Editing Winchester College (section)

== Activities ==

=== Sport ===<!-- This section is linked from [[Fives]] -->
{{further|Winchester College football}}

[[File:Winchester College Football The Starting Hot in Commoners vs OTH match.jpg|thumb|[[Winchester College football]]: a "hot" between OTH (brown and white) and Commoners (red and white) on Meads in 2023|alt=Photograph of a football scrum on a long narrow pitch with ropes and nets along the sides]]

Winchester College has its own game, [[Winchester College football]] (also known as "Win: Co: Fo:" or "Winkies"), played only at Winchester.<ref name="Winkies Independent">{{cite news |title=Arcane public school games explained: Anyone for Rugby Fives, The Field Game or Winkies? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/arcane-public-school-games-explained-anyone-rugby-fives-field-game-or-winkies-9695696.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=29 August 2014 |access-date=4 October 2020 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310123413/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/arcane-public-school-games-explained-anyone-rugby-fives-field-game-or-winkies-9695696.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is played in the spring term with a competition between the school's houses; it is largely managed by the boys.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sport: Winchester College Football |url=https://www.winchestercollege.org/learning/sport |publisher=Winchester College |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref>

A distinctive Winchester version of [[fives]] resembles [[Rugby fives]] but with a buttress on the court. The buttress enables a skilful player to cause the ball to ricochet in an unexpected direction.<ref>{{cite news |title=Get Active: Why Winchester Fives is better than squash |url=https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11867466.get-active-why-winchester-fives-is-better-than-squash/ |access-date=4 October 2020 |work=Southern Daily Echo |date=19 March 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Winchester College Boat Club - geograph.org.uk - 1338845.jpg|thumb|Winchester College Boat Club, on the [[River Itchen, Hampshire|River Itchen]] |alt=Photograph of buildings with a concrete apron beside a river]]

The school has an active [[Rowing (sport)|rowing]] club called the Winchester College Boat Club which is based on the [[River Itchen, Hampshire|River Itchen]]. The club is affiliated to [[British Rowing]] (boat code WIN)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishrowing.org/club/winchester-college-bc/|title=Club details|website=British Rowing}}</ref> and was twice winner of the [[Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup]] (in 1949 and 1954) at the [[Henley Royal Regatta]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rowinghistory.net/henley?event=Princess+Elizabeth+Challenge+Cup&competitor= |title=Results |website=Friends of Rowing History |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref>

Rivalry — particularly sporting — between Winchester and [[Eton College|Eton]] has existed for centuries.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sherwood |first1=H. |title=Winchester College v Eton feud comes to Downing Street |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/16/rishi-sunak-boris-johnson-winchester-college-v-eton-feud-comes-to-downing-street |access-date=19 January 2022 |publisher=UK Guardian |date=16 February 2020 |quote=[Eton and Winchester] have been rivals for centuries}}</ref>

=== Combined Cadet Force ===

Pupils of the school in their second year are currently required to serve in the college's [[Combined Cadet Force]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Combined Cadet Force |url=http://www.winchestercollege.org/combined-cadet-force |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621021137/http://www.winchestercollege.org/combined-cadet-force |archive-date=21 June 2010 |url-status=dead |publisher=Winchester College |access-date=29 October 2022}}</ref>

The organisation was founded in 1860 as "The Winchester College Rifle Volunteer Corps" by various boys in their top year as a result of the perceived threat of [[Napoleon III]] after the [[Orsini plot]], and remained entirely autonomous until it was taken over by the Second Master in 1868. It was enrolled as a Cadet Corps in the 1st Hants Volunteer Battalion. In 1908, the Officer Training Corps was established, and by 1914, through the request of the [[War Office]] that Senior Cadets be given appropriate training for the war effort, almost every student became involved in the Corps, though it was never explicitly compulsory. In the Second World War, it was renamed as "The Junior Training Corps", though its function was still to prepare boys for Officer responsibilities. [[Bernard Montgomery|Montgomery]] remarked on inspecting the Corps in 1946 that there was "latent leadership in all ranks". In 1948, the "Junior Training Corps" became known as the "Combined Cadet Force" (CCF) which incorporated [[RAF]] and [[Royal Navy|RN]] sections. In 1963, "Alternative Service Activities" were introduced for boys who did not want to join the CCF. Pupils were made eligible to opt out of the CCF at the end of their second year after starting at the beginning of the year: this is still the school's policy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Armoury |url=http://www.winchestercollege.org/UserFiles/pdfs/Armoury.pdf |publisher=Winchester College |access-date=29 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716141752/http://www.winchestercollege.org/UserFiles/pdfs/Armoury.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2011 |date=2005 |url-status=dead}} Further history of the CCF is given in {{harvnb|Sabben-Clare|1981|pp=169–176}}</ref>

=== Music ===

Winchester offers extensive opportunities for musical development, with two-thirds of pupils playing at least one instrument. The school has a music school and numerous practice rooms, and a variety of choirs, ensembles, and orchestras. [[Winchester College Chapel Choir|The chapel choir]] has existed since the school's foundation. Music and choral scholarships fund free tuition for candidates proficient in multiple instruments at grade 6 level or above.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bryan |date=2024-04-25 |title=Exploring Winchester College: A Comprehensive School Review |url=https://britannia-study.co.uk/boarding-schools/winchester-college-review/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Britannia UK}}</ref>