Leadership is a key aspect of everything that Wellingtonians do – on the sports field, in CCF, academically, serving in the community, co-curricular activities and in the Arts.
Leadership training at Wellington is delivered through the Wellington Leadership and Coaching Institute (WLCI), run by our staff and pupils, as well as through partnerships with organisations in the public and private sector, including the Government, the Civil Service, the Cabinet Office, schools (local, national and international), universities (Oxford, Harvard, UPenn, Birmingham, UC Berkeley), charities, businesses and the Armed Forces.
The WLCI was founded on the core values of Wellington: courage, integrity, respect, responsibility and kindness. It has three pillars, which inform the type of leaders we hope to develop: leaders with great strength of character; the desire to serve and the skills needed to become a positive leader. We expect pupils to leave Wellington as inspirational, intellectual, independent, individual and inclusive leaders.
All pupils receive a minimum of two hours of leadership theory training per year, with the option to do much more. All of our leadership training is quality assured by Oxford University and we are a Chartered Management Institute recognised provider. Pupils in the sixth form can also join the WLCI on Wednesday afternoons and learn more about the evidence base behind great leadership, help run a Festival of Leadership for other schools, start their own social action project and work towards a certificate in leadership.
Wellington pupils are also trained in Wellbeing, which enhances their ability to lead themselves and others, as we strongly believe the best leaders are those who enable their teams to flourish. The service programme and the opportunity to become service leaders also significantly enhances our pupils’ leadership development, as well as the multitude of opportunities to lead in our co-curricular and academic programmes.
Pupils have the opportunity to join our global leadership programme – Global Social Leaders – and to work on the many courses and conferences we put on for other schools and organisations. To find out more about this, please visit the Global Social Leaders website.
Staff also receive regular leadership training and our WLCI team have presented on leadership at Number 10, the Cabinet Office, the Department of Education, in China, Singapore and Australia, as well as for England Rugby.
Coaching is a key feature of everything we do at Wellington College. All staff are trained in it and it permeates the way that staff and pupils interact with one another. Coaching is one of the most powerful tools for unlocking natural abilities. It offers tools and resources to increase pupils’, colleagues’ and parents’ personal awareness, confidence, fulfilment and self-sufficiency. This approach leads to greater independence, resilience, better performance and independent learning of pupils. Coaching has helped build stronger relationships between staff and pupils, developing the supportive and collaborative culture where people flourish.
