Staff

As well as teaching English and being a Div Don, my role at Winchester involves helping those in the Sixth Form flourish and ensuring the school’s academic offering is as good as it can be. It’s exciting to work with colleagues and boys who value genuine intellectual endeavour and independence, and to teach in such historic surroundings: there aren’t many places where pupils can set their eyes on a Shakespeare first folio or follow in Keats’s footsteps while reading his poetry.

The thing I like most about teaching at Winchester College is the sense of intellectual excitement here. There is always some new academic endeavour afoot in our community, whether it be the boys founding a society to pursue a common interest or the dons creating projects and publications together. At a time when it seems increasingly rare to value learning for its own sake, Winchester is a place where the love of ideas can still flourish.

Our drama ethos is in many ways a reflection of the values of the school as a whole: mass-participation is encouraged, excellence is sought and achieved, and a lot of fun is had by boys and staff alike!

When people ask what I teach, they often say ‘I don’t know much about Economics’, but it is, of course, not the case. Anyone who works, goes shopping or provides for their family – so everyone – is engaging with Economics.  

Climbing towers and using old keys took a bit of getting used to but I quickly discovered that the archives were full of wonderful things - letters signed by Elizabeth I, Anglo-Saxon Charters and pieces of quill still lodged in the pages of volumes where the scribe had sharpened his pen.

Gardening in the shadows of great buildings that have seen centuries of world events and working where many have once toiled, is very humbling.  

The thrill of adventure, alongside academic investigation allows the boys to develop a curiosity about the world, as well as a love of the natural environment that I hope will last a lifetime.

Our team of paediatric nurses know that teenage years can be a challenging time for some so we spend a lot of time getting to know the boys.  

My experience in teaching English, in both the private and maintained sectors, is perhaps a more orthodox background to being Second Master than my conducting and my work in music education. Both have proved invaluable in encouraging our pupils to listen and to develop their own convictions.

Not every boy is enthused by the intricacies of Greek and Latin grammar – especially during the last lesson on Wednesday afternoons!  

Together, we prepare four weekly services alongside a number of extra engagements such as special services, concerts, tours, recordings and broadcasts.

A typical day might involve teaching a class about 16th century maps, discussing medieval manuscripts with a visiting researcher, and helping pupils to plan an exhibition in the school’s museum.