Events
What's On
Parents are very welcome to join us for College events. Those events taking place over the coming weeks are highlighted in this section with full schedules and booking links below.
DOMUM DINNER FOR 2025 LEAVERS' PARENTS
The dinner for Leavers' parents will take place on Saturday 28 June. Tickets are limited to 2 adults per family. Please register below to confirm your attendance. Nearer the time there will be messages from the school and from Housemasters about other activities taking place that day.
Please note you will need to be a registered user of the Winchester College Society website and signed in to book your tickets.
MUSIC DIARY TALKS & LECTURES
Maths
Sixth Book pupils win at International Math Challenge in New York
Congratulations to Sixth Book pupils, Alex Cirstea, Victor Sim, Henry Ng, Andrei Diachuk and Yuyao Xie on their outstanding achievement at the MathWorks M3 Challenge in New York yesterday.
Competing against 794 teams, made up of more than 3,600 pupils from across the United States and UK, the team was awarded the Technical Computing Prize for the best use of computer programming, along with a $3,000 cheque. The prize money will be split between the team members and paid directly to their universities next year to offset fees.
To reach the final, the team spent 14 consecutive hours writing a paper which used modelling and computational methods to solve real world problems. This year’s problem was about predicting heatwaves and mitigating their impact on power grids. Their final paper, consisting of over 60 pages, was selected as one of the 3 finalist papers after enduring rigorous examination by the professional judges.
Ahead of their win, the team commented: ‘What makes the M3 challenge unique is its emphasis on not just predictions, but also using those predictions to design real solutions. We prioritised this on Challenge weekend, using domain knowledge of physical and social sciences to make our approaches fresh but still anchored in reality. As a result, we not only predicted trends, but found creative solutions and strategies to solve the problems of tomorrow.’
Well done boys!
Publications
The Wykehamist returns!
After a five-year hiatus, the 1,479th edition of pupil-led publication The Wykehamist has just been published by a new team, led by editors Thomas Dunn, Arun Sharma and Anthony Kim. Featuring a roundup of sports, arts and general Wiccamica, this edition also includes nuggets such as A Brief History of Beer and a piece On Notions.
Enjoy!
Music
Wykehamist earns Choral Scholarship to King's College, Cambridge
Recently, VIBk1 pupil, Alex (I), was awarded a choral scholarship to King's College Cambridge.
Alex took part in a rigorous and competitive audition process to achieve this choral scholarship and his academic place at King’s. As part of the audition process, he performed solo pieces and completed challenging aural and sight-reading tests.
Choral scholarships at King’s College are highly prized, and are only awarded to the most promising young singers. Former choral scholars have had prominent careers as solo singers, including Michael Chance, Gerald Finley, Mark Padmore and James Gilchrist. The choir's renowned annual Christmas performances of 'Carols from King’s' and 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' are aired by the BBC. The choir sings daily chapel services during term and also has a busy recording and touring schedule.
Congratulations Alex!
Sport
Cricket season begins
Following a productive pre-season over the Easter holidays, Lords began their season with an impressive win against Harrow at the weekend. Their 8 wicket win, having bowled Harrow out for 86, even allowed them to stay and watch the 3rd XI successfully chase 166 to win on Doggers.
Both the JCBs and JCCs had very close games on Gater, as did the SCBs who lost in the final over of their T20 on Lavender Meads.
Away at Harrow, the Yearlings returned 3 victories, which is a rarity against such a strong cricketing school. The YC victory was well managed as they won by 9 wickets, even with the coach retiring his batsmen at 20, and Cameron (I) began his season with bat and ball well, helping guide the YAs to a tight win with a ball to spare.
Academic
Schools’ Challenge Victory
On Saturday, Winchester hosted the national finals of the senior category of the Schools’ Challenge, the country’s leading general knowledge competition for schools, with a format modelled closely on that of University Challenge.
Winchester’s quizzers competed against seven other schools, the strongest teams from the hundred or so who took part in this year’s competition.
After convincing wins in their quarter-final against Brentwood School (760-360) and in their semi-final against Hampton School (590-450), Winchester faced a formidable side from KES Birmingham in the grand final - but in the end emerged victorious with a 560-400 win.
This is the first time in the almost fifty-year history of Schools’ Challenge that Winchester has won the competition. Many congratulations go to the team, made of Annabelle (D), Xerxes (I), Matthew (X) and Edward (X; Captain).
Academic
Wykehamists reach Finals of the Budget Challenge
In late March, three VIBk2 economists, Aaryan, Ronin, Phuc (all I) travelled to Westminster to compete in finals of The Budget Challenge, a competition where teams put together a budget with taxation and spending policy for the United Kingdom in the coming financial year.
Getting to this stage had required them to write a 5,000-word report detailing their Budget proposals, as well as successfully getting through the semi-final event at the Vinson Centre, University of Buckingham, back in February.
The competition is hosted by one of the oldest and most influential ‘think tanks’ in Britain, the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) and the final presentations were delivered at the IEA's headquarters. The Wykehamists confidently presented their creative solutions to the challenges faced by the UK economy and skilfully navigated questions from the judges around the economic credibility, as well as the political viability of their proposals.
Reaching the final put the group in the top 3% of all entries nationwide, reflecting the calibre and commitment shown by Winchester pupils in immersing themselves in the subject and in actively engaging with current domestic and global affairs.
Congratulations boys!
Art
Taking Inspiration from Nature
Recently, the ever-popular Pottery Society teamed up with Izzy Powell, Duncan Louis Stewart Fellow of Natural History, for two sessions of making in clay.
Along with a selection of preserved and displayed insects from the College Science School collection, Izzy brought live examples to Art School, including a giant African millipede and two Madagascan hissing cockroaches.
After a session of observation and handling the creatures, members of the society created stoneware insects inspired by the biological specimens. Glazes were applied to explore surface and colour, and wonderful insect artworks emerged from the kiln.
Mr Lewthwaite was pleased to note that all the live insect visitors were safely removed from his classroom and returned to Science School!
Dr David Cole to join as new Bursar
We're delighted to announce the appointment of Dr David Cole as Bursar from September 2025.
David joins us from Sherborne Schools Group, where he has acted as Bursar and, more recently, as the Group’s Chief Operating Officer.
School news
Winchester College and The Pilgrims' School to merge
As communicated by the Warden last week, the Governing Bodies of Winchester College and The Pilgrims' School, and the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral are delighted to announce an exciting new development in their shared history, the merger of The Pilgrims’ School with Winchester College.
Both schools have long shared a common educational philosophy – one that values intellectual curiosity and independent thought. The merger strengthens these ties, ensuring that both schools continue to provide an education of exceptional quality and breadth, while also creating new opportunities for increased collaboration and innovation. Academic excellence, musical distinction and the provision of a unique all-round education will remain at the heart of Pilgrims’ offering. It will continue to operate as one of the leading academic prep schools in the country, preparing boys for the senior school of their choice.
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