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From Dan Clements

Housemaster of the Benson

dmgc@wellingtoncollege.org.uk

01344 444 219

07717 330 642

Hello All,

Re: week eleven, which shall henceforth be known as the week that Christmas hit the Bn.

Saturday welcomed 360 prospective Wellingtonians to the campus for their Visitors’ Day. Very

many thanks to Iyanu A, Alex B, Owen E, James V, Finn D, Will M, Rafe S, Jamie S and George S

who toured for the Benson – it’s hugely appreciated by the Master and the feedback from the

parents has been of how polite, engaging and well-versed in College info the boys were.

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Project Shoe Box is back this year being coordinated by Head

of Chemistry, Dr Evans, and her eager team of shoe box elves.

The deadline is fairly tight this year (due in by Weds this week –

sorry!), but the information for this year’s collection is as

follows:

• Who benefits?

• Women and children who have had to leave

their homes in the Berkshire/Thames area to

stay at a domestic violence refuge.

• Don’t forget that boxes are children and

teenagers are also appreciated.

• Should I wrap the box?

• Yes! Please wrap but do not seal the box, we need to be able to remove the lid

for safety checks.

• Where can you drop your shoebox off?

• The Chemistry Department

• What’s the deadline?

• This Wednesday (6th Dec)

• We need a wrapped shoebox which contains essentials inside. These include things like:

• Toothbrushes

• Toothpaste/mouthwash

• Shower gel/soap

• Shampoo/conditioner

• Deodorant

• Small hairbrush/comb

• Facewipes/baby wipes

• Sanitary products

• Any other nice small gifts you’d like to

include e.g. chocolate, a Christmas

card etc.

In recognition of the effort that he has put in to organizing

various House events this year, and to acknowledge the work

still to come, Henry S was this week honoured with House

Colours. His precision and thorough planning has meant that

the events – whatever size – have gone-off with a well-timed

bang. Well done, Henry.

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The curtain lifted on Coram Boy this week, with

a plethora of Benson boys treading the boards,

including two of the top-billed roles.

Huge congrats to Josh H, Oscar F, Charlie E,

Rafe S and Ben K who took part in what was

one of the theatrical highlights of the year.

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Ladies and gents, can I please ask you to cast your minds back to the final lot of last week’s auction

and the somewhat surprising finish we had with the Breakfast in Bed lot. Well, the winner of the

lot was Sam H and he chose to cash-in his prize this week and he, after some encouragement from

me to “go wild”, has been receiving the following in-room service this week:

Monday, Wednesday &

Friday

Eggs Benedict with freshly

cut ham on English

muffins with warm

Hollandaise

Tuesday & Thursday

Fried eggs on homemade

avocado smash, with

flaked chillies on granary

toast

And on the periphery every day

• Two slices of

segmented honeydew

melon

• One ripe pear

• Two crumpets with

salted butter and Bonne

Maman strawberry jam

• A small dish of

chocolates

• A ramekin of Heinz baked beans

• A pot of Dragonfly vanilla rooibos tea

• A glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice

• A jug of still mineral water

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I was asked by a number of students this week

“Siiiiiiir, how do I get breakfast in bed?!” my

answer was “if you want to donate a grand to

the Benson Bursary, I’ll bring you breakfast in

bed, any time you like.” ☺

On Wednesday, whilst James V was

interviewing at York and Frank H was in

Coventry playing with the 1st XV, the rest of

the UVI headed

out to Windsor

Castle with Mr

Sproat for an

evening on ice,

followed by supper at Nando’s. After a much-

needed evening out

of College, the boys

came for a thaw,

catch-up and chill-out

in our sitting room by

the fire.

Food For Thought!

The nosh this week was prepared by the FFT™

directorate, Will M, George S, Louis W and

Henry H and a guest appearance from Finn D.

After a LOT of um-ing and ah-ing (and I mean a lot… I

was starting to lose the will to live) the boys decided

that the most appropriate ‘F’ for the ‘T’ would be

nachos. Chile con carne, refried beans, tortilla chips,

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salsa, sour cream, guacamole and what looked

like a whole dairy farm’s quota of grated

cheddar cheese was piled-high into bowls and

the boys headed for the common room where

with the thought this week came in the form of

a quiz. Written by Harry W and Dan H, the

boys got themselves into mixed-year teams

for a knowledge-off, competing for that which money cannot buy: a

packet of mini Crunchie bars… OK, about three quid can buy you

that, but much like stealing someone else’s chips, it always tastes

better when you have not had

to pay for them yourself!

Congrats to Sam H, Ben BG,

Jasper G and Will H who emerged victorious.

On the same evening, the mighty Ultras headed out for

their end-of-season curry at Kabirs. The team features

Bensonians

Vinh L and

Iyanu A, as

well as Max W

and James V

who were otherwise engaged with the aforementioned

excursions! In College assembly this week, the Ultras

were named as team of the week and James V was

singled-out as man of the match for “…his performance

as pack leader and his

last-minute drive on a

loose ball put pay to

the last attack from Harrow” – very well done, James and the 5ths.

As we’re in the sports zone, I should mention that whilst last

weekend may have not been the most successful ever for some of

our teams, the U16 football development squad managed to give

Tonbridge quite a pounding, culminating in a fantastic goal from

Roan M, leaving their opponents licking their wounds after a 7-0

defeat.

