Winchester College (England) - Andrew Karpos

First Impressions:
I arrived at Winchester on July 6th and was extremely jet lagged after being awake for more than 24 hours. I was picked up at the airport by a representative from Winchester and was driven to the house/dorm where I would be staying. At Winchester, the students are divided into 12 houses of about 60 students each, ranging from 8th through 12th grade. I was staying in Chernocke House, which is the oldest house at the school.

Right when I arrived, I was shown around by the matron Mrs. Brooke-smith. She was basically like a house mother. I was then introduced to the house master Mr. Lawson. Each house at the school has a housemaster who is a teacher at the school and lives in the house with his family. Basically, half of the building is his personal house, and the other half is a set of dorms. The first area of the house I saw was the cafeteria where I would be eating all my meals. I then was shown to the room that I would be sharing with two other roommates during my stay. The room was fairly spacious and I had my own desk and closet. Later that day I met my two roommates, Freddie and Ludo. I was thrown head first into life at Winchester and started classes the next morning.

Academic Life:
When I began classes on my second morning, I first learned about the unique dress code at Winchester. I was required to wear a coat and tie everyday with black or gray pants and black shoes. While at Winchester, the classes I took were Physics, Division, English, Modern European history, and British history. I felt as if the classes at Winchester were very different than those at MBA. Rather than having homework every night, the teachers at Winchester would assign mostly long term assignments and were mainly concerned with the end of the year government-mandated tests that they would have to take. I thought the teachers I had were similar to those at MBA in that they were truly passionate about the subjects that they were teaching. My favorite class was definitely division. In this unique class, a teacher who teaches any subject at Winchester is given their own class to design a curriculum which suits their interests. For example, my division teacher was an English teacher, so in her div class we read  The Great Gatsby and also learned about American culture during this time period. I felt as if the boys at Winchester had the same thirst for learning and discipline that most people at MBA have.

Athletic Life:
I quickly learned that athletics at Winchester are much different than those at MBA. At Winchester, their sports teams are much less serious than those at MBA and most kids play more than one sport. It seems like sports to them were more of a hobby to them rather than a huge part of their lives. I came to Winchester right after the tennis season began and was immediately given the opportunity to practice with the team. The coach then asked me if I wanted to actually play for the team and I gladly accepted. I was lucky enough to play #1 doubles for the team. Winchester had 5 beautiful grass courts which were very fun to play on. I had the opportunity to play in matches against many other schools such as Eton and Radley. I also got to play in the end of the year tournament known as the Yule Cup. This tournament gathers 64 of the best high school teams from all across the country for a huge tournament. Competing in this tournament was a very exciting experience.

 Besides tennis, I was also able to play a number of sports recreationally at Winchester. I played a lot of soccer, which was the most popular sport at Winchester. I had a great time playing in the house pick-up games which went on most nights. Another sport which I really enjoyed at Winchester was squash. I had seen this sport before, but never got a chance to play. I quickly fell in love with this sport when I first tried it and played often with other people in the house. My tennis skills helped me to adjust to this game very easily.




Social Life:
While at Winchester, I got the chance to bond with almost every person in my house. Because of the fact that you eat meals together, do homework together, and hang out at night, you truly get a chance to know the people around you. I really enjoyed how the house includes boys from 8th through 12th grade, so you get a chance to meet boys of all ages. Our house also included kids from all around the world. Besides the boys from England, there were boys from Asia, Africa, and Australia. It was cool to see how the boys in the house had been living together for a few years and were really good friends with each other. It seemed as if everyone in the house was one unified group of friends rather than a bunch of separate cliques. I especially enjoyed watching the Euro Tournament soccer games with the other boys in the house. Every time there was a game, the majority of the house would pack into a tiny room and project the game on the wall. Everyone in the house was very intense about the watching soccer. There was definitely a lot of yelling going on after England lost. I would say the best part of my experience was the relationships I made with the other boys in the house. I felt the same sense of camaraderie there as I too at MBA. It was always fun to spend time in the house with the other boys around me.

Highlights:

Besides the parts of my experience that I have already mentioned, there was a multitude of highlights while I was at Winchester. First, I very much enjoyed experiencing the city of Winchester. As students, we were basically in the heart of the city. We were given the freedom to walk into the city basically any afternoon. I loved going into town with my friends and getting something to eat or just exploring the different shops. This town seemed to resemble the old English villages you see in the movies. A major part of the town was the Winchester Cathedral. This Cathedral is over 500 years old and is a very impressive structure. I was given the opportunity to go inside the Cathedral and found the sheer size and detail of the Cathedral to be awesome. Another highlight of my experience was when I got to spend the weekend with my friend Vince. I stayed with he and his family at their house in the English Country side. Vincent's dad was Austrian and his mom was Belgian, so they spoke a mixture of French and German at home. Vincent's two older brothers were there as well. Throughout the weekend I felt as if I was part of the family. 

 One last highlight was the special "ad portas" ceremony that I got to attend at the end of my stay. This event was a special ceremony where a distinguished alumni of the school is given the "keys to the school." It is a very rare event and I was told it sometimes takes fifty years for another one to happen. In the ceremony, there is a long Latin dialogue between the man receiving the award and a student. Every day I experienced highlights of my experience so that there were almost too many to count.

In closing, I would like to thank the Warner Family, Mr. Gioia, and MBA for making this incredible opportunity possible. I would also like to thank all the people at Winchester who helped make my stay unforgettable. Going to Winchester was a once in a life time experience that I will always remember. I hope to return to England someday and also stay in touch with all the people I met at Winchester.