Sir John Bayley (Wrekin College); Dr J Edward. Cranage (Old Hall School)
Chairman of Governing Body
Richard Pearson
Headmaster
Toby Spence (Wrekin College); Anna Karacan (The Old Hall School)
Gender
Co-educational
Age
11 (Wrekin College); 4 (Old Hall School) to 18 (Wrekin College; 11 (Old Hall School)
Number of students
560 (Wrekin College); 229 (Old Hall School)
Houses
Bayley, Clarkson, Lancaster, Roslyn, Tudor, York. Former houses: Hanover, Norman, Eastfield, Saxon. Windsor, Old Hall houses: Ercall, Leighton, Wenlcok, Cressage
Colour(s)
Wrekin College: The Old Hall School:
Publication
The Wrekinian "Old Hall Reflections"
Wrekin College is a privateco-educational boarding and day school located in Wellington, Shropshire, England. It was founded by Sir John Bayley in 1880. It is now co-located with a preparatory school, The Old Hall School, founded by 1835. The two schools merged their governance and formed one trust in 2007.[1]
Girls were introduced to the sixth form by headmaster Geoffrey Hadden in 1975. It became fully co-educational in the year 1983. There are currently approximately 560 pupils including a number of international boarders. The school admits pupils from the age of eleven.[citation needed]
The high medieval or C16th building which was the original site of the Old Hall School between 1845 and 2007
The Old Hall Preparatory School was founded in 1835[2][3] by Dr J.E. (Joseph Edward) Cranage, providing originally for the education of boys only, being described in 1891 as:
one of the most widely known and popular educational establishments for gentlemen's sons in the Midlands[4]
In founding the school, Cranage was inspired by the example of Thomas ArnoldatRugby School,[5] he was aged just nineteen years at the time but had already completed an MA and PhD.[6]
It operated for its first 160 years from a building understood to have been constructed in the 1400s.[7] A chapel was added as a war memorial in 1922.[8] That chapel has since been converted into a residence, but the memorial tablets were moved to the Wrekin College chapel.[9]
The writer Bruce Chatwin attended the school,[12]The London Review of Books published The Seventh Day, practically the last story Bruce Chatwin wrote. The semi-autobiographical account of a “nervous and skinny boy with thick fair hair” who hated boarding school so much he developed a near fatal bout of constipation, the tale was largely based on the writer’s own experiences at The Old Hall.[13]
The Old Hall appointed Ms Anna Karacan as headteacher in 2022, the first woman to hold the role in 188 years of the school to that point.[14]
In 2006, the trust was merged with that of The Old Hall Preparatory School (founded 1845), which moved from its original site on Limekiln Lane to the site of Wrekin College.[15]
The resulting trust is called The Wrekin Old Hall Trust.[16]
In 2023 Wrekin was named as one of The Cricketer’s Top 100 cricketing schools in the country and in 2022 both the Under 16 and Under 13 rugby teams were named county champions.[21]
Wrekin college has a blue flag with a rampant lion and "Wrekin" written on it.[23] It is unclear if the Old Hall has a its own flag.[clarification needed]
Queen Elizabeth II visited Wrekin on Friday 17 March 1967, having opened Shire Hall in Shrewsbury earlier that day. The Headmaster, Robert Dahl (Headmaster. 1952-71), greeted the Queen, and in his study presented a specially bound copy of B.C.W Johnson’s A Brief History of Wrekin College, whilst Head of School, David Franklin (W. 1961-67) was given the honour of presenting a cricket bat for her sons[citation needed].
In 1907 the Old Wrekinian Association (OWA) was created by 14 past pupils, it now has almost 6000 members. The purpose of the OWA is to help past students keep in touch with one another and the school. The OWA Record magazine is published twice a year.[citation needed]
^Leinster-Mackay, Donald P. (1971). The English private school 1830-1914, with special reference to the private proprietary school. Durham University Thesis.
