Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College - History

History

When founded in 1953, the College was housed in the grounds of Welbeck Abbey in the 20,000-acre (81 km2) estate of the family of the Duke of Portland. Until the mid 1990s, Welbeck only accepted male Army candidates. At any one time there would be 150 students in the College. There were two intakes each year: one in September (of 50 students) and the other in January (of 25 students), these were numbered sequentially: 1 Entry, 2 Entry, 3 Entry and so forth, odd numbers denoting September entries. Each entry was split into two houses, Harland and York, named after the original housemasters. Each house had a distinct character with different rules. "Harlanders" generally originated from northern England, south western England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and overseas, whilst "Yorkies" came from southern England.

Although located in a magnificent building with extensive grounds, the quality of living accommodation was lower than may be expected for sixth-form students at most other comparable establishments. The largest dormitory, Harland's "Dorm 3", held 13 students; many lessons were held in "glass corridor", an underground complex with numerous roof lights originally intended for horticultural purposes; and the lower sixth study areas (known as "the pits" or "cabins") consisted of two large underground rooms and a long corridor which were sub-divided by low partitions to provide each student with an individual work area and some degree of privacy. There was one television for each house and until 1990, a single public telephone to be shared by all students.

There was academic study six mornings a week (usually preceded by a service in the College's Chapel), CCF one afternoon, sport on four afternoons, with academic tutorials filling the remaining time. Maths and physics A Level were compulsory, with a limited choice for the third subject. Double maths was the preferred option, followed by chemistry, electronics, technology and occasionally other subjects such as history. An additional A Level exam in general studies was introduced in the 1980s.

Assessment for entry to Welbeck was by a series of interviews, exams and practical tests over a period of three days at Westbury or York.

Little changed at Welbeck between 1953 and the mid-1990s. Following the retirement of the College's military Principle (Col Silvey) and replacement with a civilian (Ken Jones), the first major change occurred and the doors were opened to girls. The overall number of students at the college increased by about 30 and they formed a separate house known as 'School Lodge', being accommodated in the former sanatorium. The number of intakes was reduced from two per year to one.

Progression into the Army varied according to ability. Whilst it was possible for students to go straight to university, typically Cambridge, most went on to Sandhurst at the recommendation of the Headmaster. For a while in the 1980s and 90s, the decision was taken by an assessment board similar to the Regular Commissions Board. The outcome of this dictated whether students should attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst's Rowallan Company (now called the Sandhurst Development Course) or the commissioning course of the day. Occasionally, the headmaster would feel unable to recommend a particular student from moving on to Sandhurst. The assessment board process was dropped in the mid-1990s and the decision was made by the College Principal. As with Army Scholars (students whom the Army sponsored through their sixth-form studies at establishments other than Welbeck), the automatic entry to Sandhurst was not universally supported. As students had not attended the full Regular Commissions Board, some people argued that it was an 'easy option' to obtain a commission.

The Welbexian magazine records some of the history of Welbeck College, including the summary above. Some of these are available on the internet, as indicated in the References section.

In 2004 the first RAF and RN applicants were admitted, and in 2005 the first DESG applicants were admitted. In 2009 an 'East Midlands Scholarship' was offered. This does not commit the student to any military service, and study is possible on a day basis, rather than boarding with a maximum cost of £8,000 per term. This was then renamed as 'Welbeck Private Scheme' (WPS) in 2010. The WPS intends to offer the possibility of full boarding, day boarding and 'flexi-boarding' to students.