Opus issue 1 by The Portsmouth Grammar School

Issue 1 â&#x20AC;˘ Autumn 2009

Keeping in touch with OPs wherever they may be

Inside Tying the Knot: A new partnership between the School & OP Club

Arctic Role: OP adventurer sets new polar record

Bumper Crop: 2009 Leavers profiled

The Magazine for former pupils, former parents and friends of The Portsmouth Grammar School

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Contents

Introduction

Good luck messages

4-5

OP is new Chairman of Governors - Brian Larkman OP

Letters Home - Lisa Traxler spent several months as artist-in-residence

Time Team unearth PGS past - Channel Four descend on Governors Green

The View from the Development Office - By Alasdair Akass

8-9

Coming of age? - By Simon Lemieux, Head of History and Politics

OP matches - Netball, cricket, tennis and rounders

OP makes Polar Expedition history - Alex Hibbert OP

12-13

Class of 2009 - The thoughts about PGS from three Year 13 leavers

14-16

With me every step of the way - Emma Merton OP

Lab-Fab! - The building of the new 21st century hub for science

18-19

iii

iv vi

vii x

viii

Ties’R’Us! The cover image shows a selection of PGS ties through the ages. i) OP Club Tie - date unknown ii) Prefects Tie

Aero-dynamic - The extraordinary life in the sky of Alan Bristow OP

iv) Masters Cricket Club Tie

99 Not Out! - Memories of former Art Master Wally Bartle

It could be you! - The Weather Lottery

Fly the flag with a PGS bag! - The first ever PGS pupil expedition to Africa

vi) H ockey boys’ Under 14 National Cup Final Tie - designed to celebrate PGS Under 14 Team victory in national finals

For OPs going ‘Down Under’ - The Sydney Lunch Table

vii) Smith House Tie

Scaling the heights - A memorial to the late Roger Harris OP

23 24-25

Keeping her hand in - Former parent Sally Gordon

Forthcoming events

ii) Grant House Tie v) Whitcombe House Tie

vii) OP Club Tie ix) Leavers 2009 Tie x) OP Club post war Tie xi) OP Club Tie pre war circa 1930

The PGS Development Team are always keen to hear from Old Portmuthians, former parents and friends of the School. Do please stay in touch and share your stories and reminiscences with us, or submit content for future editions of Opus, by contacting us at development@pgs.org.uk

Alasdair Akass

Liz Preece

Sue Merton

Development Director

Development Officer

Development Office Administrator

High Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2LN Tel: 023 9236 4248 Opus is designed by Simon Udal OP (1977-1987) Simon Udal Design - www.simonudaldesign.co.uk

From Max Lankester, President, OP Club

I am delighted to be able to introduce this first ever edition of Opus, the magazine for former pupils and parents, friends and supporters of The Portsmouth Grammar School.

I am delighted to join with James Priory in launching this inaugural edition of Opus.

The word ‘opus’ of course signifies a great work or achievement and there are many stories contained within these pages of the extraordinary achievements of Old Portmuthians.

The school archivist - John Sadden

In memoriam

From James Priory, Headmaster

Launching a new magazine is always tricky, especially when your readership is as diverse as ours. It may be one, ten or possibly fifty years since you left PGS, but I hope that you find much inside of interest and that you will be inspired to join with the thousands of former pupils who still have a strong bond with the School and the city, and still keep in touch with the Development Office and friends from their school days. There is a distinctly global feel to this issue as we focus on alumni with tales of overseas adventures from record-breaking treks through arctic Greenland to charity work in Cambodia. PGS has itself attained the status of an International Baccalaureate World School this year and is offering IB courses alongside A level study for the first time. As an Old Portmuthian, you belong to a world-wide community of many thousands of individuals around the globe, with active PGS networks in over 30 countries. The Development Office is always on hand to help you to trace lost friends and to put you in touch with alumni groups in your area, wherever in the world that may be. As with all new magazines, the Development Office relies on your feedback to make sure Opus covers the subjects and people you want to read about. If you have any comments about this edition, or suggestions for future stories, profiles and features, please get in touch with the team. We look forward to hearing from you.

James Priory Headmaster

Since 1995 OPs have read The Old Portmuthian as a way of hearing news of other OPs and of keeping in touch with the OP Club. Current developments at the School, however, including the achievements of pupils over an impressively wide range of activities, is something in which OPs also have a keen interest. It is clear that many groups of people in addition to OPs – not least former and present parents and members of staff – have the School’s wellbeing at heart, and I welcome the erosion of artificial barriers between such groups and the OP Club. The Club remains active, and will continue to be the focus of activity for former pupils. But publication of a single journal, which will continue to carry material about OPs, reflects the common interests of the wider School community, and I wish it every success.

Max Lankester President, OP Club

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Good luck messages “Best of luck with the new magazine which will be of great interest to the PGS diaspora - wherever they are and whatever they are doing. ” Ed Richards OP (1974 -1984)

Ed Richards is the Chief Executive of Ofcom, the independent regulator for the communications industry. He was previously Senior Policy Advisor to former Prime Minister Tony Blair for Media, Telecoms and the Internet and was Controller of Corporate Strategy at the BBC. Ed is also a Director of Donmar Warehouse and a Director of The Teaching Awards Trust.

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

“Good luck and congratulations to everybody involved in this first edition of Opus. I am still in contact with many of my PGS friends but it’s always interesting to find out what other OPs have gone on to do. My friendships were formed on the playing fields at Hilsea, the table tennis tables at lunchtime and the bar football table in the 6th Form common room to the soundtrack of the 80s!- I look forward to reading Opus and reflecting on my PGS days for many more years!” Roger Black OP (Head Boy 1983-1984)

For fourteen years Roger Black represented Great Britain at the highest level in the world of athletics, both as an individual 400 metre runner and as a member of the 4x400 metre relay team. He won fifteen major Championship medals including European, Commonwealth, and World Championship Gold medals, not to mention of course his Olympic 400 metre Silver medal in 1996.

Ed Richards, Guest of Honour at Prizegiving 2008 with some lucky prize recipients

Roger Black MBE presenting prizes at Prizegiving 2004

“1967. 11 years old. I didn’t feel like part of the 60s revolution. I was walking through the forbidding gates of The Portsmouth Grammar School to sit the entrance exam. Official-looking notices in wooden framed cabinets, announcing this week’s 1st XV. Prefects’ walk. Teachers (sorry, Masters) in academic gowns, boys in blazers and caps with gold braid. Why would I want to come to an intimidating school like this? These memories are etched so deep in my mind that even 40 years later it seems like yesterday. As a small boy from distant Cosham, this was indeed a world away from what I knew, but it was a day that changed my life. Miraculously I was successful in the exam and so, a few months later, I was one of those boys in a blazer and a cap with gold braid. The strangeness of my new surroundings and my sense of inadequacy was only emphasised by lessons in Latin, rugby on cold Wednesday afternoons and, horror of horrors, interminable lessons (double history) on Saturday mornings. All alien concepts in a new world. For the first few weeks it was a world of trepidation and fear rather than of excitement and opportunity. Like generations of pupils before me, and generations who have followed since, it was only later that I realised that this really was ‘good for me’! After a term or two, I began to enjoy the structured framework of school life, the constant challenge of moving up the ladder, and the group of friends with whom I was now sharing the journey, and with whom I have had so many great times since. With the benefit of hindsight that many more years bring, I now realise that I was benefiting from traditions built up over centuries; from a talented and committed group of staff who were dedicated to academic excellence; and from an atmosphere in which encouragement to make the most of one’s talents was ever present. I’m delighted to have been asked to help launch this inaugural issue of Opus. Like countless other former pupils, I owe PGS a huge debt for equipping me for the life that lay ahead. For me, that particularly included the sense of values and fair play that have underpinned my work in the charity and public sectors. Very best wishes to Opus for a successful future. ” Andrew Hind OP (1967-1973)

Andrew Hind, formerly chief operating officer of the BBC World Service, joined the Charity Commission as its first chief executive in 2004. He has also served as a trustee of several major charities, including VSO, the UK Committee for UNICEF, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and a number of smaller charities in his local community in North London. Andrew received the Outstanding Achievement Award for long-standing commitment and service to the voluntary sector at the Charity Awards 2008.

Andrew Hind

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

OP is new Chairman of Governors

Brian Larkman OP (1958 – 1967) took over in July as Chairman of PGS’ Governing Body following the retirement of David Bawtree after 19 years distinguished service. A father of four grown-up children, Mr Larkman has had a life-long interest in the education and development of young people. He has chaired the governing bodies of two Essex primary schools and is currently a Trustee of Catch-22, a national charity created recently by the merger of The Rainer Foundation with Crime Concern, which supports young people in difficulty across the country.

As a Governor of PGS since 2002, he helped to oversee the successful development campaign which created a new dining and theatre complex, the Woolas science laboratory, an all weather hockey pitch and enhanced bursary funds.

Mr Larkman read Mathematics at Exeter University where he met his wife Angela, a former pupil of the Portsmouth Northern Grammar School. He joined National Westminster Bank in 1970 and enjoyed a distinguished career in the City, moving to the bank’s International Treasury Department in 1982 and assuming responsibility for the Global Money Markets business for 10 years before his retirement in 2001. Since then, he has worked for the Financial Services Authority and HMRC and he continues to work for HM Treasury as a Non Executive Director of the UK Debt Management Office and a member of the Exchequer Funds Audit Committee.

He continued to chair the School’s Development Board until he took up the reins of Chairman of Governors this year. Mr Larkman said, “I am thrilled to be Chairman of Governors of a wonderful school that I have known and loved for many years. PGS has made fantastic progress since my schooldays and is now at an exciting stage in its development with the introduction of the International Baccalaureate later this year and plans for the development of a new Science Centre in 2010. I am determined to ensure that the school will continue to provide wonderful development opportunities for all its pupils and remain at the forefront of educational thinking in the future.”

Letters Home During the spring term of 2008 artist Lisa Traxler arrived at Portsmouth Grammar School to spend several months as artist-in-residence producing work that celebrated the history of the school. ‘My time at Portsmouth Grammar School was a wonderful experience as I was allowed complete access to the thorough archives in the school organised by then archivist Catherine Smith. The excitement of opening and sifting through boxes of photographs holding treasured memories with a dedicated archivist on hand with the appropriate stories was a dream experience. Incorporating collage with stitching, painting and photographic evidence from the unique collection of artifacts available to me was an ideal source for the art-works I later produced. I was particularly drawn to the images of pupils showing fleeting moments – a winning jump at sports day, under canvas whilst scouting, a moment captured in the school library, deep in thought. With these archival images I combined photographs I took whilst wondering around the school, quiet moments of contemplation. A bicycle left unattended, a journeys end. A stack of books, sentinel, sturdy, as the brick walls surrounding them. Names listed, each a hope and dream and the excitement of life ahead. A flight of stairs tempting the viewer to hear a footstep echo, running to lessons… These thoughts and images I tried to capture and unite with the archival memories retrieved for it is not just the building that makes a school but those who walk its corridors and classrooms that make it so.

Time Team unearth PGS past As Channel Four’s Time Team descended on Governors Green on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 May, the site’s history would have suggested that onlookers were expecting tales of royalty and pilgrims. Royalty and pilgrims there were indeed but the real excitement of the dig for The Portsmouth Grammar School came with one particular discovery. The School’s initial involvement in the project came with a group of Year 7 pupils having the opportunity to spend two days on site.

Pupils gained a huge amount from the experience, both in terms of the historical and archaeological knowledge, as well as the running of a television set.

The site itself is rich in history. In 1212 Peter de Rupibus founded the Domus Dei, as a combined hospital, poor house and travellers’ rest. The site continued in the role of hospice for around 300 years until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. Beyond this, Governors Green also welcomed a visit from Elizabeth I in 1561 which in turn led to a residence

Upon arrival the pupils were whisked straight into the ‘warm’, roofless, door less garrison church to be filmed for a question and answer session with Tony Robinson and a couple of re-enactment pilgrims. Questions flowed and the session was enjoyed by all. It was as the pupils left the site for the day that the Time Team made a fantastic discovery, which firmly entrenched PGS with the excavation.

Tantalisingly, pupils were only made aware of the details of the discovery the following day. Pupils worked on through the day, getting closer to the excavation itself, spending time at the main trench of the dig, the very trench where the special discovery had been made.

for the governor being built. To this end Government House and its associated buildings were constructed on the site of Lisa will be exhibiting the art-works from her residency at The Learning Curve Gallery, Quay Arts, Isle of Wight 16 Jan-20 Feb 2010. For more information about this exhibition contact Lisa on www.lisatraxler.com Several of Lisa’s key pieces of work have been reproduced as greetings cards and a postcard series exclusively for PGS. For the opportunity to purchase these unique images please refer to the order form at the back of this issue.

Governors Green alongside the Domus Dei. Government House was the focal point for many significant events including the marriage of Charles II in 1662. The dig confirmed much of this, with a series of walls and floors excavated and matched to existing records and knowledge by Tony Robinson and the team.

After washing animal bones and roof tile fragments ready for analysis off site and having a fascinating and hands-on lesson in Geophysics the time had finally come for their reward. In The Dolphin pub, a makeshift archaeology HQ, where they enjoyed a well deserved sit down and session on 3-D imaging, a group of 23 Year 7 pupils discovered what the archaeologists had

found the previous day: a PGS cap badge. Here it was, the moment of discovery, the passing over of a cold, golden prize. Still with the distinctive scheme of gold, red and black, the PGS lion sitting proudly as pupils speculated on its origins. ‘When could this be from?’ ‘How long had Governors Green been the site of PGS rounder’s matches?’ ‘Where on the dig had it been found?’ Pupils were full of excitement and questions, delighted by such a strong link to the dig and the realisation of the school’s important and distinctive place within the area’s history and character. Jon Cooper Teacher of History and Politics

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The View from the Deve lopment Office “Some have sought and won distinction, Gained the scholar’s bays of green; Some are sailing foreign waters In the service of the Queen; Soldier, sailor, or civilian, All a welcome back will find: In the hearts of younger comrades Are their worthy deeds enshrined.”

These words are taken from the School Song written by the PGS master and Old Portmuthian P.J Barrow and published in the Portmuthian in June 1896. More than a century later it is the Development Office, now in its new home in the heart of the main school with views out onto the High Street, Spinnaker Tower and Old Portsmouth, that is charged with following the fortunes of pupils after they pass under the School’s historic arch for the last time, wherever they may be in the world. Working in Development within the School is a role almost like no other. Sometimes the requirement is to be amateur sleuth, tracking down ‘lost’ boys and girls, while at others it is akin to being a BBC World Service broadcaster, providing expatriate Old Portmuthians with news of the mother country.

It is impossible to predict what will turn up in the postbag: in recent months we have dealt with a whole host of unusual requests.

PGS Leavers of ’35 – ’45 reminisce with current Sixth Form pupils

Take, for example, the plea for us to send blazer buttons from an OP who lost all his possessions in a house fire in Thailand and desperately wanted a memento of his school days to replace those he had painstakingly collected. Or perhaps the request of a former pupil now living in New Zealand who wanted us to trawl the School archive to prove from medical records that he suffered from diabetes. He required this information to evidence his bid for the record of being the longest insulin-dependent diabetic in the Antipodes! Indeed, we often hear about record attempts – this year from OPs Dave Holby who is on track to complete his Guinness World Record 40,000km row on a land rowing machine in December 2010 and Alex Hibbert who this year led the Tiso Trans Greenland Expedition which, at 1374 miles, is the longest fully unsupported polar expedition in history (For more information about Alex’s adventure, please see the article in this issue of Opus). Nothing seemed beyond the reach of our former pupils this year, with OP inclusion in the New Year’s Honours List, a winning OP in the Outstanding Achievement Award in the UK Charity Awards and even an OP appearance on Blue Peter! Though they may be far-flung around the world, many OPs make special pilgrimages back to the School. Possibly the most humbling and rewarding aspect of the job is helping to host reunions and events which aim to reconnect these former pupils to their school. This year, a year in which the School has been granted IB World School status, we have welcomed back OPs from as far afield as Australia, Canada and South America and attracted some vocal support on the touchlines from resident OPs over the Summer for the Senior School rugby tour of South Africa. A recent gathering of PGS pupils who left in the years 1935–45 was particularly poignant as it was the first time that some of them had ever seen the School site in Old Portsmouth, having been evacuated to Northwood Park, Winchester when the Second World War broke out and thereafter

to Bournemouth. Our oldest OP, who lives in British Columbia, reaches his centenary in 2010 and is regularly visited by fellow OPs who read him excerpts from the latest Portmuthian. The Development Office does not limit itself to forging links with former pupils. Our remit extends across the whole School community – past and present. As a preChristmas treat last year, we transformed PGS into a Winter Wonderland and for two days installed a temporary ice-rink in the Quad and encouraged current pupils, parents, staff and OPs to get their skates on.

Donning a seven foot penguin outfit was most definitely not something that was ever mentioned at my interview! PGS is fortunate enough to have a committed and dedicated Development team, but this would amount to nought without the alums, parents and pupils who have great affection and affinity for the

School. The Development Office plays a key role in the life of PGS and is pivotal to the overall development plan for the School. We are looking forward to celebrating several key anniversaries in 2010 – the 80th anniversary of PGS Scouts, 125 years of sport at Hilsea, the tenth birthday of the Junior School and one hundred years of School prefects – all of which will give us new opportunities to welcome back many generations of former pupils and their families to rekindle memories of their schooldays. These milestones in the School’s history are mirrored by the personal milestones of the former pupils that we are privileged to hear about throughout the year. The School Song’s composer P.J Barrow would no doubt be extremely humbled and heartened to learn of the breadth of their achievements and just how much relations with their alma mater are flourishing.

Alasdair Akass Director of Development

A temporary ice rink laid on by the Development Office transformed the School Quad for pupils and their families last Christmas

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Coming of age? You know you’ve been at a school a long time when ……. you turn out to have taught a parent of a pupil (which normally surfaces at Parents’ Evening) or younger colleagues cautiously ask ‘So how long exactly have you been at PGS?’ Well so far only the latter has happened, but as I clock up 21 years at PGS perhaps some reflection is called for. As a historian though I am only too aware of my own subjectivity as a historical source as an eye witness. How many times have I told classes that an eye witness is not necessarily the most reliable source to use!

If I had to identify any one constant theme about my time at the school it is the fact that rather like Dr Who, I feel as if I have been re-generated several times, multiple incarnations of the non religious kind as it were. My formative years were spent running some debating and taking a full (and hopefully useful) part in the Naval Section of the CCF under the tutelage of the indomitable and greatly missed Roger Harris. Newtown Camps and Adventure Training in the Cairngorms still hold many happy memories for me.

I also tried my hand at teaching some RE and still contend that the trip by my GCSE class to Portchester Crematorium was one of the most insightful I have ever run as a teacher. They also let me loose to teach some History, and even Politics for a couple of years as Thatcher gave way to Major. Jack Reger the then Head of History instilled in me the need to teach in a style that I was happy with. He quoted Kipling and nine and ninety tribal ways and every single one of them was right. That approach to teaching has never left me. Well that then can perhaps be ‘The Apprentice’ phase of my PGS life. The next stage involved taking on the History Department and seeing ‘what could be done’. My main colleague in the Department quit in the December after I started in September, although it was just a coincidence she assured me. Well from then on, new appointments ensued, the ever-energetic Tim Hands fed me some

project ideas to keep myself and the department out of mischief, so research projects into aspects of the school’s history and pupils took place. Oral history now suddenly came to the fore, and so did the trips. D-Day 60th, Gallipoli, plus annual history trips to some fairly exotic locations such as Russia and China. This year it was the USA, and next Easter Cuba. So where am I now? Since September I have also been lucky enough to take charge of the Politics Department as well, just in time for the US elections and a mock presidential election in PGS where the result turned out to be a pretty convincing copy of the real result. I’m trying now to pass myself off as some kind of expert on US politics, having in previous guises mugged up on Early Modern history, 19th century British political history, 20th century Russian history, and so on. That last bit is genuinely not meant to sound blasé and cynical. It is a real privilege to read around, mug up on new topics and make sure I don’t teach the same material year in year out. Apologies to any readers out there who from personal experience might beg to differ. I can honestly say that life at PGS has never ever been dull. Hectic at times yes, stimulating certainly, but boring not a chance. Much has changed since I joined; colleagues, gender balance, facilities, size in terms of both buildings and pupil body and the fact that now I very rarely write memos or notes to colleagues (emails uber alles!), but kids are still young people with great potential, irritating habits and often sharp minds. I still learn much from

them and that’s not just a platitude. It’s still good fun most of the time, that’s why I’m still here trying to juggle and keep all the balls in the air. Well that and the fact that I am just about to join the parent body myself, as my eldest child starts at PGS in Year 7. Yes, very much a coming of age in all senses. Simon Lemieux Head of History and Politics

OP matches Netball Matches – 28 March 2009

Cricket, Tennis and Rounders Matches – 26 June 2009

Over the years many OP netball matches have been played at Hilsea, but this year’s match was different. This was the last time Mrs. Di Spencer would be attending as a member of PGS staff before retiring in July 2009. Rachel Blewett, one of the OP netball players said: “When thinking of netball at PGS, Mrs. Spencer springs immediately to mind. There was nothing quite like tackling the opposition with Mrs Spencer present providing inspiration, determination and dedication.”

