My time at Wycherley started at Kindergarten and the journey lasted throughout the rest of my school life. My education at Wycherley was a perfect stepping stone towards achieving academic excellence at the University of Surrey in England, with a Bachelors degree in Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Computational Physics. Along the way, having [...]

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Wycherley – a blessing to me! says Dr. Jaydeep Mody

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Dr. Jaydeep Mody

My time at Wycherley started at Kindergarten and the journey lasted throughout the rest of my school life. My education at Wycherley was a perfect stepping stone towards achieving academic excellence at the University of Surrey in England, with a Bachelors degree in Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Computational Physics. Along the way, having been lucky enough to bond with a variety of individuals from across the globe, I remain convinced that my time at Wycherley was very much a blessing.
The discipline and overall school culture that I experienced, was I think the aspect that clearly set the school apart.

The healthy competition that was developed amongst us, the easiest of rapport with our teachers, the wide range of opportunities we were all presented with to participate in extracurricular activities like sport and performing arts – was what allowed us to flourish at Wycherley. There is no doubt that maintaining these qualities was a team effort, but I feel obliged to mention the clear intent and devotion of our Principal, Mr Kingsley Jayasinghe, with regards to setting and upholding these standards.

My teachers at Wycherley are a group of people who I will always remain indebted to. I would like to stress that the real passion for their respective subjects was perhaps the most significant factor that had inspired me to pursue education at the highest level – a point that has even been acknowledged in my doctoral thesis, for good reason. Education is definitely a two way stream. I was clearly blessed to have great teachers but what was also required was personal will and desire, not forgetting of course the sacrifice and support of the home. One aspect that gave me added motivation was the tradition of high praise for academic performance at Wycherley; whether this praise was reward via formal recognition (certificates, prizes, etc.) or merely the respect that was earned from teachers and peers. To be honest, the latter was enough to make us work that extra bit harder, the majority of the times. Whatever form it took, the fundamental idea was that the “stage” was always set to make no accomplishment go unnoticed, which kept me inspired as a teenager, constantly striving for more, and I am sure I speak for the rest of my batch mates.

Wycherley was a serious place, but moments at the school were also enjoyable due to the balance that existed in our lives. However short the interval times were, we would make those minutes count, by playing the most enjoyable and innovative of games, while also enjoying our tuck shop delicacies. My gold medal winning moment at the Sports Meet, anxious moments before my awkward dive into the pool at the Swimming Meet, banter during Wood-Work lessons, time when a selected handful of us had to play the “recorder” to an audience of hundreds, the (rare) nervous visits to Mr Kingsley’s office for bad behaviour, the passionate Cricket rivalry (to put it lightly) due to my Indian heritage, and also that proud moment of being promoted to “Prefect” status – these are all elements of a long list of great memories. The Monday-morning assembly was another great ritual as, apart from the obvious benefits, I personally felt like part of one big family. Then there was the (highly recommended) 3 to 4 day school trips – which in the majority of cases started with singing popular Baila tunes on the bus. This was an opportunity to, not only have loads of fun and go wild, but also experience a different dimension to our friendships as well as often gain added perspective in life.

These are only a handful of the treasured memories due to time and space being obvious constraints against me including them all here. But all in all, I consider being a student at Wycherley as a sheer privilege. When I finished school, this was only a belief I had, but after completing my time at the University, it was a definite fact. On that note, I would like to say a special “thank you” to everyone, past and present at Wycherley, for the unique memories, lessons as well as friendships. Also as cliché as it sounds, they will be cherished forever – dead sure that WYCHERLEY IS A BLESSING TO ME!

Dr. Jaydeep Mody
BEng PhD (University of Surrey)




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