No . 133 The Trusty Servant
Valete
As our sister publication , The Wykehamist , is not currently in production , we are expanding our farewells here from the traditional halfline into fuller Vales .
Advance Notice
Nick Wilks ( Q , 70-73 ; Master of Music , 04-15 ; 2M , 15-22 ) will retire at the end of a well-earned sabbatical in Short Half . He will receive an appreciation in our November edition .
Tim Hands ( HM , 16- ) will retire at the end of Cloister Time 2023 .
Be sure to ask him for your own signed copy of A Winchester A-Z before he departs .
Xiaoli Pan ( Chinese , since 2021 ). We thank Xiaoli for helping the final cohort ( for the moment ) of Chinese GCSE pupils reach their goal . Her popularity with her charges while working part-time and much of the time online is a testament to her excellent teaching .
Will Hale ( English since 2021 ; new post at Bedford School ). Will has proved himself an adept teacher of English across all year groups , marrying intellectual ambition with a rigorous and fast-developing classroom style . As co-director of
Midsummer Night ’ s Dream , he played a pivotal role in putting on a hugely popular and highly thought of school play . He moves on to Bedford School with a very promising career ahead of him : our loss is certainly their gain .
Joe Lord ( Classics since 2020 ; new post at Radley School ). Some dons know the school so well that they can tell you the house of any pupil . That Joe can do this after only two years speaks of his natural schoolmastering gift . His care made him a popular tutor in Kenny ’ s and then Cook ’ s ; he always made time to chat to the boys at length and quickly built up a rapport . He was particularly useful at helping with personal statements and discussing Oxford colleges . In the classroom he impressed upon his pupils what a privilege it is to study Classics , having earned an impressive degree at Oxford despite beginning with no Greek and only GCSE Latin ; nobody who has been taught VI Book prose composition by him could doubt his command of the languages now . Away from the classroom he has made a major contribution to Boat Club , working particularly with the younger pupils . We look forward to seeing him again as he brings his Oxfordshire charges to future regattas .
Emma Aikenhead ( DT , since 2018 ; Head of Design and Technology at Victoria College , Jersey ).
Callum Barnes ( Co Ro , 13- ) writes :
Emma Aikenhead originally joined the DT department in September 2018 for a term ’ s cover ; the school , hugely impressed with her commitment to getting the best outcome for the pupils , involving herself in all aspects of the school , and her knowledge of maritime engineering , soon offered her a more permanent position when the opportunity arose . DT , Young Enterprise , Golf , Phil ’ s tutoring , EPQ and CS Fixperts have all benefited from Emma ’ s enthusiastic contributions , to name only a few , and more recently she has served the wider community as Common Room Secretary .
Alec Graham ( Maths since 2015 ; Head of Mathematics at Manchester Grammar School ).
Dominic Rowland ( C , 00-05 ; Co Ro , 16- ) writes :
Alec Graham arrived at Winchester College in 2015 fresh from a PhD at Trinity College , Cambridge . My first impression on meeting him the following year was of a somewhat reserved young Scot , who might have been as comfortable in the early 19 th century as the 21 st . I wondered how he might fare in the face of a recalcitrant MP set , and dared mention as much to a colleague . The response spoke volumes about both teacher and pupils : ‘ Alec is the genuine article ; the boys here respect that .’ This , coupled with a fabled caustic sense of humour more often deployed in the classroom than the common room , left no doubt that Alec had his classes where he wanted them .
Alec has taught maths with distinction right across the Wykehamical spectrum , with younger pupils always grateful to find their don fair , consistent and genuinely caring . These traits have served Alec well wherever he has contributed to school life , notably as assistant housemaster of Trant ’ s and master in charge of campanology , but also in community service , golf and anywhere else a willing volunteer might be needed .
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