The annual OP vs School Cricket, Tennis and Rounders matches took place this year on 26 June. A large number of OPs, pupils and staff assembled at Hilsea to participate in their chosen sport or simply to spectate. Simon Udal, OP, provides a summary of the event from a tennis player’s perspective.

OPs from across the years attended and remarkably, almost the entire 1998 team was present. Many OPs arrived in their old school red netball skirts – the current PGS netball kit was considered to be far more fashionable! Emily Copsey, another OP player said: “The competitive nature of a PGS pupil lives on forever, so although the event was billed as a get together as much as a chance to play some netball, each player wanted their team to win and all put in a reasonable individual performance. Mrs. Spencer was able to tell individuals apart immediately from their playing style and it was clear that most had continued to play netball after leaving PGS.” The event was a happy gathering with PGS staff and family members of all ages providing support from the sidelines. OPs valued the opportunity to play netball with former friends and team mates and to reminisce over past challenges and achievements. “Getting together with old team mates was brilliant and I hope that the Reunion will take place again,” said Emily.

“Having had sunshine and a week of temperatures of around 32˚C, it was somewhat disappointing to awake on the morning of the OP Tennis, Rounders and Cricket Matches to find it was overcast and drizzling. Perhaps the school should consider installing a retractable roof over the tennis hard courts, as Wimbledon has done, to ensure that these momentous encounters can take place! Fortunately, no roof was required, as the drizzle and cloud soon disappeared to be replaced once again by glorious sunshine. At 2pm, the tennis playing OPs assembled to talk tactics, compare wooden rackets, laugh at each other’s tennis gear and to reminisce! It was decided that the three OP pairs would be Simon Udal & Nick Gauntlett, Tim Clark & Richard Cunningham and Stefan Filip & A Ringer (a PGS year 10 student to make up the numbers!). There were three opposing School pairs. Each pair played against the other and the total number of games won were totted up at the end of the match to determine the winners. The first rubber was a close affair with the OPs ending up slightly ahead. By now the first innings of the cricket match had just finished, so this was an opportune moment to break for tea with the cricketers. Everyone talked tactics, reminisced and consumed several rounds of sandwiches and cream cakes. In hindsight, this may have been the downfall of the OPs as the School players started the next rubber with a greater spring in their step and managed to draw level at the end of that round. Unfortunately, the heat, lack of fitness and the thought of more food at the end of the match caused the OPs to fade in the final rubber, with the School team eventually winning by a total of 36 games to 29. The School’s first pair of Andy Furness (Year 13 and captain) and John Melville (Year 10) won all of their rubbers and helped secure the win for the School. Afterwards, more food, cakes and ice cream were consumed.... and of course, there was much more reminiscing!”

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Ice-cold is Alex!

y r o t s i H n o i t i d e p x E r a l o akes P

OP m

thirst for r! Alex Hibbert’s A CV like no othe sion of es cc su a sulted in adventure has re uld match: thrills that few co people of the youngest 2002: Became on vizes to the 125 mile De ever to complete at just k ultra-marathon Westminster kaya ine ar M l ya ssed the Ro When the internationally renowned ‘Born Survivor’ Bear 15. Aged 16, pa r officer fo e ur ed oc s selection pr do an m m Co at least Grylls describes your latest exploit as ‘a hugely ambitious the course were entry – others on and admirable challenge’, you know that your credentials 20 years old. ternational as a global adventurer are firmly established. finalist in the in 2003/4: Twice a of the er life Photograph BBC Young Wild Lord d te ve co Won the Alex Hibbert OP (1990 – 1996) is not just Not content with the Year Competition. hip Award. lars challenges of polar a global adventurer, but a world recordKitchener’s Scho iathlon. bridge Varsity Tr expeditions, Alex is also breaking one. Over nearly four months last 2005: Oxford-Cam ent and photographic ag something of an extreme year he had to contend with everything Signed with first Grey g s photographin sportsman. He completed the spent two month from tent fires to crevasse fields in his Wolves in USA. 125 mile Devizes to Westminster successful bid to ski further than any iversity wing ‘blade’ at Un kayak ultra-marathon in 2002, 2006: Won his ro on nd previous polar expedition without support Lo a or eted the Fl of Oxford, compl summit aged just 15 and is a seasoned d he ac Re of any kind. His Tiso Trans Greenland s. in 3hrs 19min n ho at ar M whitewater rafter and London Expedition traversed the Greenland of Mont Blanc. Marathon competitor. yal icecap through a new and uncharted Fellow of the Ro 2007: Elected a British of route from the Nagtivit glacier on the East ciety, the home Nothing however prepared Alex Geographical So age st ge 21, the youn coast to Baffin Bay on the West coast and and team mate George Bullard bing exploration aged im cl d an nl eted Gree for the dangers they were to face back during the harsh and unforgiving possible. Compl e 2008 Royal n. Selected for th tio di pe ex on the polar ice sheets. Living Arctic Spring without resupplies and ficer Batch. Marines Young Of on emergency rations in the final was completely man powered. One 195kg million ski steps, 10 days of the Expedition with 2008: After 7.5 inus m of the grandees of British exploration, e tures in th ges and tempera ed Bullard sl ge or a very low calorie intake, both Ge e the adventurer and author Pen Hadow, d team-mat an ex Al s, ie irt th new men quickly became dizzy and histor y and set a remarked at the time that ‘it is as well the fully make expedition er hypoglycemic and momentarily for the longest ev likes of Alex Hibbert stride amongst us Trans distance record so Ti e lar journey, th considered abandoning the record unsupported po tly with eyes fixed on the furthest horizons, en es pr tion. He is attempt and calling in an early Greenland Expedi tions in because without them we are a spent for major expedi s an pl developing pick-up. However they persevered, d Antarctic. force’. both the Arctic an enduring incredibly long periods Alex was a pupil at Portsmouth Grammar School until 1996 when he moved to school in Dorset before going on to read Biology at Oxford University.

Of his time at PGS, Alex remarks that ‘the variety and depth of education at PGS, albeit from a young age, gave me a thirst to experience things which were away from the norm.’

without a break from the whiteout and the notorious and terrifying local wind called the Pittaraq, which had destroyed their first two supply cairns. Along the way they broke a ski which was repaired and carried on for the remaining 400 miles and evaded polar bears in order to complete this incredible feat of human endeavour.

has twice seen him reach the finals of the BBC Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. He plans to use many of the photographs taken at various stages on his epic journey to illustrate the forthcoming account of his recordbreaking polar quest. The Long Haul is due to be published at Christmas.

Alex says that his most exciting moment was undoubtedly the sight and sound of the approaching helicopter sent to extract the pair from the edge of the icecap at the end of the Expedition. Most moving for him was the spectacular sight of the mountains of Greenland’s West Coast following a period of almost total sensory deprivation throughout the 70 days of the outward leg of the journey. His 18 weeks in arctic Greenland have been comprehensively documented as Alex is also an accomplished photographer with a portfolio of work that includes many shots of the landmarks and landscapes of his native Portsmouth and a flair for photographing the natural world which

Although he joined the Royal Marines this year, Alex has every intention to remain heavily involved in polar expeditions. He still has major ambitions to undertake journeys at both North and South Poles, but is adamant that the manner in which he involves himself must be right before he will consider them. ‘ I want to maintain my back to basics ethos, avoiding the commercialisation of polar tourism and expeditions, and keep travelling fully unsupported on expeditions that aren’t repeats of previous ones.’

One thing is for sure – more records will be broken in some of the world’s most inhospitable places as long as Alex satisfies his insatiable appetite for adventure.

The toll of the toil – so me facts from Alex’s record-breaking Tiso Trans Greenland Expedition: Miles hauled without support: 1374 statute miles (22 11km) Duration: 113 days Ski paces taken: 7,500 ,000

Total calories consum ed: 614,000 Body weight lost: 15kg (33lb) Starting sledge weigh t: 195kg (430lb) Amount of flapjack rat ions: 44kg (88lb) Tent fires: 2 Breakages: Tent anch or loop, stove, one ski, pair of glasses, ba ttery charger

(Editor’s note: Alex Hibbert is not the only OP making a bid to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. His former classmate Dave Holby, at PGS from 1990 – 1999, is in the midst of his own singlehanded global rowing circumnavigation. The unique difference about Dave’s epic 40,075kms voyage is that is he won’t be getting his feet wet; he is attempting to become the first person to row around the world on a land rowing machine! His imaginary course takes him via West and Eastern Europe, Russia, Western Canada and the US, Central America, the northern region of South America, the Atlantic Ocean and North West Africa before back up through South West Europe, around the UK and home to Basingstoke by 23 December 2010!)

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Class of 2009

Opus asked a selection of Year 13 leavers, the newest batch of Old Portmuthians, for their thoughts about PGS as they head off to university and how it has helped to support them in achieving their aspirations. Nick Coffin, Jemima Hodkinson and Tim Wiggins are all shown wearing the U6 Leaver’s tie which they were presented with on their final day in school. The tie incorporates the school colours prior to 1903, based on the contrasting shades of blue of the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge. A small black stripe has been added as an elegiac note for the passing of school days….

