Issue 14 - University of Winchester

Venta magazine - Issue 14 - New Year 2006Winchester –Past, Presentand Future …The Centre for the History of Women’sEducation been gathering studentexperiences to add to existingchronological and pictorial records of theUniversity history. The findings of thestudy were presented to alumni recentlyat a special seminar held on the KingAlfred Campus. Andrea Jacobs (ProjectManager) has sent Venta this specialreport…the University. Extracts were also read from apaper entitled ‘More men would have beenmore fun’ first presented at the History ofEducation Conference in Dublin. Thisexpressed the views of some female studentsand highlighted the friendly relationshipsbetween students of both sexes. Thepresentation concluded with a quote thateveryone felt summed up feelings across fortyyears: “everybody just supported everyone”.The floor was then handed over to former andcurrent students. Three alumnae of KingAlfred’s College, Pat Brockway (Certificate ofEducation, 1960 to 1963), Janice De Souza(B.Ed, 1984 to 1987) and Valerie Chambers(Combined Honours Programme, 1994 to 1997)entertained all with short talks on theirspeakers had a different story to tell, theoverwhelming theme, as one of those listeninghighlighted, and the project findings endorsed,was great camaraderie, a caring environmentand a family atmosphere.We would like to thank all those who took partin the seminar, especially those who sogenerously shared their experiences, formaking the afternoon such a success.”“Everybody Just Supported Everybody”“The afternoon was certainly a lively one!Presentations from the project team included anoutline of findings to date plus a brief history ofexperiences. Then it was the turn of our currentstudents to describe what it is like to study atthe University today. While each of the sevenIf you are interested in participating inthe next stage of research, pleaseemail andrea.jacobs@winchester.ac.ukHISTORY IN THE MAKINGTHOSE WERE THE DAYS …Howard Horstead, Honorary Secretary ofthe Winton Club, has been busy updatingarchive material and storing relevant itemsat the Hampshire Records Office.Back in 1991, to mark the 150thanniversary of King Alfred’s College, a lotof information concerning the history ofthe institution was deposited there for safekeeping.“I was asked to assist in collecting andsorting it,” he says. “In October I alsoplaced on permanent loan hundreds ofpapers relating to the University and theWinton Club – adding to the typed A4 listof material (over 225 pages) that wasdeposited in 1991.“The collection deposited at the HampshireRecords Office includes papers relating toprincipals, chaplains, school practise notes(from the 1920’s), and matters concerningbuildings. In relation to the Winton Clubdocuments include reunion notices, ordersof service, reunion menus and much more.“If you have any information relating toyour time at Winchester that you wouldlike to be included in the archive materialplease contact the Alumni Office.”TRAITOR IN THE RANKSSince Venta has been keeping readersup-to-date with the progress the Centrefor the History of Women’s EducationAlumnae Project, the Alumni Office hasreceived stories from a number of menwho attended the College in the 1960’swho would like to share their stories.Ken Milne (Certificate of Education 1959 to1961) was one of the 50 male students whostaged a three-legged race in opposition to thearrival of women at the College.“Back in 1960 I remember I felt very stronglyabout women joining the college,” he says. “Infact, I was one of fifty students who made theirway from the Westgate in Winchester to theBargate in Southampton on one extremelychilly morning in protest. I remember I was tiedto Barry Nutter. My hair was quite bushy backthen, I’ve since lost my locks thanks to twosons, two headships and two ofsteds!“After the protest we all subscribed to theproduction of a tie, which was black with athree legged motif.“We had our little protest. It fizzled out,however guess whose picture appeared on thefront page of the Times on 29th September1960, happily showing young ladies around thecollege? Yes, me … and wearing THAT tie too!”10