St Swithun's School, Winchester St Swithun's School, Winchester St Swithun's School is an independent day, weekly and full-boarding school for girls in Winchester, Hampshire. It is named after Saint Swithun, a Bishop of Winchester and patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. St Swithun's was founded as "Winchester High School" by Miss Anna Bramston, daughter of John Bramston, the then Dean of Winchester, with the ambition of educating "daughters of worthy citizens of Winchester". Not having sufficient money of her own, funds were raised by subscription. The school opened on 5 May 1884 with seventeen pupils. Pupil numbers soon grew and the school began taking in
Patron Saint (horse) up on the inside to take a slight lead at the final fence. Koko still looked the more likely winner but broke a blood vessel and dropped back to third, allowing Patron Saint to draw clear and win by four lengths from the thirteen-year-old veteran Vive. On his next start Patron Saint finished third on a flat race in which he was ridden by Noel Murless, later to become a leading trainer. Patron Saint was expected to defend his Gold Cup title in 1929 but missed the race after suffering a series of injuries and training problems. He returned in