Winchester College only exists as we know it today thanks to the generous support of many, and the generations of donors who have come before us, going right back to our Founder, William of Wykeham. Our pupils past, present and future cannot thank you enough.
Teaching Treasures
A Winchester education brings together rigorous teaching, hands-on exploration, and access to remarkable voices.
The Teaching Treasures appeal aims to protect and sustain the elements that make this experience truly distinctive: Div, our dons, and the College’s exceptional collections. Winchester’s works of art are not simply beautiful objects; they are central to how we teach. Pupils engage directly with them, handling Shakespeare’s First Folio, ancient Greek vases, and rare scientific artefacts, as highlighted in articles by James Hunter and Jeremy Douglas.
This approach is exemplified by the current exhibition in the Treasury, Collecting and Connoisseurship: Winchester’s Greek Vases in Context, on display until December. Curated by VIth Book pupils, the exhibition showcases their work alongside staff to research, select, and interpret the objects.
Winchester holds over 100 examples of ancient Greek painted pottery, most acquired by the school or gifted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For more than a century, these pieces have supported both teaching and research. By engaging with such extraordinary resources, pupils develop a deeper understanding of the past and a clearer sense of their place in the world today.
