Wrekin College
Wrekin College is an independent co-educational boarding and day school located in Wellington, Shropshire, England. It was founded by Sir John Bayley in 1880 and is known as ‘The School in the Garden’ owing to its extensive grounds and playing fields. Part of the Allied Schools, it is also a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
| Wrekin College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
Sutherland Road , , TF1 3BH England | |
| Coordinates | 52.7024°N 2.5100°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public School Independent day and boarding school |
| Motto | Latin: Aut vincere aut mori (Either to conquer or to die) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 1880 |
| Founder | Sir John Bayley |
| Chairman of Governing Body | Richard Pearson |
| Headmaster | Tim Firth |
| Chaplain | Revd. Plummer |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Number of students | 480 |
| Houses | Bayley, Clarkson, Lancaster, Roslyn, Tudor, York. Former houses: Hanover, Norman, Eastfield, Saxon. Windsor, |
| Colour(s) | |
| Publication | The Wrekinian |
| Former Pupils | Old Wrekinians wrekinconnect |
| Website | wrekincollege.com |
History
The school was founded in 1880 as Wellington College by Sir John Bayley.
In 1915 less than 100 acres (0.40 km2) of the Lilleshall Hall estate were purchased from the Duke of Sutherland, who retained the Hall and 50 acres (200,000 m2). During the First World War the college refused to give up the rugby posts, to be scrapped as raw materials for the war effort however they did donate the railings on the walls down Sutherland Road.
In 1920, it was sold to the Revd Percy Warrington, a Church of England clergyman and renamed Wrekin College. The influential Anglican Clergyman E. J. H. Nash was chaplain from 1929–1932.[1] The Rev. Canon Guy Pentreath was a notable headmaster from 1943 to 1952.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Wrekin on Friday 17th March 1967, having opened Shire Hall earlier that day. The Headmaster, Robert Dahl (Headmaster. 1952-71), greeted the Queen, and in his study presented a specially bound copy of B.C.W Johnson’s A Brief History of Wrekin College, whilst Head of School, David Franklin (W. 1961-67) was given the honour of presenting a cricket bat for her sons.
Girls were introduced to the sixth form by headmaster Geoffrey Hadden in 1975. It became fully co-educational in 1983. There are currently approximately 480 pupils including a number of international boarders. The school admits pupils from the age of eleven.
In 2006, the trust was merged with that of the Old Hall Preparatory School (founded 1845), which moved from its original site in the Old Hall on Limekiln Lane to the site of Wrekin College.
Old Wrekinians Association
In 1907, The Old Wrekinian Association, (OWA), was created by just a small group of 14 past pupils and has today almost 6000 members who have subscribed to the mailing list. The sole purpose of the OWA is to help past students keep in touch with not only one another but also the school. The OWA Record magazine is published twice a year and it contains news of the OWA members and the school. There are five officials of the OWA, and they are as follows:
President: Barrie Roberts (N.51-55) Chairman: Emma Crawford (née Summers)(R. 94-99) Vice-Chairman: Neil Griffiths (L/Y. 93-00) Treasurer: Haydn Griffiths (Staff. 76-16) Auditor: Yvonne Thomas (Bursar. 04-20) Secretary: Michael de Weymarn (Staff. 74-10) Archivist: Mervyn Joyner (Staff. 62-94) Staff representative: David Winterton (B.81-86) (Staff. 98-present)
They meet at least twice a year along with the current Wrekin College headmaster Mr Tim Firth, OW School Governors and OW Branch representatives.
Notable Alumni
- Harry Andrews (1911–1989), British stage and film actor
- William R. P. George (1912–2006), Welsh poet
- Sir Peter Gadsden (1929–2006), former Lord Mayor of London (1979), businessman
- Brian Epstein (1934–1967), music entrepreneur and manager of The Beatles
- Sir John Roch (1934– ), former Lord Justice of Appeal
- Field Marshal Rt Hon the Lord Inge KG, GCB, PC, DL (1935 – ), former Chief of Defence Staff
- Malcolm Bruce (1944- ), LibDem MP
- Sir Ian Blair (1953 – ), Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2005–2008)
- Peter Chelsom (1956- ), film director
- Bob Warman (1948 – ), television presenter
- James Faulkner (1948 – ), Voice/television actor
- Rupert Croft-Cooke MBE (1904–79), novelist and obsessive autobiographer
- Jean-Paul Duminy (1984– ), South African International cricketer
- Rory Kleinveldt (1983– ), South African International cricketer
- His Honour Judge John Charles Price, Circuit Judge
Footnotes
- Manwaring, Randle (2002). From Controversy to Co-Existence: Evangelicals in the Church of England 1914–1980. Cambridge: CUP. p. 57.