Kingsgate Park Sports Centre Cecil Rifle Range | Page 2

The new Cecil Range Boys using the current Cecil Range Rifle Shooting at Winchester today In 2004 it was decided to expand opportunities for shooting at the school, outside the confines of the members of the CCF. The foundation of Winchester College Rifle Club (WCRC) enabled first years and those pupils who had left the CCF to shoot. Target rifle shooting is open to all, and some of our best shots in recent years have not been members of the CCF. Shooting is a safe sport. Accidents are prevented by rigid application of rules of safety and by the cultivation of a calm and unhurried approach in the range. The last recorded shooting accident at Winchester was in the 1800s! Using .22 inch target rifles, provided by the club, pupils are encouraged to develop their powers of concentration and self-control. The school’s teams often compete in the British Schools Small- Bore Shooting Association postal leagues, with U14 teams firing ‘5-bull’ targets, and older pupils firing the more demanding ‘10-bull’ targets. From time to time there have been visits to the Lord Roberts Centre at Bisley to fire at 50 yards, and there have also been ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ matches against Wellington, Marlborough and Epsom. 1919 Team win the Ashburton Shield Winchester College Society, Donovan’s, 73 Kingsgate Street, Winchester, SO23 9PE  Tel: [phone]  Email: [email protected]  https://wincollsoc.org  The Kingsgate Park project is probably the most comprehensive development plan the school has embarked upon since its foundation in 1382. The redevelopment of the PE Centre to create a state-of-the-art complex will allow all of our boys to enjoy and participate in a variety of sports and enable the most talented and driven boys to practice and compete at the highest level. The new Cecil Range will be an integral part of the new Sports Centre. It will have seven firing lanes, an increase from the previous six-lane range, for use at a distance of 25 metres and will be designed for prone position 0.22 calibre rifles. It will also include an associated briefing zone behind the firing positions and a separate secure armoury. As well as being used by the school, the new facility will also be available to external groups such as the local rifle clubs and the GB Under 18s Rifle Shooting Club. Retaining the name and the original commemorative stone bearing the inscription to George Cecil, will serve as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices many OWs have made for their country. The new Sports Centre will cost £40m. As with all projects of this size, it will be financed by a mixture of borrowing, the school’s own funds and through philanthropic gifts. Winchester would like to ensure that Cecil’s name lives on by securing £1million in support of the new Rifle Range. Taken by a boy of the Cecil Range being moved Registered Charity No. 1139000 www.winchestercollege.org