It’s St Jo’s All Right, But Not As We Know It!

They may have left the school more than half a century ago, but memories of their days at St Joseph’s remain vivid for a party of school friends who returned to the campus last month.

We heard tales of the burial of the poisoned dog, the very seriously disgruntled science teacher, the ‘voluntary’ concerts boys were forced to attend (at their parents’ expense), the breakfasts of porridge and beans, and the mixed fruit jam for tea – that is, all sorts of jams combined in one pot!

We also heard of the happy times spent cementing those lasting friendships, excelling in sports – particularly rugby; never football! – and being tasked to clear playing fields of stones, lay asphalt and give the buildings a lick of paint. The boys were, indeed, kept busy.

All sorts of successful careers were represented among the party: solicitors, a quantity surveyor, company directors, executives and farmers, among others. There was an international representative too. Monty Sparks OB flew in from Texas, accompanied by his wife, Gail.

More, we hope, on Mr Sparks and his exciting career in a future edition of this paper. For now, we will agree his Mom was a picture-perfect boarder’s parent. When the school had an open day, she brought over hot-dogs from the American airbase where Monty’s dad was serving. That particular stall must have been a culinary sensation.

The group toured the school from Goldrood boarding house to the English department, with exclamations of ‘That used to be science!’ and ‘That was my first form room!’ along the way.

The changes to the campus were noted and often marvelled at – including the Chapel, formerly housed in what is now the dance studio, and the fitness suite. We were gratified but not all surprised when our guests kindly remarked on the polite and happy students (including girls!), the large number of teaching staff and the overall welcome. They lunched on a regular school dinner and the high quality of that also underlined how much things have changed since the mid-1960s.

Our thanks in turn to Chris Ryan OB for bringing his schoolfriends back to St Jo’s and to all the attendees. We hope many will write up their memories for us.