The Old Lennensian
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CRESCAT IN HORAS DOCTRINA The Old Lennensian Newsletter of the Old Lennensians Association Spring Edition April 2021 “Education is the movement from darkness into light.” Alan Bloom 1 A Word from the Editor One of the great joys of being an Old Lennensian is the fact that I am still in touch with people I knew over fifty years ago. Many of them were boarders too. If I think about it, the reason I wanted the association to continue, and to publicise itself better, was because I wanted other people to have the same pleasure of revisiting experiences and extending friendships as I have. We now have over 300 members and a flourishing Facebook site called ‘Friends of KES’. Our organisation is expanding while others fall by the wayside. Our website has done much to promote us but there is more to it than that. I love nostalgia and I have always believed in preserving the traditions and achievements of KES long after we are all dead. This is not a morbid thought. All I mean is that I hope that there will be Old Lennensians proud of the school in hundreds of years’ time. Adding our memories to those already recorded gives life to the dusty corners of history and relevance to the idea of what great schools represent. More than anything, today’s association works in partnership with the present school. Some have been disturbed by the news that KES is soon to be administered by a different Academy Trust. They should not be. As an OL, Trustee and Governor, I have seen the huge progress made by KES in the last eighteen months. A recent Ofsted inspection, over the way our school has tackled the enormous challenge of Covid, makes great reading for those longing to see the ‘sleeping giant’ wake up and find its way back to the top. The headteacher and staff should be very proud of the way they have gone about a very difficult task in awful and unprecedented times. The OLs congratulate and thank them. And I would like to thank EMAT for the inspired appointment of Sarah Hartshorn. It was far and away the best thing they ever did for KES. Andrew Stephen, Chairman (School 1964-71) 2 A Word from the Headteacher Dear Old Lennensians, What an absolute joy it was to be able to open our doors on March the 8th and welcome our students through our gates once more. As I reflect on the last few months, I am again struck by the resilience, determination and total dedication that has been shown by both staff and students. This second lockdown has not been easy. Staff have adapted to the pressures of live lessons brilliantly, overnight becoming experts in technology and becoming familiar with new ways to feedback remotely with their classes. The added issues of being accessible 24/7 on email and our virtual platforms has been draining for all. Not to 3 mention the juggling act of caring for your own children and assisting them with their own home learning. But still they did and continue to do the best for the children in their care. This lockdown we have seen a large increase in the number of children utilising the inhouse provision for vulnerable and Key worker children. Staff went above and beyond, volunteering their time to ensure we were able to offer all that needed a place in school. The safeguarding team continued to provide their caring arms over this lockdown with over 600 home visits, making sure that our children continued to be safe and cared for. Over 135 laptops, dongles, data, was handed out, compliments of the Foundation Trustees and the Department of Education. 100% of our students had online access during this time so they were able to continue to be educated at home. House events continued over lockdown aiding with everyone's wellbeing. We may have been apart, but we felt part of something bigger. As if a national pandemic was not enough, Ofsted have kept us on our toes with two virtual visits. I was glad of the opportunity to show case our amazing school, desperate for external verification of the fantastic work all have been committed to since 2019. King Edward VII has seen so much over the many years it has been open. It continues to adapt its building to support the community it serves. I never thought that in my career I would see a school hall utilised as a testing centre for a deadly virus. But adapt it did, and very successfully at that. In our first week 1600 tests were conducted that enabled us to open safely and continue to protect the communities both in and outside of its great gates. As we return to our classrooms, we have started to hear the birds