Winchester Weekly

Guest Editor

Greek or Latin?

A superb diversionary tactic in a Classics lesson is for a pupil to ask whether I prefer Greek or Latin. I have honed my response over the years: 'I couldn’t possibly choose. You see, they are as different as could be – and complement each other perfectly. Latin is a closed system – apply those beautiful rules rigidly, and the answer comes out the other side. Greek, by contrast, is flexibility itself – to the point where you need to come up with a theory as to what the author is up to, and test it; sometimes a leap of faith is required.' I like going through this ritual as it is a reminder of what a fantastic subject I get to teach.

One exciting project on which we are currently working is devising a series of workshops to be offered to pupils in our partner schools that will together make up a half-day of classical enrichment: visitors will encounter Greek vases, ancient coins, rare editions of classical authors, and some of the many intriguing Greek and Latin inscriptions dotted around the College.

Mr Edmund Lewis, Head of Classics

A message from the Second Master

Sunday Sign Out Form

Dear Parents,

If you would like to see your son on Sunday 27 June please complete the Sunday Sign Out form by 11pm on Thursday evening. You will receive a link to the form in an e-mail tomorrow morning.

The important points regarding Sundays are listed below for your reference:

Boys should not have contact with you if anyone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 10 days, or if anyone in your household has been displaying symptoms, however mild, of COVID-19. These symptoms include: a temperature in excess of 37.8oC, a continuous cough or a loss of the sense of taste and/or smell. Please note that the Delta Variant of COVID-19 may cause different symptoms in the younger age groups: Headache, sore throat and runny nose. If your son has any of these symptoms, please keep them away from school and organise an NHS PCR test as soon as possible.
If after Sunday anyone in your household tests positive for COVID-19, or if anyone in your household develops the symptoms above, however mild, then please inform us immediately.
Boys should not use public transport to travel between home and school.
The Government’s Road Map rules must be adhered to, especially rules on numbers in gatherings and mixing of households on Sunday.

Thank you once again for being so careful in applying these precautions.

Best wishes,

Mr Nick Wilks

Senior pupil appointments for 2021/2022

The following appointments have been made over the past week:

College Officers

Aulae Prae* - William Goltz

Sen Cap Prae* - Alexander Apostolides

Bib Prae - Arthur King

Ollae Prae - Taiga Kawada William

Coll:Lib Prae - Ollie Reynolds

Schol Prae - Iolo Spier

(* both the Aulae Prae & Sen Cap Prae are Co Praes)

From the Headmaster

Sen Co Prae - Guy Jones (Toye's)

Deputy Sen Co Praes - Brandon Chan (Cook's) & Christopher O’Sullivan (Kenny's)

A Message from the Undermaster

Quarantine Registration

Dear Parents,

We hope that boys returning to school for Short Half 2021 will be able to quarantine safely and legally with guardians or members of their families. However, for the instances where this is not possible we are happy to support the safe and compliant return to school by offering quarantine facilities here at the college.

The link below will allow you to register your son for quarantine at Winchester College. We ask that you return with confirmation of your intent ideally by 3 July (the end of term), and at the very latest by 1800 BST 16 July. After that date we will be unable to accept further requests for accommodation other than in exceptional circumstances such as cancelled flights or changes in Covid restrictions.

If you are intending to quarantine your son outside of the school please use this link to make your own arrangements.

The cost of our quarantine service for those coming from Red and Amber list countries will be £1,350 and will include:

Airport transfers (from all London airports) would bring pupils to Winchester, where on arrival they will be tested on our SAMBA system before joining their quarantine accommodation. All frontline boarding staff dealing with quarantine will also be tested.

Any pupils testing positive in any of the tests administered by the School will self-isolate in our Medical Centre. If serious illness develops, the patient can be transferred to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, which is only a few minutes away from the School. Close contacts of the positive case will self-isolate in their quarantine accommodation.

RED List arrivals - Should arrive within the two-day window of 21 and 22 August. Test to Release is not available to Red List arrivals. Government surveillance tests will be administered by the school on Days 2 and 8. RED list arrivals will need to present two letters to UK Border Force on arrival in the UK. We will provide these letters once parents have registered with our quarantine facility.

AMBER List arrivals - Should arrive within the two-day window of 26 and 27 August. Test to Release will be used to reduce the quarantine period to 5 days. Government surveillance tests will be administered by the school on Days 2 and 8.

GREEN List arrivals - There is no quarantine requirement at the moment for GREEN list countries. However, there is a government surveillance test required for these boys on Day 2. Please would families arriving from GREEN list countries ensure that they administer the government surveillance test on or before Day 2 after arrival in UK. Obviously, if the School must administer the test for whatever reason then this can be arranged, but it would be a great help to the School if GREEN list arrivals could organise their own testing before arriving at Winchester.

Registration form for quarantine facilities at Winchester College

With all good wishes,

Dr John Cullerne

A message from the Director of Sixth Book Progression

VI Book 2 and University Applications

Dear Parents of VI Book 2 pupils,

As we approach the end of the academic year and with exams drawn to a close, the university entrance process for your sons gathers pace. The letter available below seeks to outline the key dates and information for the term ahead.

If you have any questions, please do get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Tom Quayle

Societies

Sustainable Fashion

Last week saw the Sustainable Fashion Society take part in a Forest School session on natural dyes and environmentally sustainable practices. In a joint venture with pupils from St Swithuns, pupils learned how to make yellow & red plant-based dyes over a fire to tie-dye white shirts.

Community Service

Angling with Autism

One of our Community Service programmes, Angling with Autism, brings together pupils from Osborne School and Winchester College to share a love of fishing and enjoy the beautiful Itchen riverbank.

Mr Paul Lewthwaite, Head of Sculpture and a Community Service don talks about the initiative.

CCF

New Partnerships

Winchester College has entered a new partnership with Andover College to enable them to run a CCF programme for its students.

Sixth Form at Winchester

Boys and girls

Last week we announced the launch of our new Sixth Form web page, which includes more information about what the Sixth Form experience will look like for both day boys and girls from September 2022.

Find out more

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