From The Headmaster
Parent Survey
Dear all,
Yesterday I sent an email inviting parents to complete the 23/24 Winchester College parent survey. The survey asks a number of questions to help us understand your views on the School, what sets it apart, and areas for focus or development. It should take between 15-20 minutes to complete and is being conducted by a third party to ensure anonymity.
Winchester College - Parent Survey (rsacademics.com)
Your responses will ultimately inform our plans for the future of the School so I would invite all parents to complete it by the closing date of Monday 11 March 2024.
With best wishes,
Elizabeth Stone
Headmaster
From the Second Master
WEEKEND ARRANGEMENTS FOR BOARDERS
Details for this weekend can be found here. 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 29 February. Log in, select 'Interactive Forms' and 'Weekend Sign-Out' to complete the form.
EXEAT ARRANGEMENTS FOR BOARDERS
In preparation for Exeat, all parents of boarders should complete the Exeat Arrangements form, which is also accessed via the same route on the Parent Portal; under ‘Exeat Arrangements'. Please complete the form by 13:00 on Friday 1 March. Regulations concerning our duty of care continue to change, such that we are required to hold more extensive information for certain pupils in particular circumstances: thank you therefore for the time you put into providing these details.
Exeat will begin at 13:05 on Friday 08 March and end at 21:15 on Sunday 10 March. Pupils may return to the boarding houses from 18:00 on Sunday.
MP Parents' Evening
A reminder that booking for Parents’ Evening 2 for MP parents opened at 1200 GMT today. Please see the letter you received via email for more details. You can book your slot via the link below.
Sport
Winchester College Football XVs
XVs this year had all the ingredients for an epic contest; the OTH side contained many of the best footballers in the school and was seasoned with plenty who had tasted victory in the demolition of Commoners in 2023. For their part, Commoners were desperate to avenge that defeat.
The game went down to the wire, with OTH just pipping Commoners to the post, claiming the Pearl Pot via a 43-41 win.
You can watch highlights of the match in the video below.
You can also access a full gallery of photos from the match via the link below, using the password found in your covering email.
Academic
Olympiad Successes
Recently, the College received the results from Round 1 of both the British Physics and British Biology Olympiads.
Biology Olympiad
15 College entrants earned Gold awards, meaning each recipient now qualifies for the Round 2 paper.
Bob (K) achieved the highest mark in the school, but there was also notable success for younger pupils including Oliver (X), Holly (I), Adrian (C) and Marc (X). Also winning gold were August (X), Max (G), Ton Ton (X), Hasan (C), William (H), Peiyan (X), Alassandro (I), Edri (H), Ben (X) and Edwin (E).
There were also 5 silver and 4 bronze awards, rounding out the success at the competition at 34 awards won.
Physics Olympiad
Top golds and invites to Round 2 go to the best 180 performers in the UK; with Wykehamists earning 5 in Jeff (X), Alex (I), Zachary (X), Peiyan (X) and Sam (X).
Douglas (X), Jona (X), Nick (A), Will (I), Rex (MP, G), Warren (F), and Zach (E) all earned gold awards, with a further 4 silvers and 22 bronzes won to bring the total to 38 awards.
Congratulations to all those who took part, and good luck to pupils taking part in Round 2.
Events
What's On
Parents are welcome to join us for College events. Events taking place this week are highlighted here, but please find the full schedule at the link below.
Charities
Performance at Winchester: Seven Centuries of Music and Drama
On Sunday 25 February, members of the College community joined together for a performance to raise money for the charity SolarAid.
Despite initial technical issues, the performers forged ahead, putting on 12 hours of music, drama and spoken word pieces.
You can read more about the event, the charity, and view more photos at the link below.
Drama
My Fair Lady
Lerner and Loewe's much loved musical My Fair Lady comes to Winchester College this 14 - 16 March.
My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady”. But who is really being transformed?
This wonderful theatre classic boasts a score of familiar songs including "I Could Have Danced All Night", "Get Me to the Church on Time", "Wouldn’t It Be Loverly", and more.
Parents are warmly invited to attend any of the performances. Tickets are free and can be booked via the link below.
Academic
National French Debating Competition
Congratulations to Mario (B) and William (A) who have won the South Central and South East regional round of the National French Debating Competition.
Debating in your native language is a daunting and difficult task. Debating in a learned second language must surely be one of the most intellectually demanding and mentally testing pursuits imaginable for a Sixth-Form pupil.
William and Mario, however, made it look easy. They impressively fended off a number of talented opponents from Charterhouse, Sevenoaks and Epsom College.
They now progress to the national final at the Institut Français on 12 March, where they will look to improve on the third-place national finish achieved by Wykehamists three years ago.
Academic
UK Linguistics Olympiad
In early February, forty-two Wykehamists participated in Round 1 of the Advanced Level of the UK Linguistics Olympiad.
Four pupils have achieved gold awards, with nine achieving silver and four achieving bronze. The four gold award winners all now progress to Round 2 on 13 March, where they will have the chance to compete for a spot on the UK national linguistics team.
Special congratulations must go to Winston (X) and Harry (K), who both managed to achieve silver awards despite only being in MP.
Community
WINCHESTER COLLEGE IN HONG KONG
Ms Stone & Dr Cullerne (Surmaster Academic) are coming to Hong Kong in March and we would be delighted to see you at the two events which are being held.
These events are for the Wykehamical Community, and is an opportunity to meet the Headmaster, Old Wykehamists, as well as parents (past, present and prospective) and to hear about Winchester.
Hong Kong Parents Afternoon Tea Reception 2024
- Sunday 24 March
- Cotton Tree Terrace, The Murray Hotel, Hong Kong
- 4:00pm - 5:30pm
There are a small number of tickets still available, please book via the link below.
A Gala Dinner for the Wykehamical Community
The Hong Kong Friends of Winchester College hope that you will be able to join Ms Stone & Dr Cullerne. There are a small number of tickets available for the Gala Dinner which can be purchase via the link below.
- Tuesday 26 March
- Hong Kong Country Club
- 6.30pm – 10.00pm
- Dress: business attire
We look forward to seeing you in Hong Kong. If you have any questions, please email Winchester College Society.
Trips
IDEAS Society Visit Hovercraft Museum
On Saturday 24 February, the IDEAS (Innovation, Design, Engineering and Applied Sciences) society went on a trip to the Hovercraft Museum in Lee-on-the-Solent to learn about the design and history of hovercrafts.
Some of the crafts on display included those used in the James Bond film Die Another Day, the military BH7, a hovercraft adapted Mini Cooper and the behemoth 56-metre long SRN4 Princess Anne which used to travel across the English Channel, carrying people and cars for over 30 years.
Highlights of the trip included climbing inside one of the SRN4’s massive lift fans and using the BH7 's vintage radar equipment.
Community
OTH v Commoners VIs
With the excitement and noise of XVs still ringing in our ears, please note the next big Winchester Football fixture in your diaries. This will be OTH v Commoner Sixes on Saturday 16 March.
Kick off is at 2.30 and Winchester College Society will be hosting a barbecue beforehand for parents and OWs who come to watch the game. To help us order the right amount of food, please register in advance using the link below.
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