Winchester College facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Winchester College
The school seen from Winchester Cathedral
Address
College Street Winchester, Hampshire , SO23 9NA England
Coordinates	51°03′29″N 01°18′46″W / 51.05806°N 1.31278°W / 51.05806; -1.31278
Information
Type	Public school Private co-educational boarding school
Motto	Manners makyth man
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Established	1382; 643 years ago (1382)
Founder	William of Wykeham
Department for Education URN	116532 Tables
Warden	Richard Stagg
Headmaster	Elizabeth Stone
Staff	c. 350
Gender	Male (mixed at 16-18)
Age	13 to 18
Enrolment	c. 740
Houses	11 (10 Commoner or Old Tutor Houses plus College): College A. Chernocke House (Furley's) B. Moberly's (Toye's) C. Du Boulay's (Cook's) D. Fearon's (Kenny's) E. Morshead's (Freddie's) F. Hawkins' (Chawker's) G. Sergeant's (Phil's) H. Bramston's (Trant's) I. Turner's (Hopper's) K. Kingsgate House (Beloe's)
Colour(s)	Blue, brown & red
Publication	The Wykehamist, Quelle, The Spirit Lamp, The Trusty Servant
Alumni	Old Wykehamists
School song	Domum

Winchester College is a very old and famous school in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is a public school, which in the UK means it's a private school where students pay fees to attend. Most students live at the school, which is called a boarding school.

The school was started in 1382 by William of Wykeham. He was a powerful bishop and wanted to create a school that would prepare students for New College, Oxford, which he also founded. Winchester College has been in the same spot ever since it began. It is one of the oldest schools in England.

For over 600 years, Winchester College was only for boys. However, it has started to welcome girls too! Since September 2022, girls have been able to attend as day students in the older years (Sixth Form). Girls started boarding at the school in 2024.

The school was first built to teach 70 scholars. Over time, more students joined, including 16 choirboys and other paying students called "commoners." In the 1860s, ten more boarding houses were added, allowing many more students to join. The scholars still live in the school's original medieval buildings. These old buildings include courtyards, a chapel, and cloisters. A classroom building called "School" was added in the 1600s. Later, an art school, science school, and music school were built. A special memorial called the War Cloister was built in 1924.

Winchester College has many unique traditions. These include its mascot, the Trusty Servant, a special language called "notions", and a school song called Domum. Famous headmasters have included bishops like William Waynflete and George Ridding. Students who used to go to Winchester College are known as Old Wykehamists.

School History

How Winchester College Started

King Richard II's founding charter for Winchester College, 1382

Winchester College was founded in 1382 by William of Wykeham. He was a very important person, serving as the Bishop of Winchester and a top advisor to two kings, Edward III and Richard II. He started the school partly because there weren't enough trained priests after a terrible sickness called the Black Death. Winchester College was meant to prepare students for New College, Oxford, which Wykeham also founded.

The school's official Latin name means "St Mary's College, near Winchester." The first 70 "poor scholars" started at the school in 1394. Back then, "poor scholars" meant students from families with very low incomes.

Winchester College was special because it used older students, called prefects, to help with discipline. The rules were also meant to be less harsh than in many other schools at the time. It was also unusual because it taught boys aged 12–18, which was the age range for universities back then. These ideas, including having a school linked to a university, became a model for Eton College and King's College, Cambridge about 50 years later. Eton and Winchester became close partners.

At first, only a few students who weren't scholars were allowed. By the 1400s, the school had about 100 students in total. This included the 70 scholars, 16 choirboys (called "quiristers"), and the rest were "commoners" (paying students). Many people wanted their children to be commoners, and their numbers slowly grew.

Changes Over Time

Because Winchester College was also a religious place, it was almost closed during King Henry VIII's time. But he died before it happened. King Edward VI then made changes, allowing worship and Bible readings to be in English instead of Latin. Later, Queen Elizabeth I allowed Winchester and Eton to keep using Latin for religious services. This helped students practice their Latin skills.

From the 1860s, ten new boarding houses were added. Each house could hold up to sixty students, which greatly increased the school's size. By 2020, there were 690 students.

As of 2022, Winchester College started accepting girls into the Sixth Form (Year 12) as day students. Girls began boarding at the school in 2024. In 2025, the college announced it would fully merge with The Pilgrims' School in September 2025.

School Buildings

Winchester College has many different buildings, some very old and some more modern. There are 94 buildings that are officially protected because of their history. The school grounds cover about 250 acres. This includes water meadows, playing fields, and formal gardens. St Catherine's Hill is also part of the area.

