The story behind our name, our emblem and the town we call home, and what the Duke of Wellington has to do with a school in Cheltenham.
Families often ask where our name comes from. The answer is a short walk from our front door.
A Town Shaped by the Spa
In the early nineteenth century, Cheltenham became one of the most fashionable spa towns in England. Visitors came to take the mineral waters, and the town grew around them: the wide promenades, the pump rooms, the terraces of Regency houses that still define the centre today.
Among the most famous visitors was the Duke of Wellington, known across the country simply as “the Great Duke”. He came to Cheltenham to take the waters, and his visit is part of the town’s story.
What the Name Stands For
When the school was founded in 2010, we wanted a name that belonged to this place and that said something about the people we hope our pupils will become. “The Great Duke” was a title earned through duty, steadiness under pressure and leadership. Those are qualities we try to grow in every pupil, alongside scholarship.
The Emblem
Our emblem puts that idea into a single drawing. A ducal coronet, with its strawberry-leaf points, rests above an open book. The coronet stands for character and leadership; the book stands for learning. Neither sits above the other in importance: they belong together.
You will see the emblem on blazers, on certificates and above the door. We hope that, over time, it comes to mean one simple thing to our pupils: be good, and be curious.