Communication and Opening Hours

Contact Details

Address

Wells Cathedral School, Wells, Somerset BA5 2ST

Telephone Numbers

Main Reception: 01749 834200

Music School: 01749 834450

Bursary Reception: 01749 834270

Email Addresses

Any member of staff may be contacted by email using the format: firstinitial.surname@wells.cathedral.school

Head Master: headmaster@wells.cathedral.school

PA to the Head Master: headmaster_pa@wells.cathedral.school

Bursar: bursar@wells.cathedral.school

Deputy Head (Pastoral): pastoral@wells.cathedral.school

Deputy Head (Academic): teaching@wells.cathedral.school

Main Office: main-office@wells.cathedral.school

Music Office: music@wells.cathedral.school

Parents and Friends’ Association: pfa@wells.cathedral.school

Reception: reception@wells.cathedral.school

St. Andrew’s Lodge Medical Centre: st.andrewslodge@wells.cathedral.school

House Contacts

Cedars House

Duty line: 01749 834304

Houseparent: 01749 834300

Matron: 01749 834302 matron-cedars@wells.cathedral.school

Claver Morris House

Duty line: 01749 834344

Houseparent: 01749 834340

Matron: 01749 834342 matron-clavermorris@wells.cathedral.school

De Salis House

Duty line: 01749 834384

Houseparent: 01749 834380

Matron: 01749 834383 matron-desalis@wells.cathedral.school

Edwards House

Duty line: 01749 834334

Houseparent: 01749 834330

Matron: 01749 834332 matron-edwards@wells.cathedral.school

Haversham House

Duty line: 01749 834314

Houseparent: 01749 834310

Matron: 01749 834312 matron-haversham@wells.cathedral.school

Plumptre House

Duty line: 01749 834324

Houseparent: 01749 834320

Matron: 01749 834322 matron-plumptre@wells.cathedral.school

Ritchie House

Duty line: 01749 834364

Houseparent: 01749 834360

Matron: 01749 834362 matron-ritchie@wells.cathedral.school

matron-brock@wells.cathedral.school

Shrewsbury House

Duty line: 01749 834374

Houseparent: 01749 8344370

Matron: 01749 834376 matron-shrewsbury@wells.cathedral.school

Our Boarding Handbook contains useful information, including the names of our House staff. You can find our Boarding Handbook on our website: https://wells.cathedral.school/joining-us

Who Should I Contact?

The Tutor

Wells Cathedral School is a happy, friendly school and values the relationships between parents, pupils and staff. At the heart of the School are staff who genuinely care about your child and want the very best for them. Every pupil at Wells has a Tutor who acts as a daily contact point for your child at the beginning of the school day and is therefore the first port of call for any queries, requests or concerns you may have.

We want you to feel confident about contacting your child’s Tutor in the first instance for help and support with general day-to-day matters. Tutors also monitor attendance and look after the pastoral and academic needs of their tutees. There is a wider team of staff available for your child if further support is needed.

Heads of Year

There are distinct Heads of Year for Years 7 and 8, Year 9, Years 10 and 11, Lower Sixth, Upper Sixth as well as an overall Head of Sixth Form (see page 10 for details). Heads of Year lead a team of Tutors and hold an overview of all matters, including academic and pastoral, for all pupils in their care. Heads of Year play a key role in the delivery of the Tutor programme which runs on an annual cycle to provide an enriching learning experience for all of our pupils.

Houseparents

Every pupil in the Senior School is a member of one of our integrated day and boarding Houses. Membership of a House provides a physical space, indeed a home, for all of our pupils during the school day and invites opportunities to represent the House in a broad spectrum of events, both competitive and non-competitive. Houseparents lead the pastoral team in each House and play a role in the welfare of the pupils in their House in collaboration with Tutors and Heads of Year.

Academic Matters

If you have any academic concerns, we recommend that you initially contact your child’s Tutor. The Tutor can arrange for you to have a conversation with the subject teacher, Head of Department and/or Head of Faculty as appropriate. The Deputy Head (Academic) oversees all academic matters. However, you can, of course, contact any of these people directly should you prefer to do so.