Nicholas Coffin: Years at PGS 1995-2009

Jemima Hodkinson: Years at PGS 1999-2009

This summer after 14 years at the school I walked out through the main arch onto the High Street for the very last time as a pupil of PGS.

I have a confession to make – on my bookshelf is a copy of T S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, borrowed from the Lower School library and now 7 years, 4 months and 21 days overdue.

It was an event that signified an end to some of the most stressful months of my life, as I fought for a place at University, and revised feverishly before taking my A level examinations. For several weeks I looked forward with increasing excitement to the day when I would hear the words, “stop writing please” at the end of my final exam, and to be able to walk that walk out into the big wide world with my friends, to enjoy a long summer break before embarking on the years of partying that some people call, ‘University’. It therefore surprised me to realise that when the time came this excitement had been replaced by a great sadness, as I realised an important part of my life had come to an end.

My guilt at depriving the younger inhabitants of the school of Macavity and Skimbleshanks is considerable, but I am rather fond of this relic of my first few years at PGS. As I staggered out of the archway on the last day of term, I carried with me many similar souvenirs of the school: a grubby labcoat (seven years old, presumed lost); a plethora of striped ties; a knowledge of the rules of croquet. None of these, nor the glossy mementoes of leavers’ day, can really sum up the ten busy years I’ve spent at PGS. And for everything I’ve left with, I’m still missing something – a clear idea of where I am going.

These past few weeks have been full of ‘lasts’. I had my last lesson, last lunch time, my last piece of homework, the last day, and the last time my whole year group would all be together in one place.

As I look back on my time at PGS however, I realise that my time here has actually been full of ‘firsts’. Here was the first time I wrote a sentence, first time I learnt to multiply, first time I was given a detention (thank you Mr Roland), first time I caught a rugby ball, picked up a hockey stick, picked up a cricket bat, and subsequently the first time I realised I was rubbish at most ball sports. Here at PGS was also the first time I picked up a trumpet, acted in plays, performed in concerts, won awards, and found a passion in medicine and science. Most importantly however, PGS is the place that I was first introduced to the people

who are now my closest friends, it’s the first place I’ve been truly happy, and a place that has taught me an enormous amount about life. I have come to appreciate that PGS is full of opportunities and gives all of its pupils the chance to do some amazing things that they wouldn’t ordinarily have been able to try. My personal example of this was when at 17, I was the Stage Manager for a production in the Kings Theatre, Southsea, responsible for running a show that over 3000 paying members of the public came to see. What other school gives its pupils chances such as this? The school has also always made it very clear to its pupils that it doesn’t prioritise exam results over their happiness; nor is it focused on achieving impressive statistics in public exams. Instead, it focuses on where each pupil wants to be at 25 and beyond, and all of the staff are dedicated to getting the pupils to fulfil those ambitions. It is thanks in part to the huge amount of support available from the staff at PGS that I have an offer to start medical school in September, and have been given the opportunity to turn my passion for medicine into an exciting career. At the age of 25 I hope to be working as a Doctor within the NHS, and in my spare time working also for medical aid charities, flying out and providing healthcare all around the world to different people, some of whom have never before seen a Doctor. This is a dream of mine that hopefully, on results day in August, will become a reality.

I realise that without the motivation, expertise and support of all my teachers, and all the staff at PGS, this may never have been possible.

PGS has been a very special part of my life, and has given me so much that I feel I owe it a great deal. I will always have fond memories, not only of the bricks and mortar, or of the timetables, or lessons, or things that most people associate with a school; but predominantly of the people, staff and pupils alike, who come in each day and bring the school to life. I am incredibly proud to have been a pupil there, and am proud to still be able to call it ‘my school’. I hope that each of you reading this feel exactly the same way, as it is a school that not only educates its pupils but brings them up to have ambitions, to go out into the world to make a difference, and to fulfil their dreams. Most of all however, it brings them up to be happy.

PGS has taken me far beyond the confines of the quadrangle – from Prague to Paris, from the Kings Theatre to the Pleasance in Edinburgh, in many a yacht and onto the flight deck of aircraft carriers. This range of experiences meant that come the sixth form, and the need to think about a career, I was stumped. Mr Elphick-Smith used to refer to me as ‘Hodcarrier’ because he could (for some reason) imagine me working on a building site, but I thought this a rather poor basis for a career in bricklaying. So where to go after passing out through the archway for the last time? The regular lunchtime decision, of left – towards Twigs – or right – towards the café Parisien – was hard enough; while school hasn’t provided an answer to this question, it has shown me that I needn’t commit to one specific career plan. I have probably been a bit slower than the rest of my year in leaving the old place – co-directing the sixth form production of Hamlet meant continuing to come in

most days after exams for rehearsals, and I will be going on my last Navy CCF camp in a few days’ time. Indeed, years of New Forest walking camps and two Charlton Chases haven’t helped with that sense of direction, but the variety of PGS life has. I might have applied to do Natural Sciences at university, but this won’t be at the expense of my interest in literature – sixth form involved spending many a free period at the top of number ten, where Mr Thorn waited every week to dissect our latest essays and encourage us on our way through Anna Karenina or Tristram Shandy. Through these conversations – which regularly turned into debates – I learnt the importance of reading and learning for enjoyment, rather than as potential CV-fodder. I will certainly miss spending time in number ten, along with many other peculiarities of the PGS routine – sleeping in the library, biscuits from Rippers, “Chaucer Fridays”, cake days – and while memories of Monday morning double maths and prefect duties in John Pounds may not be particularly dear to me, the good humour of teachers and friends sustained me through these longer hours.

The sense of humour at PGS was certainly unusual at times – arcane in-jokes remained funny for years, and year four nicknames lasted until the upper sixth – but it was always witty and affectionate. My decade at PGS has been one of strong friendships and much laughter. I leave with just one regret – the measly score of one hoop I managed in the Croquet Club’s inaugural match against Winchester

College. Whether or not I end up gracing the croquet lawns of Cambridge, with the confidence that PGS has given me I am sure that I’ll be where I want to be – wherever that is – by the time I’m twenty-five. More importantly, I’ll enjoy the journey there.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Class of 2009

cont.

Tim Wiggins: Years at PGS 2004-2009 On June the 18th at four o’clock, what I can only describe as a symbolic moment occurred. Placing my pen on the exam desk for the final time, I raised my hands in triumph. It was done, finished: not only the English exam and the exams as a whole; but so much more. That moment, walking out into the sunshine in the main quad, gave me a sense of freedom that is hard to express in the written word; a freedom from examinations and revision; from classrooms and books; uniform, duties and regime. It was a feeling of liberty that I cannot deny was embraced and welcomed with relief after my months of sleepless nights and anxieties as my final exams commenced. At this time I had longed for nothing more than to be sat on a boat

in the sunshine, rather than at a desk surrounded by mountains of revision. Ironically however, it was on a boat the week after my exams had finished, that the true extent of my new found freedom dawned upon me. It was fair to say that I would not miss the exams, revision or the books, which The Portsmouth Grammar School had become associated with in my mind over the last couple of months. But, after this stressful facade had been washed away, the true picture emerged from the depths; a picture that showed freedom and detachment from things that I had in fact grown to love and enjoy. For five years PGS had come to dominate my life and its development; from the age of thirteen when the hour long journey across the Solent seemed like an insurmountable undertaking, to the challenges of being made Senior Prefect and the responsibility, expectations and enjoyment that it entailed; PGS had watched me and fuelled me in an undeniable evolution. That final day had signalled a detachment from the PGS fire; and what seemed like a loss of the support and security that it had incorporated. However, I came to realise that I was not an ember, cast out of the grate or onto Portsmouth High Street.

My time at PGS had developed me into someone who could cope with and enjoy the challenges that the wider world could now throw at me. Looking back on the alterations of my academic life now, I realise how much has changed since joining the school; from bottom sets in year nine, to nine A*s at GCSE; no one could deny that the change was dramatically positive. However, PGS had done more for me than just boosting my grades; what was more significant to me as a person was the enhancement of character and self esteem that had

occurred over the five years. On joining the school I admit that I was a quiet, shy and largely unnoticed pupil; moving from a small church school to one such as “The Grammar” was a significant social shock. Nevertheless, it was the belief of the teachers, the growing expectations of achievement and the development of many treasured friendships that enabled me to gain positions of leadership, respect and the self-belief that I could now face oncoming challenges. It was this now growing self-belief and desire to achieve greatness that PGS had instilled in me, which prompted my aspiration to continue in positions of leadership on leaving school. In August I embark on an exciting Gap Year; working with IBM in their European management sector in London for nine months, before heading across the world to Vietnam and Cambodia with two other PGS leavers, to undertake two months of travelling, exploring and charity work. On returning from Indochina, I start my degree in Economics and Economic History at Warwick University; which I hope to build upon by completing a Masters at an American University. My ultimate ambition however, is to work in global management and consulting; allowing companies to reach their full potential and enjoying the evolution and success, just as PGS helped me to do. The 18th of June therefore was indeed a release; a breakaway from some things that I will miss and others that I will not. However, it is not this breakaway that I will think about when I look back on PGS; it is the starting blocks that the school has built for me; as I head out on the race of life.

Following successful ‘A’ level results we are delighted to add that Tim will be heading off to Warwick University, Nick to Birmingham and Jemima to Cambridge to continue their studies with every good wish from all at PGS.

With me every step of the way I’ve been thinking about inspirational teachers recently. At my PGCE interview I was asked what makes an inspirational teacher and it was names, rather than qualities, that were the first thing I thought of. ‘Pippa Foster, Martin Cawte, Julian Elphick-Smith, Paul Dean, Eimer Page and John Thorn’. A combination of the qualities possessed by so many of my teachers, particularly in the English Department, added up to my idea of inspirational. I was getting towards the end of my second year studying English Literature and Theatre at the University of Glasgow when I decided that I wanted to apply to do a PGCE. I looked at the application process and possible courses but the first thing I needed to do was to get some work experience. Where better to start than your old school? Tim Hands was kind enough to offer me four weeks work experience in the English and Drama departments of the Senior School and by the time I had arrived in June 2008, James Priory had taken up the mantle. Those four weeks were invaluable, and with Bryony Hart and Mark Smith guiding me through the English and Drama departments respectively, I saw a whole new school. During that time I became more committed than ever to becoming a teacher.

or certain if I’d had any less time. With Bryony as my referee, I was ready for the application process.

