In 909AD, Wells Cathedral School was formed to provide education for the choir boys at Wells Cathedral. Today, Wells Cathedral School is a family-orientated co-educational boarding and day school for 2–18 year olds, which provides an all-round education alongside world-class Specialist Music and Chorister training. Their vision is to inspire every individual pupil to nurture their talents in a vibrant, creative, spiritual and stimulating environment to become a responsible global citizen. Their core values are Creativity, Aspiration, Responsibility and Endeavour (CARE).
There is a Senior and Prep School with over 700 boys and girls aged from 2 to 18. Boarders number around 220, while the remainder are day pupils (about 40% of pupils in the Senior School board), and a Prep School aged boarding option for pupils from Year 4. Once accepted, a child normally remains in the School without further Entrance Examination until the age of 18+.
Fees per term (2024-2025). Sixth Form: Boarders £14,329, Day £8,759. Years 9–11: Boarders £13,992, Day £8,539. Years 7–8: Boarders £12,958, Day £7,737. Years 4–6: Boarders £10,239–£11,358; Day £5,550–£6,668; Reception–Year 3: £3,314–£4,991. Nursery: various sessions available.
Scholarships and bursaries. Scholarships are awarded to recognise current talent and potential in the fields of Academics, Art, Drama, Mathematics, General Music (for those not looking to join our Specialist Music Scheme) and Sport, for pupils joining the School in Years 7, 9, 10 and Lower Sixth. In addition to a financial award of up to 50% for truly exceptional candidates (the majority of Scholars are awarded 10%), Scholars receive enhanced educational opportunities and privileges to help them develop their talents. In addition, means-tested bursaries may also be available. The deadline to apply is in October for Sixth Form and early December for Years 7, 9 and 10. Scholarship Days are held in November and January, and decisions are announced in November and February.
For pre-professional musicians wishing to join our Specialist Music Programme, we offer a number of music awards based upon the standard and quality of applicants (assessed at Music Auditions held three times throughout the year) and individual financial circumstances. We also offer places to ‘general’ musicians who might wish to take advantage of the wealth of musical opportunity here, but who might not wish to enrol on the Specialist pathway.
The School is one of only four in England designated by the Department for Education to provide specialist musical education. The DfE therefore provides generous assistance (up to 100% of fees) with tuition, boarding and music fees for up to 80 gifted musicians per year. These grants are means-tested according to parental income, and are provided by the DfE Music & Dance Scheme.
In addition, all Choristers automatically benefit from a 31% discount on tuition fees and a 50% discount on boarding fees, and may also be considered for further bursaries and financial assistance (on average, Choristers receive around 50% off their School fees). Once they have left the Choir at the end of Year 9 (or sometimes earlier if voice changes necessitate), they receive a discount worth 5% of their School fees for each year they were in the Choir, worth up to 20%, for the rest of their time at the School. We welcome enquiries and Chorister applications at any point. Special arrangements can be made for children from overseas.
Situations and buildings. The medieval city of Wells, with its famous Cathedral and a population of only 10,500, is the smallest city in England. It is just over 20 miles from Bath and Bristol where there is a good rail service, and is easily accessed from the M4 and M5 motorways. Bristol International Airport is a 40-minute drive away.
The School occupies all but one of the canonical houses in The Liberty, keeping its medieval and 18th-century atmosphere, while providing for the needs of modern boarding education. There are modern classrooms and science laboratories built amongst walled gardens. There is a 25-metre covered swimming pool, tennis and netball courts, brand new Astroturf pitch, three sports fields and an all-weather hard play area. A sports hall provides indoor facilities for tennis, badminton, cricket, basketball, volleyball, hockey, five-a-side football, climbing and a multi-gym. There are theatrical and concert facilities, including an award-winning concert hall, a music technology centre, a computer studies centre, art, design and technology department, drama studio, dance studio, library and sixth form centre.
There are eight boarding houses: one for prep boarders, one for Upper Sixth boarders and a further six in the Senior School – three for boys and three for girls, the most senior pupils having study-bedrooms. The aim is to give security to the younger pupils and to develop a sense of responsibility in the older pupils.
