R J Granville Open Scholarship n Mathematics at King's College, Cambridge
S J F Judd Choral Exhibition at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
J J Snewin Open Exhibition in Geography at St. John's College, Cambridge.
MUSIC
H W Bramma, M.A., F.R.C.O
A S Young, D.R.S.A.M., L.R.A.M
PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT
Master-in-Charge:...W. Thomas, M.A., T.D.
N. J. Rowling, Cert. Ed. Mrs. V. E. M. Bailey, Cert. Ed.
Mrs W Thomas, N.F.F
Bursar — A B Bouldstridge, F.C.I.S
Medical Officer - Dr J M Duncan, M.B., Ch.B
Caterer — Mr N Witherick
Headmaster's Secretaries — Miss D M Phipps, Miss M E Baldwin
Accountant — Miss A. Turvey
The following awards were made as a result of the examination held n February/March 1972:
King's Scholarships on the Foundation
C P V Liddal Hazelwood School, Limpsfield, Surrey
G A Webber (Music) The Cathedral School, Salisbury, Wilts
Day-boy Scholarship
R. S. Harman
Amy Lea Exhibition
D N Billingham
Honorary Scholarships
M L Aldridge
M J Duckworth
D. Jenkins
Hawford Lodge, Worcester
St Paul's Cathedra Choir School, London
R J Smith <
A D Edwards was also elected into a King's Scholarship on the Foundation
School Notes
To most members of the school "The Governors" are shadowy figures who appear on the platform on state occasions, but otherwise make little impact on the life of the school They do however play a most important part behind the scenes n determing school policy, and their role will be of particular consequence in the next few years, when changes in local government and the progress of educational reorganisation will face the Direct Grant Schoolswith a new situation It is therefore a matter for satisfaction that after many years of discussion and negotiation the Department of Education has formally approved a scheme for enlarging and strengthening the Governing Body. This s now composed as follows: -
Ex officio: The Dean of Worcester
Seven nominees of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester
Three nominees of the Worcester County Counci
Two nominees of the Worcester City Council
One nominee of Oxford University
One cooptative member
The newly appointed representative Governors are:
For the Dean and Chapter
The Archdeacon of Worcester
Mr J A Barclay (HMI RETIRED)
Professor Philip Cranmer (Professor of Music, Manchester University)
Mr A M Grier (Manager, Redditch Development Corporation)
Professor Ivor Keys (Professor of Music, Birmingham University)
Canon E S Turnbull
Mr J N Wharton (Solicitor)
For the County Council
Alderman Mrs J . E. Talbot (formerly Chairman of the County Education Committee)
Councillor Mrs E J Redfern
The County Education Officer (Mr J . C. Brooke)
For the City Council
The Chairman of the City Education Committee (Councillor J C. Rudd)
The Director of Education (Mr T A Ireland)
For the University of Oxford
Mr H G Pitt (Worcester college)
The cooptative Governor has yet to be appointed,
Mr F R Kittermaster, Headmaster of the King's School from 1942 to 1959, died on 7th March 1972 A Memorial Service was held in the Cathedral on 6th May two tributes to him are printed in this number
For the first time for many years there were no staff changes n the Senior School at the end of the summer term, though the Junior Schoo said goodbye with regret to Mr P G Cole The Revd C E Beswick has relinquished his part-time Divinity teaching, Mr Cash has handed over the Headship of the English Department to Mr P G Diamond, and we welcome M Denis Roure for a year as French Assistant Mr A B Bouldstridge took up his appointment as Bursar in February
We offer our congratulations to the following:-
Mr and Mrs P G Diamond on the birth of a son
Mr and Mrs S R Davies on the birth of a daughter
Mr P D T Cattermole on his engagement to Miss Barbara Brice
We congratulate R J Granville, S J F Judd and J J Snewin on their awards at Cambridge
Two more young OVs have talked to the VI forms about the research they are undertaking — Michael Fardon in English at London University, and Mark Young in Ecology at Birmingham University.
"King's Days" took place on Thursday and Friday, May 25th and 26th. At the Junior one the pr izes were presented by Canon E. S. Turnbull, and on the Friday the sermon at the Commemoration Service was preached by the Revd J Neville Ward, Superintendent Minister of Bath Methodist Circuit
At the end of the summer term the prizes were presented to the Upper School by Mr J B Edwards, OV
The second stage of the development of the Library in the Edgar Tower has been completed by the erection of a gallery round three sides of the main room This will provide shelf room for over 2000 more books, and also some additional working space The final stage — the incorporation in the Library of the adjoining classroom — must wait until additional teaching space can be found elsewhere
During the Easter holidays minor adaptations were carried out to the heating system of the Sports Hall which made it possible to heat the swimming pool for the first time. The result was most successful, for in spite of the chilly weather throughout most of the summer term, it was possible to keep the water temperature up to 70 degrees F
The Undercroft was at last completed and brought into use as a VI form social centre early n the summer term At present all Vl-formersof 17 and over are eligible for membership of the club, which is run by an elected committee, with four staff as "senior members" acting in an advisory capacity On 1st May the Committee held a sherry Party to mark the opening of the Undercroft, to which a number of benefactors to the Club were invited, and on 26th October, after the opening of the Wolfson Building, they entertained Mr and Mrs Leonard Wolfson, members of the Governing Body and other guests to tea
Work on the new field between Hunt's Meadow and the river was completed in time for seeding in October, and when ready for use next autumn this will increase the area of the Playing Fields by some4'/2 acres Since most of the work was done single-handed by our indefatigable Groundsman, it would seem appropriate that the new field should bear his name — perhaps "Prosser's Piece"?
The widow and family of the late Dr Bernard Cavenagh, OV, have endowed a prize in his memory to be awarded to Vl-former intending to read Medicine at University Their intention is that the prize-money should be used to buy medical text-books — always a heavy financial burden on a first-year medical student We are most gratefu to Mrs Cavenagh and her sons for this generous gesture, which will keep in annual remembrance the name of a devoted and much-loved Old Vigornian.
Both thanks and congratulations are due to Mr Michael Craze OV on the publication in September 1972 of his book "King's School, Worcester, 1541-1971" Mr Craze has expended much labour and enthusiasm on the compila tation of this work; it is no mere revision of Alec MacDonald's earlier book, but contains the fruits of much original research, which will be of great value to future historians We are grateful to Mr Craze for undertaking this work as a "labour of love", and to the OV Club for meeting the cost of publication.
f.R. Kittermaster
Address given by the Headmaster at the Memoria Service in the Cathedral on Saturday, 6th May 1972
There is a wise and generally observed custom in my profession that when a Headmaster retires he should not settle in the immediate neighbourhood of his last school, nor should he visit t for a year or so unless specifically invited Ronald Kittermaster observed this all too scrupulously — to the regret of his many friends in Worcester, who would have been glad to see much more of him and Meriel You may therefore be wondering why I should be presuming to talk about him on this occasion, since t might be expected that I knew little of him. But this is not the case, for by a remarkable coincidence, and by great good fortune, my young daughter attended the prep school in Dorset at which Ronald was teaching to the day of his death, so besides inheriting his place and the fruits of his labours here — and I am particularly well placed to appreciate not only the magnitude of his achievement but also the difficulties that he had to surmount —besides this, I came to know him as a personal friend in his later years, and to appreciate through my daughter his remarkable gifts as a teacher
Ronald Kittermaster's early career — as I shall show in a moment — did not follow the conventional pattern for a schoolmaster, and he was a man of remarkably rich and complex personality For these reasons those who knew him at different stages of his life and in different capacities will have surprisingly different memories of him People leave the impress of their personality on the rooms in which they live and work, and I think that Ronald's study at 14 College Green was a striking reflection of his many-faceted character I well remember the first time I met him there, and the room told me more about him than the man did himself, for he was a very modest and self-effacing person The first impression was of a room ful of books — books overflowing from the walls on to the tables and the floor — the room of a scholar A closer look at the shelves showed that many of the books were sets of plays, indicating that great gift for drama which many of you will remember with such pleasure. But in a corner was a pair of skis, and he was wearing the tie of one of our most famous cricket clubs, so the scholar was a sportsman too A long table was piled with papers, and a sidelong glance at these told me that many of them were connected with the financial side of the school As I later discovered, he had a great talent for administration and for financia matters, and himself did most of the work for which we now need a full-time Bursar with a secretary Among the papers, rather surprisingly, was a garden syringe, and looking oiut of the window I could see what was obviously the work of someone who knew and loved gardens (Later I discovered that this knowledge and love were shared by Meriel, and indeed that their gardens at Worcester and n Dorset were very much joint concerns.) The furniture in the room was a strange and unselfconsciousmixture of beautiful old things — well-used and worn — and the purely functional; the table with the papers on it was an army-surplus folding trestle Over the fireplace was a small but extremely striking oil-painting of abstract design When I commented on it he replied "Yes, it was an extravagance; I bought it last year at an exhibition in London." As I came to know Ronald better I realised how accurately his study mirrored the diversity of his interests and of his character, and I thought to myself then, as many others have thought at different times in his career: "However does he do it all?"
Let me remind you briefly of the facts of that career The Kittermasters are a remarkable family; almost al of them are schoolmasters and distinguished sportsmen When Ronald left Rugby at 18 he was already fulfilling the latter part of the tradition, but he seemed to be deserting the former, for instead of going to the University he went to the Roya Military Academy at Woolwich, where characteristically he captained both the rugger and the cricket teams Commissioned in the month the First World War ended, he served with the Royal Artillery for 2 years and then transferred to the newly-founded Army Education Corps. After a crash course at Cambridge to qualify as a teacher he was posted to the staff of the Royal Indian Military College, where he spent 7 years preparing Indian boys for Sandhurst Returning to England — still a soldier he was appointed Second Master of the 'duke of York's Army Schoo at Dover, but within a year was offered a Housemastership at Canford, a new Public School recently established n Dorset He accepted the offer, left the Army, and went to Canford in 1923 Although a qualified and highly experienced teacher, his unusual career had left him without a degree, and in order to remedy this deficiency in his spare time at Canford he embarked on an external London Degree course in English. He gained the degree with first-class honours — an extraordinary achievement for a busy housemaster A few years later, in 1942, he was appointed Headmaster of the King's School n succession to Cuthbert Creighton
He arrived at a time when the school's fortunes were at a very low ebb Partly as a result of the abortive evacuation to Criccieth the numbers had dropped to 150, and the school was in a critical financial position When he retired 17 years later the numbers had risen to over 600 and the school was flourishing in every respect. His achievements as a Headmaster were impressive. In cooperation with the Dean and Chapter he brought about the reunion of the Choir School with the King's School after 60 years of separation He bought Tredennyke in Barbourne as a Junior School, and later turned it into a Senior House Then after buying St Alban's from the Sisters of S Margaret he moved the combined Junior and Choir Schools down there, and brought the new Senior House into the old Choir School buildings He established centra feeding facilities in School House, handed that house over to a Housemaster, and moved into 14 College Green His greatest work was the provision for proper science teaching First, with the War Memorial Fund he turned the 1899 teaching block wholly over to Science Then he planned the Winslow Physics and Chemistry laboratories, and raised the £12,000 that attracted the grant of £23,000 from the Industria Fund When the Winslow Block was completed, the old science block was turned over to Biology As a distinguished games player he fostered al branches of school sport, and though not a rowing man he encouraged the development of the Boat Club, the conversion from IVs to VII Is, and the building of a new Boathouse. With his wife's most active help he stimulated interest in music, painting, and drama, and their house became the meeting-place for many school societies
This s a brief synopsis of what he accomplished, but it gives little idea of the foresight, the shrewdness, the energy, and the determination needed to overcome all the difficulties, frustration and disappointments which strewed the way Nor does it give any idea of what he achieved in moulding human lives, of his concern for courtesy and friendliness among all the members of the school, which struck my wife and myself so much when we first came here; of that judgement of character which enabled him to appoint so many unusual and stimulating teachers to the staff One who knew him wel for many years wrote to me "He was a man of formidable intellectual power, but this, which could have made him a frightening person, was offset by his kindness, his humanity, and his warm sense of humour No one's persona problems were too small or too trivial for his interest and sympathy." Another wrote "The memory that stays with me s of his unfailing friendliness, courtesy, and modesty Good humour seem to flow from him: his eyes were always twinkling as if he was about to tell a good story — as n fact he often was!"
