6th October 2020
Winchester Weekly
Guest editor
A legacy of service
To mark this year’s Founder’s Obit, a service which commemorates the death of William of Wykeham, I have spoken about a Wykehamist who led the working-class movement between 1955 and 1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, the man who might very well have become the school’s second Prime Minister had he not died just before the 1964 election.
As a school of the church, it is probably not that surprising that Winchester has produced only one Prime Minister – the now largely forgotten Viscount Sidmouth. That famous school of the court, Eton, founded in 1440, has produced twenty. Winchester might only have one man to have made the top job, but many have served the nation in parliament and in Cabinet over the centuries. The most eminent twentieth century Winchester politicians — Hugh Gaitskell, Stafford Cripps, Richard Crossman and Douglas Jay — were Labour men.
In thinking about William of Wykeham and his legacy of service, I want to focus on the contributions made to the nation by the men educated within these walls. Given that a regular guest at the OW MPs dinner currently occupies 11 Downing Street, the moment may be just right to do so!
Laurence Guymer, History don
A message from the Second Master
This Sunday
For those parents of boys in JP, V Book or VI Book 2 who would like to see their son this coming Sunday 11th October, please fill out the 'whereabouts form' found here.
JP parents' evening
The JP parents’ evening will take place remotely on Sunday 1st November via Microsoft Teams from 1800-2000. Your son’s dons will be in direct contact with him to arrange individual appointments and there will also be an opportunity to consult with his Housemaster. Consultations will be preceded by a talk for JP boys on e-safety at 1600 and an equivalent talk for parents at 1700. Details of how to join these talks online will be sent later this month.
Leave-out
As communicated in last week’s newsletter, please find more detail here concerning testing of your sons on their return from Leave-out.
Up until now, we have used the initial two-week house bubbles, as well as the low infection rates in Winchester to our advantage. Thank you to parents for your continued support of our approach. This support has played an indispensable part in securing a situation in which, at the time of writing, we have had no positive cases of COVID-19 within our community.
However, Winchester is not immune from the trend of rising rates across the UK. We are now entering a new phase where there is a higher risk of a positive case arising in the school and we are prepared for that eventuality. While the testing machine provides significant reassurances, it is a part and not the whole of our mitigating measures, and we will need to maintain all of our current measures up to house and around the campus. Equally, the pastoral need to maintain Sundays Out is very clear, and with the continued support of parents in following our Sunday protocols we will continue to do all we can to keep the virus at bay.
As we head towards Leave-out, I would urge all parents to continue to take all precautions and to adhere to government guidelines on mixing households. If boys do not follow the guidance and mix with others outside of their household, especially in the last few days of Leave-out, then there is a conceivable possibility that their test will show as a false negative, putting both your son and others at risk on their return.
To that end, a reminder that boys should not return to school if they or any close contacts have presented with any of the following symptoms during Leave-out:
- a high temperature
- a new, continuous cough
- a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste
Further guidance on how to book a test will be communicated in next week’s newsletter.
With best wishes,
Mr Nicholas Wilks, Second Master
Celebrating success
Music award
Congratulations to Brandon Chan who recently passed his Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) with Distinction, the College’s highest award at this level.
The LTCL is an award for presenting a recital of music under examination conditions that is equivalent in standard to the final year recital of an undergraduate degree. Brandon did much of his violin recital preparation while in lockdown in Hong Kong and is now applying to undertake an FTCL diploma (Fellow of Trinity College London), which is a longer recital with an even more challenging repertoire. Trinity College says this equates to a level of performance at or beyond postgraduate level.
Porters' Post
The Chase
Over the Exeat weekend, a number of boys took part in a film-making workshop to provide them with an outlet to demonstrate their digital creativity, an insight into life at Winchester, or both. This week we are sharing a particularly creative short film involving drone footage filmed by Max and Harry called The Chase.
Cricket at Winchester
The Wykeham 100
The Wykeham 100 cricket tournament continued last week. Unfortunately, due to poor weather conditions over the weekend, the finals were called off. Doggart’s Dons and Mason’s Amateurs have been named joint winners of the inaugural competition. Both sides will be seeking independent victory in the 2021 edition of the competition, with the final for that pencilled in to be played on Winchester Match.
Choral evensong
Quiristers return to the Cathedral
The Quiristers were delighted to be back singing in the Cathedral last Thursday evening for the first time in six months. Watch the service here.
Founder's Obit 2020
Founder's Obit is an annual commemoration of the death of the school's founder, William of Wykeham.
Typically taking place with all pupils and staff at Winchester Cathedral, this year we have created a digital alternative for boys and parents, which explores Wykeham's legacy.
Introductions
Parent connections
Please look out for an email later this week from the new co-chairs of the Winchester Parents' Events Committee (WPEC), Lorna Paviour and Alicia Robert. The WPEC seeks to connect parents across the school community and plays an active role in school life.
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