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Commemoration
from Oct 1970
by StPetersYork
The Cricket Match against the Old Peterites started on Friday, July 10th, and the following day the Speeches and Presentation of Prizes were presided over by the Chairman of the Governors, the Very Revd. the Dean of York; we were honoured by the presence of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Alderman and Mrs. A. J. Hardcastle. The Provost of the Queen's College, Oxford, R. N. W. Blake, Esq., MA, F.B.A., presented the Prizes, and a summary of his speech is given further on.
On Sunday, July 12th, the Sermon at the Commemoration Service was preached by the Revd. J. C. Yates, B.A. (O.P.), Vicar of Martonin-Cleveland.
SPEECHES AND PRESENTATION OF PRIZES
The ceremony began with the following Welcome to the Provost of the Queen's College, Oxford, by J. C. W. Williams: Salvete omnes, et maximo cum gaudio. Quid enim nobis est agendum? Num quid aliud nisi de republica? 0 diem fortunatum et salutarem, quo Optimates in comitlis superaverunt et quasi triumphum iam diu speratum egerunt. Nonne Fortuna ipsa populo Britannico maxime favet? Nonne stultissimi sibi videntur ipsi qui futurum per populi sententias quaerendas praedicere soleant? Quae omnia sunt non nobis modo optata, sed etiam certe hospiti nostro, quem hodie salutamus, R. N. W. Blake, Collegii Reginae apud Universitatem Oxoniensem Praepositum, virum illustrissimum et clarissimum. Nam haud dubie in numero Optimatum vult haberi, qui cum disceptationes de republica et orationes iam apud discipulos suos sapientissime habet in ea Universitate, tum Arius et in concilio Oxoniensi eas fortissime partes suscepit et de principibus nostris nonnullos libros diligentissime scripsit. Itaque non hospes solum nobis gratissimus, sed etiam praeclarus ades socius hodie; nec hodie primum advenisti Eboracum, ut ipse fateris te quondam intravisse ut id luderes quod Angli cricket nominant. Num quid est revera hoc dulcius vel nobis gratius, qui omnes Brigantum regiones habitamus, et eum ludum tantopere colimus; quod si tibi adhuc placet, idem spectaculum tibi post meridiem offerimus; vel si mavis, credo Dorotheae Perkinensis tabemam esse apertam, spem sociis amplam tuis nummorum, qui muneri Hastingensi praesint. Quidquid id est, nos omnes ad unum speramus te laetissimum adesse, et gratias tibi summas agimus, quod contionem nostram tua praesentia illustrare vis.
The Headmaster then gave his report as follows:—
Those speaking in public about education this year have usually started by referring to the First Education Act of 1870. The centenary of that Act has been most markedly celebrated by the fact that education in 1970 is a topic of burning importance, or rather is a whole cluster of controversies eagerly discussed in almost every home in the country. These controversies, whether about the progress to Comprehensive
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Schools, or the survival of the Direct Grant Schools, whether about new teaching methods or traditional ones, whether there should be new exams. or old exams. or no exams., or about the professional status of teachers and their salary structure, do not pass us by in St. Peter's. In the matter of teaching salaries, for instance, we base our salaries on the Burnham Scale, and a national rise of salaries directly affects us —as all parents will be ruefully aware. Yet, though, as we told parents in January and April, the imminent national rise in salaries is forcing us to raise our fees in September, I do not believe that any fair-minded person would grudge a rise in the salaries of teachers.
It may seem that the controversy about Comprehensive schooling touches us less nearly, in view of our independence, perhaps too m view of the wide ability that we include in St. Peter's. I cannot honestly claim that we are fully comprehensive, but we are much more so than a Grammar School and, as usual, I am very proud of our 11+ failures, very many of whom thrive academically. In fact 12 of them have been taking "A" levels these last few weeks. (That's 20% of our "A" level candidates.)
It is clear to me that in the future the large neighbourhood Comprehensive School will be the norm, but we in the Independent Schools must perpetually raise this question—cannot the smaller school—a boarding school, a selective school—provide a type of schooling suitable for those of our children who are less at ease with the vast numbers that most Comprehensive Schools will have to include? In such a school, with its smaller numbers, each member of the community is known to the others and is recognised and valued for what he is or can do; a boy who needs to, because of the mobility of his parents, or the remoteness of his home or the provision of certain educational materials in that school, can find there the environment that will help his individual mental growth. A school like ours must perpetually offer this alternative choice. I for one do not think that a few schools, offering these alternatives to children with special needs—whatever their parental income— could weaken a neighbourhood Comprehensive School. Indeed, I would go on and say that the Independent School of this kind, that varied the overall pattern, should not at this moment remain aloof, jealously guarding its independence. It should be a neighbourhood Independent School. I would hope that now, at a moment when a new Government has taken office that might be thought to be more sympathetic towards Independent Schools, we in the Independent sector should not say— "we can now breathe again and hug our independence." No! We should say "we want to complement the State system, not compete with it." We want to take State-assisted pupils and pupils assisted by the L.E.A. We want to add to the local resources, not diminish them. We want, for instance, to help with a scheme for joint Russian teaching with all York VIth formers. We want to continue with our pupils from the East Riding, even though there is no 11+ there, and we have been told that no more places will be filled by the East Riding. We welcome our pupils at 11+ from the City; at a time when there is likely to be a population explosion in the VIth form, we want to offer more places at this level—for it is our VIth form courses that provide our main raison d'être. In short, independence should mean interdependence. And I make this challenge, strongly convinced that two features of York Schools—the tradition of comparatively small schools and their geographical proximity—confirm the need for this sharing of resources. 5
I've spoken of one centenary—that of the Education Act. Next year there is of course another—the 19th of the founding of this City. We look forward, My Lord Mayor, to contributing to the many celebrations which will be initiated next year under your aegis. Perhaps this will provide a context for the types of co-operation between Independent Schools and maintained schools that I have been invoking.