After the long years of struggle and achievement at King's, retirement could have been — as I fear it often is — anti-climax and frustration But after moving to Dorset to be near the girls' prep school founded by his old Canford Headmaster, Ronald found scope for deploying a new gift — perhaps the greatest of all his gifts — that of teaching young children 11 was delightfu to visit that lovely part of England to attend one of the open-air plays which he wrote and produced each year, with a part for each of the 100 girls in the school, performed on the great lawn backed by old grey walls and cedar trees. "Mr. K." as the girls called him — and Mrs. K. too — quickly became muchloved and valued members of this new community When I asked my daughter what was the secret of his success as a teacher, she said "He made everything interesting, and fun; and he treated us as f we were real people, not silly little girls.'
"He made everything interesting, and fun" "No-one's personal problem was too small or too trivial for his interest and sympathy'' No schoolmaster could wish for better epitaphs than these, and it s good to feel that after the uphill fight of his years at King's, the quiet Dorset epilogue was perhaps the happiest, and certainly not the least fruitful, period of his whole life
He died suddenly and peacefully at home after a day's teaching at the schoool he loved "Life's race wel run Life'swork well done Life's victory won Now cometh rest."
II am indebted to Michael Craze, O.V for information about Ronald Kittermaster's early career — D.M.A.)
The wiser and more experienced of Ronald Kittermaster's staff knew three little bits of lore One was that he had eyes at both ends, and that, when you were slipping late towards your class and saw his back rounding the corner in front of you, you had in fact been observed; another was that when he was to be seen walking around in his hat — which was something half-way towards a sombrero — it was positively dangerous to approach; the third was that, when he wore a smile, the King's Schoo was facing a crisis, and the broader the grin the worse the crisis.
I was never quite sure about the first one; several of us could vouch for the second; but it is the third one (which was not of course literally true), the face of cheerfu resolution in adversity, that was perhaps most typica of the man One is apt to forget that the quality of courage stands high in the list of cadinal virtues; indeed we are often embarrassed to find it there at all Ronald Kittermaster was a man of many gifts, but there is little doubt that it was this quality of courage which gave him his great moments, and from which the King's School derived the profoundest benefit
This courage was applied n two main directions First he always stood up for the School and its members against any external threat or derogation To those of us who knew that this was going on this gave a great sense of corporateness and purpose. Secondly, he showed much courage n doggedly striving after the goals which he set himself and the School As a result of this, the standards prevailing were raised, n a number of important respects, in those 17 years, from the moderate to the creditable
It was characteristic of him that, until the last few years, he shouldered almost every major burden himself This was both a strength and a weaknessof his administration It was a weakness in that obviously there were limitations even to his capacities, and certain things which called for bold and expansive treatment sometimes got lessthan that It was a strength in that he had a remarkably good administrative brain, and was able to do a good many things rather better than most of his subordinates What is much more important was that his personal example of dedication and of accepting the ultimate responsibility on behalf of all of us gave to many of us an urge to make special efforts to further the interests of this 'family'
When he left, it was undoubtedly the end of an era The School had become too big, and the pressures of rationalisation too great, for the place to be run in this intimate way any longer But those of us who had, so to speak, seen him through, were aware of what an achievement all this had been. Probably what gave us most pleasure was the notable mellowing of the last few years, which, we hope, must have come from a feeling that there was affection mingled with the fearful respect which we rightly accorded him
Among the intangibles, which flowed directly from his gifts and, with charm and vivacity, from those of Meriel Kittermaster, were the uplifting and illuminating cultura fragrancies which emanated from the 'salon' of 14, College Green. These form part of the recollections, and indeed of the make-up, of many Old Vigornians A few of us too, the present writer included, remember nostalgically the End-of-Term Entertainment at Christmas, where hair was let down, and other things besides! Of this entertainment Ronald and Meriel were both the stars and the spirit I ndeed a great deal of the excellencesof poetry, of music and of acting was derived at that time from the personality and qualities of both of them
After he retired Ronald Kittermaster achieved great and rewarding success in making English literature come alive for the very young Anyone who visited him n his Dorset home could not fail to be moved when they saw how happy this had made him
H. Ferrar.
WALKING IN THE DARK
Sarcastically the still silence stares at me from inside In the distant dark lanes, long lean shadows lurk The air is clear of stale stinking fumes Ominously my toes tickle torturingly Cold, clammy and callously the still air winds in wisps, weaving warily round my cringing huddled body, bedraggled and freezing Yard by yard by yard the pavement plods past me as if I'm still My legs are numb Restful and relieving No 12 comes into view, the front door warm and inviting
THE DEVELOPMENT FUND
By 1 November 1972 the sum raised in the second phase of the Development Campaign amounted to £50,616 Once again the School Fete in 1972 broke all previous records with a total of £3,050 Other major events have included a Party n College Hall on 4 October to which parents of all boys in the Middle School and the Lower Removeswere invited The Bishop of Worcester, as one of the Patrons of the Development Fund, welcomed the guests and outlined the objects of the Fund and the need for it The Headmaster explained the rather complicated financial structure of Direct Grant Schools, and pointed out that in the past 15 years over £250,000 had been raised for the school by voluntary efforts and spent on capital improvements Finally Mrs C W Holder spoke as a parent about the benefits which present members of the school derived from the generosity of previous parents, and urged the new generation td play their part, so that developments could continue
On 13 October a group of parents from the Birmingham area organised a Bal in College Hal which, besides being a most enjoyable social event, benefited the Fund to the extent of £230
Not only the Development Committee, but the school as a whole received with great regret the news that Mrs D M Kinnersley intended to retire at the end of October Appointed Appeal Secretary in March 1962, she has for ten years devoted unbounded energy, enthusiasm and friendliness not only to the task of raising money for the development Fund, but also to organising socia functions, running the Swop Shop, and generally providing a welcome for new parents and an opportunity for them to involve themselves n the affairs of the school The affection in which she is held was demonstrated at a series of farewell parties organised by staff, parents and the Development Committee. Mrs Kinnerley has been succeededbr Mrs P. R. Barlow, who has had two sons at the school, and has already done much work for the Development Fund
THOUGHT
Slowly, slowly, the light approaches, Light as helium, Clear as oxygen, Faintly flickering, Growing brighter, Coming near it stirs the tissues, Then on impulse Fingers move, Ink runs freely, Thoughts are written For posterity
D J Byrne (11)
The Chaplain Writes
Early in the Autumn Term, some of the Divinity sets were considering how far t is possible to symbolise the fortunes of Christianity in a kind of graph pattern of 'ups' and 'downs' We stopped at 1914 because I said I thought recent history could not easily be symbolised in this way, and then someone said: "But can you say that, overall, we are n an 'up or a 'down'?"
I wonder
a'down', no doubt, in terms of numbers Perhaps a'down' in terms of power
Certainly, Christianity can't be seen as having so great an influence n society now as it may have done before 1914 On the other hand, of course, some of the more sensitive critics may still feel able to detect far too much influence from the Christian Church than they would feel to be justified. Maybe my own position might be cited as an example of this sort of thing. A Chaplain — and a Christian one at that! Even limited to the Church of England I I I I think perhaps the very function of a.chaplain might touch a nerve in some people's systems: teaching (compulsory) divinity and organising worship which may have to attend regardless of their feelings about Christian worship
But, to be realistic, there can be no question that the Church is definitely losing its stranglehold on the life of the nation. And local evidence of this trend would easily be found in a comparative study of current patterns of schoo worship and those of a generation ago Even the actua content of those Divinity periods of today would stand n stark contrast to what used to be taught in the hey-day of 'public school religion'
So is it a 'down'?
Yes, if power and influence are the criteria
So, should the Anti-Christ rejoice and the Prelate hide his head in liturgifa mumbo-jumbo? I don't think so
First, there is the healthy side of shedding a little excessweight A certain amount of tightening of the belt makes for a more vital and more mobile organism With this, goes the inescapable evidence of history, past and present, that faith under stress flares up like the dying embers of a fire under pressure from the mounting breeze
Secondly, when the clutter of artificial buttressing is removed, it becomes possible to recognise a new reality emerging I think it's a bit too early to asess such phenomena as the 'Jesus Cult' or the 'Charismatic Movement', but movements there are, and many claim to see them as the stirring of the spirit
I think the three years which I can look back on in this school reveal some significant changes in this community There are still plenty of critics of the 'establishment (which I think is a healthy enough sign), but I don't encounter in the calssroom the same degree of fierce hostility towards Christianity which I met at the beginning of 1970 I find the religious life of the school a happier environment now than when I came Perhaps, it isjust that I am mellowing, or that a new generation of senior boys is more polite or more apathetic.
May be so, yet I feel in my bones that there is a genuine change for the better, and I like to think that part of it is due to a new appreciation of the reality of the faith; an appreciation which has perhaps been made possible by the simple process of letting some of the unreal aspects of 'respectable churchianity' melt gradually away
It is easy to delude oneself. But it is part of the faith for which I stand, that the more one tries honestly to face up to reality, however uncomfortable the process might be and however insecure one might feel in taking the inherent risks, then by the same token the nearer one draws towards TRUTH, and "the truth shall make you free."
M Nott
Dust to dust, Ashes to Ashes
He is an un-entity, non entity He has no home, no life, no creed, No ray of hope, no lust, no greed He thinks of love, of times he's cried, Of men he knew, of men who've died All he has is the past, no hope, No house, no telly, no home, no soap,
And when he died, no pomp or show Probably nobody loved him, nobody knows The Church or maybe the Y.M.C.A Bury hundreds like him every day, In a plain black piece of board — No fancy brass handles, it's tied with cord. Like Eleanor Rigby, nobody cared, Like James Sebastian, nobody dared
SURVEY: INTO SCHOOL AND OUTSIDE
This survey was carried out with certain general aims n view We wanted to find out whether pupils at all levels in the school were interested in the work they did n class, what sort of interest it was and what motivated that interest. We also investigated their out of school activities. The survey was conducted by collecting answers to a series of specific questions from a wide sample from each year from Lower Fourth to Middle Sixth, and by interviewing selected individuals Generally, the whole schoo finds lessons interesting Lower down the school, subjects such as History, Geography, Chemistry and English seem to capture the enthusiasm of the puils, who feel that these subjects help them to have a greater understanding of the world The subjects found boring in this section of the schoo community are those which tend to involve more rigorous academic methods, that is to say Mathematics and Latin, which are important by virtue of the very quality which makes them less interesting to this age group Further up the school, pupils found that the set syllabuses, which are supposedly necessaryfor their exams, produce a stagnant teaching environment in which subjects that had previously been enjoyable, particularly the sciences, are made to suffer.
