Oct 1965

SPEECH DAY HEADMASTER'S REPORT, JULY, 1965 I feel that you would all like me to preface my report with a word of welcome to our Chairman, the Dean of York, on the first occasion he has presided over our Speech Day. Already our Dean has shown his lively interest in our ancient School and we hope that he will be here many years to preside over our fortunes.

I would also like, on behalf of the whole assembly, to welcome you, My Lord Mayor and Mr. Sheriff, together with your Ladies, and we are proud at St. Peter's to be able to say that the presence of the Civic Party has become a valued tradition. I shall hope to refer later to our connection with the City.

For me personally, as well as for many of my colleagues, this is a specially important occasion in that we have a famous ex-Headmaster here with us in the person of Lord James, the Vice-Chancellor of York University. He has already been welcomed in the St. Peter's traditional manner, and I can assure him that he has our special affection as one of the outstanding educationists of the century. It would, indeed, be appropriate at this stage to mention that we have already derived benefits from the creation of the new University of York, and we look forward to more and more contacts as the University expands. With all due modesty we hope that we may perhaps, as an ancient educational institution, be able to help our University, for it is certain that we shall derive much help and inspiration from them. We rejoice to know, from the visual evidence already available, that we are to have in York a residential University embracing all the best features of Oxford.

We are additionally honoured today by the presence of Lady James, and apologise to her that in this all-masculine stronghold our ladies are relegated to the floor. I am sure Lord and Lady James cannot in general spare time to attend each other's Speech Day appearances!

We are indeed glad to be able to provide opportunities for the education of the sons of some of the University staff, and one member of the University staff has already "lent" us (if that is the appropriate term) his wife to assist temporarily in our mathematical teaching. Boys and Common Room alike will miss Mrs. Hutton.

It seems to be expected today that the Headmaster of an Independent School should say something at his Speech Day about modern educational trends and particularly about what is commonly called the "integration" of Independent Schools into the State system. I have never had any doubt as to what our own position in this respect should be. We have for many years co-operated with the Local Education Authority in providing places for some of their nominees, and I can say without hesitation that nothing but good has ever come out of this co-operation. Schools like ours are wide open for the extension of any such integration : all we ask is that this can be done without losing our independence, and by independence we simply mean freedom to select our own pupils and to experiment educationally. Independence for us does not mean licence to do as we like, and in fact we indeed fully depend upon our parents, whose confidence we must continue to deserve.

During the year under review many activities have, as usual, taken place, and I cannot hope to deal more than very briefly with the main events.

5