THE WYKEHAMIST Cloister Time 2016 No 1472 VALE THE HEAD MAN 1 EDITORS Index Ralph Cornell (D) Editorial 2 Jack Jowett (I) Vale The Head Man 4 Ludo Leatham (E) In Memoriam Sir Jeremy Morse 7 Henry Lloyd (A) Feature Articles 8 Edward McCrossan (F) Music 16 Joseph Morse (B) Theatre 16 Harry Petter (K) Sport 19 Thomas Saer (Coll) Home & Away 22 Harry Stewart (G) Ave Atque Vale 22 Charles Stranack (H) The Register 29 Caspar Temple (C) Don in Charge NPW Correspondence to [email protected] The Wykehamist, first published in October 1866, is 150 years old this year. ║EDITORIAL participate in the boarding life of the School, providing an evening of respite for End of an Era Housemasters and giving us men wider social acquaintance with dons. Edward McCrossan (F) He also reformed the main House At the end of this term, the Head Man leaves competitions, aiming to increase participation us after eleven years at the helm. Looking and enjoyment across the board. In that regard, back at the past decade, we can clearly see the more-disciplined Junior Drama Festival how much RDT has done for the School, both and House Singing Competition have been for the boys and for the dons. especially popular; the more so where they allow comic opportunities to what might Among the men he is known for the quality of otherwise be rather stayed events. his suits, quick wit and his Chapel talk on St Ignatius’ Church in Rome. (After the third The academic side of things has always been repeat of this particular talk, we now all important at Winchester, and introducing appreciate the extraordinary forced perspective Cambridge Pre-U courses has enhanced our of the dome created by the seventeenth- academic distinction, not least because the century Jesuit architect Andrea Pozzo!) We dons regard it as a great improvement on A- have also now learnt that some people like to levels. Throughout two gruelling ISI enjoy sermons and/or music with their eyes inspections, we received great reviews, a credit closed, and that they are definitely not asleep! to the School as a whole. Though understated, Winchester remains at the top end of the Upon his arrival at Winchester, he academic spectrum and continues to have high immediately reformed the Chapel system. university acceptance rates. Chapel attendance was reduced from five days a week to two for JP and MP, and V Book and In RDT’s time here the fundraising activities VI Book 2 (formerly exempted from weekday of the School have been developed, increasing Chapel) were required to attend the new the number of bursaries, allowing those men Wednesday talks - which have brought many who might otherwise not be able to come here dons back into Chapel, and many interesting to benefit from the education the School and entertaining talks. As well as this he offers. That has made the social composition enhanced the House tutor system, requiring of the School more diverse and much more every don, with very few exceptions, to be a interesting. He created Winchester College House tutor. This ensures that all dons 2 Society, which has raised about 23 million PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Centre for pounds during his time. European Reform, and the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School More recently, we have had a change in of Economics. All of these “experts” agree timetable, pushing the start of lessons forward Brexit would result in a drop in foreign to 0845, and with that a change in the time of investment, less trade, and slower economic Chapel. Hours have been decreased from forty growth. “Take back control” has trumped to 35 minutes, which from my perspective, has sensible economic arguments in a populist made double Chemistry a lot more fashion. Economists who provide favourable manageable! This makes up for the fifteen forecasts of a Brexit do so only through great minutes of sleep that we are now missing out speculation. Untruths and outrageous claims on. have emerged on both sides. The greatest of these come from the Leave campaign - the lie From the point of our daily lives RDT changed that Britain hands over £350m a week to the a lot, and for the better. And I could not write European Union, which could be spent on the about the Head Man without mentioning his National Health Service in the event of a wife, Cathy. It is a mystery to us all how she, Brexit. The gross sum is in fact £250m, and without fail, manages to watch every event becomes £120m after taking into account the that the School has to offer, and always with a money put back into the country. NHS great deal of enthusiasm. She entertained us all Providers, an organisation which represents at Witham Close as JP men and again when managers of NHS trusts and hospitals, states