It appears that the further away the pupils are from the major exams, O-level and A-level, the more stimulating they find lessons As these exams approach, restriction of the teaching arrangement leads to boredom which causesan indifferent attitude This can be seen in the Sixth Form, where the lower sixth enjoy being at school and learning, whereas those in the middle sixth and so nearer to exams, tend to fall into three groups of opinion: one third enjoy lessons, one third do not but see lessons as necessaryand one third dislike lessons and want to get out of the school system
An interesting fact emerges This trend of increasing frustration parallels a more materialistic approach to the reasons for education The lower school find the lessons useful in that their knowledge helps them to understand their surroundings; the upper school see the value of their education as a means to passing exams and obtaining a 'good job When lessonsare relatively flexible in content, the pupils are able to develop an interest n the subject matter itself; as exams approach, pressure tends to squeeze out this interest, and the lessons merely become a means to an unrelated end. Severalother factors contribute to this. Bonds with the family start to break down resulting in a sense of rootlessness Many find a need to manufacture a 'purpose' for life — and usually the one chosen is the pursuit of material success At the same time, there is a natural wish to be free of financial dependence on parents who no longer play a dominating role in the individual's life — and hence, again, the emphasis on qualifications and money I n other words, there are a whole range of factors hindering interest n lessons and any independent value for education in the senior forms
In this article we have expressedthe mainstream of opinion. Perhaps, becausethe views expressed are mainstream, they do not seem very startling Obviously there were those who accepted totally the curriculum as it is and the reasonsfor it being as it is, and there were those who rejected the whole structure and its principles However, the fact that the mainstream view gives an over all impression that people are interested and then proceeds to point to al sorts of hindrances to interest seems to us to suggest that there s very much more potential for interest and involvement than s actually realised The blame for this loss of potential is seen as belonging not so much to the general quality of the teaching or to the subjects themselves (though, of course, all had their likes and dislikes) but to the examination system A majority of pupils seem to have an ideal of what their education should be and al too often find, not only that this idea is not achieved (very few ideals are achieved) but also that the structures set up to form their education do not have anything very ideal in view
This is our interpretation of the mainstream opinion. It may be of course, that we and our sample are simply rationalising our own failure to apply ourselves to work which iwould be imteresting to us The fact remains that pupils profess less interest the nearer they are to achieving the supposedly important goals of our educational structure "Lower down the school, subjects seem to capture the enthusiasm of the pupils, who feel that they help them to have a greater understanding (we hope in the widest sensesof that word) of the world."
N Mullan, C Ross, N Redfern P Mahony
THE TITAN'S GIFT
Prometheus torch, A hollow reed of fire Stolen from Jupiter And used to ignite man's inventiveness
The caveman, Braver than the rest, Who broke a burning branch From the lightning-struck tree And ran with it while it broiled his fingers, To cast it triumphantly down at his family's feet And create a fire
His family who, In the flickering shadows of the fire, Gathered in awe To warm their bodies And bask in the power it offered
From the flames sprung light To reveal his enemies, Heat to cook the raw carcasses Of his prey's tired sinews.
But above all, power To smelt metals and thus, Make weapons From swift, silent, shafts of wood, Tipped with a single metal sting, To the dull black gleaming egg Conceived and built by machines But used to destroy people
Hiroshimal Land where an artificia sun Shone for seconds to bathe The life around in sterile, Obliterating light and then Set, to mark a world's fate
For Jupiter was angry When he saw that his Red flower of fire was gone And he delivered his fina thunderbolts To punish man for his thewing
And the sky split The sun dispersed among the stars The sea boiled away, And man was no more Save for a box of matches
Igniting in the lonely heat
N Hall (15)
THE COMEDY Of ERRORS-MARCH 1072
Add a plot which out-Plautuses Plautus by exactly one pair of twins doing to death, and beyond, the permutations of mistaken identity, to a train of excruciating or, to twentieth century audiences, incomprehensible innuendos and you have The Comedy of Errors. As one of the earliest of Shakespeare's plays it has little merit of its own serving only for the initiated as a preserve of embryonic themes to be developed in more sophisticated form later.
Ye in a production of the play which was still recognisable as Shakespeare's own a group of students from King's School and St Mary's Convent transformed this unpromising material into a coherent, intelligible and often very funny Night of Errors.
Though the geographical location of the action was allegedly Ephesus the new Sports Hall with seating arranged in tiers around a rectangular playing area provided the setting for a series of acrobatic adventures involving all the paraphernalia of the big top. From the very start the magic of the circus was communicated, first in sparklers shimmering from al sides of the hall, followed by the arrival of the ringmaster who doubled as prompter and a demonstration of gymnastic agility performed by the two sets of twins to music specially composed for the occasion It was unfortunate that the momentum had to be frustrated immediately afterwards by Shakespeare's own rather turgid exposition of the plot But then came a none too well-disguised merchant on a bicycle who indiscreetly revealed a heavy moustache behind a nun's wimple and all was well An angry and frustrated wife who pursued the wrong husband into the audience, the wrong clown-slave who chose to shin up a ladder into the gallery rather than be belaboured unmercifully by an equally angry and frustrated master, a serving-maid, al of six foot two and thirteen and a half stone clambering immodestly onto the roof of a mobile 'house to dismiss her affianced Dromio while she courted his brother downstairs, an American tourist who held up the Lord Mayor's Show by insisting on photographing the processionfrom a thousand "fantastic" angles, a demented psychiatrist whose clothes were torn to shreds because, like everybody else he did not know "which was which" or who was who — it was impossible for long to remain unaffected by the outrageous fun and extravagance of it all
To create an impression of uninhibited spontaneity of this sort requires a high degree of discipline and expertise and, occasionally, this was achieved at the expense of audibility Yet the whole was a bold and imaginative attempt to recreate the spirit of Shakespearean comedy and for at least one member of the audience this young and vigorous production trumphantly succeeded.
THE STAIRS
I started to ascend the first step old and over-used it was creaky and rotten I had pity for it and sprightly jumped to the next step This one young and smart did not creak under my weight, this one not used enough for boys usually descended at least four at a time The next step sound but unpainted made no creak, humble it was not boastful like the second step The next step broke shattering away the other steps seemed to laugh and have pity on him The second step smirked "Huh" The fifth step was worn away, this was the place from which boastful boys jumped to the bottom. I gave a leap to the seventh step hard and slippy t was. My hand reached out but missed and I tumbled down the stairs
J S Kettle (12)
A GUNMAN
The last two steps
And sunshine on a flat roof
A view of a summer city
The haze of life hanging
And stifling all thoughts of a breeze
The main street is crowded
Packed like tinned pilchards
The heat rises on the noise
Borne high by the cheering and waving
But the only thing the gunman waves
Is a gun, a loaded gun
A lovely gun, well oiled, Sleek, slick, stealthy — silent
See the little drum at the end?
That eats the noise like a hungry dragon
There is no bang, just a quick thud
And a hole appears where you want it
A lovely hole, right here,
Where your heart beats steadily
As relentlessly as the ticking
Of the clock on the city hall
Until someone puts a bullet
In the works — and then it stops
A lovely bullet too, long, thin, Accurate, a little phut as the Dragon at the end of the barrel eats the noise
And then thud — and it stops
All you need to do is put this cross
On a heart and squeeze the trigger
A car comes round the corner
The tinned pilchards cheer louder
The gunman waves his gun to his shoulder
The man in the car is smiling
Bowing to the pilchards
He may be smiling but the cross is on his heart
The gunman pulls the trigger
The hungry dragon eats the bang
And a little hole is in the heart
Of the man in the car
He slumps down — dead, still smiling
The pilchards gasp and go silent.
The gunman waves the gun
With the dragon on the end
The dragon isn't hungry any more
He s full
Just hope he doesn't hiccup
Or the pilchards will look up and see
The gunman.
N C Tithecott
SPORT
TENNIS
1972 was the Tennis Club's first ever unbeaten season. This was because, at long last, the first six defeated Solihull School 5-4 The first team also beat Belmont Abbey 8-1, KES Birmingham 6V4-1 Vi and Christ's Brecon 714-1 V4 The under fifteens played one match against KES Birmingham which they won 5-4
The house tennis competition, last year won by Chappel House, was attempted at the end of the summer term but postponed to the Christmas term. This also proved unsatisfactory, and so next year the competition will be held at the start of the summer term The main trouble with running the competition s that most of the players have other commitments
This year, again, the school won the Scott Cup Nick Koehli beat Peter Hamlett in an allKing's final 6-3, 6-2
Ful colours were awarded to N. Koehli and half colours to P. Hamlett, B. LethamandT. Siaw. The following represented the school at senior level: A Roden, N Koehli, P Hamlett, B Letham, T Siaw, H Phui, J W Barker
A J Roden (Captain)
ATHLETICS
The season was a fairly successfu one with the senior team winning four out of their six fixtures In terms of individual achievement t was one of the best years on record R Pritchard (shot), R. McNab (javelin), and R. James (100 metres) were al winners in both the County Schools and AAA's Championships, while P Congrave (long jump) also won the AAA Championship Pritchard and James went on to win bronze medals at the Midland AAA's Championships, both competing against junior internationals
The School Sports provided few surprises, but there were outstanding performances from K Cardwell, R James, P Taylor, R McNab, R Pritchard, P Congrave, M Andrews, J Taylor and K. Francis. WulstanwontheJuniorandSeniorsections with Castle taking the intermediate.
Our thanks must go to Mr McKirdy who persevered with training sessions despite apathetic response from many established 'star' athletes, and to Mr. Davies and Mr. Burkill for their enthusiastic support and guidance
Poem
Now that the senior squad have joined the Worcester League, Basket Ball seems to have got back on its feet as a sport in the school In its first season in the league, the team managed to win nine out of sixteen matches which placed us fifth in the league at the close of the season We also played in two knockout tournaments,organized by the league but unfortunately were knocked out in the second round of each.
Matches at Junior level still proved difficult to arrange, but for the coming season we have managed to join the Worcester Schools Under Sixteen League, which should improve play further down the school. Junior teams did, however, manage to air their skills in matches against Droitwich High School and Stourbridge School, both of which they won
Congratulations and thanks to Richard Bailey on the award of full colours and for his enthusiasm as captain throughout the year Thanks also to the two secretaries for their consistent service to the club The team was greatly strengthened by Mr I Brown, the court captain, and Mr K. L. Perriss, the coach.
A I Denison, G M L Liddall
FOOTPRINT
It makes me feel flabbergasted
Mysterious a thing you read about n books Sometimes you read about them at night when the very clothes you wear seem to shiver When you wish you had a criminal detector which would tell you, you were safe then you would lock yourself in
All the shadows would look suspicious every crack would be filled with black unfathomable darkness.