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Following on from the OxBridge news last week, the

UCAS news continues with Tom W receiving an offer

from Leeds, James V garnering offers from York and

Exeter, and Henry S getting an offer from his first choice

uni of Manchester… well done, chaps, and fingers

crossed for those still waiting.

This Friday saw a selection of boys from across the YGs

decorate the Christmas tree with Karen… being 100%

honest, it was really Will M and Henry S who pain-stakingly

untangled the

lights and a few

others flung a

bauble or two at

the tree.

“Festivising” was

followed later-on

by the Benson

Christmas pizza

and movie night. In addition to a pyramid of pizzas big

enough to rival Khufu, we screened, by popular vote,

Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Very many thanks to Henry S who organised the evening.

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Friday’s cinematic extravaganza – which ended up being

attended by virtually the whole House – was made all the

more Cannes-esque by two wonderful and generous gift the

House has received: thank you from all of us to Tim Mann

who organised a Yamaha A-S201 amplifier and to Maison

Kirby whose Klipsch high-stack speakers are currently

dwarfing the Third Form in the Common Room… I think I

may have to find a way of controlling the bass just a little…

I’m slightly worried that the boys’ trophies are going to

vibrate off the mantelpiece, but

that’s another discussion for a

different day.

Well done, too, to the Benson Tech

Manager, Will M, who plumbed-in

the new paraphernalia and balanced

the sound perfectly.

Aaaaaand finally, good luck to Alfie H who is taking his music exam this week on the drum kit!

Benson Information

Reports

‘Tis the season for joy, gifts and end of term reports (woo, and, indeed, hoo). Your son’s tutor will

be sending you a link to the online portal where you can see the summary from each teacher’s

summary and projections. Included in the tutor email will be a brief round-up from them, this will,

in turn, be followed by my EoT report from the House PoV at the very end of the term. Given the

sheer volume of reports, if you have a query about something in you boy’s report, please can I ask

that you speak to his tutor first (by all means cc me); (s)he will almost certainly be able to resolve

your issue or answer your question.

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End of Term arrangements

The schedule for the last day of term is below. Please note that pupils may not leave before their

designated time.

12.00 3rd, 4th, 5th pupils may leave

13.30 LVI pupils may leave

13.00 Mulled wine & mince pies for UVI parents in my dining room

14.00 UVI Nine Lessons and Carols

15.00 UVI pupils may leave

As far as I know the Benson is not being used for any rentals over the festive period, so a mass

exodus of belongings is not necessary.

Future Benson events

The Benson Parents’ Committee will be meeting this coming Saturday, after which your YG reps

will be in touch with more info, but for your diaries, these are the dates of note:

• Sunday 4th February – Quiz Night

• Monday 7th May – Summer BBQ

• Sunday 13th May – Benson Chapel Service

• Saturday 26th May – Speech Day

Christmas Carol Services (note the varying start times!)

Before your year group’s service, Aidan and I would be delighted if you would join us for a festive

drink in our home.

Sunday 10 December at 5 p.m. – Nine Lessons and Carols for 4th & 5th Forms & parents

Mulled wine and mince pies in the Benson Private Side from 4 p.m.

Sunday 10 December at 8 p.m. – Nine Lessons and Carols for Lower Sixth & parents

Mulled wine and mince pies in the Benson Private Side from 6.30 p.m.

Friday 15th December at 2 p.m. – Nine Lessons and Carols for Upper Sixth & parents

Mulled wine and mince pies in the Benson Private Side from 1 p.m.

Finally, just advance notice that my weekends off next term will be the weekends of Jan 21st and

March 4th.

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College Information

06 DECEMBER 2017

Wellington Community Book Club

19:30 - 20:30, Linguistic Room, The Mallinson Library, Wellington College

Come and join this informal group to discuss the chosen book over a glass of wine and some

nibbles.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders and The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry.

To book your place click here

06 DECEMBER 2017

Wellington Community Business Networking Drinks – Politics

18:00 - 20:00, Duke of Sussex, Lambeth, London, SE1 7AY

Everyone is welcome to attend these sessions, they provide a great opportunity to meet up in a

relaxed environment, make connections and share ideas over a drink or two.

They are rapidly becoming the must attend event for those looking to extend their business

network as well as being a lot of fun. Although we give each gathering a sector theme all different

sectors are welcome!

To register please click here

09 DECEMBER 2017

Wellington Community Parents’ Choir

11:00am, Concert Room, Music School, Wellington College

We are pleased to invite you a meeting of the Wellington Parents’ Choir, who are currently

singing songs from West Side Story! It’s great fun and we welcome members at any point, so

please come along. Designed for singers of all abilities, men and women!

To register please click here

As always, you know where I am if you need me – please don’t hesitate to holler.

With all best wishes,

Dan

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P.S. Now, I am putting this down here because

I am not entirely sure that it should be in here,

but I had my knuckles rapped by a number of

people for not mentioning it… at 8pm on BBC

2 this coming Friday (8th Dec) Aidan, Crom and

I will again be invading the living rooms of the

country’s quizzerati for Round 2 of Only

Connect… I pop this down here in the fairly certain knowledge that most of you will have lost

the will to live with this newsletter about 15 pages ago, but at least I told you ☺.