The Wykehamist
VALE LGS
Not a lot of people know this, but LGS actually had a starring role in the Staff-Student review in December, providing epic vocals for an enormous dancing Brussel sprout from the safety of the wings. Encouraged by this early success, she had a further starring role, this time in her own person, at Sing of Song of Science. By this point, the secret was out: LGS is officially a cool don. Not only is she chief shape-thrower as MiC of DanceSoc on Mondays, but she also brings the dank memes at LiŋSoc on Tuesdays. On the exchange trip to Philadelphia, I learned to my cost that she can rock a baseball cap in a way that a British teacher cannot. She is so cool, in fact, that her aura can survive humouring me by coming to Spoken Latin club each week.
LGS knows a lot of things. In a school of teachers who are very good at telling you why a Latin word is in the dative, she also knows about archaeology. She knows about Italic tombs; she knows about Etruscans. She even knows about something called‘ Italic peoples’. On Classics trips, teachers usually look nervously at the floor when asked about archaeology: not so LGS. On the Rome trip she negotiated with angry Roman
AJS
AJS came to Winchester after a long career in the diplomatic service, bringing with him a set of skills learned in distant places: tact; charm; and coolness under pressure. As department head of VI Book Div, AJS was outstanding, setting high standards of marking and creative teaching up to books. Though foreign affairs and politics dominated many of AJS’ s Div hours, he was open to everything that makes Div at Winchester so special; Recitā and the Kenneth Clark Prize final being particular favourites. A KC semifinal judge for many years, AJS helped steer the Art History department to a shortlist of six finalists, giving friendly and shrewd advice to pupils as they prepared their presentations for the finals. Another area where AJS made a significant contribution to College life was Chapel, where he was an unfailingly courteous and supportive Lay Chaplain. Dons who signed up to give a Chapel talk knew that AJS would be on time to meet them, immaculately dressed, and with friendly words of good luck at the start. If a talk went well, he was warmly enthusiastic; if it didn’ t land, he was kind and encouraging.
AJS leaves Winchester for Oxford to restauranteurs for us at lunch and still had the energy to lecture on Italian nationalism on the Janiculum in the afternoon. She has also learned one or two things from us. She has become an expert at flushing recalcitrant collegemen out of hall before chapel. In ekker, she had the chance to learn the difference between backward point and fine leg. And she now knows that it is a bad idea repeatedly to set off the fire alarm in a boarding house.
Fundamentally, she was a fine teacher. She worked hard; she cared; she was clever and interesting; she was always thinking about how she could improve her teaching still further. And she was a fine house tutor, always friendly and supportive, and a sought-after guest at chamber teas in College. She was a popular coach, too, urging on her‘ mighty Es’ with all the manic enthusiasm and profanity of an Italian dad.
Being literally too cool for school, LGS is now going to back to Cambridge to be with her own kind. We can only hope that we will one day be able to coax her back into schools.
WEG
take up once again the PhD he abandoned for a life of service, first to his country and then to Winchester. The nine years he spent with us were the longest he spent anywhere in his professional life. He was a helpful and supportive colleague to all of us in Common Room, someone who gave thoughtful advice however thorny the problem.
EACR
40