Yes you would wish to illuminate the room with the burning words This is a footprint any creak of a door, any misshapened tree gnarled and its green sins turned to the north west. It can be reassuring knowing the human race has just passed there, unharmed
S Kettle (12)
FOOTPRINTS
Footprints, stretching far into the horizon Footprints! Human footprints! Human, black or white A human being, black or white Colour Light and dark colours Light and dark Day or night Sun and stars Earth Countries Countries on earth Countries have people Humans Black or white Footprints
Large footprints A large human being made these footprints Large, perhaps strong, living on this desert island. Desert. Waste. Dry. Little water. Little food. Food. Meat. Cattle, sheep, pigs or, or man Cannibal Cannibals eat men to live Cannibals live on desert islands and could be large Large footprints
Deep footprints Heavy human being Deep Holes Deep holes Men dig holes and tunnels Heavy, tough men Heavy Deep footprints
Blood splattered on the left footprint. A wound. Blood came from a wound in the foot. Blood. Red Danger I am faced with danger Snakes in the desert Snakes Long and coiled A long coiled rope Rope Hanging Death Blood Danger Danger on this island From the human being that made these footprints?
Footprints Human, friend or enemy? Friends All my friends back n England England Not hot. Here it s hot. Hot, scorching. Fire. Flames. Human makes flames. He makes fire to keep warm Here t s already to warm Makes fire to roast meat Meat I am meat Cannibal eats other humans Footprints made by an emeny
But footprints could have been made by a white person White person Friend White is the colour of purity If I could just find the person who made these footprints
My footprints. I am heavy and large. My footprints look exactly like these footprints, yes By My own feet I must have walked completely round the island Round A wheel is round Wheel Ca Lorry Buses Red and green buses Vehicles Road Black road Black Damnation I am n damnation
Footprints Humans Animals Lots of people and animals But I am alone Completely alone, Silence. No sound. I must sleep. Dream. I will dream that I am n England. Dream, dream.
K. J. Mannion (12),
J
SCHOOL MUSIC-1971-72
Autumn Term 1971
The first important event of the musical year was the House Music Competition in College Hall on October 26th at which Mr Charles Brett Director of Music at Malvern Collegewas the adjudicator As usual, opinions differed widely as to the relative merits of the performances I n the end Hostel were deemed to be worthy recipients of the cup, with School in second place and Creighton third
On November 12th in College Hall, the Schoo Choir presented a concert with organ which was successfully repeated the following Wednesday n Malvern Priory The main work n this programme was the cantata 'Rejoice in the Lamb' by Britten, a piece which gave the singers ample opportunity to sharpen up the rhythmical edge to their performances Three lay clerks from the Cathedral, Mr Barru Stil and Mr John Southal (altos) and Mr Timothy Hooke (tenor) did halt the solos
The remainder were taken by members of the School, Geoffrey Stout and Timothy Minton (trebles) and Alastair Wynne (Bass) The programme also included choral works by Schutz and Faure", and organ pieces by Bach and Messiaen, played by Adrian Leang.
The finel performance of the term was the carol concert in College Hall on December 13th This turned out to be an agreeable 'mixed bag of chora and instrumental items. Severa items remain n the memory—a rousing rendering of 'The Boar's Head Carol' enlivened by a battery of percussion, a pleasing performance of Offenbach's Farandole by the School Orchestra, and a brilliant account of a Chopin study by Richard Granville There was much elsethat was enjoyable, but, for many, the highlight of the evening was a performance by an augmented Masters Octet of the 'Twelve Days of Christmas'—with actions!
Spring Term 1972
The Middle School Music Competition took place on February 22nd in College Hall This year the judge was Mr Richard Drakeford of Harrow School Again, this proved to be a lively afternoon with many good individual performances. For the first time, the prize was awarded to an Upper Fourth Form — Upper Four 'A' who gave a spirited account of 'The Lincolnshire Poacher.' But perhaps the most effective performance of the afternoon was the singing by boys from all the Fourth Forms of the set piece, 'Sound the Trumpet', a duet by Purcell
Later in the term there were two concerts in College Hall On February 25th, there was an evening of miscellaneous items to which the school orchestra contributed some of Handel's 'Water Music' and the 'Courtly Dances' from Britten's opera 'Gloriana' Then on the 22nd March there was a highly enterprising concert in which a good many school musicians took part, organised by Stephen Dagg and Adrian Bleang The programme combined a very acceptable mixture of music, both serious and in lighter vein, including some items from Walton's 'Facade', and ending with an arrangement in the Swingle/Loussiermanner, of a well-known air from Bach's Orchestral Suite in D
Summer Term 1972
Apart from some musical work for the Speech Day servicesin the Cathedral at which the Middle and Junior School sang Kodaly'sthree part setting of Psalm 150, and a section of the School Choir with the cathedral choristers gave a very polished performance of Wesley's 'Blessed be the God and Father', for most people the major event of the Summer Term was the annua choral and orchestral concert in College Hall on June 11th The orchestra was made up of professiona musicians drawn from al parts of the West Midlands This year it was pleasing to see three boys from the school, Jonathan Darlington, Stephen Dagg and Philip Twinberrow taking their seats n the orchestra. I hope that this will become increasingly the natura practice in future years.
At this concert, a hundred and thirty members of the school combined with thirty girls from the Alice Ottley School and the Girls Grammar School The first work in the programme was Britten's 'Cantata Misericordium', a setting n Latin of the story of the Good Samaritan composed for the centenary of the Red Cross There can be no doubt that this was the most difficult piece ever undertaken by the School Choir It was not easy to rehearse as the choral parts are rather disjointed when taken out of context, and some of the notes are very difficult to pitch Though some had wondered what kind of a piece we had embarked on, and were perhaps initially rather critical, in the end when the whole piece came together with the piano, timpani, harp, string orchestra and tenor and bass soloists (Timothy Hooke and Alan Fairs), many were converted to what is a serious yet highly dramatic and imaginative piece of writing.
The second item in the concert was the Shostakovich2nd Piano Concerto in F, very ably played by Adrian Leang and conducted by Mr Alan Young The concert ended with four of Elgar's choral dances 'From the Bavarian Highlands.' The final dance, 'The Marksman', a kind of miniature 'Pomp and Circumstance March brought a memorable evening to suitably boisterous close
H W Bramma
NOYE'S FLUDDE
It is clear that Britten does not intend his 'Noye's Fludde' to be a performance in the accepted sense — that is, a show put on by artists, performers or whatever, watched by a distinct and, initially at least, unrelated audience — but rather that it should be an experience n which al present are involved All of us present need to fee the uncertainty and apprehension in the face of the impending flood, the awe on hearing the voice of God himself, the fear subsequently conquered by faith in God during the terrible deluge, and the relief and peace of the moment of the dove's return and the coming to rest on land — we need to feel all these things with and through Noah and his fellow beings In this respect, Britten remains true to the spirit of the mediaeva miracle play on which his work is based, for such plays were not watched by cultured and respectful audiencesdressedfor the occasion, but were shared experiences, all involved having similar beliefs and the plays taking place in any spaceavailable
With its vast cast of young people, this is an ideal work for a school (more so for the spontaneous enthusiasm it seemsto arouse in the really young anima actors), and the rendering in College Hall by the schoo in conjunction with the Girls' Grammar School and the Alice Ottley School was a considerable undertaking I n addition to the difficulty of handling such a large number of actors and musicians College Hall itself is not ideal for the sharing of an experience: with the orchestra of necessity taking up a large area between the actors and the rest of us there could easily be a feeling of separation from rather than involvement with It is al the more credit, therefore, to the spirit with which the music was expressedthat I, for one, felt naturally moved to join in when my turn came Now Worcester audiences are notoriously stuffy, and I must admit that we were very reluctant and lethargic on our first entry, but then we had not been led into the spirit of the occasion becausethe actors had not yet appeared However, when we needed to "cry to thee for those in peril on the sea" and when we wanted to "utter forth a glorious voice in thanks for the return to safety, it seemed the most natura thing to do at the time — though some of our voices were not quite as glorious as the beauty of the emotion deserved!
The space problems being as they were, t was difficult to get as much action and movement as is really desirable, but the gradual waking from sleep of the animals after the storm and the sending out of the raven and the dove and the latter's return were poignant moments, as was Noah's final departure, alone, leaving the empty ark stark on the mountain top, the voice of God echoing through its sparse timbers Should we have applauded at the end? Didn't this establish the distinction between performers and audience? Certainly, I felt that something had been shared
C H Gray
POETRY
OLD WOMAN, NOW THE YEAR
Old woman, nowthe year is late and life no longer stands for what it isbut what it used to be, the form no longer what it was, the mind, inert, has stuck and stayed within the limits of its earlier days, andsunk where it used to stand firm the rocks of a proud youth
The things we learnt, the things we saw no longer stand astrue, but, asan ancient manuscript, a monument to what used to be Times have changed, old lady, the virgin's white ankle bone can no longer convince The children no longer drink little fingerpointed porcelain cups of tea with the vicar on musty Sunday afternoons, or lift sweet voices to the Lord
B Barrow (16)
A TREE IN SUMMER
A green candy floss, being eaten by Autumn
An entanglement of twisted limbs, reaching out through the canopy of green
A combustible heap of winter fuel, kept dry by a green sheet
An effigy forever ramifying towards its ultimate goal.
A sombre hued statue transcending the generations of man
P J Taylor
(13)
NINE WAYS OF IMAGINING SUNLIGHT
1 In the first place it was It remains
2 Ice melts in sunlight, Ice melts in candle Candle melts in sunlight The butterfly lives for three days
3 When sunlight shines, the flowers come out, the natives come out, but the cat and the sunlight are put out together.
4 The sun and the moon throw things at each other Sunlight is but a projectile
5 When the sky is blue, the sun is overhead. When clouds cover the sky, the sun is overhead
6 As the tiger climbs Mount Vesuvia, the sunlight illuminates his path, imitating his wavy tail The volcano erupts — but it isnothing to do with the sunlight
7 When sunlight shines through the triangle to the earth, it is stretched between the three corners by ivory knives
8 The balance of time reveals nothing, Sunlight reveals the balance of time.
9 If nobody cleaned the back of sunlight, the rainbow will bestained brown on Judgement Day,
K Bramich (15)
TRIPS
SKIING - ZERMATT 1971-72
For just a few brief hours, t was gratifying to be able to deceive ourselves that we really belonged to the Europajet set of maxi fur coat and ski trousers a la Killy — even if we could match Dior only with St. Michael. Yet, encamped amidst the mountains of Zermatt, overshadowed by the magnificence of the Matterhorn, we were able to enjoy the finest selection of pistes found anywhere in the Alps and to live in one of the most beautiful villages to be found anywhere Zermatt, isolated in its mountain niche, at some five thousand five hundred feet, is linked to the rest of the country only by a single track railway Horse-drawn sleighs are the only means of transport, and hence the idyllic and silent mountain retreat s preserved from the hustle and bustle of town life The serenity of fresh fallen snow cloaking the peaks sketched against a clear pastel blue sky and the enchantment of the village was rudely interrupted by the muttered oaths of boys widely dispersed in uncompromising positions around the countryside, by the sight of skis and sticks piercing the crisp air at a variety of angles and by the frenzied swir of the incongruous Celtic kilt. (Did anyone find out who the Flying Scot with the hairy knees really was?)
