News & Diary
Winchester Weekly – 25th November 2025
Weekend Sign-out
WEEKEND ARRANGEMENTS FOR BOARDERS (29th & 30th November 2025)
Dear parents,
Details for this weekend can be found via the link below.
Please access the Parent Portal via the link below to inform us of your child’s plans for this weekend by 23:00 on Thursday 27th November. Log in, select ‘Interactive Forms’ and ‘Weekend Sign-out’ to complete the form.
To access these events, please ensure that you are a registered user of the Winchester College Society website and are logged in.
Advent Service – 30th November 2025: Winchester College Society warmly invites you to The Advent Service in Winchester College Chapel on 30th November. Drinks will be served in New Hall at 18:00, before the service begins at 19:00. Space is limited and registration is essential for this event.
The event is open to parents of VI Book 1 pupils, parents of Quiristers and Wykeham Patrons only. Current pupils are not able to attend the service. Places are limited to 2 adult tickets per family and, with apologies, younger siblings are not able to attend.
Parents Drinks in London – 12th February 2026: Parents are invited by Winchester College Society to join us for drinks at the Cavalry and Guards Club, London on Thursday 12th February.
End of Term Celebrations
All parents are welcome to join us for the traditional celebrations at the end of Short Half on Friday 12th December, including the Cathedral carol service from 14:30-15:30, followed by our annual Illuminā celebrations at 15:45.
Since the 19th century, the College has celebrated the end of Short Half with Illuminā, a celebration including the lighting of candles along Meads Wall, enjoying the bonfire, and gathering to sing Domum. There will also be mince pies, sausage rolls, festive drinks, and stalls for the College community to enjoy.
Tickets must be booked in advance
Please note that tickets for the carol service are limited to 2 per family. Ticket limits do not apply to Illuminā. You do not need to book a ticket for a current pupil.
Parents are very welcome to join us for College events. Upcoming events, including the Autumn Lecture Series (link below) are highlighted in the Winchester Weekly newsletter.
The next lecture is the Cameron Bespolka Memorial Wildlife Talk with Dr Campbell Murn FRSB FLS from the Hawk Conservancy Trust. Dr Murn will share the highs and lows of devoting his life’s work to the research and conservation of birds of prey.
Below, you can find links to our lecture series and music diary for the upcoming term.
Earlier this month, Tony (K) was announced as the winner of the Institution of Electronics National Electronics Competition. The national award recognises outstanding innovation in electronics.
Tony designed and built a remarkable “word clock” from scratch. The device displays the time using illuminated words, but also contains hidden touch controls that allow users to play Snake, Tetris, as well as other functions.
Tony engineered every element himself, designing the PCB, constructing the housing, writing the software, and integrating the interactive features.
To enter the competition, Tony submitted a two-minute demonstration video and a 10-page technical paper explaining his design process. You can view the video at the link below.
Congratulations to Tony on this outstanding accomplishment!
Congratulations to Phil’s on three stellar performances of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.
Photos of the play are now available on Piwigo, as well as a small selection below.
The 2nd XI football team delivered a dominant performance against Bournemouth Collegiate School (BCS), braving icy conditions to secure an impressive 7–2 victory. Early goals from Alexis (K) and Freddie (C) set the tone, before Osamede (G) added two more to give Winchester a commanding lead at the half. The pressure continued after half time, with Freddie completing his hat-trick, and Alex (D) calmly finishing the seventh. Despite two late consolation goals from BCS, the team left Doggers with a confident and deserved win.
In rackets, Winchester faced strong opposition in Wellington College. Juniors Xande (B) and Bear (D) battled hard in a close contest, narrowly losing 1–3 to a pair featuring the top seed for next month’s National Schools Singles. The 1st Pair, Oscar and Amar (both I), were in superb form, winning comfortably in straight games.
Sam (A) and Felix (E) staged the comeback of the day. After dropping the first game heavily, they fought back point by point to level the match and then edged a tight decider, showing real grit and teamwork.
A fantastic set of results across both sports, showcasing determination, skill, and resilience.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and gave their time and expertise at the Futures Fair earlier this term, your support was invaluable to the event’s success.
