THE WYKEHAM JOURNAL 2022 WARDEN ’ S REPORT
SIR RICHARD STAGG ( G , 1969-73 )
Two years ago , the Governing Body issued a document designed to set out the strategic direction of Winchester College over the coming 10-20 years : ‘ Winchester College in the 21 st Century ’. This aimed to strike a balance between preserving the school ’ s unique qualities and ethos and introducing improvements which were , in some cases , long overdue .
I believe , as recorded in more detail elsewhere by the Headmaster and Bursar , that the school has set about implementing this strategy with a good degree of energy and purpose . This is , in large measure , down to their leadership and commitment . The first cohort of Day Girls has entered the school and they seem to be relishing what Winchester has to offer . We are in the process of applying for planning permission to build two new Boarding
Houses on St Cross Road , next to Furley ’ s . Applications for bursaries from good candidates are rising — in particular thanks to the Wykeham Award for VI th Book entrants from the state sector . An extensive programme of maintenance and refurbishment is underway ( as any recent visitor to the school will confirm ).
I am very clear , however , that these are early days . There are 30 fences in the Grand National : we have probably jumped the equivalent of two , so far . We need to maintain the momentum of this programme , while ensuring that we are delivering the ( right ) sort of academic excellence that parents and pupils expect .
This critical task seems to me to get more challenging with every passing year . When I was in the school ( and even during our son ’ s time ), it was possible to sketch out a plausible version of the future which was moderately predictable and , therefore , relatively easy to prepare for . No longer . One illustration : last spring the FAANGs ( the five largest US technology companies ) were valued at $ 7 trillion — over three times the value of the whole FTSE 100 . Of the five companies , only one ( Apple ) existed before 1994 . Admittedly , there ’ s been quite a market correction since then . But even so … 5