The oldest buildings are from when the school first opened in 1394. These include the Outer Gate, Outer Court, Chamber Court, the chapel, and the Cloisters. They are built with flint stone, limestone, and slate roofs. The chapel still has its original wooden ceiling. Some of the old stained glass from the 1820s is now in special areas called Thurburn's Chantry and Fromond's Chantry.

The "School" building was built between 1683 and 1687 in a style similar to the famous architect Christopher Wren. It has a statue of the school's founder above the door. In the 1800s, many new boarding houses were added for the "commoners" (paying students). The scholars continued to live in the older, medieval College buildings.

Around the year 1900, a Music School, an "Museum" (which is an art school), and a Science School were built. A large new hall, called New Hall, opened in 1961. It holds the old oak wood panels that were taken from the Chapel in 1874. In 1924, a War Cloister was built. It is a memorial to students who died in the two World Wars.

Visitors can tour parts of the school like Chamber Court, the chapel, College Hall, the Cloisters, School, and Museum for a fee.

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  Medieval architecture: Chamber Court, 1394, looking through Middle Gate to Outer Court and Outer Gate

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  Hall and Chapel, 1394

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  School in Wren style, 1683–1687

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  Sergeant's House by G. E. Street, 1869

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  Science School by Henry Hill, 1904

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  War Cloister by Herbert Baker, 1924

Student Life

Where Students Live

The seventy scholars live in the oldest buildings, known as "College." These scholars are called "Collegemen." The teacher in charge of them is called the Master in College. Collegemen wear black gowns, which is a tradition from when the school started. They have some special benefits, like having open fires and being allowed to walk across Meads, which is a walled sports field outside the School building.

Boarding Houses

Every student at Winchester, except for the scholars, lives in a boarding house. Students choose or are given a house when they apply to Winchester. This is where they study, eat, and sleep. Each house has a housemaster, who is also a teacher, and house tutors who help out. The houses compete against each other in school sports.

Each house has an official name, usually from the first housemaster's family name. They also have an informal name, often from an early housemaster's nickname. Each house also has a letter, given in the order they were founded. For example, a student from Furley's house is called "a Furleyite."

Learning at Winchester

How to Get In

Winchester College is known as one of the best schools in the world. It has its own special entrance exam. Students who want to join a Commoner House usually arrange to take a test and interview with the housemaster about two years before the main exam.

Students applying to College take a separate, harder exam called "Election." If they do well, they might get a scholarship or a special nomination from the Headmaster to join a Commoner House. Scholarships used to mean free tuition, but now the school offers financial help (called means-tested bursaries) based on how much a family needs it. These bursaries can cover from 5% to 100% of the school fees.

As of 2022, Winchester started accepting girls into the 6th form (Year 12) as day students. Girls began boarding at the school in 2024. For the 2023/24 school year, the fee for boarding students was £49,152 per year, and for day students, it was £36,369 per year.

What Students Study

Besides regular lessons, all students must attend a class called Division (or "Div"). This class explores history, literature, and politics that are not part of exams. Its goal is to give students a wide-ranging education.

From Year 9, students study for at least nine GCSE and IGCSE exams. Every student studies English, mathematics, Latin, French or German, and at least two sciences. They also take "Div." After that, students study three A-levels, "Div," and an Extended Project Qualification.

Exam Results

Winchester College is known for its strong academics.

In 2023, for A-Level exams, nearly 80% of student results were graded A*-A, with over 42% being A*. For GCSE exams, almost 90% of results were graded 7 or higher, and over 73% were grades 8 or 9. More than half of all grades were the top grade, 9. In the same year, 17% of students went on to study at Oxford or Cambridge universities. Many also went to top US universities like Harvard and Columbia.

Between 2010 and 2018, about 33% of students who left Winchester College went to Oxford or Cambridge.

School Activities

Sports

Winchester College football: a "hot" between OTH (brown and white) and Commoners (red and white) on Meads in 2023

Winchester College has its own unique game called Winchester College football (also known as "Win: Co: Fo:" or "Winkies"). It is only played at Winchester. This game is played in the spring term, with houses competing against each other. The students largely manage the game themselves.

The school also has a special version of fives, which is similar to Rugby fives. It has a unique wall feature that makes the ball bounce in unexpected ways.

Winchester College Boat Club, on the River Itchen

The school has an active rowing club called the Winchester College Boat Club. It is located on the River Itchen. The club has won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup twice (in 1949 and 1954) at the Henley Royal Regatta.

