Having found great pleasure in returning to teaching, Andrew has, thankfully, ensured that the vast and wholly unique experiences that he gained in his many years of service, are fully accessible to the boys.
The next few minutes, no doubt met with an attention fit for the most accomplished diplomats, were a warning to tomorrow’ s future leaders. Drawing attention to the role of well-known social media sites, connecting through the‘ untrue facts’ that were disseminated prior to the US Presidential election, Andrew drew the congregation towards the value of humanity – not as a concept, but rather at its most simple level, as a value amid increasing economic competition and the rise of automation. The value of true knowledge, its intelligent application, and its fearless defence, must have been advocated many a time in the 600 odd years that Chapel has been in continuous use. The value of that timelessness is all too well appreciated by Andrew, and he has particularly enjoyed enveloping himself into the history of the school, and the inevitable eccentricities that it holds dear. Particular enthusiasm is expressed for tea in College.“ To be initiated into College chamber teas, you really feel tremendously part of something very valuable.” For someone who, inevitably, knows a thing or two about being part of, and indeed leading, the most valuable institutions of the country, this is to be taken as quite some accolade. It is, I am sure, no surprise to those who have got to know Andrew, whether as their don or their colleague, that he is thoroughly enjoying spending this current phase of his hugely accomplished career at Winchester, where a certain peace is enjoyed after years of seeing the very real continuing conflicts of the world today. He enjoys making it a home for his thoughts, his experiences, and helping boys make themselves at home with the great power they possess.“ Conflict arises,” he says,“ at its root, from dispossession.” Those who have seen such dispossession, whether in one person or in many, would not disagree. It is not unknown for men and women who have journeyed through Win Coll, or who have worked there, or who are associated with it in any way on their different paths, to put the tangible value of their work above and beyond their position. That invaluable motto,‘ Manners Makyth Man’, is particularly in keeping with one of Andrew’ s most important observations – that, at the end of the day, the value of knowledge is the capacity to use it for the wider community.‘ Knowledge is power’ is true in itself, but in the political sphere raw power and knowledge are not always married. When they aren’ t, things fall apart. To quote Andrew himself,“ You see, as an Ambassador, what power is about”.
The Wykeham Journal 2016 35