THE WYKEHAM JOURNAL 2020
‘ I didn’ t even consider looking at schools like Winchester because I thought I wouldn’ t be able to go there. But the bursary system made it possible.’
Lincoln College Crest but of race as well. He found an environment where all were welcomed, and which encouraged intellectual debate, exchange of ideas and challenge; and he flourished.‘ It was uplifting,’ he says.‘ There were adults everywhere ready to engage. At lunch a different don would come and sit by you every day and chat about anything.’
At his former school, he explains,‘ in Further Maths it was only me and one other student who took the GCSE, and we were given a textbook and told to teach ourselves a lot of the time. So, when I arrived at Winchester, one of the very important things for me was that I was with like-minded people, and the teaching could stretch me in ways in which I hadn’ t been stretched before. And the teaching doesn’ t just stick to the syllabus or what you need to pass exams. It’ s a lot freer. We could engage and be passionate about the subject. It was very different from what I was used to.’
Div, the daily general studies lesson taught to every pupil every day, was also a revelation:‘ Div showed me I could learn outside my four subjects. It let me meet people studying things other than Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry. It taught me that it’ s OK to challenge and question, but it also taught me to understand the viewpoint of others and hear their arguments. It definitely helped me a lot in how I developed as a person.’
One key turning point was an offer from a Physics don to set up a problemsolving session once a week. Oliver and a handful of friends went along, and he soon found himself entering the British Physics Olympiad contest.
‘ I heard about the Physics Olympiad and thought it would be very interesting, so I took part in the first round. It was about applying the knowledge we had to problem-solving. And I achieved a top gold in the First Round, which was the top 200 students in the country. Because of that, I qualified to take part in Round Two and got as far as silver, which is the top
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