There has been a friendly rivalry, especially in sports, between Winchester and Eton for hundreds of years.

Combined Cadet Force

Students in their second year at Winchester College are currently required to join the school's Combined Cadet Force (CCF).

The CCF started in 1860 as "The Winchester College Rifle Volunteer Corps." It was created by older students because they felt there was a threat from Napoleon III. At first, it was run by the students themselves. In 1908, it became the Officer Training Corps. By 1914, during World War I, almost every student joined to help with the war effort. In World War II, it was called "The Junior Training Corps." In 1948, it became the "Combined Cadet Force" (CCF), and it included sections for the RAF (Royal Air Force) and RN (Royal Navy). Since 1963, students who don't want to join the CCF can choose "Alternative Service Activities" instead. Students can opt out of the CCF at the end of their second year.

Music

Winchester College offers many chances for students to develop their musical skills. Two-thirds of students play at least one instrument. The school has a music school and many practice rooms. There are also various choirs, music groups, and orchestras. The chapel choir has been around since the school was founded. Students who are good at multiple instruments (Grade 6 or higher) can get scholarships that pay for their music lessons.

School Traditions

The Trusty Servant: School Mascot

The Trusty Servant: 19th-century print

The Trusty Servant is a special painting at Winchester College. It is the school's unofficial mascot and also the name of its magazine for former students. The painting and a poem about it were created by the poet John Hoskins in 1579. They hang outside the college kitchen. The current painting was made in 1809.

The painting shows a mythical creature. It has the body of a man, a pig's head with a padlock on its snout, the ears of a donkey, and the feet of a deer. It holds tools in its left hand. The poem describes the good qualities that students at the college are supposed to have. The school's coat of arms is in the background of the painting.

Notions: The School Language

A notion is a special word or phrase used only at Winchester College. The word "notion" also describes unique traditions at the school. For example, "toytime" means homework. This comes from the word "toys," which are wooden cubicles where students work in a shared room. These rooms are called "mugging hall" in Commoner Houses or a "chamber" in College.

Manners Makyth Man: The School Motto

Arms of school and founder

Since it was founded, Winchester College has had many special words and phrases linked to it. This includes its motto, its graces (short prayers), and a longer prayer. A grace is read before and after every lunch and formal meal in College Hall. Two different graces are traditionally sung during "Election," which is the scholarship process.

Manners makyth man
– This is the motto of Winchester College, New College, Oxford, and their founder, William of Wykeham.

Here is the Latin grace said before meals in College, with its English meaning:

And here is the Latin grace said after meals in College, with its English meaning:

Domum: The School Song

It is said that the pupil who wrote "Domum" threw himself into the River Itchen, which runs through the school grounds.

The school song is called "Domum." It is sung at the end of the summer term. No one knows exactly when the song started, but it was called "an old tradition" in a book from 1773. The traditional music for the song was written by John Reading. A new tune was officially adopted by the school around 2007.

According to a legend, the words to the song were written in the 1600s by a student who was kept at school for misbehaving during the holidays. Some say he carved the words into a tree, which was then called "Domum Tree." He then supposedly jumped into the river that runs through the school grounds. There is still a "Domum Cottage" in that area today.

A "Domum Dinner" is held at the end of the summer term for students who are leaving the school.

Winchester College's Impact

Winchester College's way of teaching influenced many schools that came after it. It was unusual in medieval times for teaching boys aged 12–18, as universities accepted students in this age range. The age range, the link with New College, Oxford, and its approach to discipline became a model for Eton College and King's College, Cambridge about 50 years later.

Students from Winchester College have appeared in many stories and books. The school itself appears less often. A well-known former student in fiction is Sir Humphrey Appleby from the TV show Yes Minister.

Like other famous public schools, a train from the Southern Railway was named after Winchester College. This train, No. 901 Winchester, started service in 1930.

Headmasters of Winchester College

Here are the headmasters of Winchester College from the 14th century until now:

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  William Waynflete as bishop, c. 1470

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  George Moberly, 1870

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  George Ridding, 1879,
  by Walter William Ouless

Famous Former Students

Students who currently attend Winchester College are called Wykehamists, named after the school's founder, William of Wykeham. Students who have left the school are known as Old Wykehamists, or sometimes "Old Woks" among themselves.

Fictional Old Wykehamists have appeared in over 50 novels, starting with Peregrine Pickle in 1751.

See also

In Spanish: Winchester College para niños

• List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom