The Culture Club : ANDREW SPARKES
socio-psychological traumas , he is now particularly happy to have left the formalities of the red carpet behind . Often such things tend to have a distracting impact when attempting to focus on the very serious job at hand , and they tend to assume an importance that may seem to some intrinsic to the role . Not to Andrew , however , which is what he finds liberating about his new career . “ As a teacher ,” he says , “ there is none of that baggage . It is simply your work , and responsibility , that are intrinsically important .” Having found great pleasure in returning to teaching , Andrew has , thankfully , ensured that the vast and wholly unique experiences that he gained in his many years of service , are fully accessible to the boys . He has found a niche in leading the model United Nations society , the Middle East and North Africa society , he has begun teaching a Global Perspectives Pre-U ( new to Win Coll ) and offers a post-GCSE optional course on contemporary crisis issues .
He particularly enjoys using the flexibility of his Div classes to ensure that those who have the extraordinary good fortune to be taught by him are provided with the valuable and transferable tools of diplomacy . “ What a Winchester education does very well is to encourage a boy to develop and defend a point of view . In fact , it becomes very difficult for a boy to avoid learning and defending a position .” Taking the pulpit , just before lunch , Andrew took the opportunity , in addressing the senior part of the school , to remind them of the ‘ Brave New World ’ that they were about to enter . “ As Shakespeare knew , and you know , the truth is that mankind has a capacity for meanness and selfishness . If you are a ‘ good person ’ you try to overcome this . But it is these qualities in human nature which make me fear for the Brave New World of the digital / technological revolution which is in full swing all around us .”
34 The Wykeham Journal 2016