Distinguished old boys from this period include:   Wellington started as a preparatory school, but soon began admitting older boys, becoming a prominent local institution in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, with an academic and sporting record that created a wide catchment area. Oxford and Cambridge, Bristol, Durham and Liverpool were amongst the many universities to which its pupils progressed. Following the retirement of Mr. Fogg, the school's academic record was not maintained. On 29 August 1992 the "Independent" wrote: "with an average of only 1.4 A-level passes per pupil, judged solely on its exam results, Wellington School in the Wirral could be the worst fee-paying school in the country". Basing their comments on a table published in the "Financial Times", the newspaper's educational reporters opined: "Wellington, which says in The Equitable Schools Book 1992 that art and music are its strongest departments, scored an average of 6.1 UCCA points per pupil, based on a score of 10 points for an A grade, eight for a B, six for a C and so on. Many state schools are way ahead". Wellington became co-educational in September 1986 after being sold to Christopher Kirch, the headmaster and owner of Avalon School, West Kirby, who then became Wellington's second headmaster. Although Kirch sold Wellington in 1987 to Nord Anglia Education PLC, he held the post of headmaster until December 1990. In January 1991, Wellington's third headmaster was appointed, Terrence Capper, the long-serving art and pottery master, who had succeeded Mr. Bristow as deputy headmaster. Capper's tenure was short and he retired during the 1992–1993 academic year due to ill health. During much of this academic year the school was run by Dr. Brian Scott, his deputy headmaster, who subsequently became Wellington's fourth and final headmaster, serving from September 1993 until the school's closure on 12 July 1995. Scott subsequently became headmaster of Avalon School, West Kirby, where he served until his retirement in the summer of 2009. The school's motto was "Honor Praemium Virtutis" (Honour is the Reward Of Virtue) taken from a passage in the works of Cicero. Despite a campaign by teaching staff and parents to keep the school open, Wellington was closed in summer 1995. The site was sold to developers, its Victorian buildings were torn down and they were replaced by a housing estate, despite the concerted, but ultimately unsuccessful, efforts of a number of Old Wellingtonians to have the original buildings listed.