Sir David Clementi, my predecessor,
has left the School in fine fettle.
Under his firm leadership, and in
partnership with the Headmaster,
the School has preserved those cultural
qualities that make it unique and,
in many respects, enhanced them.
One of my early tasks as new Warden is to write
in this Wykeham Journal of how I see Winchester
College today.
Sir David Clementi, my predecessor, has left the
School in fine fettle. Under his firm leadership, and
in partnership with the Headmaster, the School has
preserved those cultural qualities that make it unique
and, in many respects, enhanced them: renewed
attention has been paid to the curriculum, particularly
the role of ‘Div’; the quality of education remains
steady, at a very high level; the Bursary programme
has developed quickly; and buildings and facilities
have seen good levels of investment. At the same
time, much has changed: this year sees the end of
fee remission for scholars, and with the abandonment
of A-Levels by the Mathematicians a curriculum
completely set in the Cambridge Pre-U; as well as
David’s retirement as Warden, Jeff Hynam retired
as Bursar, David Fellowes retired as Director of
Win Coll Soc, and Mark Loveday completed
20 years exemplary service to Go Bo, latterly as a
Fellow. We who follow have much to live up to.
also full, subject to the occasional losses for
disciplinary breaches or failure to make the grade
into VI Book. This hurdle is vital in maintaining
VI Book standards and the ethos that standards
matter, and it gives us the chance to bring in suitable
pupils for the Pre-U years, some with bursaries.
The intellectual gap between Collegemen and
Commoners, so evident in my time, is now
significantly reduced.
Second, academic results are good, with strong
Oxbridge results, good entry to London University
in its many guises and to the great teaching hospitals,
enhanced by increasingly successful admissions to
top US colleges. In the major sports, cricket has been
quiet after two glorious years in 2009 and 2