Overside house is a vibrant and fun house for boys in Years 7-10. We have a dedicated staff team led by Head of House Tom Fasham. Matron, Mrs Susan Camassa runs the domestic side of house with great skill and attention to detail. Assistant Head of House Luke Coombs brings a wealth of experience and energy to the house.  A team of evening tutors is also on hand to help care for the boys. We aim to make the house a warm and friendly environment and with supervised prep sessions, fun evening activities and excellent weekend trips and sporting opportunities, the boys are well supported in their studies and free time to create some amazing shared memories.

In their free time the boys enjoy playing table football, pool, table tennis, FIFA and chess.  Watching various sports is also a popular pastime. This can be watching other boys competing for the school, as well as the bigger events in the rugby, football, cricket and motor racing calendars.

Mr Fasham has taught mathematics since 2006.  He lives in the oarding house with his wife and two sons who are also pupils at the School.  He has been Head of Overside House since 2017 and enjoys spending time playing table tennis or pool with the boys in the house. In his free time he enjoys going to the beach, long walks in the countryside, camping, white water kayaking and watching his children play sport.

Mrs Sonia Walsh has been Head of House in Beech since 2021, and before that was a cover Matron at Wellington School for six years. She lives at Beech House with her husband and two small dogs and has three grown up children and one granddaughter at the moment. Both Mrs Walsh and her husband come from a teaching background and moved from Essex to Somerset in 2016 and love it here.

Mrs Walsh ensures that the girls consider Beech to be a home from home, a place of welcoming, nurturing, and mutual respect where they will always be able to feel safe and secure. The internal design and décor of Beech House has been adapted to provide different zones and spaces to encourage a happy, vibrant, living and learning environment. We want every student that passes through Beech House, whether for one day, or three senior years to have a supportive, caring experience in which to grow.

There is always a cup of tea and a slice of cake available at Beech House!

 

 

Lights is the oldest house in the School, as it was founded when the School was started in 1837. It has undergone many changes over time, and now provides comfortable accommodation for 33 senior boys. The staff team includes the resident Head of House, Mr Simon Costello and Matron, and the on-site Assistant Head of House, fully supported by a dedicated group of evening duty tutors

Mr Costello and his team work hard to allow Lights to be three things in particular for the boys: their Home, a Community, and a Place of Learning.

Home: Lights is somewhere where they should feel safe, valued and comfortable. It is somewhere where they can relax and be themselves.

Community: There are 33 boys who live in Lights, joined by the staff team. It is important that they all respect each other, and learn the vital life skills of being part of a group that works together and supports every member. This is a chance for them to make lifelong friendships and meet boys from all parts of the world.

Place of Learning: We not only want our boys to work hard at their academic subjects, to get the best results possible, but also for them to learn about themselves, by taking on new challenges in the school, and to learn about each other, making them ready to be citizens of a global society.

The House has two kitchen areas for boys to use, for snacks and any food they want in addition to meals in the dining hall. The larger kitchen also has some social space, with a pool table.

There is a Common Room with sofas, a projector to watch television and films, and an X-box console. ‘The Snug ‘is a room where pupils can work collaboratively during prep time, and socialise and play board games and cards at other times. There is a roof terrace ‘Flat Roof’ which is an outdoor social area with some garden furniture and a table-tennis table.

The Head of House, Mr Costello, lives in Lights with his wife and young son. He is also Head of Classics in the school, and coaches football. He grew up in Somerset, and worked in two boarding schools before joining Wellington. Mr Wilson, the Assistant Head of House, is also Head of Learning Support, runs chess in the school, and is a dedicated Forfar Athletic supporter. Matron, Mrs Sertin, is the school badminton coach, having played for England at junior level, and her son is an OW.

Willows House is a Senior Boys house and is one of the oldest buildings in school. Mr Downes is the Head of House and is ably supported by his Assistant Head of House, Mr Ben Howe (himself an ex Willows boarder!) and Matron Mrs Elena Lee. Willows house has a relaxed vibe and the boys enjoy spending time in one of the four large common rooms, playing table tennis, watching a movie in the cinema room or cooking a meal with their friends in one of the two well equipped kitchens. Most rooms in Willows are twin rooms and each boy has his own study desk in his room and space to store all of the belongings that teenage boys seem to accumulate.

Mr Downes is a Business and Economics teacher and also a fiercely competitive badminton player who coaches our senior badminton players along with Mrs Sertin from Lights House. He is an experienced Head of House and has worked in both junior and senior boarding. If it is a rainy day, Mr Downes is the man to know – he never goes anywhere without his trusty umbrella!

 

 

The Grange House is a warm and supportive house for our junior girl boarders in Years 7-10 who are looked after by their Head of House, Matron and our Assistant Head of House. The House has  a wonderful mixture of boarders from all over the world and they make friends for life here. They particularly enjoy competing against the boys houses during boarder’s activity days, baking cakes for birthdays and watching movies with hot chocolate and marshmallows on a Friday night. The Grange is a hugely supportive and homely environment and we look forward to welcoming you!