How do we invite a deeper involvement in our communities?

Winchester works in partnership with eight local primary schools and two special schools in the area. Senior boys visit the schools on a weekly basis and assist pupils from Years 1-6 with individual numeracy, literacy and extra-curricular skills. Partnerships include:

• Angling with Autism: Weekly fly-fishing session in the Summer Term for pupils from Osborne School. The pupils receive instruction from a qualified fly-fishing coach and are supported by Winchester boys.         
• CS Jazz: Our 15-piece jazz band performs regularly to local schools. 
• Drama: Year 6 pupils from All Saints Primary School spend a term working towards a theatrical production, performed in our theatre.
• Music: Year 4 pupils from All Saints Primary School receive weekly choral sessions. The pupils spend a term preparing for a public performance at mayoral and other public events.
• Rivers Project: The school has established a partnership with the Wessex Chalk Stream and Rivers Trust to deliver environmental education to Winchester schools. Over the past year, 500 pupils have participated in our Rivers Project.
• Science: Senior boys deliver a range of scientific experiments to pupils at Sparsholt Primary School in a weekly session for Year 5 and 6 pupils. 
• Annual Primary Schools Concert, held at Winchester College for 400 local pupils. The School Orchestra perform an eclectic mix of contemporary and historical pieces to pupils in Year 5 and 6. 
• Annual Primary Schools Wildlife Talk in partnership with the Cameron Bespolka Trust, which links children with nature. The lecture is held at the school and hundreds of local children are inspired to appreciate their environment and to engage in wildlife conservation. 
• Treasury: Throughout the year the Treasury offers a range of curriculum workshops for local primary school pupils. Recent exhibitions have included Ancient Greece for KS2 pupils, entitled ‘Groovy Greeks’; and the Chinese New Year for KS1 pupils. The Treasury hosts regular exhibitions, such as the 2018 Sports Exhibition, and Primary Schools events e.g. ‘Museums Take Over Day’ when Year 6 pupils from Stanmore Primary school were invited to take over the Treasury for the day in Autumn 2018 and created their own ‘pop up’ art show inspired by the Treasury collections. The children produced artwork and spent the day framing and hanging, before showing around their parents that afternoon.

Buildings & collections: One of our charitable aims is the preservation of the many ancient buildings and their contents. Winchester College maintains eighteen Grade I, six Grade II* and over seventy Grade II listed buildings. Many of these are of national importance; all are in current use. Many of these buildings are available to visit through our daily guided tours or through access to our collections and archives.

Grounds: Winchester is hugely fortunate in having extensive grounds of approximately 250 acres, including 100 acres of ancient water meadows; 4.5 miles of the River Itchen; 52 acres of playing fields and 11 acres of formal gardens. Many of the grounds maintained by the school are either a public access area, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or Special Area of Conservation. The Fallodon Nature Reserve is an SSSI and the main River Itchen with its carriers is a Special Area of Conservation. St. Catherine’s Hill is a public access area and is leased to the Hampshire Wildlife Trust.