I also had to undertake five days work experience in a state school which I did in Glasgow. But five days was nothing in comparison to the 20 I had spent at PGS, I’m sure I would not have felt so prepared

A few months later and I’d had a brilliant time at a lovely school. With charming children and friendly staff, it was the perfect place to start my teacher training.

Applications and interviews over and I had a place. One of the requirements was that I must spend five days in a local state school observing years 5 and 6. Well, PGS was out and I didn’t really know where to begin. There are hundreds of primary schools in the area, and I had no contacts. But then I realised, whilst I couldn’t do the placement at PGS, that didn’t mean they couldn’t help. I contacted the Development Office who put me in touch with OP Peter Sykes (1960-1970), the Headmaster of Saxon Shore Infant School and Westfield Junior School. He was happy to help and invited me up to the junior school to have a look around.

A week at Westfield made me reflect upon my own happy memories of the Preprep and Lower School. It only feels like yesterday that I first put on that tiny red kilt for my first day of school, or sang “Livin’ on a Prayer” at the top of my voice along with the whole of the upper sixth on my last day. I left school four years ago now, and whether it is a quick hello and catch up with a teacher in Waitrose, drinks with OP friends in a pub near school or helping me with my career in teaching, I know PGS isn’t far away.

Emma Merton OP (1992 – 2005)

Peter Sykes was delighted to host Emma’s work experience prior to her starting her PGCE and was very pleased that she got so much out of it. If any other students are thinking of a teaching career they are welcome to make contact with the school so that a placement could be arranged. Contact head@westfield.portsmouth.sch.uk for further details.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Lab-Fab!

IN OUR ELEME

You’re already a part o f PGS. We’d like to invite you to be part o f it forever. Over the years, PG

The building of the new 21st century hub for science at PGS gets underway. Two hundred years after the birth of Brunel, Portsmouth can proudly boast its achievement as a world-class centre for science and engineering with thriving aeronautical and shipbuilding traditions and a rapidly developing reputation as the nerve centre of the UK Space Industry. PGS itself is regarded as one of the foremost schools for science in the South and a leading light for science, technology and engineering education. Examination Board Prizes have been routinely awarded to PGS pupils over the past few years for outstanding individual performances and each of the science subject departments has earned the accolade of ‘top school’ in the UK Science Olympiads as well as being the top performing school for the past three years in Electronics ‘A’ level. The list below of Old Portmuthians who have excelled in a whole range of scientific fields demonstrates the School’s commitment to science teaching But progress lies at the heart of all scientific endeavour and achievement and, though the existing Science Block has served PGS well for over half a century, the new building with its open atrium, exhibition space, science auditorium and additional laboratories will accommodate all the anticipated needs of science at PGS in one space at a time when more pupils than ever before are opting to study science subjects at ‘A’ level and for the International Baccalaureate.

As former pupil Mark Birkinshaw, who holds the William P Coldrick Professorship in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Bristol University explains, “Since the construction of the Science Block at School there have been vast changes in the methods of scientific research and the tools used for scientific investigation. An improvement in the science teaching facilities at school level is just as important as the improvements that are currently being made at university level and in industrial laboratories. No science building has a lifetime of fifty years without major modification, and the science block at the School is no exception.” Mark, along with a number of other eminent scientists, including the astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Moore, have provided written testimonials in support of the project.

S has been very fortu nate to have the supp involvement of some ort and very special people. Pe ople who share the va of the School and who lues have helped to shape the happy and successf place it is today. ul

The works commenced with demolition of the current science block on 27th July this year and the state of the art science block will be completed in Summer 2010. All former pupils are friends of PGS are warmly encouraged to have themselves permanently associated with the fantastic new building as well as having the opportunity to join us for the launch event by sponsoring an ‘element’ from the Periodic Table of Elements installation to be housed within it. Please refer to the ‘In our Element’ feature for further details.

Constructed in 1957 by the architect Lillian Stephenson, the old science block was, when first built, something of a sensation.

The Appliance of Science A selection of former pupils who have gone to achieve renown in their chosen scientific fields: Professor Mark Birkinshaw OP (1966 – 1972) is William P. Coldrick Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at Bristol University. Ian Osterloh OP (1965 – 1971) is a clinical researcher for Pfizer, Inc. who led the development of sildenafil citrate (Viagra), as well as a number of drugs relating to cardiovascular disease. Dr Ben Boyes OP (1992 – 1999) is a Senior Project Engineer for EADS Astrium on the latest Mars rover project. The rover called Bradley – the most sophisticated ever built – will explore Mars in 2015 as part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission. Ben was even seen on BBC TV’s Blue Peter earlier this year demonstrating Bradley’s capabilities!

Iron Krypton

For more information or to reserve your chos en element, please ge touch with us at deve t in lopment@pgs.org.uk or by telephoning 023 9236 4248.

‘A Chip off the Old Block’ Your unique opportunity to own a piece of PGS history!

It was the first public building in the country to use plastic drainpiping! Mrs Stevenson approves of the new design which has excellent environmental features in the form of photo-voltaic cells and rainwater capture devices as well as a rooftop greenhouse which pupils studying architecture are helping to design.

The building of the ne w Science Centre offer s an exciting opportu for you to make your nity personal mark on PGS fo r years to come and to literally, become part , of the fabric! We are busy putting to gether a visual depictio n of the Periodic Table Elements, with each ele of ment being drawn, pa inted, sketched or sewn on 12” x 12” square pa nels by pupils, teache rs and parents which be installed in the new will building (see complet ed examples left) From just £100, you can be permanently associate d with the biggest bu venture in the School’ ilding s 275 year history and a flagship project for science education. Sim ply choose the eleme nt you wish to sponso will even have a perso r. You nal invitation to come and join us at the exclu Science Centre launch sive event and get to see yo ur personally-designed element in its new loc ation.

The School’s new state of the art Science Centre is the biggest capital project in its history. In order to help offset some of these costs and bolster the fundraising effort, Opus is offering readers the chance of acquiring items salvaged from the old Science Block, dating from the 1950s, which make wonderful presents, conversation pieces and unique mementoes of PGS schooldays! Quantities available are limited, so don’t delay and please remember that all the proceeds from the sale of these items will help equip the new laboratories to the very highest specification:

Headmaster James Priory and OP Club President Max Lankester monitor progress on the building of the new Science Centre

Professor Andrew G Lyne FRS OP (1950 – 1960) is Langworthy Professor of Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, as well as an ex-director of the Jodrell Bank Observatory. Professor John Andre Lee OP (1953 -1961) is a consultant histopathologist at Rotherham General Hospital and clinical professor of pathology at Hull York Medical School. He is most notable to the wider public as co-presenter (with Gunther von Hagens) of Anatomy for Beginners, Autopsy: Life and Death and Autopsy: Emergency Room for Channel 4 television. Professor David A Warrell DM DSc FRCP OP (1948 -1958) is the world’s leading clinical toxinologist, principally famous for his work on prospective studies of snakebite in tropical developing countries. He also holds an appointment as Professor Emeritus of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Oxford University.

i) Linear Potentiometers: hardwood Constantan wire stretched along a calibrated metre scale and clamped to stout, plated brass end plates. Makers mark on reverse. Made by Philip Harris Limited of Birmingham (45” x 3” approx) £25 each + postage ii) Resistance Boxes: beautifully crafted dovetailed hardwood with brass fittings. Made by W.G Pye and Co of Cambridge (Large size 8½” x 4”, small 6” x 3” approx) Small £15, Large £30 + postage iii) Tangent Galvanometers: large 4” diameter horizontally orientated compass indicator located in the centre of a 7” vertically orientated coil of wire all mounted on a metal stand with brass leveling screws and fixings. Made by Philip Harris Limited of Birmingham. Individually numbered. £25 each + postage iv) In addition, we are thrilled to be able to make available the original laboratory signage from the 1957 Science Block. Choose from individual named laboratory door plaques on varnished wood or wall-mounted double-sided plastic laboratory name signs. Given that each of these signs is a unique keepsake of PGS, we are inviting ‘sealed bid’ emails from interested parties. Those pledging the highest donation for each sign will be contacted when bids close at 9am on Friday 27 November. For all enquiries, please get in touch with us at development@pgs.org.uk or by telephoning 023 9236 4248.

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OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The school archivist

Aero-dynamic

Mention the word archives and, immediately, an image of dusty scrolls, pince nez and an air of other-worldliness is conjured up. But while there may be some truth in that stereotype, the immediacy, vitality and potential of digitisation makes archival material in the 21st century exciting.

The extraordinary life in the sky of Alan Bristow OP.

I very much welcome the opportunity – in this, the first edition of Opus magazine - to introduce myself as the new School Archivist. My initial impression of the school is of a vibrant, thriving and friendly community with educational excellence at the heart of its mission, and I am very pleased to be a part of it. Caring for, developing and promoting the archive presents a great new challenge. As the oldest school in the City, it is a tremendous honour and responsibility, and I look forward to working with staff, pupils and Old Portmuthians to build on all the good work carried out by my predecessor. It is great to see a thriving alumni association and I look forward to putting together displays of archival material for reunions and special occasions. As a chartered librarian, I have had responsibility for local history collections in public libraries across Southern Hampshire, and the Hampshire Naval Collection at Gosport Discovery Centre, but working with a prestigious school archive brings possibilities and opportunities that are unique to a school community. I am also a qualified teacher, and look forward to working with my teaching colleagues to enable the archive to be used as an accessible and vital resource in helping to bring history alive in the classroom.

