Rugby

Rugby Union is one of our leading sports where boys and girls have the opportunity to play either touch or contact fixtures. Extensive training is put in place for all pupils that choose to play contact rugby and they must pass a series of markers before being allowed to do so.

Wellington School is proud to have a partnership with The Bristol Bears Academy. This exciting collaboration marks a significant step in our ongoing commitment to player development and providing first-class opportunities for our boys and girls. The partnership deepens collaboration between the Academy and the School, as we work to strengthen our coaching frameworks and elevate performance standards in line with the Bears’ philosophy. With a significant number of players already involved in the Bears pathway, and with a strong history of players representing the Academy, Wellington is well placed for those who have aspirations of playing at the highest levels. 

Alongside this partnership, we also have the expertise of Dorian Jones in our coaching team. Dorian made over 60 appearances for Gwent Dragons including two European Challenge Cup semi-finals. He also played for Worcester Warriors in the English Premiership as well as 5 seasons in the French Pro D2, where he accumulated more than 700 points. Most recently, he has played for NOLA Gold in Major League Rugby in the States.  

As a fly-half or fullback, Dorian works closely with pupils in our backline across all ages and leads the attack for the 1st XV.

A number of boys and girls represent at a range of age groups and play at County, Regional and National level – some train with Bristol Bears or Exeter Chiefs Academy, whilst many represent Somerset and Devon.

Rugby Sevens is played in the spring term and regional and national tournaments are entered. 

Some of our recent successes include;

One player represented England at the Girls' U18 Six Nations and part of the Exeter Chiefs Academy.

One player was invited to train with England U18s in a two-day camp off the back of  success with the Bristol Bears U18 Academy set-up

One player captained the Bristol Bears U17s in a series of games.

Six players in the emerging player pathway with the Bristol Bears Academy (Five Year 9 & one Year 11).

Two players in the emerging player pathway with the Exeter Chiefs Academy, both in Year 10.

Hockey

Hockey is one of our leading sports for girls and boys and is played across both the Autumn and Spring term. Boys and girls at Wellington School play hockey on a competitive circuit, with fixtures against all major local schools. We regularly field two teams per year group from 1st XI to U12s and many enter County competitions. 

Some of our recent successes include;

Eight Somerset county players across our age groups

One Devon county player

Our U14 Girls came 2nd in the Tier 2 Regional finals, a fantastic achievement for this young team

Netball

At Wellington School, we're committed to nurturing talent and fostering a love for netball at every level. With a minimum of 6 hours

over a fortnight, in both Sport lessons and club slots, we ensure that all our players receive the support they need to excel on the Netball courts.

Under the expert guidance of Miss Paget and her team of coaching staff, our players benefit from comprehensive training programs tailored to enhance skills, fitness, and tactical understanding to progress their game play.

We have fantastic indoor courts and a viewing gallery.

Our recent successes include:

U14 Team SiS National Netball Shield Champions and represented Somerset at South West Netball Regional Tournament

1st Team Semi Finalists in SiS National Netball Competition

2 students selected for Team Bath Academy Development Centres

10 Netballers on the Somerset County Pathway

Netballers represent Club sides including Galmington, Taunton, Wellington and Exeter

Wellington School hosts U13 Somerset Academy Pathway and England Netball Training Days 

Cricket 

Cricket is one of our leading sports and is played boy boys and girls across the School. Winter training occurs across both the Autumn and Spring term with the outdoor season taking place in the summer term. We currently have a large number of male and female players of all ages in the Somerset, Cornwall and Devon County Cricket squads and have close contacts with Somerset CCC.

Our recent successes include:

Wellington School was selected as one of the 100 top independent schools for cricket in the Cricketer Schools Guide magazine 2023

We have hosted the England Women's team twice in the last 3 years for warm-up matches and training

One player was re-selected for Wales U18’s and is a part of their winter cricket program and will hopefully represent her country in the summer

One player was selected for Western Storm’s emerging player pathway and is one of only 36 cricketers selected in all of Wales and the South West

One player was selected for Cornwall U18s squad.

