per annum in bursaries to 127 pupils, the equivalent
of more than 80 full fees), and securing needs blind
admission is, in my view, an achievable goal given
that many parents who can afford to pay fees will
continue to knock on its doors. I am convinced this
will be a game-changer. Some will of course still
attack the school for elitism. But it will no longer
be on the back foot when it responds that it sets
out to provide the best education in the country for
those who can most benefit from it and that this is
something everyone should support and be proud of.
John Nightingale
(D, 1973-77)
contemporaries, I was scarcely afforded a glimpse
of these rich collections, notwithstanding the fact
the school set such store by cultural education.
The Treasury, combined with the reinvigorated role
of the archives and Fellows’ Library does more than
put this right for current and future generations –
both at the school itself but also more generally
as the school reaches out to other schools in
Hampshire and ensures that visitors to Winchester
can get a privileged glimpse of its collections.
And so to bursaries and access. The Treasury may have
a special place in my heart but bursaries and the wider
access that flows from them are for me the really
big story which will determine whether the school
continues to flourish, or indeed survives, through
the twenty first century (and one should not
underestimate how quickly sentiment can turn
against established institutions in the current
environment, particularly when the professional
classes feel they have been squeezed out and no
longer have an interest in maintaining them).
We need to look forward to a time when, as with
Oxbridge and leading universities in the US, money
is not what determines whether you can take up a
place at Winchester. The school has already made
huge strides here (it is currently paying c. £3.1 million
Wykehamists need to be wary of letting a sense
of entitlement envelop them. We need to remember
that a school like Winchester isn’t just plucked
out of the air. Its quality and character have been
established over 600 years by countless generations
of donors who paid for its buildings, gave it treasures
and endowed it handsomely. It is not easy for those
who benefitted from all this to explain why they
shouldn’t help others benefit similarly.
One of the pleasures of serving on the Governing
Body has been to see the Development team come
together from very hesitant beginnings (that slightly
comic British tradition of setting out to raise money
but being far too embarrassed to ask for it outright)
to form the highly professional team led by Lorna
Stoddart and supported by a large cohort of
committed Wykehamists and parents. They believe
in what the school is doing and have gone out with
huge enthusiasm to canvas support for a succession
of great projects or causes, be it the Treasury, Quiristers,
bursaries and now Kingsgate Park, to mention just
a few. There is a lot to get excited about.
A last thought. When I look at splendid baroque
memorials with their prancing, skull-clasping
putti and their effusive words on the virtues
and achievements of our predecessors, I think how
we have lost this easy assurance of being remembered
by future generations. In the absence of alabaster
putti (though I like to imagine there may still be
a few Wykehamists planning grand mausolea) what
are we to do? It is pretty obvious to me that the
next best thing is to leave a handsome legacy to an
i nstitution that is likely to be around for a bit. I will
leave it to you to decide whether it should be for a
bursary or some other noble purpose but suffice to
say I am delighted that Winchester is now urging
us all to think about such things. Ave atque vale!
The Wykeham Journal 2017 49