sing and can see the beautiful signs of spring in the snow drops and aconites as they push their vibrant yellow to the surface. We are again given hope of a time when we can see our friends and families once more. In the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson - “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’…” Kind regards, Sarah Hartshorn Principal 4 5 Salvete We would like to trace any other surviving Grammar School staff (initially) and then any long serving staff from KES post 1979. Finding contact details isn’t always easy so we would appreciate your help with this. Expanding our Honorary Membership will take time but we will do it. We are happy to receive nominations of worthy candidates. A warm welcome is extended to: Russell Mowbray Edinburgh 1975 – 82 Sarah Hicks Not known 1981 – 83 Kevin Fox Keene 1968 – 75 David Cawdery School 1959 – 64 Chris Manning Thoresby 1958 – 65 Dominic Luckett Keene/Thoresby 1977 – 84 Richard Griffiths Hon Member 1973 – 96 Trevor Lord Windsor 1956 – 61 David White Keene 1948 – 53 Matt Hill Keene/Thoresby 1979 – 86 David King Keene 1975 – 82 Stuart Mackie Keene 1959 – 66 Kevin Wilkinson Edinburgh 1966 – 73 Marcus Rich Gloucester 1970 – 77 Richard Skerritt Lancs/Sch 1978 – 85 Adam Hurlock York 1964 – 71 Frank Tuffs Thoresby 1932 – 37 Tim Anderson Keene 1963 – 70 James Davis Keene & School 1949 - 56 Mark Thorpe Thoresby 1972 – 79 Kirsty Hannant Keene/Thoresby 2000 – 05 Stephen Sauvain Thoresby 1960 – 67 Andrew Leech York & School 1971 – 78 Paul Roscoe Windsor 1960 - 69 John Garfoot York & School 1968 – 75 Neil Kimber Windsor 1976-81 Richard Howard Keene 1956-63 Sharon Scott Honorary member (Trustee) 6 Valete With sadness we record the deaths of the following former pupils and staff and we offer our condolences to their families: ARROWSMITH Basil William BANYARD Keith 1941-46 Windsor HAYNES Colin F 1946-53 Thoresby NIXON Kenneth 1963-70 School PEARMAN Douglas 1950-57 Thoresby SAUVAIN Philip 1944-51 Thoresby TAGG Michael 1954-59 York In the last edition, I should have recorded Terry BLY’s dates at KES as 1952-57. My apologies. It is always sad when we lose one of our number. It is fitting, where possible, to print tributes to their contribution to society. I am always happy to print these in future editions where people feel able to add a few words. Basil Walter ARROWSMITH Passed away peacefully, after a short illness, on November 25th, aged 85. A loving husband to Maureen. A wonderful Dad to Richard and Suzanne. Father-in-law to Chris and Sandra. Keith William Albert BANYARD 1941-46 Windsor House His daughter Rosemary has kindly provided this obituary: Born in 1930, Keith’s family moved to Gaywood in 1938 and he entered the Transition Form at KES in early 1941. He had moved around in Norfolk and attended several primary schools, so it is perhaps not surprising that he ranked 20th out of 30 boys in his form at the point of entry, and 29th in Science with the comment in his school report that he “makes nothing of this subject. Should really make more effort to understand”. He moved into the first form in September 1941, with Tom Bromhead as both his first year form master and his house master in Windsor House. By the 4th form, Keith came 1st in Mathematics, and in his penultimate term 1st in Physics. This is the Dad we knew. Clearly the school brought out his talents in these subjects, which he used to the full throughout his life. He left school in 1946 with the Cambridge School Certificate and went to train as a Telecommunications Engineer with what became British Telecom. He worked for BT for his whole career, apart from National Service with the RAF as a radar 7 engineer. He started climbing telegraph poles; moved on to the migration of many telephone exchanges in Herts and Essex from manual to automatic operation; and latterly had oversight of the telecommunications support for enterprises such as Glaxo in Stevenage, Marshall of Cambridge and Stansted Airport. He was also proficient at DIY, not just re-wiring our house, but car maintenance, plumbing, carpentry, welding, you name it. In later life he took a keen interest in his old school, and supported the Old Lennensians’ Association, attending its annual meeting and lunch right up until his 89th year. On his last visit, he guided me proudly round his school and showed me the two boards on which his younger brother Malcolm featured, one as school captain and one with a scholarship to Dartmouth Royal Naval College. He also regularly entertained his grandchildren with stories of his wartime school experiences.