The mountain runs gave great opportunity for the improvement of skiing technique Certain other socialtechniques seemed to benefit generally the standard of life, and there seemed no great bar (uk!) to the amount of improvement made n this direction. It definitely appeared that the evening's social activities matched the tortuous pace of the day's exercises — what was for breakfast anyway
The skiing was generally of a high standard, although easier slopeswere available near to the hostel Various groups of boys skied at over eleven thousand feet and descendedseveral difficult graded runs, including one during a "white out" snowstorm, and another on the Theodu Glacier at an estimated temperature of minus ten centigrade — even moustaches freeze at this temperature
All too soon we left the rare atmosphere of Zermatt to return to the damp and dismal January of Britain. After a thousand miles of unfettered travelling, it is ironic that on the final stage we should be snow-bound on the Cotswoldswith all communications broken Oh for the simplicity of the horse
As every Easter since our exchange with the school in Vichy started, a party of boys went to France for three weeks, leaving on March 23 and staying in the homes of their correspondents n and around Vichy The group, accompanied by Mr G N Leah and Mr P G Cole, used a variety of means of transport, coach to Dover, the night boat to Dunkirk, and French railways after that The journey was hardly uneventfu — one of ourparty was called upon to exercise true British qualities of grit and fortitude when he lost a few millimetres of his tumb as a door slammed on it half way between Dover and Dunkirk But the combined efforts of doctors, nurses, supervisors and the rest of the group ensured his safe arriva in Vichy. Apart from that, everyone, including the supervisors, was happy and the three weeks' stay n Vichy passedvery well. There was the usual round of Vichy activities, the Maison des Jeunes, cafes, excursions (a group went into the mountains to visit the Pur de Dome and le Mont Dore), and a number of our people went on holiday for Easterwith their French families Before all that however there was the opportunity of seeing the French boys at work or at play in their school on the last two days of their Spring term, an opportunity which many of our group took advantage of On the way home the group spent a day in Paris indulging in a fairly hectic programme of more or less organised sightseeing, including an all-too-brief trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, a visit to the Latin auarter in the evening, and visits to the artists' quarter of Monmartre, as well as an optional visit to the Louvre for the culture fiends. Our homeward journey, via Le Havre, by night ferry to Southampton, was perhaps a little longer than most people would have liked, but passed uneventfully and pleasantly enough We returned to Worcester by coach arriving at the civilised time of 11.15 in the morning
It only remained now to receive our French guests for their return visit on July 12th The supervisor has so far had no news of any problems, and the visit seemed successful He continues to keep his fingers crossed, and hopes next year for a group as large and as pleasant as the party of 27 who went to Vichy at Easter 1972
G N Leah,
ARGUMENT
The conversation quickens with the words I have so patiently rehearsed Within the privacy of thought, And yet it fails for in my dreams I had played your part too, And had fitted your replies to my desires. And as I turned in bitterness to thrust Your most unwelcome gibes aside, I hesitate upon the knowledge That underneath the cast of my dark shadow I had forgot that you were another And again, saddened, again, I faced the stranger that you were, And the hallmark of my own self's folly
VICHY
1st XV RUGBY
This was to be the seasonof the ' big men' We had the largest and heaviest pack for many seasons with an average weight approaching thirteen stones. Captaining the side at prop, Chas Hamilton had, before the season began at rugby camp, worked the forwards into a very powerful looking unit which was capable of winning tight ball and ruck ball f it wasn't too far away!
The matches at the start of the seasonwent well: by creating rucks closeto the forwards, the threes were eventually finding gaps n opposition defences. Victories at home against Christ's Brecon, King Charles Kidderminster and Bromsgrove led to a good win away against Hereford Cathedral School Then things began to happen I njuries, illness and examinations took their toll to the extent that in the game against Marling a complete three-quarter line new to first fifteen rugby took the field. Thanks to individualists like Phil Congrave at fullback heavy defeat was avoided, but further injuries led to our playing WRGS with nine reserve players who all played their hearts out We lost in appalling weather conditions which, in the fina analysis, favoured us
Things got better towards the end of the term and we completed the seasonwith an excellent win on tour against KES, Southampton, though even here we had to field the only players fit — fortunately there were fifteen, including Norman Trade, six feet four and a centre, at scrum half, and Richard Bailey, a flank forward, at fly halfI
The fina tally of results gave us ten wins and six defeats 'With a little bit of luck
A cap was awarded to N. K. Robinson.
Full colours were awarded to P Congrave, R.J Bailey and N E Trape, N K Robinson,P Congrave, C R Hamilton, P N Mahony and R J Bailey all represented the county
In a season of mixed fortunes for the first fifteen, the seconds did their usual job of filling in Consequently a settled fifteen was very difficult to find However, one or two players began to make their presencefelt and will, no doubt, help to form a senior basisfor 1972/73.|Mike Homer, technically the best but also the smallest of the props, helped to weld the side together until he became a first fifteen player and captain designate for 1972/73
Other players who served their apprenticeship in this year's second fifteen n preparation, one would hope, for a full season in next year's first fifteen were Judd, Byard, McDonald and Hutchinson
UNDER 15 XV
If you were an impartial rugby enthusiast looking for a game to watch on a Saturday afternoon a running and handling game where the skills of the game were predominant — you could not have done better than watch this side The team managed to prove better than most that rugby is, at its best, a game where individual and collective skills can and should defeat brawn (Too often this belief gets shattered) Perhaps the reasonfor this fortunate blend lay, at least in part, in the fact that the team lacked brawn, being smaller than every side they played, and therefore was compelled to rely on a high level of skill In addition, there was the good fortune of having a large squad of players all of whom had good ball ability — so much so that we could play a ' B' team capable of good quality rugby
They lost the first match of the season against Christ's Brecon becausethey failed to take charge of a game when they had the upper hand — early season lack of confidence. They lost to WRGS narrowly in conditions which made the result a lottery, but beat them comfortably in the return in good conditions They lost the last match of the seasonto a very strong and competent Halesowen side As for the rest, the record speaksfor itself: played 14, won 10, drawn 1, lost 3
The performance of the seasonwas undoubtedly the Warwick match As under fourteens they had lost to Warwick 59-0 This time they beat a very good side 20-0 in a game of very high quality The rea scoring potential of the side lay in the backs where Gammon and Barnett or Burrows were elusive and effective finishers of the many chances created for them by the centres Morgan and Francis,who, in turn, were quickly and intelligently set up by the halves Moseley and Layton It was particularly pleasing to see the confidence with which these four and the the full back Norton executed all manner of planned moves. But, of course, you can't do all this without the ball and it soon became clear that the real strength.of the side lay in the fact that the forwards utterly dominated the loose in almost every game — even an ordinary set of backs could hardly have helped winning games All the forwards who played were quick, had good hands and excellent rucking technique. Bagnall dominated the line out and we always had our fair share of tight possession So, although not the heaviest try scorers, the forwards can claim a large share of the responsibility for the 312 points scored The forwards were: front row, Curie, McLean, Hall-Patch or Robinson; second row, Bagnall, Spencer; back row, Clive, Taylor, Glynne-Jones It is only fair to mention that players like Tunkin in particular, but also James, Gregory and Cook hardly deserved to be left out, and played a full part in the success of the team
C H Gray
UNDER 14 XV
In the absenceof competitive rugby in the fourth forms, the aim of the under fourteen year has always been to provide a grounding in the fundamental skills of rugby for a large squad of players and to produce a pattern of team play Although as a team we may have lacked the defensive ability of other sides, and may have performed poorly in the negative type skills of kicking and tackling, we ultimately produced a style of running rugby that will provide the foundation for future development Many matches that we lost could possibly have been won with a more defensive approach, but rugby, especially in the learning stages, is a ball game for hands not feet, and for fifteen pairs of hands, not eight workers and a few runners. The first year of competitive rugby has been designed as an investment for the future rather than a plan for immediate success
The initial strength appeared to be in the forwards, and the three-quarter line was never settled throughout the season although it contained considerable individual ability — Bonner and R. J. W. James scoring twenty four and twenty tries respectively P J James was moulded into a talented scrum-half and proved a mature leader, while Kentish and Taylor were outstanding among the forwards
Although the record of five games won and eight lost was perhaps only a moderate performance, we did average twenty two points per game. Despite eleven of the thirteen games being played away, we were only easily defeated three times Of our two home games, one, against Hereford Cathedra School, was won 58-0, and the other, against K.E.S., Birmingham, ended the Christmas Term with a superbly contested but narrowly lost game against a hitherto undefeated side The season ended with an encouraging display of attacking rugby against Oldswinford Hospital School from the template planned for the season
As an under fifteen side with the basic principles of defence securely mastered, a good season must be assured — the hard lessons have been learned and success is now due
I
CRICKET
1st XI CRICKET
Much of the comment made about this side by disinterested parties — and there was certainly no shortage of "expert criticism" — was unfavourable, and, to be fair, judged by the standards one hopes to attain at school first eleven level, there was a good dea of poor cricket played Only two matches were won, and there were a number of poor quality draws However, when one considers that seven fifth formers played and two upper removes, with such a wealth of inexperience t is remarkable that only one schoo match was lost (and that against WRGS, whose side contained a Test cricketer); two club matches were also lost Thus, I would rather cal it a learning season, than a bad season.
Now the fact is that the side was carried by Bailey, the captain, who opened batting and bowling His bowling was quickish and hostile, though at times erratic, but his batting was anything but. He scored 499 runs at an average of 49.9, with one century, and every run was the product of complete concentration and determination, and a mature knowledge of his own limitations Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, some of the younger players seemed to be overawed by his presence at the wicket, feeling that they had to give him the strike rather than playing their own game. It was significant that on the rare occasionsthat he failed, the other players performed with more confidence and competence and showed promise
Judd did not make the runs he is capable of, though, on two occasions, when he allowed himself to play as he can, he looked impressive Darlington seemed the batsman most likely to succeed, showing good concentration and a developing range of shots Fildesseemed unlucky, for he, too, often played himself in well, and then was out mis-hitting a legitimate attacking shot These two have two more years and could become good players In addition, Byard on more than one occasion showed a lot of determination n situations which were far from healthy
The main wicket taker was Mahony who, as befitted his style of bowling, was either very good or very bad At his best he was an intelligent and deceptive slow bowler, but one wishes he would be interested n being at his best more often Edwards and Dagg did half a season each as Bailey's new bal partner, and both should have learnt much about keeping the ball up to the bat. Lodge performed steadily as a stock medium pacer, and had the happy knack of nipping in for important wickets
The fielding, despite lacking natural movers, was nearly always aggressive, and a lot of very good catches were held Judd, n the covers, was outstanding, as was Bailey n any position Tolley, last year's wicket keeping prospect, broke his leg in the winter, so we were back to square one again: Cowper, though really a useful all rounder, helped out adequately as did Moseley, the under fifteen captain
By and large I think this side enjoyed its cricket, despite the ups and downs Again, this had much to do with Bailey's captaincy, which was encouraging and sympathetic to inexperienced players, rather than critical His tactical grasp of the game, though rather cautious (not surprisingly),improves a great deal during the season If the enthusiasm is sustained, this side should prove itself quite effective in the next two years
C H Gray
2ns XI CRICKET
In last year's Vigornian, it was said that if the seconds had a regular member of staff in charge, they would do much better, j Dr Chatterjee was given control of the seconds anditherefore with regular guidance, we remained unbeaten, defeating PHGS, Evesham, Droitwich High School, Solihull and the OVs Draws were recorded with Warwick and Malvern Chase and four matches were cancelled because of rain
It would be fair to say that there were no outstanding cricketers in the team Edwards, Dagg and James shared the opening bowling, with Clarke, Jenkins and Foley useful slow bowlers Meyrick, with slow medium inswing, was the most successfulwicket taker, once he had been discovered With the exception of Ratcliff, no batsman made regular runs — but all managed to gather useful scores The fielding was, on the whole, fairly good, but left room for improvement
The most important factor in the seconds remaining unbeaten was their undoubted enthusiasm and will to win The captain, Richard Wood was largely responsible for their high morale, and led his side attackingly. As with the first eleven, only he and Jenkins will have left by next season, so there is much promise for next season
R J Wood and C H Gray
THE THOUGHT SET
He switched on his subconscious
And there he was on his inward screen
Looking particularly handsome today In his cricket flannels
The white shirt showing off his bronzed tan
To perfection.
