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The Wheeler class of 2024 gathered for a graduation ceremony held at Wellington College.
The 15 graduates of the Wheeler Programme enjoyed an evening remembering the five years they had spent on the programme, during which they took part in residential stays, study days and sports.
The Year 13 students missed out on the usual residential courses at Wellington College due to the Covid lockdowns but were able to attend revision courses for their GCSEs and A levels.
Graduate Jenny, who hopes to study geology at Bristol university, said: “I enjoyed the revision courses I did as part of the Wheeler Programme. The maths lessons in particular gave me confidence, as the classes were much smaller than my usual lessons.
“I also liked the climbing wall and high ropes, and seeing the crayfish in the lake.”
Fellow graduate Bradley, who is hoping to start a degree apprenticeship in accounting in finance, said: “The thing I liked most was staying here at the college on the revision courses, which was fun and also helped me academically.”
Other graduates in the class, who were not able to be present on the day, were sent their certificates.
Established in 2017, the Wheeler Programme is a fully-funded educational programme for around 100 selected state school pupils.
Twenty-four students are selected in Year 9 and the college helps support them until their graduation from the programme at the end of Year 13.
They start the programme with a five-day residential course at Wellington, where they experience life in a boarding school, and then take part in three or four study days a year, tailored to their age.
The Class of 2024 are the fourth group to graduate from the Wheeler Programme. Three other cohorts are currently enjoying the programme and recruitment will start for a new cohort in September.
