News & Diary
Winchester Weekly – 23rd September 2025
From the Second Master
Morning Hills
We would be delighted if parents are able to join us for Morning Hills on Friday 26 September. The weather looks favourable for what is always a memorable whole school event. The service will begin at the top of St Catherine’s Hill at 0820.
Additional information on the history of Morning Hills can be found below, as can a video of last year’s walk.
To access these events, please ensure that you are a registered user of the Winchester College Society website and are logged in.
Coffee – Winchester – 26th September (new parents)
Winchester College Society (Win Coll Soc) is delighted to invite all new parents to join them for coffee this Friday (26th September) just before pick up on the first exeat. Please come to School from 12 noon (N.B. this is a change of location). We look forward to meeting you. During the morning, the whole school will be taking part in a charity run, supporting Solar Aid. The finish is not far from School, if you want to watch your child finish.
Parents Drinks (all parents welcome)
Parents are invited by Winchester College Society to join us for drinks at either New Hall, Winchester on Thursday 16th October or at the Cavalry and Guards Club, London on Thursday 12th February. We are delighted that the Headmaster will be joining us at both events and is looking forward to seeing everyone there. Kindly ensure that you are a registered user of the Winchester College Society website, and are logged in to sign up. Please choose which event you’d like to attend and register accordingly.
Futures Fair – 15th November
Futures Fair will be held on the evening of Saturday 15th November, from 6:00PM – 8:00PM. We would love to hear from any parents or Old Wykehamists who are happy to talk about their own careers or the sectors they work in to VI Book pupils. We are looking for expertise from all sectors, but if you have experience in Humanities, Languages, Geography, Psychology, Art, Scientific Research or are an Entrepreneur, we’d love to hear from you. If you are also able to borrow any marketing materials from your employer that would add to the sense of occasion.
Parents Quiz – (all parents welcome)
Our Parents Quiz returns for 2026 on Friday 27th February. Gather your teams and get ready to buy your tickets for an evening that promises to test your general knowledge. Yuriy Evdokimov, a current parent is back by popular demand and will host the evening. The tickets are sold by table, which seat 10 people each and the cost includes your food and drink for the evening. Save the Date. More information to follow.
Win Coll Soc in India
Winchester College Society will be visiting India during November 2025. A very generous Winchester family is hosting a reception for us in Delhi on the evening of Monday 10th November. If you are expecting to be in Delhi on that date, whether for business or other engagements, they would love to extend the invitation to you. Please contact Winchester College Society on [email protected] if you would like to join us.
Parents are very welcome to join us for College events. Upcoming events, including the Autumn Lecture Series (link below) are typically highlighted in the Winchester Weekly newsletter. The next lecture is with Shoshana Stewart, the President of Turquoise Mountain; an international NGO working in Afghanistan to preserve cultural heritage and support artisans where their traditions are under threat. Below, you can find links to our lecture series and music diary for the upcoming term.
Last weekend, our cadets took part in an exhilarating training exercise as part of Operation “Iron Crossroads”. Their mission? To defend the city from an invasion. The exercise scenario was intense: Basingstoke Special Forces attempted to seize a key bridge at Barton Stacey to pave the way for their main forces. The cadets’ task was to locate the dispersed enemy units. After conducting reconnaissance, they moved to attack, working closely with other units. The situation became even more demanding when the enemy attacked their supplies, leaving them without ammunition, water, or rations.
The cadets practiced evacuating from the battlefield and breaking contact with the enemy, which required quick thinking and excellent coordination.
The exercise was a tough test, but our cadets proved they can perform under pressure.
On 26th September, all pupils of Winchester College will traverse the hills, tackling distances from 6.5 km up to a half marathon in our charity run, Light The Way, to raise funds for our school charity, SolarAid. Parents are warmly invited to come to the finish line on Meads between 11:30 and 12:30 to cheer everyone on. There will also be a bake sale; parents are very welcome to donate cakes to Porters’ Lodge before 11:30 on the day, labelled with allergens. SolarAid works in regions without electricity to provide households, schools, and health centres with solar lamps. Last year, our Solar Cycle charity event provided 9,000 homes, 12 schools, and the local health clinic in the village of Kasakula, Malawi with clean, solar energy. This year, with your help, we can make an even greater difference. By reaching our target of £12,000, we can provide 800 solar lights for 4,000 people. We would really appreciate any donations, which can be made via the link below, or on the day.
Over the summer, Pengxiao (B) travelled to Liverpool for the British Chess Championships. Entering the U14 Standard, Blitz and Rapid categories, Pengxiao medalled in all three events, finishing second in two categories and third in the other.
He also placed second at the annual UKCC Southern gigafinal, securing one of the 12 places for the finals held at Blenheim Palace, his third time in a row.
Congratulations, Pengxiao!
Tonight, Beloeites take to the stage for the first night of their performance of ‘Allo ‘Allo, the famous BBC sitcom and play.
From the 23rd – 25th September, the residents of Kingsgate House will transform QEII into the French town of Nouvion during World War II, where René Artois will try to run his café while dealing with German officers and the French Resistance.
Good luck all!
The College is delighted to welcome The Reverend Dr Ben Sargent as the new Dean of Chapel.
Dr Sargent joined Winchester in Short Half 2025, following twelve years serving as a vicar in the New Forest.
As Dean of Chapel, Ben is responsible for the worshipping life of the school, enabling students of all faiths and none to interact with our Christian heritage and our choral tradition. Ben studied theology at the University of Oxford and remains active in research and publication in the areas of early Christianity and theory of interpretation. Ben also teaches Div and helps with cross-country.
We are also pleased to welcome Reverend David Reid to Winchester, as the new College Chaplain.
Revd Reid returned to Winchester as College Chaplain in September 2025, having previously been in Hoppers in the 1990s. He has over fifteen years of ordained ministry, mostly in a church in Oxford, but most recently as a Chaplain at Cranleigh School. Alongside his role as a Chaplain, David teaches RS and Div, and does some coaching at the Boat Club.
David and his wife Helen have two children, Timothy and Rachel, whom he is hoping will pick up his enthusiasm for messing about in boats.
On Sunday the thirteen JP Music Award Holders went to the Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden, to watch a new production of Puccini’s great opera, Tosca.
The opera was conducted by the Royal Opera’s new Music Director Jakub Hrůša and included a stellar cast with Anna Netrebko singing the title role, Freddie De Tommaso as her lover, Mario Cavardossi, and Gerald Finley as the villainous Scarpia.
Everyone very much enjoyed watching this famous tragedy with its massive score, as well as games of chess in the intervals and a swift lunch at Pizza Express beforehand!
We were pleased to welcome the Associate Director of Admission at Yale, Keith Light, to Winchester once more this year.
He spoke for an hour in school to an audience of over 90 pupils and parents, moving from an overview of his own career in several elite US universities to advice on applying, before fielding questions from the floor.
He urged pupils to see their time at school as more than merely building a CV and to be ‘thinkers’ more than just ‘achievers’.
We look forward to welcoming Chicago admissions tutor, Katie Quille Chaszczewski this evening.
Our Sixth Form application deadline is the 29th of September.
If you have a friend or a family member who would benefit from a Winchester education, they can register via the link below.