With his bat under his arm
He strode masterfully out to the wicket, Pulling on his batting gloves
With a glance round the field
To see where the fielders were placed, He confidently faced the first ball of the over
He saw t large as a football
And played a ground shot to the boundary. Then he struck out and hit the rest for sixes
Until the figures on the scoreboard
Showed his first century —
And then he led the field off for tea
To the enthusiastic applause of the crowd
He saw everyone's eyes on him — They were Al the eyes of the boys and the masters were on him
They waited expectantly for him to c6nstrue the next sentence
The picture faded.
There s a fault
Do not adjust your set
R S M Free (II)
UNDER 15 XI
During many mid seasonarguments with the captain of the second eleven, it was never really clear who were the only unbeaten team in the school One thing that was clear, however, was that this year's eleven were a very good side With good competent batting down to number ten — and number eleven kept wicket for the first eleven on occasions — and an array of varied bowling, plus a real enthusiasm for the game, no other school side got the better of us.
Francis and Layton proved themselves batsmen of real ability and fair technique; Tunkin, Francis and Fardon spearheaded the bowling to good effect. The strength of the side, however, really lay in the fact that all were good natural games players intelligently led by Moseley
The following made up the eleven: Moseley, Norton, Cook, Francis, Layton, Holder, Morgan, Fardon, Sheppard, Baxter, Tunkin, James
I Brown
UNDER 14 XI
Only one match out of five was won, a disappointing record for a side that was not without promise Royal Wolverhampton School were beaten, the game with the Grammar School was drawn, and the team lost to Warwick, Malvern Chase and Solihull
In general there was a lack of consistency and reliability in the batting, though various players notably Shardlow, Jamesand Heinrich — made usefu scores on occasions. Shardlow was the most penetrating bowler, and James also took a number of wickets There were rarely enough runs on the board for Sproson's leg-breaks to be used much, and there were no other spinners
Shardlow captained the team astutely
Match details:
King's 48 (James 33); Warwick 49-4
W.R.G.S. 86 (Shardlow 6-16); King's 60-6'
King's 133-9 dec (Heinrich 37, Shardlow27); RoyalWolverhampton 8 (Shardlow 5-4, James 4-2),
Malvern Chase 81 (Sproson 6-30); King's 68
King's 70 (Cope 22); Solihull 7293
M. J. Points
THOUGHTS
I sat in the train with my cricket bat by my side. I was playing cricket for my school in my first game for them The train started moving and gradually picked up speed
Nature rushed past me, "S o green," I thought I looked at the fields studded with mighty oaks My mind wandered and I thought of men at war in shining armour, with lances, lined up in rows
Trees, I thought of men poised to thrust the spear of fate into the belly of the foe I saw the trees again, their mangled forms entwined in mortal combat
Then, I caught a glimpse of red Blood The corpses soaked in blood, lying in it, stinking of it Crows flew high like arrows swift and sure. They landed n a field of poppies, striving, reaching for that elusive hope — who can help them? No, not me!
The clouds formed like chariots of fury, racing towards the sun with wheels incessantly turning, they cracked, thunder sounded The rain poured down like the bullets of death Then, as they rained thicker and faster, thicker and faster the window steamed up and my dream had dissolved
My bloodstained hands gripped my cricket bat Andy lay on the floor in a crimson pool of blood, his face twisted by terrible wounds
I thought 6f soldiers poised to stick the spear of fate into the belly of the foe, I thought
T J Pettifer (13)
Chairman's and Secretary's Report 1972
It was in the 'Kingsman that it was first suggested that the Undercroft should be used as a Vlth Form Centre Under Martin Tolley arrangements began for the conversion of the premises There was a long delay in early 1970 when, during the demolition of a wall, Nige Chinneck discovered a skul beneath the floor, Subsequent excavations revealed two skeletons, the examination of which held up progress for a time
Although interest in the venture seemed to wane, the Works Group under the direction of Messrs Curie and Cash carried on By Christmas term 1971 they had built the bar, the staircase and had the walls painted The Headmaster asked Mark Webster to form a "steering committee" to organise interior decoration and form the Vlth Form Club. At this point discussionswere taking place to decide on the exact purpose and function of the Club It was felt that the Undercroft could provide a social centre for the senior members of the school It might also provide refreshments including alcoholic drinks Information was obtained from other schools with similar clubs in order to compile a set of rules
The committee had become too large to function efficiently and so was reduced to four members — D J Glazebrook, D R Hill, I P Katteand R M Kirby Working closely with the Headmaster and Mr Burkhill, most of the administrative problems were solved and the opening of the Club n the near future became a probability. The committee increased its numbers again and four members of staff were now included: President, D M Annett; Vice President, E R Burkhill; Senior Treasurer, P G L Curie; Senior Secretary, J R Turner The new committee decided that they themselves would use the Club for an experimental period beginning on the thirteenth of March May the first would be the date for opening the Club and, to celebrate the occasion, a party would be held. Over the next few weeks decisions were taken about entry fees and subscriptions A number of applications for membership were passed The majority of the Middle Sixth were now members
During the Easter holidays a major set-back occurred when the Headmaster was advised that the application for a licence to allow members over seventeen to drink alcohol would almost definitely be refused — the police had various objections When everyone met again in the Summer Term and discussedthe matter, the Headmaster and committee both felt that the application should still be made for over-seventeen drinking, but, failing this, a normal application for over-eighteen drinking should be made Details were then finalsised for the opening party The guests (who had all made generous donations of some sort to the Club) were as follows: Arch deacon and Lady Alethea Eliot Mr and Mrs J G Ranford, Mr and MrsT T Howell, Mr and Mrs A B Bouldstridge and Mr and Mrs J M Cash, after the party the club was open to all members, while during the School Fete and King's Day it was open to general view Soft drinks and coffee were sold and a stereo system was loaned to the Club
The main event of the Summer Term for the Undercroft was the leavers' party for their friends and guests, everyone enjoyed themselves and the event was a great success
The Chairman and Secretary would like to thank D R Anscombe, T R Aston, R C Bauling, G L Davies, D R Hill, G A Walters, M P Webster and A A Wynne, all of whom worked hard to make this Club a success They also thank all members of the committee, especially Mr Annett, Mr Burkhill and the other senior members, who have put so much work into the formation and running of the Club
D J GLAZEBROOK, R M KIRBY
EDUCATION U.S.A. WINTER Of 72
Richard Lodge writes from Killian High School, Miami:
Perhaps the biggest difference between U.K and U.S.A is in the schools I attend Killian High Schoo which is for fifteen to eighteen year olds There are 3,000 pupils of both sexes As a result of the great number of pupils the day is divided into two shifts I attend morning shift which is from 7.00am to 12.20am Inthistime I have five fifty-four minute periods with a twenty minute break in the middle As far as possible I chose subjects which I had not studied before to avoid repetition and boredom — consequently, at the moment my classes are American Government, American History, Marine Biology, French and English I find no difficulty with the work — the standard is considerably lower than 'O' leve most of the time. The system s set up so as not to put too much emphasis on examinations One is marked by continuous assessment, and weekly quizzes and daily conduct grades account for practically all of your end of term grades Therfore, although the standard is easy, I am usually kept quite busy doing reading "assignments" and writing up notes
Killian employs the Quinmester System — that is four terms of nine weeks each Thus the five subjects I am now taking will finish after nine weeks and then I wil change to five new subjects (except in the case of French) For instance, instead of American Government, I will take 'Americanism against Communism', instead of my present English course 'Illusions against Reality I will take 'Point of View' or 'Power of Words and so on. I don't like such a short term as the work covered can only be very limited and the treatment is extremely superficial In U.S History I covered two centuries in seven weeks! It seems rather ridiculous when the teacher can say "Tomorrow we will do the First World War" and by the end of the week the Second World War has been covered.
There is no school uniform — the only restrictions are that shoes must be worn and hats must not and that, in the case of girls clothes "must cover top and bottom" The whole atmosphere is much more informal and free and I find the American students extremely friendly and helpful: as my neighbour coming over on the plane said on hearing I was going to Killian "You won't learn much but you'l get a good education".
Another factor which s in contrast to England, is the varying attitude to sport. American Football is taken very seriously, even at school level — winning is everything! The school has its own stadium and, for a particularly vital game, can expect 5,400 students from Killian and their opponents to watch and cheer School spirit s extremely high as can be seen at a peculiarly American phenomenon, the 'pep rally' This occurs on the day preceding the game The whole school goes to the gym and starts singing and cheering in time with the cheerleaders and the band, in order to get everybody in the right state of mind for the forthcoming game
I am really enjoying my stay in America and I'm sure it s proving an unqualified success, the full benefit of which I probably won't realise until I can look back on it objectively.
THE ORGAN EDND
In order to pay the publishers bill for Michael Craze's "History of the King's School" the OV Club have been obliged to cal n the interest-free loan of £1000 which they generously made available some years ago to meet part of the cost of the organ in College Hall. There is still a debit balance of £600, and although temporary arrangements have been made to cover this, t would be greatly appreciated f some musical well-wisher would offer another bridging loan — or, better still, if the debt could be cleared altogether
0. V. NEWS
ANDERTONC W (58/64) Left Imperial Life of Canada in 1971 and is now with Scottish Equitable Life Assc Scy operating mainly around Worcester Has had three Chess Games published n Birmingham press in 1971/2 season
APPS R. (Choir 63/68) is taking a further degree in Birmingham n electronics.
BATE S M (25/30) Has now retired as Head of Classics Dept of The Norwich School While there he formed the Reynolds Library and for three years was Master of Schoo House
BAXN (Sc 61/66) Has qualified as a Doctor (LRCP., MRCS) at Guy's Hospital He is staying on to take his M B., B S with the intention of working in the hospital service
BOLLAND A (Sc 57/60) Qualified Architect practicing as an Associatewith Dalgliesh Marshal in Nairobi
BOLLAND P (Sc 60/63) After three years lecturing at Malawi University Africa, is now taking a postgraduate course at Syracuse University U.S.A Recently married
BARLOW D (58/64) Now working as Marketing Manager for S &• K Confectionery Division Ltd., Liverpool
BAKER G.A (30/33) was appointed a J P in August 1971, Worcester Magistrates Court
BLOCKLEY J.D.S (H.60/66) Is now teaching English and Drama at Ealing Grammar Schoo for Boys and would be very pleased to hear from any O.V contemporaries who may be around London
COLEY M.D.G (Choir 57/64) After leaving King's he emigrated to Australia and has worked as a public servant since 1964 in Waramanga , progressing from clerical assistant through a part-time matriculation to organisation I nspector with the Public Service Board He is most anxious to make contact with any other O V's in Australia with a view to organising a News Letter amongst them His address is36Wuimbaya Cres., Waramanga, A.C.T., Australia 2611.
