Ms Elizabeth Stone

Headmaster's Welcome

Winchester College is a boarding school for boys in Years 9 – 13. The Sixth Form welcomes girls and boys as day pupils and is preparing for the entry of girls as boarders when construction of two new boarding houses is complete. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and is one of the world’s most famous and distinguished schools. The school is defined by its motto, Manners Makyth Man.

This motto is hundreds of years old but has a surprisingly modern spirit. Its sentiment is that we should be measured not by birth but by our personal qualities, a surprisingly meritocratic sentiment for a school that was founded in 1382.

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Location

Ancient city, rural location

The school was built over 600 years ago between the cathedral close and the water meadows, on the edge of a city that was once England’s capital. Surrounded by Hampshire’s rolling downs and chalk streams, it enjoys a spacious and gentle setting within a lively, modern city. Many of the city’s ancient buildings remain, and the College is deeply fortunate that few, if any, are more beautiful than its own. John Keats described Winchester as ‘The pleasantest town I ever was in’, during his visit here in the autumn of 1819.

Historic environment

Archives, Libraries and Treasury

Unique collections

Few people can claim to have sung from one of Elizabeth I’s own songbooks, or to have studied Shakespeare from a first folio. A great many treasures, from ancient vases to modern artworks, are to be found and experienced first-hand at Winchester.

Explore the collections
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Leadership

Setting the direction for the school

The ultimate responsibility for Winchester College lies with its Governing Body, known as the Warden and the Fellows.

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