No. 139 The Trusty Servant
Wiccamica
Pupil Achievements Regular readers will be aware that the Editors have both been much exercised by the apparent demise of our sister publication.
It is with heartfelt delight, therefore, that we are able to announce that last month saw The Return of The Wykehamist! Not a slightly niche zombie film, but the revival, spearheaded by Thomas Dunn( H, 21-), of the school magazine. Print copies are at a premium, but the new issue can be found online at the Win Coll Soc website.
Team effort was also showcased by the school’ s first Community Weekend in November: a new initiative, involving every member of the school in teams and activities over the two days, with a bonfire and fireworks at its apex on the Saturday night. Most of the events were run by the dons, but Cal: Soc showed its mettle once again with a pupilled black tie ball after the fireworks, hugely enjoyed by all. It is currently the largest society in the school, and its( re) founders, Angus Hay( I, 20-25) and Rupert Balmain( K, 20-25) should be congratulated.
Less parochially, Yash Sawhney( I, 21-) has started an initiative to help rural farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India, to cope with climate changes which are rendering traditional methods of farming obsolete. Through pamphlets and personal visits to all 100 farmers in the original project( now grown to 1000) Yash has married scientific research with traditional practices to improve soil health, increase crop yield, and reduce dependence on chemicals, with startling effectiveness: farmers reported up to a 60 % increase in yields, a 30 % reduction in water usage, and significantly lower input costs. His hope is to popularise a model of sustainable agriculture which helps farmers and the environment. All this, and still only VI Book 2.
Oliver Jing( Coll, 22-) showed a different kind of precocity by coming 4 th out of 16,216 competitors in the first round of this year’ s Chemistry Olympiad, despite, as you see, being still in V Book. Overall, Wykehamists achieved 8.3 % of the total number of gold medals; Peiyan Han( Coll, 20-) joined Oliver at the Round 2 training camp over Easter. Not to be outdone, 49 % of the Wykehamists who sat the Biology Olympiad struck gold, and meanwhile, Zachary Yen( Coll, 20-) came top in the Linguistics Olympiad, and is thus the first recipient of the Helen Walls Medal.
Debating in various forms, and general knowledge, seem to be having a bit of a moment currently, with Wykehamist teams in the finals of both the Oxford and Cambridge debating competitions. At the Model United Nations Conference this year, held at Magdalen College School, Oxford, Winchester won Best and Outstanding Delegation; four boys won‘ Best Delegate’; four more‘ Outstanding Delegate’ and another three‘ Best Resolution’, adding up to well over half the available awards.
The Winchester General Knowledge teams came second in the UQC International Novice Invitational Quiz, and won the National Schools Challenge, storming ahead in the last ten minutes of the final to beat the hardened professionals of King Edward’ s Birmingham 560-400 points. Edmund Lewis( CoRo, 20-), Head of Classics & don i / c General Knowledge, might want to link their success to another statistic: 16 pupils are doing Greek in VI Book, which is the highest number since 1965.
Win Co Fo The school has been regaled with breathless updates from Palmer Field, constructed by don-in-charge Jonathan Percival( CoRo, 21-), of which the following, prompted by the final day of the Sen IXs competition, is a fair example:
Well, what a way to finish the SEN IXs season on Palmer! A day of drama, lastgasp victories, and standout performances. A took centre stage with two impressive wins, first seeing off D 22-9 thanks to the brilliance of T. Coles, before holding their nerve in a nail-biting 19-18 victory over F. B were held to a pulsating 17-17 draw by H but showcased their attacking power with a 24-13 win over F, with A. Gianni Garcia leading the charge. Meanwhile, C edged past E 12-11 before sharing the spoils with K. G ended in style, crushing K 24-6 and beating E 22-10, inspired by D. Garrett( G, 20-). G are crowned champions, unbeaten with 25 points! Palmer will await next season, but for now, it’ s time to send it as a flyer over worms!
Toye’ s won Jun IXs with an unbeaten run.
The Big Games: XVs OTH 40- Commoners 39 VIs Commoners 44- OTH 26 Commoners 63- College 19 OTH 64- College 32 Xs Commoners 72- College 23 OTH 41- College 36
For full match reports, including a review of this year’ s anthems( always a contentious topic) see The Wykehamist, above.
In further sporting news, Gabriel Oluwabusola( B, 22-) has signed a twoyear scholarship contract with the U18 squad at Queens Park Rangers, despite being only sixteen.
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