No . 135 The Trusty Servant
I knew as a Head of Department that I could always rely on him to offer a balanced and considered opinion on things ; he also stepped in uncomplainingly to pick up a tranche of extra marking over a bank holiday when I underestimated the volume of Entrance essays in 2021 . The moderation of A Level coursework is not the highlight of anyone ’ s professional life , but doing it with Tom was as enjoyable and purposeful as it could be .
He and I joined Winchester in September 2019 , having also started our teaching careers together in the same school five years earlier . On our first night in Winchester we learned a valuable lesson , which is — if you ’ re buying two drinks in the Wyk , you shouldn ’ t expect change from a tenner . Much has changed in Tom ’ s life in the subsequent years — most happily , of course , his marriage to Philly in February this year . We wish him every success in his new role , and him and Philly ( and the dogs ) every happiness in their future together .
Martin Masters ( CCF Adjutant , 09-23 ) James Thorne , ( Co Ro , 19- ) former Contingent Commander writes : Major ( retd ) Martin Masters handed over the role of CCF Adjutant in April . He joined the College in 2009 having served in 1 st Royal Tank Regiment in the Chieftan era and in staff roles . Martin handled all personnel administration for the many dozens of staff and thousands of cadets who passed through the Corps during his tenure ; in other words , he toiled long and hard in the vineyard of service paperwork . On top of this , he has been a meticulous planner of complex camps and expeditions , and , as a charming and persuasive ambassador to military units and MOD agencies , secured much support which would not automatically have been forthcoming . As adjutant for four Contingent
Commanders and three SSIs , he has been a firm base of institutional memory ; but he also saw many systems come and go , from the typewriter used to prepare weekly orders when Michael Wallis was in command , right up to MS Teams at the present day : a ‘ revolution in military affairs ’ which Martin has handled with true Tankie panache .
Treya Wilkinson ( Matron of Toye ’ s , 16-23 ) Treya got the job of Matron at Toye ’ s just a couple of months after arriving in England from Zimbabwe , and since then , in the words of Quelle , ‘ has devoted enormous amounts of her energy and attention to all of her needy Toyeites .’ Aurelien Vieilleville , current Ho Do , gives the following tribute :
Treya was an outstanding matron , fully committed to the boys , their parents and the House . She saw it as a 24 / 7 role , to the extent that she used to pop in and check that everything was going well on her days off . The only time she managed to slow down was when she was locked in her flat with Covid .
It was not unusual to find her washing up in the kitchens , serving at the counter , helping the domestics or charging around the school to support the boys in all their different endeavours . On many an occasion she acted as both matron and counsellor ensuring that boys made it across the line ; there are a good number who would have struggled without the time , support and advice she gave them , and she was incredibly kind and supportive of all the house staff .
She had many hidden talents and there are a number of pieces of her artwork adorning the walls in the house . Over the years , she has coached the swimming team , delivered more socials than anyone and led the CCF RN Section , camped out in the Lakes supporting the Mallory Challenge and run the Covid pre-term lockdown house . Thankfully , she barely sleeps , otherwise there would not have been enough hours in the day ! She is a great team player : I enjoyed every minute of working with her . She likes being busy helping others , and has dedicated her life to it .
Pupil achievements
Christopher Leung ( Coll , 18- ) has been awarded a Gold Medal in the Physics and Chemistry Olympiads , has been invited to attend the Astrophysics Olympiad training camp , and is one of 80 pre-university pupils worldwide to be accepted onto the Bessie Lawrence International Summer School at the Weizmann Institute in Israel .
Christopher was also the brilliant soloist ( see Music round-up ) in the school concert , and organised the highly successful 24-hour music marathon in Common Time , which raised over £ 7000 for the school ’ s charities .
The Chemistry department is on fire ! This year ’ s tally of 18 gold , 24 silver and 26 bronze awards in the National Olympiad is a record haul of medals for Winchester . In further news , an all-College team of junior boys won Cambridge University ’ s ‘ Top of the Bench ’ competition , beating over 250 other schools from across the UK and , surreally , Belgium , and an Upper School team came second out of 58 schools in the Cambridge Chemistry Race , described by one participant as ‘ even more fun than the Olympiad ’.
Round One of the British Mathematical Olympiad awarded Distinction to eleven Wykehamists , including a JP Collegeman . William Thomson ( Coll , 18- ), who gained full marks in Round Two , has been
17