Commemoration, 1968

COMMEMORATION

HEADMASTER'S REPORT, JULY, 1968

On this my first Speech Day, I do not propose to say much about the Newsom Report, the publication of which is due in about ten days' tun' e. Already we have been drenched by leaks from this document, but none of us really knows for certain what it contains. No further speculation from me, therefore, except to say that St. Peter's was visited by two of the Commissioners last term—Ash Wednesday, to be precise. (I wonder if the date was ominous). They expressed interest in all departments of the School, particularly in our range of entry—interestingly wide, I think—and in the courses that we offered the less academic pupil. They hinted that C.S.E. courses would benefit some of our "0" level borderline candidates, a suggestion that my colleagues and I take very seriously. They also seemed to be pleasantly surprised by the lack of starchiness that prevails in the School.

Whatever the report may recommend, I am convinced that St. Peter's, with its links with the City and the Minster and the Ridings, and at the same time its majority of boarders, will continue to offer something important and socially cohesive for the foreseeable future. What that something is I hope will be made clear by implication as I report on this last year.

This is a time of educational ferment, not only as regards the organisation of schools but also in respect of teaching methods. To put it crudely, the old emphases were on austere rows of desks, prescribed rules, formal grammar, much learning by heart and listening; the new emphases are on the discoveries made by the student himself, rather than those foisted on him, on his own experience, on a freer, more relaxed atmosphere, on collaboration in projects, and, above all, on doing. Hence the exciting developments in the New Maths. teaching (where no boy is ever given an answer, but has to work it out for himself), in the Nuffield Science courses (where a boy learns principles from his own open-ended experiments), in audio-visual techniques of language teaching, in project and dramatic work in English—and so on. This is an exciting time for us in the schools—I for one would want to be nowhere else. At St. Peter's we are committed to many of these new approaches, but we do not swallow every innovation uncritically. We do a fair amount of Nuffield Science; for instance, every boy in his last two years at St. Olave's and his first in St. Peter's learns Nuffield Physics, some of which will continue to "0" level. Some of the

new apparatus for this course, incidentally, has been made by boys in our IlIrd form in the workshops, and it is hoped that more can be produced in this economic and educational way. For some time we have provided S.M.P. courses in the New Maths. up to "0" level; this year 1st year specialists of all subjects have been using the University of York's computer, thus gaining an opportunity to write simple programmes. We are extremely grateful to the University for their perMission and encouragement in this and in so many departments. Our Senior Classics Master, Mr. Croft, who spent a term at Emmanuel College, Cambridge on a Schoolmaster Fellowship, worked on an experimental Nuffield approach to Latin.

And so on. I will not run through every subject. Let me sum it up by saying that the new approaches are transforming the school lesson, the

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school classroom, all the old teaching patterns; that our Heads of Departments encourage these approaches provided that the boys are thereby brought face to face with the discipline of any subject. They must not duck this. Without this discipline, self-expression and self-discovery become futile self-indulgence.

Above all in the future, a School such as ours depends mainly on an intellectually strong sixth-form. This piece of paper lists the examination results in dry statistics—and these results are the most obvious indications of the academic strength of a sixth-form. Twenty-seven candidates took up University places in 1967, eight of them at Oxford and Cambridge. Of the ten taking up Oxbridge places this October, four, as you see, won Open Exhibitions.

Whilst a large number of those leaving our sixth-form will naturally go on to University, it is being realised increasingly that University is not the only, and certainly not always the best course for all sixth-formers to follow. There are many fine opportunities for training outside the Universities and these often lead to the award of a degree. Much was said about these alternatives at our Careers Convention in March and more information can be found in our Careers Room. It is much better to consider these alternatives simultaneously with thinking about University, rather than leave them until the last minute as stop-gaps.