we moved into VI Book. She is simply that 75 per cent of its members see a Brexit as amazing. We will all miss them both, and their having unfavourable consequences for the spaniel Jones, and wish them the best of luck NHS. Both sides are guilty of untruths, but in the future. Leave has misled more. Like other parts of the Western political climate, populism has Win Coll & the EU “Neverendum” trumped sense. Henry Lloyd (A) Mr Rees-Mogg put forward a jurisdictional argument. He claimed that the Common Law The debate, marred with lies and contradicting of Britain was fundamentally incompatible statistics based on different economic with the EU. His greatest objections to the EU forecasts, has cheapened raw facts, and is a are that it is not accountable to the British failure on the part of the British political class. people, does not solely address the concerns of One side argues for sovereignty. The other Britain, It therefore undermines British argues for a more secure economic future. democracy, as its laws are supreme and its Brexiteers seem more committed to their cause legislature not directly elected by Britons. Mr – whether this will translate into a democratic Rees-Mogg longs for the sovereignty of the majority will soon be seen. The latest polls House of Commons. He argues that the UK show Remain just three points ahead. The does not need the EU to make trade deals, School's Law Society welcomed MP Jacob making particular reference to Barack Rees-Mogg, a keen Brexiteer who made his Obama’s claim that if the UK were to leave case. In a similar spirit, the School held its the EU it would find itself “in the back of the own debate on the subject, which was both queue” of states negotiating a deal. He says informative and entertaining. On the whole, that there are “zero” states in this “queue”. He the School seems to lean towards Remain. As asserts that the City of London would be better do I. off unimpeded by EU legislation. He states that a “United States of Europe” is currently As Michael Gove put it, “I think people have forming - it already has a flag, a national had enough of experts” – a wholly irrational anthem, a parliament, and might soon have an opinion, seeing as these experts are: the Bank army. An opt out for Britain in this “ever of England, the International Monetary Fund, closer union”, however, has already been the National Institute for Economic and Social secured by the Prime Minister in his Research think-tank, the Treasury, the Institute negotiations with the EU on 20 February. Mr of Fiscal Studies, Oxford Economics, 3 Rees-Mogg’s eloquent arguments were briefly VALE DR R.D. TOWNSEND persuasive. Informator 2005-2016 The School's debate, chaired by the Debating Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Society President Harry Goaman (E), included Inspector of Education, set out the essential Angus Robinson (Coll), William Stone (F) and qualities of a great headmaster: the need for Alexander Butcher (A), who argued for mental and physical resilience; to have a Remain, and Irfan Badshah (F), Robert certain presence; to be able to get on with Boswall (E), and Angus Groom (Coll) who staff, pupils and members of the community; argued for Leave. The democracy of the EU, above all, to have an unswerving commitment trade, economics, public services, and political to raise standards of learning. In drawing-up clout were all debated. Remain dominated. his wish list, the author Jeremy Sutcliffe, Stone’s quick wit was noteworthy and added writing in The Guardian, distilled the some humour to the debate, often at Boswall’s experience of a number of successful heads: expense. Butcher similarly picked up on vision, courage, passion, emotional Boswall. One of the highlights of the debate intelligence, judgement, persuasiveness, was Butcher’s rebuttal of Mr Rees-Mogg’s curiosity. All heads carry the burden of claim that there are no countries “in the queue” expectation. The Headmaster of Winchester for trade deals with the United States. Having College, additionally, bears the weight of “followed up” on Rees-Mogg’s assertion, history – in this case stretching back more than Butcher discovered that there are currently 53 six centuries. The present Head Man has countries “in the queue”. A vote was taken at further enshrined some of Winchester’s great the end of the School's debate: the result was Wardens and Headmasters of the past – 94-18 in favour of Remain. placing their names strategically on the doors of buildings. Not just Warden Harris (1630 – All of the debaters deserve praise for their 1658) who ensured that the College buildings contributions to the high-quality debate, which survived, or Warden Harmar (1596 – 1613) brought clarity on both sides.