Winchester Weekly

Thank you to parents, pupils and staff for the industry, determination and resilience displayed this half term - and particular thanks to Dr Cullerne for his expert epidemiological guidance.  

We have a little bonus for parents after Leave-out – see Mr Rattray’s notice below regarding Pseudium.   We also have a request.  It has been a lively few weeks for Housemasters who, like the rest of us, are ready for rest and relaxation with their families.  Please could we request on their behalf no emails over Leave-out, and no returns after Leave-out in advance of the official house opening time?  Your forbearance will be hugely appreciated by all.  

I wish all members of our community an excellent and much deserved holiday,   

Timothy Hands

New Parent Portal  

The school will be shortly introducing a new parent portal as part of the wider migration to iSAMS that has been taking place this term. In due course, it will provide you with comprehensive information regarding your son’s academic and extra-curricular activities (as well as intermediate grades and end-of-term reports).

At this stage the functionality is limited but we’ll be keeping parents informed via Winchester Weekly as more content becomes accessible. Please note that the previous parent portal (Firefly) is now defunct and will not contain up to date information. I will be writing to parents with further details and how to access the portal on Wednesday 20 October.

PE1 – Junior Part Parents’ Evening  

PE1 will be taking place on the final day of Leave-out (31 October) at Winchester. Housemasters will be hosting JP Parents for tea from 1600-1715 in boarding houses with live consultations with subject dons taking place on campus from 1715-2015. There will be an option for parents to access dons remotely for consultations on that evening but we strongly encourage parents to meet their son’s dons in person if at all possible. Further information will be provided on Wednesday 20 October.

Kind regards,

Dr Tom Thomas

Alongside other steps being taken to keep classrooms open and as safe as possible for our pupils and teaching staff, high uptake and regular participation in asymptomatic testing is vital to identify those most likely to spread COVID-19 to others without realising it.  

How prevalent is COVID-19?

In the last few weeks, there have been more than 34,000 cases per day, meaning COVID-19 is spreading quickly in the community. The rate among Year 7 - Year 11 has risen sharply since the new academic year and ONS estimate that 4.6% of this population to have COVID-19 (25 September 2021). Local Directors of Public Health are seeing the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases in the 10-15 year old age group since the pandemic began.  

New recommendation

As a result of higher transmission rates, twice-weekly saliva testing has now been implemented in the school. This recommendation is supported by the saliva testing programme’s Scientific Advisory Group, as well as local Directors of Public Health. It will apply until rates of infection become more stable at lower levels, at which point it will be appropriate to revert to once weekly testing for ongoing surveillance and screening purposes.  

Minimising disruption this winter

COVID-19 transmission is expected to increase, coupled with general respiratory illnesses and infections. We want to keep our pupils, our teaching staff, parents, guardians, vulnerable friends, family members and the wider community safe and well as we approach the festive season. The vaccination programme is underway, with 16 – 18 year olds already vaccinated and 12 – 15 year olds to follow on 12 November. We hope that more frequent testing will give you additional reassurance, confidence and peace of mind. With more of our school community participating and regularly testing, the more likely we are to prevent the virus from spreading and causing disruption in our school community. It is more important than ever that we all do our bit to keep everyone safe and in school.

Good wishes,

Dr John Cullerne

As announced in last week's parent newsletter, every year, boys at the College attend Studium, a day of lectures when we invite leaders from business, the Arts, politics and media to give talks.  This year's speakers included Wasfi Kani, Baroness Morgan, Nick Jenkins and Harry Clarke (founders of Moonpig and Ringo); Kate Phillips (Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC); Col. John Blashford Snell (founder of Operation Raleigh); Major-General Jonathan Shaw; Telegraph journalist George Trefgarne; and Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, amongst other distinguished guests.  

The (tongue-in-cheek) response of the Common Room is Pseudium which we are offering to parents and a few Friends on Saturday 13 November 2021, 1000-1230.

Dons from all departments will teach their favourite lessons. Expect bangs and whistles in the Chemistry Department; medieval manuscripts in History; poems in English; brainteasers in Maths; explosive experiments in Physics; Old Master analysis in Art History; Beethoven in Music; discussion and debate in Div. Three 35-minute hours (lessons).  

We think you will enjoy getting back into the classroom! The titles of the lessons will be confirmed over Leave-out, but we have a team of dons assembled including: Dr. Tim Hands; Mr Nick Wilks; Dr. Richard Foster; Mr Dominic Rowland; Dr. Alex Clayton; Mr. Matt King; Mrs. Lucia Quinault; Reverend Justin White; Mr. Jeremy Douglas; Dr. Laurence Guymer; Mr. Andy Sparkes, Mrs. Jan Hepworth and Mr. Adam Rattray.   You will have a choice of lessons; and there will be a break between lessons 1 and 2 when refreshments will be served.   

Mr Adam Rattray, History of Art Department