‘Winchester may not be
the most famous school,’
RDT has been heard to
say, ‘but it is certainly
the most venerable.’
In a recent number of The Wykehamist Ralph
Townsend wrote that ‘we live in a world easily
impressed with celebrity, celebrity in sport and
celebrity in egregious wealth. The links between
these things and the socially-elite public schools is a
favourite subject of the print and film media as a result
of which, Winchester is (fortunately) rarely of interest
to contemporary journalism.’ My overwhelming
impression is that the change effected by the Head
Man in the past decade has re-energised Winchester
by reinvigorating time-tested values and methods,
shaping them to be resilient and useful in a brash world,
while maintaining a philosophical and educational
link that runs from the Founder’s vision. ‘Winchester
may not be the most famous school,’ RDT has been
heard to say, ‘but it is certainly the most venerable.’
Historically, the autonomy of the Houses inclined
Winchester to resist much in the way of central
administration. Housemasters choose their boys and
are therefore prominent figures in parents’ contact with
the School. This is a real strength, but in this era of
such things as government regulation, an expectation
of consistency of discipline, standard of food and parity
of accommodation, greater centralisation of control
has become essential. Choppy waters at Winchester
in the early 2000s made the need for change critical.
The Warden and Fellows needed someone with the
intelligence, experience and wisdom to recognise,
respect and retain what was best in the Winchester
tradition and to bring the centralised order necessary
for coherency and stability. They appointed Dr.
Ralph Townsend in 2005 to manage the change.
And change there came. Warden Large and the
Head Man immediately set about a re-organisation
of governance that led to significant changes in the
College Statutes. A torch was shone into areas long
secluded in shadow. They carried out a consultation
across the Wykehamist community on co-education,
a model of transparent process. Management structures
were put in place to ensure consultation among
dons and the smooth passage of reform. The post
of Registrar was develop Y