken to match the pace of progress to individual ability. As they move through the Lower School, the children take increasing responsibility for their own academic and personal development.

In the Lower School each year is run by a Head of Year who leads a tutor team. The tutor groups are the focus of pupils’ lives, and consist of an average of eight pupils. There is a house system for Lower School sport and other co-curricular competitions.

Upper School

The Upper School (Years 10 – 11) and Sixth Form (Years 12 – 13) have five houses. All pupils are allocated to a house. Some will use the houses during the day and some will be part of the boarding community of the house. The house is home for as long as the pupil is at school each day. Each house has a team of resident staff – a house parent, a matron and three other duty staff. All pupils are also members of tutor groups, which become more specialised in the Sixth Form.

The Head of Years 10 and 11 and the Head of Sixth Form coordinate activities in these year groups, chair student committees and work with tutors and house parents.

Wells has developed a programme with enrichment and acceleration in mind. Pupils are offered different pathways and thus are able to personalise their learning to follow a curriculum at a pace and in a direction which suits their needs and plays to their strengths. There is a greater sense of freedom as pupils take responsibility for developing their own interests and skills within clear structures.

HISTORY

The earliest record of a school for choristers in Wells dates from 909, when the church of Wells was made a Cathedral. This puts Wells Cathedral School among the oldest schools in Europe.

However the school has never been traditionalist and has always been enthusiastic to embrace new ideas. In 1969 it became one of the first independent schools to become fully co- educational, when twenty-nine girls arrived in the Junior School. Even today Wells is one of the few that can claim to be genuinely 50/50. Girls and boys are evenly integrated, from Nursery through to Sixth Form. We are committed to co-education in all that we do, believing that this is a normal and natural extension of family life, enhancing the way children grow up together and allowing them to explore their identities.

From 1970 onwards girls were admitted to all areas. In the same year, twelve young violinists were admitted to the newly endowed Music School, whose building was officially opened in 1974 by Lord Goodman, then Chairman of the Arts Council.

The decision in the 1970s to incorporate the Specialist Music Scheme means that Wells is the only one of the four Specialist Music Schools supported by the DfE to operate within the context of a conventional school.

We were one of the first choir schools to introduce Girl choristers in 1994. In 2000 we embraced new developments when the world was rapidly changing by delivering aspects of the A-Level curriculum online.

Today it is a thriving co-educational school, incorporating choristers and talented musicians alongside the general school community.
The Governing Body comprises five of the eight members of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral together with six lay governors. The Dean of Wells is the Chairman of the Governors.

The school is supported by a number of consultants who provide advice in specialized areas.

ETHOS

Wells is a school where people are able to discover themselves and then to be themselves to the very best of their abilities.

Our visitors comment on the amount that our pupils expect to achieve in very busy lives whilst also succeeding in acquiring composure and confidence. A mixture of structure and freedom prevails, from Junior School through to Sixth Form, offering an excellent preparation for further education or future careers.

An emphasis on pastoral care prevails throughout the school, from the very early years when children first learn to socialise, through to the Sixth Form where students enjoy a sense of freedom and support.

The link with Wells Cathedral bestows upon the school an ethos where work, study and spirituality are combined in a creative mix that runs in harmony with the whole school family. The school chaplain looks after the overall spiritual life of the school and is available to everyone in the community. There are weekly services in Wells Cathedral for the whole senior school and a Sunday evening service for boarders. Sometimes the whole school gathers together in the cathedral for major services.

Pupils are inspired to live with integrity and social responsibility, upholding our Christian tradition. Wells is a school where pupils are shown the way to live well and happily.