HEADMASTER ’ S MESSAGE to educate . Email , strange as it may sound , was one such difficulty , not least because many of the boarding houses lacked wireless technology . I referred to this as the Siberia problem , meaning that although communication was possible on the campus , it was challenging if you resided in the provinces . ‘ Yes Sir ’, a senior pupil quipped , ‘ spelt C-y-b-e-r-i-a ’.
As well as lacking methods of communication , we also lacked suitable projects to communicate , there being no Communications or Outreach Departments . Many things done by pupils , such as our wonderful Community Service programme , blushed upon the desert air unseen . Perhaps , Winchester is good at playing a supportive second violin , but averse to blowing its own trumpet . As Budge Firth put it in his book , Winchester College , ‘ Clearly it may be a benefit that Winchester should signally have refused to capitulate to modern self-advertisement and the criterion of success ; but equally clearly this passion for anonymity and reticence , this hatred of vulgar pushfulness may , beyond a certain point , become a form of pride and weakness … ’.
Reaching briefly for that uncharacteristic trumpet , then , a short mention of sport . You will realise that , not least thanks to the generosity of our former pupils and our parents past and future , the Sports Centre on Kingsgate Park is nearing completion , with all that means , not only for us , but also for the local community . Last season was excellent for cricket : our 1 st XI lost only one match ; they reached the semifinal of the National Cricketer Cup , and all this with a team which loses only one player this year . Hampshire has installed four composite pitches for us : they have announced their hopes of playing here from 2024 . Our Soccer XI have lost only one fixture and are in the quarter-finals of the ISFA Trophy which is being played in January . They are bidding fair to become one of our best teams this century . When we were joined by 17 girls , we thought we could offer them no team sport , but no — they banded together to form a soccer team and , coached by Mrs Harber , gave Charterhouse a run for their money . Oh , and two swimmers won three gold medals at the Warwick 100s competition . So , who says we need a new pool ? ( Well , actually , we do .)
Our facilities , which you will see this afternoon , are both a glory and a challenge . We have not built a boarding house since before the First World War . Several of our buildings might need a lick of paint or a stronger sense of purpose . An example would be Old Mill , the wonderful mill building which survives from the original foundation , and which for many years helped provide the College ’ s daily bread . Currently it is largely empty , and we need to repurpose it . There would be a certain appropriateness there . We need to learn to use our resources in the City in a sustained and modernised way in order to help the City and the College to survive and to thrive .
At Portsmouth Grammar School 50 percent of the available catchment area contained only fish . Winchester operates on a lower percentage , though that is not to say that we always welcome as much as we should those who come from outside . Perhaps you noticed as you came in at the Porters ’ Lodge a sign saying , ‘ Closed to Visitors ’. It can be taken the wrong way and , indeed , quite often has been . We have revised all our entrance procedures so that pupils can relocate here from state schools . We have revised our constitution so that we can admit both girl pupils and , as we did until 2006 , day pupils also ; and thanks to the enormous generosity of donors , we are being hugely successful in fundraising for bursaries . In 2023 we expect to spend £ 4.5m on bursaries and the Governing Body has pledged a 25 % increase in our bursaries by 2024 .
So , are you enjoying being Headmaster , Mr Leeson ? Yes , I am . Are we becoming less antiquated ? Yes , I hope so . Are we better serving our community ? I hope today will help you to conclude that we are . Do enjoy your time with us .’
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