No . 132 The Trusty Servant
Revd Alwyn Williams
There is by contrast nothing passive or effortless in Leeson ’ s religion . His 1944 Bampton lectures in Oxford articulate his credo . He wished ‘ to translate a heavenly vision into human terms ’. Teaching is a religion : ‘ Our Lord shows us the teacher ’ s office as being in the highest sense sacramental and priestly . He … bids the teacher go to his classroom as to an altar .’ The First World War had ended with the Education Act of 1918 , the product of HAL Fisher ( C , 1878-84 ), one of Leeson ’ s Wykehamist heroes . The Second World War was bidding fair to conclude with comparably far-reaching education reforms , contained in the Fleming Report on public schools and the Butler Education Act . Leeson was in pole position to influence both .
Leeson ’ s views were simple . He wished the state more greatly to fund education , but to ensure that such education must be Anglican . Second , he wished the public schools to be more accessible to those of limited means . The model , bien entendu , was Winchester . Winchester was the progenitor of English education : Thomas Arnold , the reformer and expander of the public schools , was a Wykehamist whose so-called
innovations were no more than a replica of his experiences in College . And Leeson , one suspects , saw himself as the new Arnold .
Leeson almost accomplished his wishes . Butler managed ingenuously to introduce greater state funding whilst retaining a religious emphasis ; but the idealisms of the Fleming Report , with working-class children granted access to historical boarding institutions , was ironically to be stalled – save in a few schools such as this one – by the very party which had promoted it .
How is all this important today ? The global pandemic has increased awareness of mental health , especially in the young . Experts in a recent Today programme could see no answer . Gone was the church , religious belief , and school assemblies ; gone was physical recreation , at school or via clubs ; exams , to some parties essential forms of learning , were to others outdated exercises productive of bewilderment , anger and injustice . Education was letting young people down .
In these self-examining times , Winchester College retains the ability to show others the way forward , with Leeson and Williams as our guides ,
Revd Spencer Leeson and you as the most generous of facilitators . Many is the school which struggles to fund bursary places ; the generosity of our Founder , and all of you , make that possible here .
Our enduring Wykehamical values are as clear as our duty to promote them : they are scholarship and service . Our mission is to all , wherever possible without regard to background , wealth , race , or gender . We do not shy from exams , but neither do we see them as selfsufficient . Our roots are national , deep ; our reach is global , wide . Our philosophy remains an English one , of educating character above all . With your help , we are able to live up to these enduring ideals .
‘ How are you enjoying being Headmaster of Winchester College , Mr Leeson ?’ an elderly lady once asked . ‘ Madam , how will you enjoy the Day of Judgement ?’ Leeson replied . The quip is carefully eschatological . Winchester College exists because one man sought to aid the lives of others , to a period extending beyond his own . Thank you , for you are doing the same . Leeson ends his Bampton Lectures with stirring rhetoric : ‘ Let us face the new revelations , and in humility of spirit , lead the intellect of England .’
Every day , by your generosity , you are saying Amen to that . Thank you ; and Amen indeed .
Dr Hands ’ s new book , A Winchester A-Z , was published this summer . It attempts to extend , explore and enjoy the complexity of the College ’ s heritage , providing an impression of its character and history , using mostly pictures from College collections and quotations from College books . Please contact wincollsoc @ wincoll . ac . uk to obtain a copy . For details of other publications produced by the College , many of which are available to download free of charge , see Wiccamica .
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