News & Diary
Winchester Weekly – 3rd March 2026
As the UK considers restrictions on social media for under-16s, Australia has already taken decisive action. In this timely session, clinical psychologist and researcher, Dr Danielle Einstein, examines what Australia is doing, why the policy was designed as it was, and what the evidence tells us about young people’s mental health, attention, anxiety, and online behaviour.
Drawing on her direct involvement in shaping the Australian legislation, Dr Einstein explores the real-world pros and cons of a ban, how its impact will be measured, and how she responds to critics who argue restrictions go too far. She also considers where responsibility should sit along the spectrum of personal choice, parental guidance, school culture, and public policy and what families can realistically and confidently do to support healthy technology habits at home.
This session offers parents clear, evidence-based guidance on how to navigate childhood and adolescence in a digital world, whether or not legislation changes in the UK.
You can book your place via the link below.
Date: Friday, 6th March 2026
Time: 11:00 – 12:30 (refreshments from 10:30)
Location: Winchester College, School, College Street, SO23 9NA
To access some of these events, you may need to be a registered user of the Winchester College Society website and logged in
In a recent article in The Week Independent Schools Guide’s examining the decline of English Literature in schools, the Headmaster highlighted Div as a powerful way to ‘really make literature sing’:
“Div is timetabled throughout a Wykehamist’s school career – at A-Level it is the equivalent of an additional subject. It is a deep commitment to deep thinking…Pupils all study English Literature for the love it it, with freedom to immerse themselves without being skewed by the narrow demands of an exam board.”
“Children are more than economic units. We want them to flourish and become fully alive. In a largely unchurched generation, books offer a space to explore meaning, empathy and identity. And what better medium to do that than through the words on a printed page.”
Read the full article on page 18 at the link below.
It was a hugely successful day out for Winchester College Boat Club at the Avon Spring Head Regatta, with crews competing across two distances. a short course of 1,500m and a long course of 3,250m.
The first medal of the day came in the morning, when a crew of four rowers won the long course in 10:58, beating Avon County Rowing Club by over a minute and a half, with George (B) steering from the front of the boat.
The afternoon brought further success, with a crew of under-15 rowers, coxed by Vitt (G) at the front, winning the short course in 5:02, edging out crews from Monkton, Bryanston and Millfield, and finishing just 6 seconds clear of a second Winchester crew in the same event. They rounded off a fine day by winning the long course too, in a time of 11:29.
It was a wonderful day of racing and great to see the whole club out together and competing.
Congratulations to all involved!
Last December, a group of mostly Fourth Year pupils took on the challenge of the British Algorithmic Olympiad and achieved the College’s best-ever set of results.
Barrack (Coll.) was awarded a Gold medal and has qualified for the national final round. He is joined in the medals by Harry (K), Arun (Coll.), Edward (B), Nurtai (F) and Ivan (Coll.), who took home silvers, and Luke (K), Rex (G), Abilash (C), Joseph (G), Oliver (Coll.), Craig (D), Justin (C) and John (K), who were awarded bronzes.
The British Algorithmic Olympiad (BAO) is a national competition that challenges students to combine mathematical reasoning and computational thinking across a demanding 3-hour paper.
Congratulations to every student who took part!
On Sunday evening, nearly 30 boys from MP played host to a lively gathering of guests from Wycombe Abbey, coming together in Musā for a night of Scottish reeling. For most of the room, it was their very first taste of this wonderful tradition, but with enthusiastic guidance from a handful of experienced VI Book dancers, the group went from complete beginners to confident, toe-tapping reelers in just three hours.
There was great energy in the room and we hope to welcome many of them into CalSoc in 18 months’ time!
On Friday evening, 120 parents, bolstered by a few past parents, gathered in New Hall for their annual quiz. Yuriy Evdokimov, ably assisted by Charlotte Winton, created the quiz and hosted in his inimitable style. We are indebted to him for the six years (so far) that he has been quizmaster.
After 10 rounds of questions, Table 10 came out on top. Their sons are all first year Collegemen who were anxious that their parents wouldn’t let them down.
Thank you to Yuriy for hosting the quiz for the last 6 years. We are looking for a new quizmaster to continue our annual tradition, so if you would like to be the brains behind the questions, please get in touch with Win Coll Soc – [email protected]
