Wykeham Journal 2023 | Page 8

THE WYKEHAM JOURNAL 2023 WELCOME & WARDEN ’ S REPORT

SIR RICHARD STAGG ( G , 1969-73 ) I write this on a glorious November afternoon , having followed in Keats ’ s footsteps along the path from College to the Hospital at St Cross . This walk , at a similar time of year , inspired Keats to write his Ode to Autumn . For me , more modestly , it brought home both our huge good fortune to be surrounded by so much beauty and our serious responsibilities as custodians of such a wonderful landscape and so many historic buildings .

These responsibilities are one of the themes of this year ’ s edition of the Wykeham Journal , as is the need to combine conserving the best of the past with increasing access to all that Winchester has to offer . This year ’ s Wykeham Correspondent , George Brock , is an OW who went on to be Foreign
Editor and Managing Editor of The Times . We worked together in Brussels in the early 1990s . He offers a range of different perspectives on the same underlying ambitions — from those of generous donors , through conservation artists and a bursary beneficiary to a multi-generational Win Coll family .
The last 12 months have seen major changes in the school . The first two cohorts of Day Girls have arrived in VI th Book . Thanks to the most thorough preparations , in particular by Tim Hands and the Deputy Head Pastoral , this process has been smoother than I dared hope — hugely helped by the manifest determination of the girls to take advantage of every opportunity which Winchester has to offer . 3