One watches examination results with care, not to say anxiety, now that the dog days of August are almost on us. But let me add that examinations should by no means be the summit of intellectual aspiration. Indeed, the emphasis on external examinations is, to many of us, deplorable, even frivolous. The point of sixth-form study in our specialist system is that by studying a subject in depth the sixth-former can develop a sincere interest. Indeed, most examination candidates are engaged in an act of insincerity— they're trying to prove to the examiners that they know more than they really do. The quality of the sixth-form, that is to say, can be judged only partly by the examination results; much more reliably can it be judged by the actual interests shown by the sixth-formers, by the amount done that's off the syllabus. An example of what I mean is the play about Sir Thomas Fairfax that was written by members of our 1st year specialists and performed in the Minster last month. This play first demanded historical research, then dramatic experiment and eventually scripting and performance • above all it demanded the desire to create something complete. This is the sort of activity one hopes a sixth-form will naturally pursue. A good sixth-form is one in which work is not confined to the classroom but spills out into spare time; where labs. are used not merely for examinations but for the excitement of invention or discoveries; where books are read and discussed for their interest, not merely because they're on the syllabus; where the boy with the odd intellectual interests can pursue them without anyone's thinking them odd; where the crank is happy, where the boffin is busy, where the artist is absorbed.

And what of this cultural life in the School? This year there have been some fine musical offerings—notably the performances in our Chapel and in the Minster of Benjamin Britten's "St. Nicolas" and of his Canticle "Abraham & Isaac"—refreshingly unsolemn music; in "St. Nicolas" there was happy collaboration between our Choral Society and Junior School Choir, and the choir of Queen Margaret's School, with whom also we sang carols in a concert in the Christmas term.

The dramatic tradition of St. Peter's is very vigorous. There have been about eight productions of plays throughout the year, at a House level and as well as a School level. The main production, John Whiting's play "A Penny for a Song", a witty extravaganza rather in the manner of Bernard Shaw, provided opportunities not only for several comic performances for boys but also brought in some of the girls of York College for the female parts, and gave scope for the inventive skill of the school's engineers. I imagine that never before on the stage of the Memorial Hall had there been seen a balloon in full flight, nor a fire engine at full throttle.

One of the discoveries one makes about plays and concerts is that they demand an enormous amount of collaboration and rehearsal—more than is expected. This collaboration—between say, workshop and studio, and actors and stagehands and producer—is a truly educational discipline, and I value it very highly. Anyone who has taken •part in such a performance will be affected by it for the rest of his life.

Old Peterites will notice that the School Chapel has been modified architecturally. Some choir pews have been removed so as to allow an open space, which can now be used for musical and dramatic purposes. Already we have benefited from the flexibility thus gained. Moreover, our daily services have varied so as to include from time to time services devised and taken by members of the staff and by boys ,themselves on a House basis.

When one comes to review the School's athletic record one finds a high all-round standard and a number of outstanding individuals. There is, for instance, Tony Wood, the Public Schools All Weapon Fencing Champion, Peter Hall, winner of the Yorkshire Open Under 16 Squash Championship, and Ian Robinson, finalist in the National Under 16 Squash Championship, and Joe Richardson, who represented the School at rugby, hockey, squash and cricket, won the Yorkshire Under 19 Squash Championship, and after a superb cricket season has been selected for the Yorkshire Schoolboy Trials and for the Rest v. Southern Schools in London. (His cool head, brisk efficiency and forcefulness have also made him an admirable Head of School). But it is teams that count more than individuals—and every Saturday afternoon this school year I have found much to admire in the pertinacity and skill of our representative sides.

St. Peter's is essentially a rugger school, so let me start with the 1st XV. The 1st XV won 4 and drew 1 of their 9 school matches, and in the process scored 96 points FOR and 32 points AGAINST. No school side crossed our line more than once. The 3rd XV lost only one of their 7 school matches, while the Senior Colts enjoyed a strikingly successful undefeated season.

The 1st XI has continued to maintain our high reputation, and as last year have lost only 1 school match. The batting is particularly strong and goes right down to number eleven, and, whatever our opponents have played, our cricket has been aggressive and cheerful. Incidentally, here at the School on July 22nd, 23rd and 24th we are staging the inaugural series of Yorkshire County Schoolboys matches, when all are welcome.

We also had a highly successful squash season, losing only one School match, and an undefeated tennis team. Our swimming team also has done well, and many of them are young too. There are our fencers, everyone of whom, so our fencing coach assures me, is going to be a champion! Our oarsmen, after early success as York Schools' Head of the River and in 3rd and 4th places in the School IV's at Nottingham, have been down at Henley this week, going out in the 1st round but gaining valuable experience. 9

They have been casing the joint! And our shooting team, a little disappointing perhaps after last year, have yet to face their main ordeal at Bisley next week.

A hockey season here is always confined and perilously dependent on fair weather, but this year plenty of hockey was played. Our hockey 1st and 2nd XI's lost only one match each. Of the five inter-school matches three were won, one lost and one cancelled.

