Wellington School

Wellington School is in Ayr, a county town on the south-west coast of Scotland. The school was founded in 1836 and has approximately 530 pupils aged from 3 to 18, i.e. from Nursery to Secondary 6. Although an independent school, our pupils come from a very broad socio-economic group. Approximately 25% of our pupils have support from the Bursary Fund. We are a dyslexia-friendly school and are committed to promoting inclusion. We follow the Scottish curriculum at all stages and encourage and support every pupil to reach his/her potential. Most of our school leavers continue their studies in Higher Education. We place a strong emphasis on international education and, in particular, European citizenship. Wellington School is a member of the UCAPE group of schools and participates in its European programme and the opportunities offered for intercultural dialogue. UCAPE (Union for Culture and Professional Advancement in Europe) is an international organisation with participatory status at the Council of Europe. It promotes European citizenship through a programme of activities and awards diplomas to successful participants. At Wellington School we offer a broad range of extra-curricular activities including a wide range of team and individual sports, musical activities, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, debating and the Eco-committee. Every week about thirty different clubs and interest groups meet; choirs and orchestras, Science Club, Art Club, Young Enterprise, the Erasmus group, the Primary Erasmus Club, etc. We encourage our pupils to have direct contact with people from other countries through our programme of exchanges and visits and we regularly host groups visiting from other European countries. We have active eTwinning activities in school and we were awarded the Full International School Award in 2010 with reaccreditation in 2013 and in 2016. We have contacts throughout the local community through parents, businesses, the Rotary Club, charitable organisations and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the John Muir Trust. We have an active Connecting Classrooms partnership with a school in Jaipur, India.
South Ayrshire is semi-rural and Ayr itself is surrounded by farms inland and the Firth of Clyde and its islands to the west. The school is located on the seafront. Ayr's most famous son is Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet. Ayr has a wide range of amenities and also has a university campus. From Ayr it is easy to travel throughout Scotland and beyond.
With our strong commitment to international education and citizenship, we believe that a Volunteer can bring a European dimension to our activities and that we can offer a supportive environment in which a young person can develop his/her professional and personal skills. A Volunteer will assist us in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity in our school. Our pupils and staff will learn about life in another European country which will add to their personal development and fulfilment. Meeting and working with people from other countries is one of the most effective ways of breaking down prejudices and putting European citizenship into practice.