Fascinating primary sources have the potential to engage and grip the imagination because they tell real and personal stories of those who came to PGS before us. They inspire and help equip our pupils to understand and appreciate issues of identity, belonging and shared heritage. Learning is at the very heart of what

archives are about and so, rather than just being about the past, archives are also about the present and future. Bringing history alive has been at the heart of my professional practice for many years, but it also dominates my spare time. I have written and compiled many local history books on the history of Portsmouth and Gosport, and look forward to restarting the lunchtime local history club in the future. My last book, Mudlark, (written under a nom de plume) was a bit of a departure, being a novel published by Puffin. It is a mystery/thriller set during the First World War and is based on the true-life mudlarks, who, some older OPs may remember, begged, scavenged and entertained a few hundred yards from the school at Portsmouth Harbour. They became a colourful part of the City’s rich tradition and folklore but their history exists, not in an archive, but in the stories that are told and passed down the generations. The PGS archives are far from complete – many records were lost during World War II and there are other gaps from times when the school’s records were not as valued as they have been in recent years. So if you have any photographs, films, reports, diaries, letters, exercise books or any other material that sheds light on what life was like in your schooldays, they would find a safe and valued place in the archives. If you prefer, original material can easily be copied and returned to you swiftly and safely. Also, if you have memories of your time at PGS (good or bad, unusual or ordinary, detailed or impressionistic) please get in touch. Your experiences are unique and will contribute to our collective understanding of the diverse and everchanging PGS experience. Thankfully, the archive houses a complete set of The Portmuthian, a rich source of information about the cultural life and

sporting record of the school, and the Old Portmuthian has kept us in touch, in many cases, with lives after school. Many of the enquiries I have received in the brief time I have been in post have been family history related, and considering the hundreds of thousands of pupils that have attended PGS – and the number of descendents there must be – there is potential for The Portmuthian to be made accessible as a genealogical resource. There is also the prospect of showcasing other carefully selected archival material on the PGS website for the wider world to understand and appreciate the history and achievements of the school. I hope I’ve convinced you that archives are exciting, I can at least assure you that they are not dusty or covered in cobwebs. They are used everyday to inform, enrich and inspire through use in the classroom, in assemblies, displays and in communications with OPs, their families and descendents. I am informed, enriched and inspired every working day, and it is a privilege to act as custodian and advocate for the school’s three hundred year old history. I’m ending with a unusual request - if anyone knows the whereabouts of an old PGS lift-top desk (especially one old enough to have a recess for an ink-well, ideally with antique carved graffiti and encrusted chewing gum), please get in touch. I can be contacted in term-time at the school on 02392 681391 or by email j.sadden@pgs.org.uk

John Sadden

Alan Bristow (PGS 1933-1939) is a name that will be forever synonymous with aviation, particularly helicopters. Bristow died aged 85 in April this year, just a decade after licensing for production a patent “water bed” for cows (profitably licensed to Dunlop) which was developed on his 2,000-acre estate at Cranleigh, Surrey. The invention won him the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for Agricultural Innovation which was especially apt as he had been firm friends with Prince Philip for many years after they both represented Great Britain at four-in-hand carriage driving. Amongst his other notable associates were Aristotle Onassis, the Shah of Iran, Douglas Bader, Freddie Laker and the late novelist James Clavell, who he met at PGS. He also held a little-know record for an aviation first: Lieutenant Bristow carried out the first landing by a helicopter on a naval escort vessel at sea when he landed a Sikorsky R4B Hoverfly on the deck of the frigate HMS Helmsdale, K253, in Weymouth Bay. Bristow survived countless helicopter crashes and flying stunts of his own devising that were, in his own words, “bloody insane”. After the war he became Westland Helicopters’ first test pilot at a time when 25 per cent of the UK test pilot population was being killed every year, and survived many close calls. His record was six engine

failures in different helicopters in one day. But after only three years his employment ended abruptly when he punched the sales director on the nose. Shortly after he married he moved to Paris to run an ad hoc helicopter operation where his duties included flying up and down the Seine with a pair of circus trapeze artists slung beneath his machine. He survived one crash when the ladder got wrapped around his tail boom and tore it off, and another when he was overcome by DDT fumes while spraying oranges in Algeria. He also decamped to Indochina to try to sell helicopters to the French air force. In 1949 he rescued four men, under mortar fire, from the Viet Minh, for which he later collected the Croix de Guerre for his bravery. He also sold eight aircraft, setting out on the entrepreneurial path that would make him a multimillionaire. In 1951, on his return from Indochina, he formed Air Whaling, a company that used helicopters to spot whales in the Antarctic. From that he went on to develop a humane harpoon, the patents for which he managed to sell to the Netherlands Whaling Company. It was from this venture that his most successful enterprise, Bristow Helicopters, was spawned. He met up with the war hero Douglas Bader, who was responsible for Shell oil’s aviation needs, and Bristow Helicopters was soon

supporting the North Sea oil business. Despite once throwing Bader into a swimming pool and referring to him as a “tin-legged git”, Bristow and his business thrived, serving the oil industry worldwide. By 1959 Bristow was a tax exile living in Bermuda. There he was tracked down by Freddie Laker, who wanted to buy Bristow Helicopters on behalf of Air Holdings. Bristow was happy to sell a stake in order to get access to friendly capital, but their valuations of the company were £67,000 apart. Both gambling men, they settled the issue by tossing a coin at a lunch after which Bristow’s accountant George Fry needed medical treatment. Bristow Helicopters passed through several hands before being bought out by the American giant Offshore Logistics Inc. Bristow was gratified when the American multinational changed its own name to Bristow Group because, according to its president, the name was “solid gold” in the oil industry worldwide. James Clavell, who remained a lifelong friend from Bristow’s schooldays at PGS, wrote the book Whirlwind in 1986 which was a fictionalised account of one of Bristow’s adventures. This occurred in 1979 when he extracted all his staff from Iran in a dawn operation under the guns of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s Revolutionary Guard.

“He was just ristow” to me be first names we“B not used in Schocaol.usIe was two years re ahead of him; I had joi the OTC and, on ned 2A”, was put in chpaarssigeng Certificate of new recruits. In my sec a batch of th at gave me a hard timtion were three 9 -193 1931 OP e ridg Tom Deth e; their were Besent, Br istow and Clarke,naanmed s Br ist ow was th gleader. “In spite of our age We ed each ence I always considered Alan other up and afeterin friend. In 1939 as andifeigfer r a few weeks siz a ht I grew to yea res r old pe at ct No him rthwood rk I for the experience that double sprained an le and nee ga ded to have it boundPaup ini ng s in ma sanatorium. It wasank n ma nagement. It brouIghwa as a senior, who was given the at the go od t us ma rk s at transport me the quaAlrtean,r mil A nn job ua l to In sp ec tion and it e, on his back, twice a day for certainly helped me in my Bruce Wright OP 1932-1939 a week.” about later career. I left PGS in e summ Cameron Craig OP 1939 -1946 er of 1939 and was out of toucth h wi th th e OP club until s af ter the war, but I do rem mped “Bristow’ s was when we bu ay old ho ber hearing sc r te of re af we a he him we adventures lic t as op ter flight that Aem e that I me of the British Friesian Society d his tim st fir lan piloted to he tic “T exo res like cu d e rea a s ite sic ing vis k et I ke me ep le. er at tt into each otherlk business with the same breed of cahe had an open day for the weather was too from a lighthouse when fiction about a both in the mi occasions and remember once when were told by one of his get to him. In later rough for a boat to life which could years the name of n farm on a few was characteristic of him that weded beside us in one of Bristow Helicopters be bee e not hav It lan it. en vis th rd one he he a the aviation world, as Icame well known in ed experienced by he had been delaygr at th es n!” ye ma plo y ow em the sh A t but mbulance base at Marlive near Kent Air . ea n... ma always a s wa He rs! te op lic he his him when I hear them den I think of were!” flying over.” 939 3-1 Derek Worrall OP 193 1947-1949

“Alan and I were quite friendly - and I am sure we shared some escapades - but we were not bosom pals. Apart from his war service, I really feel great admiration for Alan for his courage and expertise when he undertook his whaling flying in the Antarctic.”

Ron Holley OP

nger than I ee to four years you d is when “Bristow was probaicblythothr min to es com t ught tha fects and the only specif he wa pre the , s called to E4 I was a prefect and asion!” occ solo a not ly sib ‘court’ on some misdemeanour, pos

John Pearson OP 1930-1

939

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

99 Not Out! He awoke to the sound of an aircraft. When he looked outside he saw a Zeppelin trapped in the glow of searchlights. High above the Zeppelin, another aircraft was in a battle against the German attacker. Soon the Zeppelin was hit and going down. “The Zeppelin caught fire in the middle, which melted the aluminum framework and it gradually sank in the middle, but somehow after the aluminum frame survived, it went down in the V-shape and hit the ground,” said Bartle. Bartle was born in 1910 and will celebrate his 100th birthday in February next year, making him the oldest surviving Old Portmuthian. He lives in British Colombia and, largely through the detective work of former PGS archivist Catherine Smith who put him in touch with many of his former students who now live in North America, frequently receives OP visitors to reminisce about school days. “His photographic memory is incredible”, remarks Alastair Stevens OP (1930-1937). “Being a World War Two veteran now living in Canada, I am a keen supporter of British Columbia’s Military Museum in Nanaimo and visit it often. About 2 years ago during a visit I noticed this elderly gentleman on volunteer duty wearing many pins on his jacket, one of which seemed familiar.

Former Art Master Wally Bartle remembers the vivid details of watching the first German Zeppelin shot down over his home in England when he was young.

I remarked that it reminded me of my old school. ‘Where did you go to school ?’ he asked. I replied that I was a pupil of the Portsmouth Grammar School in the UK. ‘So you were!’, he exclaimed, ‘ What’s more you were one of my students!’ Upon hearing his name I recalled that Wally Bartle was one of our teachers!” His razor-sharp memory and renowned straight-talking served Bartle well; amongst others things he held the position as Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery’s aide-de-camp. During a military planning conference, Montgomery proposed changes to military training. Bartle said everyone in the room agreed with Montgomery but him. “I got up and said it wouldn’t work and you could have heard a bomb drop as I said it at the time,” he said. Later Bartle was called over to talk to Montgomery to discuss the troop training and impressed Montgomery with his insights. Now Bartle’s life and experiences are the focus of a documentary called Bloody Proud, being produced by Jib Entertainment, an independent film company based on Vancouver Island. Jim Dickinson, an associate producer with Jib, volunteers at the Vancouver Island Military Museum, where he met

Bartle. The film is a project by writer Ian Ferguson and director David BercoviciArtieda, who worked on a documentary about Holocaust survivors with Steven Spielberg after Schindler’s List.

