James Sabben-Clare

James Sabben-Clare (9 September 1941 – 8 March 2017) was headmaster of Winchester College. He had been educated at the school and spent most of his career on the teaching staff there, serving as head from 1985 to his retirement in 2000. He has been described as "one of the most gifted schoolmasters of his generation". Although unflappably in control, he recognised the quality, power and independent-mindedness of his staff and allowed them free range." The Guardian reported that Sabben-Clare "caused controversy" by telling the conference that A-Levels had become easier and "failed to stretch the brightest pupils." To the news that Winchester College was once again top of the A-level league table, Sabben-Clare commented that Wykehamists were getting more grade As, but that did not mean they were any better than school-leavers of 20 years earlier.

Other duties

Sabben-Clare was appointed as a governor of various schools during his career at Winchester; after his retirement he continued to serve as a governor of the British School of Paris and Oundle School. While in retirement at Corfe Castle in Dorset he assisted the Dorset Historic Churches Trust with their annual reports.

Family life

He and his wife Mary had a son who has become a merchant banker, and a daughter who has become a commercial barrister.

Books

1971: Caesar and Roman Politics 60–50BC: Source Material in Translation. Oxford University Press. 1976: Fables from Aesop (translation). Winchester College. 1981: Winchester College: After 600 Years, 1382–1982. Paul Cave Publications. 1991: The Culture of Athens. London Association of Classical Teachers. 1995: Between Friends: A Comedy in Three Acts (with Archie Menzies). S. French. 2010: All From the Same Place: Portraits of Twenty-five Remarkable Old Wykehamists (with Malcolm Burr). Winchester College Society.