9 boys have been selected for Somerset on the winter training programs this term

3 girls have been selected for Somerset on the winter training programs this term

2 boys have been selected for Devon on the winter training programs this term

2 girls have been selected for Devon on the winter training programs this term

Old Wellingtonians have represented their nations recently including Liam Naylor (Scotland Men), Niamh Holland (England U19 & Western Storm), Alisa Scantlebury (Barbados Women), Sam Elstone (Scotland U19), Jordan Knight (West Indies U19)

Athletics

Wellington School has a strong reputation in Track & Field Athletics throughout the Southwest. Athletic development underpins all of our sport at school. 

The School engages in regular competition, both at Inter-School level and at representative level. There are opportunities to represent Somerset and also to continue on to the highest level of schools competition and there are many regional and national champions at the school.  A recent leaver has taken up an athletics scholarship at an American university.

There is provision for coaching and development across all ages, from grass roots level to more advanced and elite skills. These take place during sports sessions, after-school activity time and, for the more elite track athletes, a session at the Castle School Track, Taunton. In addition, many of our athletes join local clubs to gain further expertise in their chosen areas as well as attend coaching seminars held by Somerset County Athletics Association.

Our recent successes include:

A Sixth Former won the senior boy’s event in the English Schools Cup

Football  

We have football teams who train and play competitive matches against local schools and our first XI recently won the ISCA League title in an unbeaten season.

Badminton

Played in our sports hall, this is a popular activity, especially for boarders and we have teams playing in regular fixtures with other schools.

Our recent successes:

Our current team (2024-25) are unbeaten this season.

Modern Pentathlon and Triathlon

We have expert coaches who come and train our pupils in fencing, laser shooting, which combined with cross country, swimming and showjumping comprises the modern pentathlon. Some of our pupils opt for the triathle (shoot, swim, run) or Biathle (run, swim) and compete at national level.

Our recent successes include:

Year 5 pupil won a Bronze Medal in relay at World Biathle Championships 2022 

Cross-Country

There are some extremely strong competitive cross-country runners in the School, who participate at county level representing Somerset in the National Championships.  In addition, we run an annual “Monument Run” – a historical event where the whole school from Year 9 upwards run up to the Wellington Monument and back.

Recent successes include:

Sixth Former won the senior boy’s event in the English Schools Cup

Tennis

Tennis is an important sport for girls and boys during the summer. Our juniors, colts and seniors receive at least 2 training sessions and regular weekly fixtures for A & B teams.  Our specialist coaches and professional tennis coach Dan Sizer can provide individual or small group sessions for pupils during and after the school day. Our teams play other local clubs.

Swimming

Swimming at Wellington School is very popular and we have a number of highly qualified swimming coaches, including three Level 2 coaches/Level 2 aquatics and additional experienced assistants.

The School Swimming squad participates in a number of local competitions, including the Meade King Cup, the oldest inter-school competition in Europe. Wellington School is still the only school to win a clean sweep of all the cups in a single year in this gala. Many of our swimmers have achieved regional and national times.

Girls and boys train together and mostly compete at the same competitions. They train across ages and as a consequence swimmers learn lifelong skills such as effective goal setting, dedication, team work and co-operation.

Training sessions are offered throughout the week. Swimmers opt for the training sessions they can make, as many swimmers like to compete in more than one sport in the summer. The atmosphere in the swimming squad is one of enjoyment and challenge, creating a positive and productive training environment.

Indoor Hockey

This is offered in addition to the main seasonal sports for boys and girls.

Squash

A squash court on campus allows pupils to try sports such as squash as a co-curricular activity.

Equestrian

We have an extremely successful Equestrian team who have performed excellently at national competitions, including Badminton and Hickstead. We had the National Schools Equestrian champion in the school and the team is achieving great things!  Pupils will be given specific fitness programmes to support their sport.

Recent successes include:

1 rider continues to shine as a competent Show jumper and is competing at a National Level

1 rider qualified for the Regional pony club Championship’s in dressage and eventing

1 rider qualified for the National Championships in show jumping after winning the 90-95cm category at the schools NSEA

Some of our recent pupil successes in sport played outside School include;

Mountain Biking:

Year 9 pupil won U15 winner South West Regional Downhill Race putting him in a strong position for national selection
 

Volleyball

1 player represented England in Volleyball and got her first caps playing against Denmark, Sweden ad Iceland
 

Golf

1 player competed in the Junior European Open in Spain, this was particular impressive as he was also three years young and finished 40th
 

Trampolining

1 pupil competed at the English Trampoline Championships, where he finished 12th