News of how a permanent memorial to the late Roger Harris OP, former pupil, teacher and President of the OP Club will help give opportunities to pupils of all ages and allow their talents to develop.

The three – Dickinson, Ferguson and Bercovici-Artieda – decided Bartle would be a great person for a documentary after meeting him last winter. “Ian’s initial comment when we got together was, ‘Do you realise what an incredible man we have here?’” said Dickinson. “He said what an incredible man with an incredible amount of experience.” Filming is already underway and there are even tentative plans to fly Wally back to the UK to once more walk the corridors of PGS and the streets of Portsmouth, where son John Bartle OP (1947 – 1957), has headed-up a highly successful architects’ practice for many years.

Following the very sad news last November of the death of Roger Harris, reported in The Old Portmuthian Magazine, in a letter to all OPs and on the School website, we have been deluged with condolence letters and fond recollections of a man who gave a life of service to PGS. Joining the School as an 11 year old boy during the Second World War in 1943, with a break of seven years from 1951 for Oxford and then the Royal Navy, then joining the teaching staff in 1958 and concluding as President of the OP Club up until last year, Roger spent a staggering total of 58 years connected in some way or another to PGS. The School has worked very closely with the Old Portmuthian Club, Common Room colleagues and with Roger’s friends and family to devise a fitting memorial to someone who inspired many generations of pupils throughout his 35 year teaching career across the whole spectrum of school life.

Wally Bartle’s extraordinary life is the focus of a new documentary by acclaimed director David Bercovici-Artieda.

It could be you! Fly the flag with a PGS bag! Our new Lottery Draw is fun, easy to play and provides much-need project and bursary income directly to PGS.

For just £1 per week players have a very real chance of winning a monthly jackpot of £10,000 as well as other cash prizes. Winners are automatically notified and it’s easy to set-up – just follow the instructions provided on www.pgs.org.uk (in the ‘Development’ section select ‘The Weather Lottery’) or contact the Development Office. Thanks to all those OPs who have already signed up and many congratulations to our recent lucky winners!

Scaling the heights

2010 will see the first ever PGS pupil expedition depart for Africa. Pupils will spend a month trekking in the Rwenzori Mountain range in Uganda and have set themselves the task of rebuilding a class room at Kinyerere Primary School. This enterprising small group of Year 10, 11 & 12 pupils are paying all their own expenses but have to raise the money for building materials and classroom resources. They have specially designed these exclusive extra large jute shopping bags, priced at just £5, to raise money for the trip. OPs who wish to support the Uganda 2010 team by buying a bag should contact Karen Sparkes at k.sparkes@pgs.org.uk

For OPs going ‘Down Under’ Opus would like to draw the attention of OPs living near Sydney, or just passing through, to the existence of the Sydney Lunch Table. This is a group of OPs, who meet quarterly at the RAC Club, Macquarie Street, Sydney. Their next four meetings are on November 10th 2009, February 16th, May 11th and August 10th 2010. They assemble in the bar on the Macquarie Street level at 12.30, where guests will find a very warm welcome. Please contact Tony Walker-Powell (ajwp@bigpond.net.au) in advance for further details.

Arguably, it was Roger’s encouragement to pupils to develop their sense of adventure that was most legendary.

He thrived on the opportunity to spend time with pupils in different environments, introduce them to new experiences and to set the highest standards. He launched School Sailing in 1959, established the first Newtown Camp in 1969, set up the first Fell and Bottle trip to the Lake District in 1971, oversaw the first of many successful PGS Ten Tors teams in 1974 and in 1979, led a group of boys up Mont Blanc to mark the first expedition of the newly-formed PGS Mountaineering Society. It seems highly appropriate therefore that agreement has been reached to erect the School’s first-ever Rock Wall as the memorial that will bear his name. The construction is modular allowing it to be extended according to the level of donations. It is hoped that as many of Roger’s former classmates and pupils as possible will feel able to contribute to the project so that installation can begin right away.

will be a fitting tribute to a well loved member of the PGS staff who devoted his teaching career to ensuring that cadets were engaged and challenged in outward bound pursuits. The installation of a Rock Wall will not only be of benefit to cadets, but will also foster a desire in younger pupils from Year 2 upwards to climb and enjoy a different physical activity.”

Major Sue Sheldrick, Contingent Commander of the CCF, who is spearheading the campaign for a permanent Rock Wall facility to be erected in Roger’s memory said: “The Rock Wall

tion to PGS by helping in the Please join us to celebrate Roger’s contribu following ways: Wall Appeal by visiting • Contribute to the Roger Harris Climbing rnatively please send your Alte an. uthi rtm www.justgiving.com/oldpo muthian Charity, to: Barry Easton, donation, made payable to The Old Port PO18 8LW 8 Spindrift Mews, Bosham, West Sussex, nity or offer of service for the CCF • Pledge your offer of an object, opportu are staging on Friday 6 November Climbing Wall Auction which the cadets Climbing Wall in memory of Roger. at 7.30pm in order to raise funds for the by Old Portmuthians include a flight Auction lots already generously donated Havilland Rapide bi-plane and a for 5 people in the world’s oldest flying de own special lot in memory of an signed England rugby shirt. To pledge your event, please contact Alasdair Akass extraordinary man, or for details of the uk on 023 9236 4248 or at a.akass@pgs.org. ual Dinner on 12 December at the School • Attend the Old Portmuthian Club Ann of Roger’s life of service to PGS. which will be dedicated to the celebration e within this magazine for further Please refer to the Forthcoming Events pag details.

Temporary Climbing Wall brought in as part of the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the CCF at PGS in 2008. It is hoped that funds raised in Roger’s memory will help towards the construction costs of a permanent facility.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

In memoriam Opus is saddened to report the deaths of the following Old Portmuthians: Sir Malcolm Rowland Bates (23.09.34 – 30.05.09)

he wanted Bates to look at obstacles in the way PFI projects and how the process could be streamlined. Later, in 1998, Bates returned to lead a taskforce charged with trying to improve the schemes. While they have struggled to shed a slightly unfortunate image, PFIs survive, at least in part, thanks to the work of Bates. He was knighted in 1998 and is survived by his wife, Lynda, and their three daughters.

From 1999 to 2003 Sir Malcolm Bates served as chairman of London Regional Transport

Malcolm Rowland Bates was born in Portsmouth in 1934. He attended Portsmouth Grammar School from 1946 -1950 and then went on to the University of Warwick. He served in the RAF from 1956 to 1958, and went to Harvard Business School in 1963, halfway through a ten-year career at Delta Metals, where he was employed from 1959 to 1968. After a spell at Wm Brandt, a merchant bank, he joined GEC as commercial director in 1976, becoming deputy-managing director in 1985. Bates also served on the board of Pearl Assurance, the pensions and insurance firm, Enterprise Oil, and BICC, the cable maker. For twelve years Sir Malcolm Bates was second-in-command at GEC, one of the great postwar industrial enterprises. Bates played a leading role negotiating takeover deals and ensuring that newly acquired companies were integrated effectively into the parent. His connections with the US — buying and managing companies such as AB Dick, the printing and copying machinery manufacturer, and Picker International, the medical devices concern — won him particular admiration. In May 1997, only hours after the Tony Blair-led new Labour election victory, Geoffrey Robinson, Paymaster General at the Treasury, asked Bates to look into the Private Finance Initiative. Robinson said

Courtenay Corner (16.11.14 – 04.08.09) Courtenay was one of the oldest surviving OPs having attended PGS from 1927-1933. He passed the School Certificate with honours in 1931 and the Higher School Certificate two years later. He then went to take up the occupation of ”municipal clerkship” and a career in banking.

Mervyn Bennicke Lanyon (18.05.21 – 22.02.09) We are indebted to Mervyn’s daughter, Susan Palmer (nee Lanyon), for this appreciation of Mervyn’s life. Mervyn Bennicke Lanyon was born on the 18th May 1921, at Number 4 Ordnance Row in Portsmouth. He was the younger son of Maurice and Lilian and brother to Trevor. His father was a Naval jeweller and Mervyn’s connections with the Royal Navy began in his earliest years. In 1927, Mervyn followed his brother to The Portsmouth Grammar School and retained his connection with the school all his life. His grandson William was later a pupil at the School. Whilst at school, he enjoyed the Scouts, the Officer Training Corps, and learned seamanship. He was selected to join the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1938 and gained a place at RN College, Keyham as an officer cadet.

Mervyn’s Naval career was varied and interesting. He served in HMS Birmingham for most of the War. In one incident, the ship was torpedoed in the Mediterranean whilst bound for Alexandria, carrying £3,000,000 of gold bullion, unbeknown to the ship’s company. This torpedo caused enormous structural damage and the death of 28 sailors. “Birmingham” limped across to Norfolk on the East coast of America, where she was cut in half and rebuilt with gangs of men working day and night so she could rejoin the fleet. She took part in the liberation of Copenhagen. After the War, Mervyn served in HMS Surprise, the C-in-C Mediterranean’s Despatch ship in Malta, known locally as ‘The Yacht’. Other appointments included HMS Implacable, The RN Dockyard, Singapore, HMS Duchess and Assistant Naval Attaché in Bonn, Brussels and The Hague. Later, he served in the Royal Corps of Engineers and had the privilege of escorting the Queen around the facilities in Portsmouth Dockyard. He was awarded the OBE by the Queen on 26th October 1965. Mervyn combined his Naval career with a happy family life. He married Joan Cruddas in March 1947 and they had three children. He was a devoted husband and a gentle, loving father, grandfather and great grandfather. He had great wisdom, but wore it lightly and to his family he was a rock. He was a liberal thinker who evolved with the challenges of new ideas and generations. He always retained a huge sense of fun. Mervyn was a dear, kind friend to many people and all his life a true gentleman. He was actively involved in the Hayling Island community and with St Mary’s Church, Hayling Island. He epitomised that quietly brave and modest Wartime generation.