Pastoral Matters

Tutors work in close co-operation with Heads of Year and Houseparents. If your child has a pastoral concern, then please contact his or her Tutor in the first instance, and this may lead to collaboration with other key pastoral staff. The Deputy Head (Pastoral) oversees pastoral care at the School and will be pleased to support you and your child, particularly for more serious matters. If the matter is of a confidential nature, parents or pupils are welcome to speak directly with a member of our Medical Team or a member of the Senior Management Team.

Music

For any questions relating to the Music Form (M Form), music courses and general advice or issues relating to music, please contact the Music School at music@wells.cathedral.school

If, however, your query relates specifically to instrumental lessons (requesting lessons, giving notice, enquiring about lesson times and locations, etc.) or instrumental exams, please contact the Music Timetables Administrator, Ed Goater, at e.goater@wells.cathedral.school

Absence

If your son or daughter is unwell, has a medical/dental appointment, or or is otherwise unexpectedly unable to make it into school due to extenuating circumstances, please inform the School as early as possible on or prior to the day of the absence by completing the Absence Form on the Portal https://portal.wells.cathedral.school/showme/absence-form

Leave Request

If you would like to request leave (e.g., for a funeral, wedding, holiday, etc.), please complete the Leave of Absence Form on the Portal https://portal.wells.cathedral.school/showme/leave-request at least a week in advance wherever possible. A response will be given by the Head of Year as soon as a decision has been made.

Lost Property

Main Reception keeps a log of lost and found items. Any named found items are returned to pupils, usually via their House (pupils and their Matron will receive an email). Found Sports kit is gathered in the Sports Hall; pupils should see Sports staff to look through this. Please ensure that your son or daughter’s belongings are clearly named so that if anything should go missing it can be returned to them promptly. To find out more and to report a lost item, please see our Parent Portal: https://portal.wells.cathedral.school/showme/lostand-found

Complaints

Wells Cathedral School is proud of the quality of its teaching, pastoral and boarding care. Nonetheless, we do welcome feedback and deal with any complaints from parents and pupils if they arise. The following channels are the most appropriate in these areas:

Academic matters: Tutor

Pastoral matters: Tutor or Houseparent

Music matters: Music Teacher or Director of Music

Financial matters (for example, fees): in writing to the Bursar

The aims of our formal complaints procedure will always be to resolve the problem which has led to the complaint and to learn lessons for the future in a positive and confidential manner.

Please see our Complaints Policy for further details: https://wells.cathedral.school/policies

Keeping You Informed

We will ensure that you have all the information you need to help support your child and ensure they make the most of their time at Wells.

Sports Communication

We aim to provide pupils with at least 48 hours notice of their selection in a sports team, but this might not always be possible for various reasons in which case we would endeavour to provide as much notice as possible.

If we expect to be more than 20 minutes late when returning from a sports fixture, our staff will email parents with an updated estimated time of arrival.

Regular Email Bulletins

Each Friday afternoon in Term time, you will receive an email called “This Week at Wells” with a summary of our latest news stories and key forthcoming events. On Saturday mornings during Term time, you’ll also receive an email called “Essential Information.” Please note that is imperative that you read this Saturday Briefing carefully so you don’t miss any key notices.

An archive of our bulletins can be found on the Portal: https://portal.wells.cathedral.school/showme/bulletinarchive

Social Media

We post our latest news stories and events on both our X (Twitter) and Facebook social media sites. Our prefects also run an Instagram site where they post about school life and events.

School Facebook: www.facebook.com/wellscathedralschool

School Instagram (Prefect run): www.instagram.com/wellscathedralschool

School X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/wellscathschool

Opening Hours

Library

Monday to Friday: 9.10am - 4.30pm Monday to Thursday evening: 7.00pm - 10.00pm Saturday: 8.40am - 12.15pm

Book Store

Monday to Friday: 10.00am - 2.00pm (term time only)

South West Schoolwear

Monday to Saturday: 9.00am - 5.00pm 23 Broad Street, Wells, BA5 2DJ (behind Pickwicks) 01749 670000 www.swschoolwear.co.uk

Classrooms

Monday to Friday: 8.35am - 6.00pm Saturday: 8.35am - 12.30pm

Sixth Form Centre

Monday to Saturday: 8.30am - 7.00pm