Wellington’s Winter Wonderland

Christmas came early to Wellington as the students gathered to enjoy College’s traditional November Fair. All of a sudden, Princes’ Quad was a Christkindlmarkt, Selangor Court a fairy-tale arcade. Pop-up food stalls, milling crowds, warming braziers, trees and lights, fun and games: a Wellington wonderland right in the heart of College, to the accompaniment of a medley of Christmas favourites performed with gusto by a band of Wellington’s hardier musicians!

Lower Sixth pupils were tasked with putting together stalls that would not only contribute to the fun of the fair, but also raise money for their house charities, the choices on offer proof of both imagination and a desire to celebrate Christmas with a swing. Pancake and hot chocolate stalls kept winter temperatures at bay, while candy-cane tossing, wet sponge throwing, and sweets-in-jar calculations offered traditional competition. Charities as wide ranging as Allegra’s Ambition, Papyrus, Autistica and Seb’s Foundation all benefitted from the generosity of the revellers, with nearly £2000 raised on the night. The kitchens played their part too, with take-away turkey rolls, pigs in blankets and mince pies. As Noddy Holder might have noted: at Wellington it’s Christmas!

December’s icy snap saw College transformed into a white Christmas wonderland, a magical backdrop for Wellington’s end of term traditions. Trees and decorations, carol services for pupils and parents, house dinners, gala concerts and dance shows, the all-embracing and complex Christmas tree game (only Wellingtonians can even begin to know the rules), turkey and crackers, and of course, on the last night of term, spirited renditions of The Twelve Days of Christmas echoing round the quads on the stroke of midnight.

What a way to end the term, what a way to start the holiday!