Organisation and curriculum. Despite its national and international reputation, the School has retained close links with the local community, and its fundamental aim is to provide all pupils with an education consistent with the broad principles of Christianity. More specifically, the School aims to be a well-regulated community in which pupils may learn to live in harmony and mutual respect with each other and with the adults who care for them. The curriculum has been designed to enable all children who gain entry to the School to develop fully all their abilities, and to take their place in due course in tertiary education and the adult community of work and leisure.
The emphasis is on setting by ability in particular subjects rather than streaming. There is every attempt to avoid early specialisation. There is a Sixth Form of some 200 taking A level courses in all major academic subjects.
The majority of pupils take up places at Russell Group Universities, with between 5 and 10% of the Upper Sixth being offered places each year at Oxford and Cambridge. The majority of Music Specialists will be offered places at the leading conservatories in the UK and globally, often with scholarship awards.
Societies. There is a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities in which pupils must participate, although the choice is theirs. Outdoor education is an important part of the curriculum. Besides a Combined Cadet Force with Army and Navy sections, and a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, activities as diverse as photography, sailing and golf are also on offer. Ballet and riding lessons can also be arranged.
Music. The School is one of four in England designated and grant-aided by the Department for Education (DfE) to provide special education for gifted young musicians, who are eligible for substantial financial assistance. Wells is unique in that both specialist and non-specialist musicians are able to develop their aptitudes within a normal school environment. These talents are widely acknowledged by audiences at concerts given by pupils from Wells throughout the world.
There are over 130 talented pupils following specially devised timetables which combine advanced instrumental tuition and ensemble work with academic opportunity. More than half of the School learns at least one musical instrument. Children in Year 1 are given the opportunity to learn a string instrument, usually cello or violin, as part of their music curriculum, which they can choose to continue in Year 2 as a paid lesson should they wish. Pupils receive the highest-quality teaching, often leading to music conservatoires and a career in music. Central to specialist music training are the opportunities to perform in public and there is a full concert diary. There are also regular concerts by the many ensembles in the School.
The Wellensian Association. Old Wellensians, Wells Cathedral School, Wells, Somerset BA5 2ST.
Charitable status. Wells Cathedral School Limited is a Registered Charity, number 310212. It is a charitable trust for the purpose of promoting the cause of education in accordance with the doctrine of the Church of England.
Governors & Staff:
Patron: HM King Charles III
Governors:
Chair of Governors: Mr David Brown, OBE
Ms Julia Baker
Prebendary Emeritus Barbara Bates
Mr Simon Bernal-Palmer
Mr Martin Cooke
Revd Canon Dr Megan Daffern
Mr Andrew Gummer
Mr Tim Lewis
Mrs Dorothy Nancekievill
Mr Robert Powell
Mr Kris Robbetts
Professor Jeffrey Sharkey
Mrs Elizabeth Shelton
The Reverend Canon Tim Stevens
The Very Reverend Toby Wright
Head Master: Alastair Tighe
Deputy Head (Pastoral): Martin Ashton
Deputy Head (Academic): Natalie Perry
Director of Music: Alex Laing
Senior School Teaching Staff
Claudia Alabiso (Modern Foreign Languages)
Helen Arendse (Mathematics)
Martin Ashton (Deputy Head (Pastoral), Designated Safeguarding Lead, English, Media Studies, Christian Union)
Lucy Balderson (Music, Head of Year 10/11, Retention Officer)
Phoebe Booker (Spanish)
Jeremy Boot (Head of Humanities, Geography)
Neil Bowen (Head of English)
Harvey Brink (Deputy Director of Music)
Samuel Broderick (History with Politics)
