The specialist school

Wells is unique in the world, as far as we know. What do we do? We have a dream – to give our children and young people an inspiring education in a musically alive and beautiful environment as a brilliant foundation for life. I’m interested in thinking about how they will need to be in ten and 20 years’ time, as well as now. I believe very firmly that people work best when they are looked after well and expected to aim high. Students tell me, “at Wells, you don’t have to try to ‘fit in’. You can be who you are”. That’s the ‘brilliant foundation for life’.

The ‘musically alive environment’ means that music, whether in rehearsal, individual practice and teaching, or public performance can be heard throughout our buildings, spilling out into the surrounding areas. Of our 700 or so students, aged between three and 18, about 250 are at Wells as musicians in one of our two specialist courses, or as choristers in either the boys’ or the girls’ choirs of the cathedral. We’re one of the government’s four English independent residential specialist music schools – the others are Chethams, Purcell and the Menuhin School. This means that we give highly talented and very committed young musicians the chance to put music at the heart of their days and weeks at school, whilst belonging to a ‘proper’ school. Music no longer has to be an add-on at the beginning and end of the day, but is integrated throughout, both in practice and rehearsal. Between them they’ll play in over 400 concerts during the year. They’ll be involved in outreach and partnership projects, working with Alzheimer patients or young children, or in joint enterprises with other schools, including our Leading Edge partner schools in Wembley Park. They’ll go on tours, in the UK and abroad, maybe to our partner school in Guanzhou in southern China, or to the Wells Cathedral School Music Society in Hong Kong. The majority of them go to performance courses at colleges or conservatoires in the UK or abroad, many of them with handfuls of scholarships to chose from. They compose, sing, become proficient and creative in Music Technology – as well as play, alone, in ensembles, in orchestras and bands.

Whilst they’re at Wells they have the advantages of living and working with people who don’t immediately understand music, but who will come to appreciate it because that’s what friends do. You don’t have to be musical to be at Wells, but you do start to appreciate and understand the musically alive environment – and maybe to start to take part in it, as discerning audiences, as singers or instrumentalists, playing every kind of music imaginable. If you are a specialist, however, we’ll build (and supervise) your practice and everything else you do into your day in an integrated fashion, and enable you to gain the best education possible around your music. It won’t be like being a music scholar – at Wells, no matter how good you are there’ll always be someone who is better.

We have the extraordinary advantage of living and working in a lovely place, where the school has existed since, we think, 909 AD. We have a wonderful site, and many splendid buildings (as well as some not so splendid ones) – but nearly all our buildings, whether Georgian family, stable blocks, medieval barns or work cottages were built for either people (or animals!) to live in. The cathedral with its world famous west front and Jesse window is, effectively, our chapel. Our organ students learn on its organ. Our houses (they are run from 14+ as both boarding and day houses, so everyone gets looked after very well indeed) are family houses. Our ICT department is sited in a developed barn. Our sixth form study centre is in converted and linked cottages. One of our houses is in the middle of the historic Vicars’ Close. The small concert hall of our music school is in the library of the old Wells Theological College. Threaded through this are new classrooms, a new science school, a new geology lab, a purpose built nursery and pre-prep department, a large sports hall and new fitness suite.
We don’t have corridors where social pressure can build and boil over. We have paths winding through a green estate, with a central stable yard, hidden gardens and appropriate play areas. We don’t have bells – except from the cathedral clock or bell-ringers. We expect people to manage their time so that they arrive at lessons punctually – and they do. That’s the ‘beautiful environment’. Our first XI cricket pitch is reckoned to be the finest wicket in Somerset – certainly in a school. Our swimming pool is over 25 years old – but has just been completely refurbished, and given a telescopic cover, which means we can enjoy an indoor or an outdoor pool at will. Our Astroturf lies close to the heart of the ancient city: our rugby and soccer pitches lie at the base of wooded hills. Students play rugby, hockey, soccer, netball, softball, badminton; they swim, play golf and sail. They study for community sports leaders’ awards, and they help in community projects.

How do we do it? The inspiring education means a focus which will try to inspire success for students in a conventional curriculum which is different. It is immensely flexible so that it is taught in a way that is appropriate for individuals, rather than being monolithic or hierarchical. Not everyone has to do the same thing at the same time. We put creativity at the heart of all that we do – not just in conventionally creative subjects, although those are very important, but by doing things in a creative way. We teach maths and science creatively, as well as art and dance. In the Junior School we suspend the curriculum for creative enterprises (the Junior School holds the gold Artsmark award).

Our Latin is established, popular and excellent. Our modern foreign languages are not only French and German but also Italian and Mandarin Chinese. (Why Chinese? Because it’s difficult, beautiful, subtle and works in a completely different way from other languages. I want pupils to be able to touch it so that one day, when they have to learn it for their work, perhaps, it will hold no fears for them, but seem accessible and a little familiar – so the British Council sponsors a Chinese Language Assistant for us). 50% of our sixth form study Maths A level – and 50% of them study further maths. We have a long tradition of sending students to study engineering – and English, French, economics, business studies, geology, medicine, theology, philosophy, classics: each year about 10% of the upper sixth go to Oxford or Cambridge. Year after year our students are able to go to their first choice of university course. That’s the ‘inspiring education’.

Elizabeth Cairncross has been Head of Wells Cathedral School since 2000.