The Headmaster then gave an account of the many activities of the School during the past year, and there are separate reports of these elsewhere in this edition. He thanked the members of the Stag 'for their versatility and vigour throughout the year', and he paid special tribute to those who were about to leave the School; details about them will be found under 'School notes'. He concluded with these words:
This is our first Speech Day for forty-six years that we have had no Mr. Rhodes to keep us pointed right. How he would have enjoyed meeting all the Old Peterites here this week-end and presiding over many of the festivities. As I am sure you will know, the Old Peterite Club has started a fund to provide a memorial to him at the School— principally to provide new Choir Stalls, suitably inscribed, in the School Chapel, in the life of which he took such an active part. These Stalls have been designed, and will be executed, as a joint project by members of the staff. I hope that with Old Peterite help we shall be able to complete them some time near Christmas.
With new Choir Stalls coming soon, and with a Cafeteria system being prepared for September, and a new Art Studio ready for use next term, it is obvious that we look forward to a time of acclimatisation to new and unfamiliar conditions. Architectural growth is going on round us. But we too must grow—that is, learn how to use these new amenities, and to conduct a dialogue between ourselves and our environment so that we may, in the end, achieve civilisation. All of us, masters and boys, are in this venture together and on the same side.
The Prizes were then presented, and there follows a summary of the speech by R. N. W. Blake, Esq., M.A., F.B.A., The Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford, after he had presented the Prizes.
The Provost recalled the occasion mentioned in the Latin oration when he had played cricket thirty-two years earlier against a famous Roman Catholic Yorkshire school; his team had been highly successful before lunch, but disastrously unsuccessful after lunch, during which the visitors, but not the home side, had been given much beer and port. The occasion had made the Provost understand the significance of the celebrated 'Popish plot', and had given him a sympathy for Titus Oates.
Appreciating the problem that faces any speaker at a Prize-giving, the Provost reminded us of the fatuous remarks that are sometimes made by such speakers, and he told us of one who had claimed that he himself had never won a prize, and who had invited his audience to 'look at him'; the Provost recalled that he had looked, and had made a vow that he would seek to win as many prizes as he possibly could.
This led the speaker to commend the prize system, because the winning of prizes requires hard work, and competition for them raises intellectual standards. He felt that in the plans for re-organization in
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education we must not lose sight of the need for the encouragement of excellence. Further, the Provost emphasised the importance of prizes as an acknowledgement of individual achievement; community effort was of course desirable, he said, but it should not detract from the importance of the individual, especially now that the individual is in danger of being submerged. He suggested that some of the present day 'student unrest' might stem from the submerging of the individual in massive universities, and he reminded us that although Oxford and Cambridge are large universities, their Colleges are small communities, `the Oxford ones being smaller than those at Cambridge', as he wished us to know.
The Provost left us with two 'messages'. First that we should not lump people into groups and categories; this was the way to intolerance: not just the obvious intolerance such as racialism, but that of the 'generation gap' which tended to make 'the young' and 'the old' intolerant of each other. Secondly he advised his audience not to be pressurised into 'non-conformity' to comply with contemporary fashion, but to have the courage of their own convictions. D.G.C.
OPEN AWARDS
M. J. Black ... Open Exhibition in Mathematics at Worcester College, Oxford. R. J. Brockbank ... Open Exhibition in Engineering at St. John's College, Cambridge. T. M. Day ... Paddy Musical Scholarship at St. John's College, Oxford.
The following won places at Oxford and Cambridge:— A. S. Bowie (who also won a William Akroyd Scholarship) R. M. Cooper J. Fender D. F. Harding J. R. Lund D. Pollard J. R. Williamson S. P. Withers Of the 75 members of last year's Upper VI and Middle VI, 36 gained University places (Arts 15, Maths & Science 21). 21 went into further education as follows :—
Colleges of Technology/Polytechnics II
Colleges of Agriculture
Colleges of Art ... 3
Colleges of Education 3
Colleges of Commerce 3 1 went to Sandhurst. 13 went into commerce, business or business training. 4 remain undecided.
NORMAN CROMBIE MEMORIAL PRIZE ... ... M. G. V. Stephen- son
STEPHENSON PRIZE FOR GREEK ... P. E. LORD PRIZE FOR DIVINITY ... ... J. C. W. Williams ... J. R. Lund
WHYTEHEAD MEMORIAL PRIZES FOR DIVINITY: Senior
... S. Foster Junior A. R. Hornby THE DRONFIELD PRIZE FOR MATHEMATICS . P. Holmes THE HEAD MASTER'S PRIZE FOR MATHEMATICS M. J. Black DEAN OF YORK'S PRIZES FOR LATIN: Senior JP. L. Hall • • ' J. J. Les
Junior ... C. J. Atkinson
THE B.M.A. PRIZE FOR SCIENCE ...
... J. W. Gillgrass TOYNE EUROPEAN HISTORY PRIZE ... G. Hodgson SIR LUMLEY DODSWORTH ESSAY PRIZE ... ... J. C. W. Williams THE OLD PETERITE CLUB READING PRIZES: VIth Form ... .. R. Ashburn Below VIth S. J. Parker
YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S PRIZE: THE JACK BRITTAIN MEMORIAL PRIZES FOR D. P. Rounthwaite
MIDDLE SCHOOL ESSAY: IVth Forms ... Thirds THE FRENCH READING PRIZE ATKINSON PRIZE FOR RUSSIAN MODERN LANGUAGES PRIZES: French German ... T. J. C. Mitchinson ... R. D. Long ... J. A. G. Craven ... M. W. Bainbridge
