EDITORIAL
MATTHEW GIVEN (G)
It has been a while, but The Wykehamist now proudly returns with this lives here at WinColl to the personal statement. Only preparing for exams and
latest edition; hopefully one of many that will be reaching you soon. For those interviews, however, can be incredibly dull, and is actually limiting the poten-
newer (or less attentive) students who don’t know, The Wykehamist is the tial of the minds that enter this school.
student-authored school magazine concerning life at the college, ranging from One of the things I love most about this school is each pupil’s individua-
reports on talks, concerts, trips, and general discussion about day-to-day activi- lity and how that is celebrated and fostered. Unlike at other schools (which I
ties, featuring articles by our team of staff writers, as well as contributions from will not name), where students are expected to fit in and become part of the
members of the school. We hope you enjoy it. collective, WinColl allows boys to flourish in things they are truly passionate
I have the privilege of writing the editorial for this publication, and as about. One does not come here purely because they can pass exams, they come
such, I would like to start this edition with a short discussion on the topic of here because they can learn about everything that takes their interest. They can
Div. While it may be the bane of some of your lives - with Div tasks, lessons read beyond their syllabus and exam criteria, and branch their passions into
taking up much of your week, and a lack of exams or explicit utility turning other fields, becoming a truly well-rounded person. This is far more important
many away from the subject - Div is very close to my heart. In fact, it is the than grades or applications, as it does not produce an inefficient box-ticking
reason I applied to Winchester College in the first place. No other school offers machine. It produces an intelligent, interesting, and interested individual.
the same holistic style of learning to such a well-rounded degree, exploring This is where Div shines. It allows boys of any discipline or skill level
topics far beyond the possible range of any realistic syllabus, transcending to learn about the most incredible range of topics among relative experts in
subject boundaries and allowing learning for the pleasure of learning.
the field, be that their don or an extremely knowledgeable peer. It encourages
It is the only class many of us will ever have where learning is collabo- interdisciplinary collaboration, critical thinking, and the ability to learn from
rative, driven by the various academic interests of the set, and steered by the another to increase the breadth and depth of one’s knowledge. It is not quanti-
expertise of a don with their own passions and skills. This allows for each indi- fiable, because to quantify it would be to limit its scope beyond the classroom,
vidual to see the world from more perspectives than they might ever have but it is useful, engaging, and ultimately instrumental in producing not just
done before. A physicist might learn to appreciate the nuances of a work by another statistic, but a Wykehamist.
Duchamp, and an artist might learn about the cause of special relativity and Next time your don sets you a particularly long and gruelling Div task,
the significance of Einstein’s famous equations (both of which have occurred in then, remember that it isn’t all for nothing. Even if some obscure medieval text
Div lessons I have had over my time at this school). doesn't seem as if it is going to ‘help you in life,’ the process of learning, colla-
This ability to open one’s mind to new perspectives is an invaluable life
borating and understanding most certainly will.
skill that extends far beyond the classroom. In today’s increasingly divided
society, searching for common ground is essential to bring about meaningful
change. Undoubtably, a great number of you reading this will be at the fore-
front of various influential organisations or movements in the future, so this
skill is of paramount importance. Participating in Div and learning from your
peers and your don may grant you the ability to solve many problems in the
future for the betterment of society.
Perhaps that feels a little farfetched to some of you. After all, it is only a
subject, and with no syllabus or exams, how could it possibly be teaching you
anything of value? Those that are in favour of scrapping Div often use this
argument. If a school’s job is to prepare its students for university then why
waste one’s time on a non-examined, non-curricular, non-structured class with
nothing to show for itself after five years of study?
To that I ask: is that really all that a school can provide? Exam results
and a neat-and-tidy Oxbridge application? As I am in the university applica-
Picture overleaf: runners start Sen.
Courtesy of PhotoSoc. tion process myself, I understand how important those grades can seem, and I
4 The wykehamist
Sen Runners, 2019
certainly see the frustration in not being able to add something so central to our
Editorial
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