COLEY J (Choir 62/64) is a sub-Lieut, in the Royal Australian Navy and is married with a daughter CHAMP D (C.61/68) completed his degree at Sussex and is now working for the Natural Rubber Research Corporation He has been married for two years
DREWETT E.M (Cr.53/64) B.Sc Imp College, London After two years in the Electronic Laboratories with G E C decided to turn to teaching and is now taking a post-graduate Teachers Training at Bristo University Is now engaged to Martine Ort de Zarate a student of Languages from the University of Bordeaux, and is to be married in August
DANIELS E L (Cr 46/56) Still Pastor of Arnold Road Baptist Church, Bewtwood, Nottingham
DRISKELL M.B (67/67) has gained B.A degree and is working at the Schoo of Oriental and African Studies Library London
DAY M (Choir 49/58) Joined Lloyds Bank in 1958 working in Wiltshire and Somerset, and after completing Institute of Bankers' Examinations in 1964, winning the prize for Practice of Banking Paper, he was 4 years on organisation, inspection and audit work, became Assistant Manager of Avenue Branch, Southampton in 1972 Was married in Sept 1963, now lives at Chandlers Ford (5824), Hants, with wife Janet, a son 8 and daughter 5 Vi. Always pleased to see any O V's in the area
EDWARDS C M (Br 61/68) has returned from Canada and joined the Metropolitan Police ENGLAND M.J (H.59/66) Obtained Hons, n Law Society Finals prior to entering articles with a firm of Guildford Solicitors. Is to be married to Miss Penelope Gridge of Whitton Middx. n July 1972
EDWARDS C.J (61/68) Did an unsuccessful but enjoyable year at Oxford Married in August 1969 and spent a year saving, making tin cans in Worcester Emigrated to Canada, returning in Autumn 1970. After a few months as a 'layabout' decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and entered the Metropolitan Police Acquired a daughter March 13th 1972 and s now pounding the beat in Central London Is in close contact with Andy Sharp (61/67) off duty, but sees many other 0 V's on duty, demonstrating! Would be happy to see any O V who legally finds himself near Holborn Police Station, Theobalds Road, W.C.1
FEGAN A. M. (Sc. 64/68). Graduated with a 1st Class Hons. Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Birmingham University Has now joined the Lucas Research Group in Shirley GILLARD D.A (Ca 47/54) has now moved down to the Sussex coast as Advertising and Publicity Manager of the Alliance Building Society in Hove and is living in Worthing Is married with two children, daughter (2) and son (1)
GARDEN T (Cr 52/62) Arrived back from Germany at the end of 1971 and was posted to the Central Flying School for the Flying Instructors course Will be going to Yorkshire in mid 1972
HOLBECHE B J (63/68) Has been working in the Land Use Dept of the National Farmer's Union HQ in London for 6 months Basically the work consists of representing the interests of those farmers whose land is taken for development (motorways, reservoirs etc.) A lot of travelling all over the country.
HOGGARD J (33/35) Extract from his letter:-
"This story of why the centre panel of the War Memorial 1939/45 is not of the same design as the other panels may be of interest When my mother was sent a copy of the Vigornian with the photo of the new memorial in about 1948, she was astonished to find my name in the middle When she sent it to me I immediately wrote to Mr Bentley at Castle House to give him the cheerful news that I was not dead I recall that his delight at this news was slightly tinged with regret that the tablet would have to be altered I do not remember if he asked me for a contribution towards this alteration, but I was certainly put out at being numbered among the dead! The story behind this was that I was reported 'missing believed killed in a casualty list of 1941 but later this was corrected to P O.W Mr Bentley saw the first report and wrote to my mother who later advised him of the second report giving him my address for cigarettes etc to be sent to I assume the letter did not reach the School as I did not receive any comforts! I ! I think now, after the passage of 25 years and as my housemaster is no longer with us, I can confess my final (I hope) school sin!
RYDER C.S. (58/68). At present teaching Music and English in Atherstone N. Warws. Is moving to an Independant Prep Schoo in Edgbaston n September 1972
RICHARDSON A J H (H.63/67) Graduated from University of Sheffield in July 1971 Is now working as a development engineer with British Leyland Truck and Bus Division, Leyland, Lanes
ROGERS J.C (51/60) Has been working for a London based Computer Consultancy for the last five years and after spending six months in Denmark, two years back n the U.K and 18 months n Sweden, is now working on a contract in Southern Italy for a year
SUTCLIFFE F.S (Staff 53/68) With the re-organisation of North Riding Schools, he has been appointed Head of Biology Dept at the Sixth Form College at Scarborough
SMITH B.J (C 52/60) Now busy practising as a food consultant (technical not gourmet) Operating from cottage at Ingleby in rural Derbyshire, which also doubles as some-time art gallery run by his wife Ancillary activities includes two children, old tyme music hall, upkeep of said cottage and conserving rural England.
SMITH B T C (C.44/49) Now with Cadbury Schweppes Foods Ltd in distribution Living in the wilds of East Anglian Fens (Ramsey, Hunts) and enjoying the quiet and relative peace However, as Bournville is the centre of his economic universe, familiar areas are still trodden
SHEPPY P.C. (C 43/52). Following three years as Field Officer with English Guernsey Castle Scy. which included a Cattle buying trip to Canada in 1969, was appointed Secretary to the Nationa Proficiency Tests for Agriculture and Horticulture in 1970 and is based at the National Agricultural Centre in Warwickshire Now lives at Chacombe near Banbury with his wife and two children He becomes increasingly concerned with the lack of contemporary O V's at Re-unions and hopes to see more n 1973
SCRIMSHAW D.F i (W.63/68) He is now residing at Farnborough, Hants and starting third year of Hons Chemistry Degree at Queen Mary College, Univ of London, prior to applying for entry to College of Air Training, Hamble
STALLARD D (Cr 61/68)is taking M.Sc at Hul University
THOMAS D.F (Sc.61/66) Gained B.Sc in Electronics at Aston University n 1970 Has been working with E.M.I (Electronics) Feltham since then Was married n April 1972 and lives in Ealing
THOMAS D.E.G. (C 56/66). Is to marry Miss Pamela in July 1972 whom he met in the Schools Vlth Form Societies Best Man s to be David Hooper (Castle 61/66) who is now a solicitor with a London Firm
THOMAS C S (58/68) Taken a degree in Law at University of Kent Going on to complete Bar Part I and then Part 11 at I nns of Court Law School with a view to practicing at the Bar Is now engaged to Barbara Woolman who also took a Law degree at Kent and will be a solicitor
UNDERWOOD A G H (Ch.62/69) is a midshipman in the Navy serving n H.M.S Ashanti
UNDERWOOD R. (Cr 55/62). Obtained H.N.D. business Studies at Bromsgrove College Now personnel Manager to Hervert Terry and Sons, Redditch
WOOLLEY F B H (Sc.56/65) Now at Midland Bank, Droitwich Younger brother Adam in fina year at Belfast hoping to do research there
WILLIAMS, Bishop A.L.E., D.D (1907/11) This year he and his wife celebrated their Golden Wedding Congratulations and all good wishes from the Old Vigornian Club He has just completed a book "From A to B"(Antrim to Bermuda) which is due for 1972 Autumn Publication, through the Dorset Publishing Co., Sherborne, Dorset
WILLIAMS, P.G.N.G (060768) Has obtained a B.Sc (Hons) Degree in Physiology at Leeds University In October he will recommence medical studies and take up a Royal Naval Medical Cadetship.
WADLEY L.G. (Cr.53/61). Since last year has spent six months n Nigeria and 4 months in Uganda Is at present spending first part of 15 weeks leave in Malta before returning to England to spend last part Has been told that the next "tour" with Barclays Internationa is to the Bahamas and West Indies
WOLFENDALE D.M (W.58/68) Is now married to Miss Susan Phelips He has now finished College at the Polytechnic of Central London with a degree n Civil Engineering, and is now starting as a graduate engineer in the Euston Offices of the London Midland Region He will be living in St Albans.
P S If a copy of the photo is available I would love to have one as I find I have lost the origina magazine
HUGHES A J (Cr 58/64) is starting teaching remedial work at Witton Middle School, Droitwich, from a wheelchair, (anyone else in the same position please contact him) having done this with small groups at both Chase and Dyson Perrins Schools, Malvern. He is still keeping in touch with King's though even if by rather devious means
HARKER J (W.64/68) is now married and studying at Salford University for a biology degree
HARDMAN G. (Choir 52/59) s now back in Quebec after an interesting year travelling with his wife in a VW Camper through Europe and overland through Asia Having left their car in Pakistan because of the conflict at that time they travelled through India n buses and trains which enabled them to make real contact with the I ndians They then drove back through Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Greece, enjoying the architecture, landscape, hospitality of the inhabitants and also learning a great deal in the process
JAMESON R Maj (S 48/57) is now a serving Officer in the Worcs & Sherwood Forester Regt, now in Northern Ireland.
JONES A (W 59/68) Has just completed a degree course at Sussex and s working for a B.A.C
LAWSON Maj N.G.P (Sc.43/47) Has recently returned from Canada Spent two years with the Canadian Airborne Centre as British Exchange Officer Now in charge of training at the Joint Air Transport Est., Abingdon, Berks.
LEEMAN B.N.T (C.59/64) was expelled from South Africa in June 1970 and returned as a refugee to Tanzania Is now Chairman of the Historica Association of Kilimanajara Region and editor of the Region's historical journal He has published " A Short History of South Africa" and is at present finishing off "Historia ya Afrika ya Magharibi" (History of West Africa) and two works on KiChagga and neighbouring languages He plays rugby for Northern Tanzania and has climbed Mt, Kilimanjaro twice since his return He teaches History, English and Military I nstruction at a Tanzanian Girls Secondary School
LEONARD D. R. (C.47/52). Has now been appointed as Head of Mathematics at Chatham Secondary School, Kent
MINCHIN M.C.W (Cr 59/66) Having spent four splendid years at Oxford has forsaken the spires and the delights of Somercille for the Fens and the woollen clad girls of Girton, and is engaged in doing a Ph. D. in brain chemistry. Still finds rowing a good antidote for excessive living and s on the river most evening training in the colours of King's College MALCOLMSON D (57/58 Is now studying medicine at Birmingham University in his fourth year NORMAN J (45/49) Was made partner in the firm of Doorbar and Mapp, Chartered Surveyors, Worcester n January 1972 He has been with this firm since leaving School He is now married with two sons Still takes an active interest in the 0 V Cricket Club and has been Chairman for the past 4 years
PARDOE R.F (W.55/64) (W.55/64) qualified at Sheffield University Medical Schoo in June 1969 and is now in General Practice near Doncaster He is married with two children
PRESTAGE P.W (Chap.41/48) With his wife Gill (nee Browne) an ex A.O lives the quiet life on the outskirts of Christchurch in the scenic south Island of New Zealand Much of their time is spent in keeping their commercial egg production unit running smoothly and their recreational activities include skiing and jet boating the rivers in the winter and tennis and swimming n the summer They have now been in N.Z for 8 years and have no thoughts of returning to U.K except for a visit Gill is looking forward to spending Christmas 1972 with her family near Worcester and he hopes to take a look at a much changed King's School during a visit in 1974 The Feb 1974 Commonwealth Games complex for track, field and swimming;events is progressing well and is literally just round the corner. Any 0. V's of his vintage intending visiting the Commonwealth Games in 1974 please pay them a visit
PRESSDEE J.H. (35/38). Is now Manager of Chichester Branch of National Westminster Bank. Spends his spare time sailing around Chichester Harbour and the Solent Would be pleased to meet any O.V.'s who are in the neighbourhood or passing through
QUINEYR. (W.54/64). Has recently returned after a post Ph.D. fellowship in Canada. Now with space Research Management in the U.K
QUINEY J (W.58/68) Has been awarded a 1st Class Hons Degree in Chemistry at Sussex University and is now studying Medicine at St Bartholomews Hospital College
BIRTHS
DANIELS E L (Cr 46/56) and Mary, a second daughter on 4th March 1972
GARDEN T (Cr 52/62) and Sue, a second daughter on 12th June 1971 at R.A.F Hospital, Wegberg, Germany
JONES W. F. to Bill and Sheila, a daughter, Kathryn Louise.