Kate Brown (Learning Support, Modern Foreign Languages)
Ross Brown (Coordinator of Brass Studies)
John Byrne (Coordinator of Keyboard Studies)
Louise Cannon (Dance)
Charlotte Chapman (Sport, Head of Football)
Nicola Connock (Head of Mathematics)
Sarah Cowell (EAL)
Andrew Davies (Head of Year 9, Head of Religion, Philosophy & Ethics)
Fiona Davies (Chemistry)
Shelley Deans (Drama, Theatre Studies)
Isabel Dempster (Head of PSHE)
Jules Desmarchelier (Director of Languages)
Mark Dignum (Head of Learning Support)
Christopher Dine (Head of Academic & Co-Curricular Operations, Physics)
Luke Dosanjh (EAL)
Elizabeth Duignan (Religion, Philosophy & Ethics)
Christopher Eldridge (Head of History)
Mandy Fielding (Food Technology)
Christopher Finch (Head of Pupil Programmes, Leader of Vocal Studies)
Janice Gearon (English, History of Art)
Joe Goodlad (Music)
Dominic Grass (Mathematics)
Helen Gray (Head of Chemistry, Assistant Head of Lower Sixth)
Mark Grinsell (Chemistry)
Penny Hall (Learning Support)
Stephen Harvey (Private Learning Coordinator)
David Heath (Head of Art)
Gemma Heath (Art)
Gill Hoadley (Mathematics)
Naomi Holland (Teacher of Speech and Drama: Peripatetic)
Aryana Hsieh (Chinese)
Lauren James (Learning Support)
Teresa Jarman (Business Studies)
Jessica Jarvis (Biology)
Echo Kenny (Cantonese)
Oliver Kershaw (Head of Outdoor Education)
Alex Laing (Director of Music)
Edward Leaker (Head of Instrumental & Vocal Coaching (VMS), Coordinator of Woodwind Studies)
Jane Lipton (Badminton)
Simon Lloyd (Head of Academic Music)
Wendy Mahon (Head of Business & Economics)
Heidi Martini-Smith (Learning Support)
James Mayes (History, Classics, Latin and Head of Hockey)
Daniel Meehan (Head of Rugby, PE)
Kathryn Mitchell (Subject Leader KS3 Science, Head of Academic Enrichment)
Bryan Moore (Head of Computing, Mathematics)
Rebecca Murdoch (Religion, Philosophy & Ethics, Geography)
Robin Murdoch (Mathematics Department Coordinator)
Alison Nash (Music)
Eliana Nelson (Head of Photography)
Jayne Obradovic (Head of Pupil Experience & Wellbeing Coordinator, Percussion Coordinator, Summer Schools)
Dora O'Sullivan (Head of Classics)
Kenneth Padgett (Head of Science, Head of Biology)
Clare Pattemore (Boarders Activities)
Natalie Perry (Deputy Head Academic)
Gemma Pritchard (Head of Academic PE, Head of Girls’ Tennis)
Elsbeth Ralls (Assistant Head of Years 10/11)
Kimberley Richards (Head of EAL)
David Rowley (Geography, Geology, Head of Years 7/8)
Sally Rowley (English, Head of Sixth Form)
Constantine Sillem (Spanish, French)
Tomas Simko (Extra Curricular (Games & Teams), Head of Basketball and Boys' Tennis)
Matthew Smith (Assistant Head Pastoral, Head of Boarding)
Simon Smith (Coordinator of Strings Studies)
Saffron Stockall (Head of Psychology)
Letty Stott (Head of Music Performance)
Emi Thornburn (Mathematics)
Damian Todres (Head of Creative Arts, Director of Drama & Theatre Studies)
Stuart Trutch (Maths)
Julian Tucker (Religion, Philosophy & Ethics)
Rosie Watch (Learning Support)
Tom Webley (Director of Sport)
Adam West (Science)
Georgina Wheeler (Head of Physics)
Mark White (Head of Music Technology)
Laurence Whitehead (Academic Music)
Lara Williams (English)
Tammie Williams (Head of Netball)
Clair Willis (English)
Prep School Teaching Staff
Head of Prep School: Jody Wells
Deputy Head: Karl Gibson
Head of Pre-Prep: Rebecca Perdrix
Sarah Jane Beats (Mathematics, Head of Computing)
Steve Bratt (Head of Sport & PE)
Rebecca Bridgford-Whittick (Head of SEND)
Sarah Campbell (Drama)
Rachel Coling (Art)
Kelly Fairey (KS1)
Karl Gibson (Deputy Head of Prep School, Science Coordinator)
Marie Gibson (Head of English)
Kateley Kinnersley (French)
Carina Morgan (Dance)
Clare Rowntree (Head of Music & Performance)
Emily Scott (KS1)
Fiona Shaw (KS1, Head of Forest School)
Sarah Swarfield (PE and Sport)
Lesley Wanklyn (Head of Geography)
Jonathan Ward (Mathematics Coordinator)
Rosie Warner (History Coordinator)
Charlotte White (KS1)
Bursar and Clerk to the Governors: B McCartney
Admissions Registrar: J Prestidge
Head’s PA: Mrs C Edwards
Director of Admissions and Marketing: L Llewellyn
School Doctor: Dr J Machling