Winchester College

Winchester College is a public school situated in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, in the south of England. In fact it is the original public school, with others, such as Eton College, being modelled on it. Their website states that the school has "the longest unbroken history of any school in England"[1] .

History

It was founded in 1382 by William of Wykeham, the Bishop of Winchester and High Chancellor of England, who also founded New College, Oxford. Its original purpose was to educate "seventy poor and needy scholars". Since the scholars now only get 50% off their school fees, they probably aren't as "poor and needy" as their predecessors. Starting in 2005, new Scholars entering College will have a basic scholarship of 25% with additional means-tested bursaries. Current and former pupils are still referred to as Wykehamists after the founder.

The school also took a few paying students, known as "Commoners". Originally there were only about 10, rising steadily until the early 19th century, when their numbers were approximately equal to those of the Scholars. In the late 1850s and throughout the 1860s, the numbers expanded dramatically as nine new boarding houses were built. One more boarding house was built in 1905, bringing the total to the current 11 (including "College", the original fourteenth-century Scholars' house), and the total number of pupils to almost 700. A twelfth boarding house is currently in the planning stage.

As of May 2003, the current headmaster is Mr. T. R. ("Tommy") Cookson, who succeeded Dr. Nicholas Tate when he resigned in 2003[2] .

Winchester Slang

The slang used at Winchester College is known as 'notions'. The use of notions has declined somewhat over the years but they are still in use. Examples include 'goive', 'aeg', 'No. Bo.', 'toyes', 'gallery' and 'mugging hall'. Until recently, all students underwent a 'notions test' administered by the prefects. A dictionary of notions has been published- Winchester Notions: The English Dialect of Winchester College [ISBN 0485115255].

Former pupils

Famous former pupils include:

• Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Thomas Beckington, statesman
• Richard Pace, diplomat
• William Grocyn, scholar
• William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Roger Ascham, scholar and writer
• Henry Wotton, author and diplomat
• John Davies, poet
• Thomas James, librarian
• Edward Nicholas, statesman
• Thomas Otway, dramatist
• William Somerville, poet
• Edward Young, poet
• Robert Lowth, Bishop of London
• Edward Wortley Montagu, author
• William Collins, poet
• Joseph Warton, literary critic and academic
• Thomas Warton, Poet Laureate
• Thomas Burgess, author
• William Lisle Bowles, poet
• Richard Mant, writer
• William Page Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley, Lord Chancellor
• Christopher Wordsworth, Bishop of Lincoln
• Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, statesman
• Anthony Trollope, author
• George Bruce Malleson, author
• Samuel Rawson Gardiner, historian
• William Sealey Gosset, chemist
• Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, general
• George Mallory, climber of Everest
• Arnold J. Toynbee
• Sir Oswald Mosley, fascist leader
• Dr Robert Conquest, historian specialising in Stalin's purges
• Geoffrey Howe, Lord Howe of Aberavon, politician
• George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, Tory MP
• Tim Brooke-Taylor, comedian
• Richard Noble, designer of the ThrustSSC
• Joss Whedon, television scriptwriter

List of Boarding Houses

Each house has an official name, used mainly as a postal address, and an informal name, based on the familiar name of the original housemaster. Each house also has a letter assigned to it, in the order of their founding, to act as an abbreviation.

College does not have an informal name, although the written abbreviation Coll: is commonly used. It also has a letter assigned to it, X, which is predominantly a laundry mark.

External link

• Winchester College website