At St. Peter's, our numbers and our acreage preclude the wholesale adoption of certain games (I'm sure everyone knows what I mean), but we do try to offer as diverse a range as possible. May I say at this point how much we value the presence of parents as spectators at the games and matches? Their enthusiasm encourages the players and creates the feeling of drama that is central to competitive sports.

On Tuesday afternoons boys have a further opportunity of choice; they may take part in C.C.F. training, in scouting and in the D. of E. Award Scheme. Under the auspices of the C.C.F. a boy may find himself playing in a military band, or simulating a parachute jump into the sea, or visiting a nuclear submarine at Rosyth.

The Scouts have lately undergone a change. Many of the group now sport the new uniforms and the Venture Scout Executive Committee and Scout Patrol Leaders' Council have been busy devising programmes and activities to fit in with the new training scheme. The Venture Scout Unit has had a most active year and their activities have ranged from building fibre-glass canoes to cookery classes at Queen Anne Grammar School, and from stripping down the old minibus, bought from the School, to arranging social meetings and dances with York Rangers. Some members of the Unit spent a very rough week canoeing and climbing in the Lake District during the Easter holidays, while at the end of this term the Scout Troop is going off to camp in Perthshire.

In the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme over 70 boys have been actively participating in the Scheme this year. The Scheme offers a challenge to each individual to reach a particular standard in the activities he chooses. It is not a challenge to be accepted by the weak at heart or those lacking in qualities of perseverence and skilfulness.

Three more boys have gained their Gold Award : Michael Bennett, who has already been presented with it at Buckingham Palace, David Jackson and Christopher Noble—who will be meeting the Duke of Edinburgh in the autumn.

Here,too, one is aware of the diversity of choice—and it is hoped that all boys will avail themselves of this choice. A boy who tries to opt out of the opportunities offered—and there are some like this—will end up bored and negative; the larger numbers who opt in for things, thus discover, maybe, talents in themselves that they had hitherto not suspected. If a boy does not unearth his latent talents at school, something is going wrong. There is in every boy probably an artist, a musician, an inventor, a writer, a craftsman, a mountaineer, longing to be released. I hope very much that every boy at St. Peter's will unearth his hidden selves. Ineffective boredom is surely the cardinal sin, and the quickest way towards that lax discipline with which the young at all schools are these days regularly charged. As many opportunities as possible for making and creating things are required, and I hope, over the next few terms, to be able to extend our Crafts room to give wider scope to the Art Studio and Music School.

I have tried to make clear that my idea of a school is a place for the

pursuit of intellectual, cultural and athletic excellence and for the development of social responsibility in which the boys choose to take an active part, and are spurred on by each other, in collaboration as well as competition, to bring out their full abilities. I am sure that parents and old boys and present members of the School would wish it that way.

Exhibition of Handicraft.

One importarit point that needs making. While a sixth-former has responsibilities towards his school—in helping run it, in setting an example, in maintaining discipline—few of us would feel that he should be bounded by the School. The Housemasters and I are concerned that a boy in his last year in the sixth should be given some freedom—to visit theatres and concerts and meetings in . York, to provide social service for those in York who need it—to become an active part of the City. In short, a sixthformer needs a bridge year between the structural life of a school and the total license of the outside world. He must learn how to use freedom. Provided a sixth-former can handle this freedom—without falling short in his work or his sense of responsibility—he should be granted that freedom. The Governors have authorised in principle the setting-up of a club, consisting of general rooms, for some of the sixth-formers—for them to run themselves. It has been used by School Monitors this term in a pilot scheme, and I hope will in the future give sixth-formers scope for practical responsibility as well as space.

This year has been for me a settling-in-year. I have tried to see the School running as before, without making any significant changes (except for the disappearance of the School Cap. Ichabod!) Already my feelings of southern detachment have been swept away by a tide of fierce partisanship which I now feel for St. Peter's. My particular thanks are due to my staff, particularly Mr. Le Tocq, Mr. Rhodes and the Housemasters, and Mr. Howat in St. Olave's. It is invidious to mention names, but one can hardly omit reference to one of the liveliest members of our staff and a prominent personality in the City. I am referring to Mr. Waine, by whose initiative so many musical innovations have been introduced this year.

Mr. Waine leaves us after 23 years as Director of Music to become 11