As we say goodbye to our current year 13 leavers, we prepare to welcome the current year 12s into their final year at Wellington which also means a new Head of College. For the 2018-2019 academic year, that role will be taken on by Zoe Stiller. She will take on the task of representing all the pupils across the College. In this role, she will be assisted by two Deputy Heads of College. These are new positions being introduced to ensure that the burden is not carried entirely by one pupil, and that the potential for impact is broadened. Harvey Henman and Joey Li will be our new Deputy Heads of College. Barely two weeks into her new role, Zoe and her team already have plans in motion for next year.

It is a huge honour to have been chosen as the incoming Head of College and I’m really looking forward to getting started in the role next year. I’ve been at Wellington since it opened four years ago and we’ve had some truly impressive Heads of College during that time, including my predecessor, Jessica. So needless to say, I’ve got some big shoes to fill! I feel that it’s important to try and make a positive impact on my surroundings, a philosophy shaped by my experiences at Wellington. I’ve loved having a voice in the College’s pupil leadership during my time as Deputy Head and Head of House for the Combermere. During those years, I’ve seen how important it is to not only speak up when I have an idea to pursue, but also to listen to the ideas of others, appreciate their value, and ultimately help them come to fruition. I feel that this has been the best kind of training for the position of Head of College and I plan to keep both my mind and my ears wide open next year. I know for a fact that Wellington is full of pupils, across all year groups, who care deeply about the College and have lots of great ideas about how we can make it even better. If I do nothing else, I want to be an entirely approachable Head of College, one who everyone feels they can come and talk to. So, if you have an idea, whatever it is, please come and talk with me about it! This is related to my hopes for what my deputies and I can accomplish next year. While it’s a little early to say that we have any grand plans, (summer break is merely weeks away, to be fair!) we’ve already been meeting to discuss our ideas for the future. While these ideas need to be fleshed out, I feel strongly about trying out new ways to make our school feel more cohesive and connected across the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Schools. As Wellington has grown steadily in size, we’ve also grown up together to become a very close and inclusive community. Many schools have rigid delineations between year groups and we’re just not like that. Practically everyone has plenty of great friendships with pupils outside of their own year group, a process that has been greatly encouraged through Wellington’s house system. I think this is very important and it’s something that I want to encourage even more. Whether we do that through more cooperative pupil leadership meetings, or more whole-school events, or something else entirely, I am really looking forward to trying new ways to bring us all closer together. As I’ve said, Head of College is a fantastic and important role, one which I’m eager to get to grips with. Fortunately, I have lots of great examples to follow. Last year, Jessica proposed and put together Wellington’s first TEDx event, which was incredible and really showed what one person can do when they put their mind to it. She was the driving force behind the event and her organisational skills and passion to make something important happen were inspirational. I’m hoping that I can emulate her example and give pupils the chance to make positive changes in the same way. I hope you all have an incredibly fun and relaxing summer holiday and I look forward to seeing you next year!