Wellington College Student Alliance aims to raise aspirations among pupils within its 28 partnership schools. It incorporates a core programme of events for all schools in the partnership and the Wheeler Programme, a bespoke mentoring scheme that takes in 24 selected pupils each year.
Core programme
The Student Alliance is a formal partnership comprising 28 schools, funded by Wellington College.
The key aim of the Wellington College Student Alliance, (WCSA) is to raise aspirations among pupils within partnership schools. The intention is to raise pupils’ awareness of their own potential and the take-up of enrichment opportunities. There is a nominal membership fee which allows the 28 partner schools to take advantage of the full programme. On average, over 2000 pupils will access the WCSA programme within an academic year.
WCSA benefits all students by providing opportunities and experiences that transcend the classroom. It opens their eyes to a different educational environment and gives them the opportunity to engage with students from other schools. They get to explore subjects and topics beyond the standard curriculum which can help stretch their knowledge and understanding of the world. This shows them alternative perspectives and enhances future aspirations.
Wheeler programme
The Wheeler Programme, established in 2017, is a fully funded educational programme designed to support state school students attending secondary schools. The underlying goal is not to be bound by artificial targets of, for example, successful entry to particular universities, but more simply, to unlock each student’s potential, and to enable them to become the best version of themselves by establishing a growing partnership between the student, their school, their families and Wellington College.
We focus on students who are underachieving at school, for a number of possible reasons but who show academic curiosity. Each year we select a cohort of 24 students in year 9, and support these students until they graduate in year 13, with a bespoke programme of activities tailored to their individual needs.
Each year’s programme includes two study days at Wellington College and a residential stay. The experience of boarding, staying away from home and being part of the Wellington community, even for a short time, is a key element of the personal growth embedded in the programme.
Through a mixture of group activities, visits to interesting workplaces, universities, organisations and people; talks, lectures, workshops and discussions; individual coaching, and tailored mentoring, each student is able to discover, develop and grow their own strengths, whether they be academic, personal, artistic, sporting or social.
The Wheeler Programme has shown a positive change in students – in their achievements, attitude, and confidence back in their own schools. It has enhanced their interest and engagement in their subjects and helped them make decisions for the future.
In 2022 the Wheeler Programme teamed up with Impact Ed to measure how Wheeler students progress over their years with the programme. The process begins with an online ‘baseline’ survey at the start of the five-year programme and then asks students to fill in regular surveys as the years go by to see how their motivation, metacognition, self efficacy, grit and goal orientation have changed.
Upcoming events
26 Mar 2025 
“I enjoyed the maths challenge and working together as a team...It was also good to spend time with people I met on the residential last summer.”
Student, Wheeler Programme
Schools in the WCSA
- Altwood
- Ash Manor
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon
- Bohunt
- Bulmershe
- Charters
- Collingwood
- Easthampstead Park
- Edgbarrow
- Emmbrook
- Forest
- Garth Hill
- Gordons
- Holt
- King’s Academy Binfield
- King’s International Camberley
- Maiden Erlegh
- Oakbank
- Piggott
- Ranelagh
- Robert May’s
- Sandhurst
- St Crispin’s
- Tomlinscote
- Waingels College
- Wellington Academy
- Winston Churchill
