The Wellington Academy
Encyclopedia
Introduction
Wellington Academy, founded in 2009, was WiltshireWiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
's first academy. Located in Tidworth
Tidworth
Tidworth is a town in south-east Wiltshire, England with a growing civilian population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east...
, the academy is an 11-18 non-selective state-funded school, sponsored by Wellington College, an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
The President of the academy is HRH Duke of York. In 2010, HM The Queen met Principal Andy Schofield with students from the academy and discussed plans for the new campus, during a visit to Wellington College.
Design
The academy was designed by London based architects BDP, built by KierKier Group
Kier Group plc is a construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, public and private housebuilding, land development and the Private Finance Initiative...
and was shortlisted in the best academy category for the Building Schools for the Future (BSF
Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future is the name of the previous UK Government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England. The program is very ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicians from all English political parties supportive of the principle but...
) Awards in 2009.
Characteristics
Wellington Academy specialises in languages and business & enterprise. The campus houses a community sports, fitness centre and bowling green, beauty and treatment spa, cadet centre with indoor shooting range, twin boarding houses for 100 students, and Castledown Radio media centre. Located near to Tidworth Garrison on Salisbury Plain, almost half of the school's students are from service families. The academy has a skills centre in the adjacent Castledown Business Park.Achievements
The academy's first set of results in 2010 established the school as one of Wiltshire's highest performing. The academy was visited by Ofsted in December 2010 and was deemed to have made outstanding progress since opening.Sponsored Academy
Wellington Academy is the first academy in the country to take its name from an independent school, Wellington College, founded as a national monument to the Duke of Wellington by Queen Victoria in 1859. Other independent schools were initially slow to do something similar, despite the high profile campaign led by Wellington College's Master Anthony Seldon, though the situation has now begun to change, with around 28 independent schools now helping to run Academies, including Sevenoaks SchoolSevenoaks School
Sevenoaks School is an English coeducational independent school located in the town of Sevenoaks, Kent. It is the oldest lay school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432. Almost 1,000 day pupils and boarders attend, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. There are approximately equal numbers of...
, Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
, Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
, Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, Oundle School
Oundle School
Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...
, Uppingham School
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...
, and Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, with strong encouragement from Government for even greater involvement.