YORK A E (C 52/59) to Veronica and Anthony, a son, Matthew Anthony, on March 5th 1972 A brother for Christopher
MARRIAGES
BARLOW D (58/64) on April 1st 1972 at Worcester Cathedral to Miss Gillian Pat Lancashire
GRUNDY T A (W 61/69) to Miss Catherine Sissonsof Nottingham at St Teresa's Roman Catholic Church, Nottingham
QUINEY J R (W 58/68) to Miss Mary Ladbrook B.A., on July 27th 1972 at St Andrew's Church, Rushmere, Ipswich
QUINEY R. G. (W. 54/64) to Miss Linda Blackwell B.A., on July 8th 1972 at St. Margaret's in the Pines Church, Ontario.
DEATHS
BANCKS N (1918 period) on June 4th 1972
GRIFFITHS T G G Creighton 1939-1947 Died n hospita on March 4th 1972 at the age of 43 years After National Service, he entered Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, where he played in the Rugby 15, also represented the College in Athletics and Cross Country Runs He was in General Practice in Cannock, Staffs, where in May 1971 he opened a modern and wel equipped Anima Hospital. He was a Freemason and a Rotarian. He leaves a widow and two small daughters.
SHARPE Rev. G. H. (07/15) in November 1971.
VISIT TO MELBOURNE HALL
We were pleased to welcome the Headmaster, Mr and Mrs John Pimley, Mr and Mrs T Howell and the new Bursar, Mr Alan Bouldstridge and his wife and family to our visit to Melbourne on Sunday May 7th 1972
Invitations having been sent to all 0 V s whose addresseswere known in the Counties of Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Stafford, there were thirteen O.V.'s present ranging from the Rev A J Day (Hoste 07/14) to Mark Lambert (Hostel 60/67) We also had the pleasure of the company of Mr and Mrs T Coulter (parents of Roger and Stephen Coulter)
Following a brief description of progress and development of the King's School by the Headmaster, a buffet luncheon was provided and the party were then conducted on a tour of Melbourne Hall
Mr. Brian Smith (Chappel 52/59) and his wife Jill received about 20 members of the party at his home nearby for tea
FRIDAY MAY 18th 1973 - ANNUAL BALL in College Hall
SATURDAY MAY 19th 1973 - It is hoped to arrange a Golf Match v The School
SATURDAY JUNE 16th 1973 - 0 V CRICKET MATCH V THE SCHOOL (after which it is hoped to arrange an informal dinner similar to the Rugger dinner)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 22nd 1973 - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Lady Guests Reception O.V. CLUB ANNUAL RE-UNION DINNER in College Hal - Lady Guests invited.
SUNDAY SEPTEMVER 23rd 1973 - A Service in the Cathedral Mrs Annett At Home
The Annual General Meeting held n June 1972 may well prove to be one of the most momentous in the history of the O.V Club After it had been pointed out that girls now attending the Schoolwere officially full members of the School it was passed unanimously that the constitution be altered to admit them to membership of the O.V Club It was also passed by a majority vote that Ladies be invited to attend the Annual Dinner of the O .V. club n College Hall.
Having read and, we hope, noted the dates published for 1973, it s felt that an explanation for the splitting up of the Re-union over the months of May, June and September isnecessary
As all members know, College Hal is used for 'O' and 'A levels examinations and when once set out for this purpose cannot be disturbed In 1973 these exams take place from early June until the end of term in July
The general feeling attheA.G.M.was that the Ball, Dinner, A.G.M., Cathedral Serviceand Cricket Match must continue, and so, after much discussion and thought the above programme was agreed upon It will be appreciated that the date of the O.V Cricket Match v The School cannot be altered becausethe School Xl's are already committed to School fixtures
The Committee hope that you will support these events wholeheartedly to ensure that they are both successfuland enjoyable Members will be receiving full details of these events at a later date
It will be noticed that the date for the Dinner has been fixed within the summer vacation, and it is very much hoped that this will encourage O V's at University to make this an opportunity for a happy re-union
To all who have recently left School we wish you well, and hope that through the O.V Club you will keep up your association with the School
0. V. SPORT
OLD VIGORNIAN GOLF CLUB
Although no meetings were held last year owing to a previous apparent lack of enthusiasm by O.V.s other than the hard core of 10 or so, who will always support the Society, I am pleased to report that there are several boys at the Schoolwho will be potential members in a year or two and two boys n particular, Simon Pimley and Tim Roberts who will add a touch of quality to the standard of golf
In spite of the absence of meetings, the Society still enters a team annually for the Grafton Morrish Trophy and I would like to congratulate the team this year on qualifying for the Final of the competition which is to be held at Hunstant and Brancaster at the beginning of October We qualified n a section containing Solihull, Malvern, Shrewsbury and Repton and all of whom failed to qualify This, therefore, must be regarded as a 'feather in our cap' I hope next year to attempt a Spring Meeting and only hope that it wil be wel supported
We cannot claim that our 25th playing season was an outstanding one in terms of playing success, but there were several encouraging trends that augur well for the next 25 years
A general attitude of pessimism has prevailed for the last five annual reports, but the club s now learning to live with the shortcomings of an Old Boys Cricket Club, and despite a slight shrinkage in activities it is felt that our future is bright The only pity is that as cricket takes over fits proper role as the national game again, our particular contribution becomes slightly less in proportion The real difficulty is in the much reduced number of loca O.V.s, and the sad fact that very few of those O.V.s who do live in Worcester are prepared to help organise
Despite this we have arranged a fine list of fixtures for the coming seasonand confidently expect to enjoy at least one cricket dinner and perhaps another convivia evening with that other loca side formed by O.V.s — the Worcester Nomads C.C During the Winter we have entered a team in the Worcestershire Cricket Association I ndoor Six a Side Competition, and look forward to using the Sports Hall once again
The Club is very willing to help with the provision of showers in the New Road Pavilion, and it s to be hoped that this much needed facility will be underway some time n 1973.
The second tour of Surrey was comparable with the one enjoyed in 1971, but the cricket week would not have survived without the assistance'ofseveral members of the King's School; all good cricketers in every sense of the word. This was one of the encouraging features of last season because in al over a dozen boys played for the club during the school holidays The second reason for rejoicing was the fact that 33 different O.V.s played for the first XI in 1972 A remarkable tribute to our cricket over the years is this eagernessof O.V.sto return from distant parts just for the odd game of cricket
The Club is grateful to the too smal band of tea ladies and for the support of our many VicePresidents; to the Headmaster and Governorsfor allowing the Club to use the playing fields, and to the School Groundsman, Sid Prosser,for preparing our wickets and keeping the playing fields in suoh excellent condition.
Alec Mackie intends to retire as Club Captain,and we are indebted to him for making such a success of such an onerous job He deservesthe congratulations of every member of the club, and his successordeserves a lot of luck and a lot more support. John Norman is departing as Club Chairman, and this is another loss, since he devoted much time to the well being of the O.V Cricket Club
MakeA the L A Special Grade with the Midland
It'll pay you handsomely if you are a personable young man with good examination results, join the Midland Bank Holding 'A' levels in certain subjects will entitle you to an immediate year's seniority on the basic salary scale And you will qualify for "Study leave" to prepare for the Institute of Bankers Examinations Show that you are able, and you will be put in the Special Grade This means that your salary could go up by as much as £240 a year; and you would be sure that you were being marked out for a management role in the Bank
Make a note Of this A high proportion of present-day entrants to the Midland Bank will reach managerial rank You can do this in your early 30's earning £3,000, rising to £6,000 and more. By becoming a marked man at the Midland, you can make your mark early.
Find out more about us Write to: The District Staff Supt., Midland Bank Ltd., 15 George Street, Oxford, 0X1 2AU
Barclays is a vast, complex banking organisation. In one way or another, it's involved with every sort of business: with supermarkets, stores and shops; with farms, food companies and breweries; with airlines, oil companies and car manufacturers; with national and international trade.
Our job is to help our customers invest, expand and make profits. Eventually, this will be your job. You'll have to know their business, as well as be a specialist in your own. (You'll certainly be given all the training you need.) How fast you progress is very much up to you—our new graded
salaries structure means you're paid and promoted according to your ability, not your age.
To start with, you need at least four 'O ' levels. But preferably, two or more 'A ' levels, which apart from anything else will put you ahead on starting pay.
For more information either see your Careers Teacher or local Barclays Manager.
Or write to: The Local Directors, Barclays Bank Limited, P.O. Box 34, 63 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 2BY.
BARCLAY S
SALES BY AUCTION AND PRIVATE TREATY OP RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
SALES BY AUCTION OF FURNITURE AND EFFECTS COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT AND FAR M STOCK
VALUATIONS OF ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY FOR SALE PURCHASE, MORTGAGE. RATING. PROBATE. COMPENSATION, COMPULSORY ACQUISITION AND INSURANCE.
ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING
ESTATE MANAGEMENT
CAPITAL GAINS TA X CONSULTANTS.
SPECIALISTS IN TH E ESTABLISHMENT OF RETAIL MARKETS THROUGHOUT ENGLAND AND WALES
MORTGAGES AND INSURANCE ARRANGED THROUGH LEADING SOCIETIES
Have you ever thought of becoming an RAF Officer?
As an RAF officer, you'd belong to one of the finest professions in the country You'd travel Wherever you went—at home or abroad—you'd enjoy the company of your fellowofficers, people of your own age, with similar interests and experiences Every two or three years you'd move to a new job in a new environment. For aircrew or engineers, it could be new equipment and a new challenge. In the administrative Branches, vour mind could be stretched on anything from computers to personnel management. You'd emerge with a wealth of management experience
Up to £385 a year for studying A-Levels
5 O-Levels—o r equivalent—including Englis h Language and Math s qualify you to apply for an RA F commission Bu t A-Level s are an undeniable asset Yo u could apply for an RA F Scholarship worth up to £38 5 a year to help you study for them
£1,201 a year while you're at University
A n RA F Cadetship sponsors you through your degree course for 3-4 years at £1,20 1 a year plus tuition fees An d entry into the RA F as a graduate gives you extra seniority That's our 2 minutes up!
I f we've said anything to interest you, find out more You r Careers Maste r has full information, and he can arrange for you to meet your RA F Schools Liaiso n Officer— quite informally
O r you can pick up some free leaflets at your nearest RA F Careers Information Office (address i n phone book) or write to Grou p Captain W D Rooney, OBE , RAF , Adastral House (25ZE1), Londo n WCi X SRU , giving your date of birth and details of your present and expected educational qualifications
