The Head Man
Writes
When I arrived at Winchester in 2005, what we have
now come to call the School’s development function
was in its infancy. Wyk Soc was still the vehicle
for communication with OWs and fundraising was
a word breathed tremulously. Fierce OW loyalties
to Wyk Soc were a restraining force but also
potentially the very energy that promised release
into wider inclusiveness to support the School’s
future development. I persuaded David Fellowes
that a Winchester College Society embracing OWs,
Fellows, parents and dons past and present, family
life-membership for anyone and everyone who had
participated in the Winchester experience, was what
we needed. We set to work to construct this vision.
The wonderful thing about Winchester is that it
really understands what tradition is – not a static
hanging on to the past, but a dynamic carrying the
best of the past into a new vitality. Wykehamists
know a good idea when they see one! So it was in
a remarkably short time that Win Coll Soc was born
and all the energies brought into action. What clinched
the deal was the appointment of Lorna Stoddart, then
Director of Development of The National Trust for
Scotland, as joint Director of Win Coll Soc with David.
We have never looked back. Our communications with
all constituent groups, our friend-raising, our targetsetting, our fundraising, the diplomatic integration
of all these things into the fabric of the School,
have brought a wider dimension to the Winchester
community worldwide, and have made us more
confident, imaginative and ambitious for the quality
of the education we offer.
The symbol and summary of all this dynamism is this
journal and it has given me particular pleasure over the
last eight years si