OUR LEARNING COMMUNITY
I didn’ t mean to choose Winchester College. I was enrolled at Peter Symonds, but a last‐second advert convinced me to apply, mainly for interview experience. I didn’ t even know there was another college in Winchester until a month before my application, and I didn’ t expect an acceptance. Upon receiving an offer, nonetheless, I am grateful to have been a Wykeham Award holder, without which I would have been prevented from joining at all. I didn’ t know what to expect, but the experience was indescribable. Attempting to articulate it for an article is a challenge, but one I will try.
Being in a school where I could sit down and start a society, where I could share my love for creative writing, was liberating. I loved Div, where we learnt niche topics, debated, and acted. Winchester allowed for intellectual freedom in a way I had never experienced before. I went from being self-conscious about my writing to having it published in the College magazines and commended. I was grateful when the dons told me I was intelligent; I was also grateful when they told me I needed to work harder, or that I had fallen off-track( even that I was‘ pootling along in third gear’). I wasn’ t given generalised feedback – I had the feedback I needed to encourage and drive me forward – and I felt as if the dons cared about me as a person. Furthermore, I was so grateful to contribute through community service, which was invaluable for work experience, as well as fulfilling.
I was pushed in a way I had never been before. I was encouraged to speak; to share; to risk and fail. Now I am willing to try new things, unfazed by the possibility of rejections or failures. My sense of self is established. I found such kindness in Trant ' s, which was to me both house and a second home. Sitting in the common areas, doing sporadic karaoke and laughing until I couldn’ t breathe, playing
Upon receiving an offer, nonetheless, I am grateful to have been a Wykeham Award holder, without which I would have been prevented from joining at all.
‘ around the world’ in table tennis, KPO trips: I didn’ t even mind the Saturday classes as a day pupil( incredibly). The house system didn’ t stop me making friends across the houses,( I managed to visit each one) and I met many people through classes, mutual friends, and societies. In Oakshott ' s, the girls ' day house, I had a safe space to see my friends and find some reprieve( and toast!) in my study. I debated with dons at the lunch table, felt safe with my personal tutor, who noticed my ups and downs when no one else did, and was able to balance work and social activity in a way that kept me busy but buzzing; content.
THE WYKEHAM AWARD
Launched in 2022, the Wykeham Award is a means-tested bursary for pupils who join us in the Sixth Form and are currently studying at a UK state secondary school.
Available for boys and girls, and for those who would like to join Winchester as a day pupil or boarder. It can cover up to 100 % of the school fees, as well as other associated expenses.
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