Ivor Graham Marsh (1923 - 2008)

John Hedley Sterndale Packman (1934 - 2009)

Ivor died in October last year after a long struggle with Lewy Body Disease. He was 85. He was a keen teacher of medicine, a pilot and highly skilled with his hands.

John Packman died on 10 March 2009. He attended PGS from 1945 to 1951 when he won the McNicol Memorial Prize for Art and Portsmouth Major Scholarship. After completing studies at the Southern College of Art, John pursued a successful career as an artist. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend.

On leaving PGS in 1941, Ivor joined the Royal Air Force and was posted to 299 Squadron 38 Group for the duration of the war. In 1946 he attended King’s College, London where he gained an MB and a BS. During this time he met and married Betty, who was a nurse there. In 1953 Ivor went to New Zealand as a medical officer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and this involved some flying duties. He left the Air Force in 1957 and began work and study at the National Women’s Hospital in Auckland before gaining his Diploma in Obstetrics. This was followed by a post as Registrar at Kawakawa Hospital in Northland, including obstetric and anaesthetic duties. At the same time he established himself as a General Practitioner in the town. His colleague recalls Ivor as a somewhat formidable but modest and highly compassionate person. He would think nothing of two-hour drives in the night to his mainly Maori practice who treasured him. Ivor’s next post involved flying to many of his patients. In 1967, in order to educate his five daughters, he moved back to Auckland. When the medical school opened there he became very involved in undergraduate medical training. Ivor was one of the few General Practitioners who began to teach medical students the art of General Practice. He was also active in postgraduate training. In 1982/3 he worked as Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health in King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia before retiring from full time practice in 1985. Ivor and Betty then moved to a small farm in Waimauku where they bred Angora goats. Ivor continued some locum work for a further ten years. Ivor was humane. His meticulous approach led to his frustration with imperfection. Betty was an extremely caring nurse, a lifelong support and his partner in medical practice. In the last year of Ivor’s life they moved back North to the coastal paradise where he loved sailing and where he had been happiest. Ivor is survived by Betty and his five daughters to whom we send our sincere condolences.

Ivor Robert Simpson B.A. T.D. (16.01.32 – 04.11.08) We are indebted to H.T. (‘Johnnie’) Walker, OP, for this appreciation of Ivor’s life. Ivor Simpson attended PGS from 19481951 to study Modern Languages and History in the Sixth Form. He read History at Bristol University as did his lifelong friend and fellow OP, Len Wilson. He spent several years as a teacher before pursuing a career in education administration where he became Area Education Officer for Guildford and its surrounds. He was a lifelong member of the Territorial Army and attained the rank of Major. He held important committee posts within his local NHS Trust and with the Prison Welfare and Reform organisation and was also a staunch Rotarian. His friendship with Rosemary Walker (whom he married) was one of those PGSPHS romances typical of the 1940s/early 1950s. He is survived by Rosemary, their two children (Julian and Sarah) and six grandchildren.

A.T.G. Svensson (1930 – 29.06.09) We are indebted to John Roberts, OP, for this appreciation of Tony’s life. A.T.G. (Tony) Svensson died on 29 June 2009 aged 78. From an early age Tony’s interest in aircraft was evident. He attended PGS from 1943-1949 and was a keen member of the school’s Air Training Corps. On leaving PGS Tony joined the R.A.F. at Cranwell College as an officer cadet.

His piloting skills were exceptional and he soon became a test pilot and ultimately a world record holder. Tony was seconded to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1964 and was carrying out manoeuvres in a Mirage III supersonic fighter at near the speed of sound when the plane spun out of control and went into a nose dive hitting the ground with great force and creating a hole 45 feet wide and 25 feet deep. Tony triggered the ejector seat 90 seconds before the impact and survived the crash but sustained multiple breakages to his legs and arms. After hospital treatment lasting two and a half years, Tony was told he could go back to flying. Not merely to flying – but to test flying. Tony retired from the R.A.F in 1969 and moved to Devon. He is survived by his wife, Pam, and his son, Mark, and family.

John Michael Walters (02.04.55 – 03.12.08) We are indebted to Debbie Morgan, John’s sister, for this information in appreciation of John’s life.

John Walters died in December 2008 at the age of 53 following a long and courageous battle against Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. John attended Portsmouth Grammar School from 1963–1973 and was a member of the OP Club. At his last visit to the school he thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the ‘new’ building– the former Cambridge Barracks. He also enjoyed receiving publications from the school, invariably looking out for news of his nieces and nephews (Matthew, Ben, Charlotte, Samantha and Christopher Morgan) who all attended PGS.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Keeping her hand in Former Parent Sally Gordon tells Opus how she has continued to maintain strong links with the School even after her children have left PGS. My relationship with Portsmouth Grammar School started back in 1992 when I was persuaded by Julia Oakley, then head of the Pre Prep and a neighbour of mine that PGS was really the right school to educate my children. At the time I didn’t even realise PGS took children from as far away as Emsworth! There certainly weren’t the numbers from outside the city that exist now but the school has grown from strength to strength since I’ve been involved, first as a parent and later as a member of the Development Board. When my son Alex started in 1992, reception classes and the nursery didn’t exist so everyone started age five. Girls had only been admitted at this age for a few years. Later he was joined by my other three children with the last one leaving in 2008 having completed his A Levels. During this time I’ve witnessed

a lot of changes and whilst my children have moved on, my contact with the school continues. In 2003 I was approached by the then Headmaster, Tim Hands, to sit on the School’s new Development Board. PGS was about to embark on a fundraising campaign for a new library, all-weather pitch at Hilsea and science laboratory. I accepted the offer and joined the Board. With my marketing background it was my job to write and produce the Campaign brochure and through the hard work of the Development Office the school successfully raised the £1.25m target in just over a year. Since then I’ve remained on the Board and helped with a number of smaller projects including participating in the board of judges for the school’s own Dragon’s Den involving the Business Studies Department and Year 9 pupils. As an economist and coming from a

business background, this is exactly the type of venture I like to see in a school. It was really rewarding seeing how hard the pupils had worked on money raising projects learning to bring important elements of business together. I was really impressed with them all – I’m pretty sure, along with the more traditional careers, PGS will be turning out a future Richard Branson! My children have all left Portsmouth Grammar now. It’s provided an excellent all round education for them and they’ve now gone on to university and various careers. Already they look back and see the value they’ve received from the school. As for me, I’ve really enjoyed the ongoing relationship! Former Parent Sally Gordon puts a budding Year 9 entrepreneur through his paces as a panelist for PGS Dragon’s Den alongside the new Chairman of Governors Brian Larkman OP and Andy Law OP (1968 -1975), a fellow member of the School’s Development Board.

Forthcoming events Friday 6 November 2009 CCF Auction Evening, David Bawtree Building, PGS

Thursday 26 November 2009 Annual OP Lunch at the Royal Beach Hotel, Southsea

Being staged by cadets in order to raise funds for a Rock Wall in memory of Roger Harris OP. To pledge your special lot in memory of an extraordinary man, or to attend the event, please contact Alasdair Akass at a.akass@pgs.org.uk or telephone 023 9236 4248. (See also ‘Scaling the Heights’ feature in this issue)

The annual lunch for OPs who live in or are visiting the Portsmouth area will take place on 26 November at 12.30pm in the Royal Beach Hotel, Southsea. If you haven’t already booked a place and would like to attend please contact Liz Preece at l.preece@pgs.org.uk or telephone 023 9268 1392.

Sunday 8 November 2009 Annual Remembrance Day Concert, St Thomas’ Cathedral

Saturday 12 December 2009 OP Club Annual Dinner

Featuring the premiere of a new commission to mark the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings for Remembrance Sunday by composer Stephen Montague, who will also give a pre-concert talk at PGS. Tickets and information from PGS Reception on 023 9236 0036. Thursday 26 November – Saturday 28 November Fiddler on the Roof, King’s Theatre, Southsea

The OP Club Annual Dinner on the 12 December will act as a tribute to the late Roger Harris and will be a fitting occasion to celebrate his unparalleled contribution to PGS. Please contact Gareth Perry, OP Club Social Secretary on 023 9273 4606 or gareth.perry1@ntlworld.com to secure a place at this extremely popular event in the OP calendar. Saturday 12 December 2009 Annual OP vs PGS Rugby and Hockey Matches

Come and be transported to prerevolutionary Russia with a rousing soundtrack of unforgettable songs including, ‘If I were a Rich Man’, ‘Tradition’ and ‘Sunrise, Sunset’. Please come and show your support in this, the most ambitious School production of the year. Tickets from the King’s Theatre Box Office on 023 9282 8282.

We shall be hosting the OP vs PGS 1st XV rugby match and OP vs PGS 1st XI Hockey (men and women) matches on 12 December this year at Hilsea from 11.30am. If you are interested in playing for the OP teams (or spectating!) please contact Liz Preece at l.preece@pgs.org.uk or telephone 023 9268 1392. 125 Years of Sport at Hilsea - 2010

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A number of events will be held at the School to celebrate 125 years of Sport at Hilsea in 2010. Details will be provided in the next issue of Opus and will be posted on the school website www.pgs.org.uk

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Saturday 6 February 2010 OP Scout Reunion The 80th Anniversary of the 42nd Portsmouth Grammar School Scout Troop will be celebrated with a Reunion for OPs who were Scouts or Cubs at PGS. For further information please contact Sue Merton at s.merton@pgs.org.uk or telephone 023 9268 1385. Friday 26 February 2010 OP Club Evening Lecture, David Bawtree Building, PGS Guest Speaker, Ed Richards OP, Chief Executive of Ofcom. For further details and to reserve your place, please call Gareth Perry, Social Secretary, OP Club on 023 9273 4606 or gareth.perry1@ntlworld.com

“BE PREPARED” Saturday 6 February 2010 OP Scout Reunion This picture was sent to us by Alan Scaife OP (1947 – 1953). Although we can’t award a badge for correct entries, Alan would dearly like to identify some of his fellow scouts from the 42nd Portsmouth Grammar School Troop! If you were at this camp, or can help to put names to the unknown faces, please contact the Development Office. (top row) Alan Scaife, Max ?, David Parker, (bottom row) ? Wilson, Peter Miles, ?

Portsmouth Grammar School www.pgs.org.uk