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THE W YCOMBIENSIAN Sf/r,, 1562 ft VVYCO^ Vol. XI. No. 8 September, 1951 m i i muAHY THE WYCOMBIENSIAN (The Wycombe Royal Grammar School Magazine) E d ito r : A. R. McINTOSH Assisted by M. J. BANHAM EDITORIAL For nine years now this school has ranked as a Public School. It is an honour, to the Headmaster and ourselves, of which we are justly proud, for it is the recognition of great achievements in the first half of this century. But we are also a Grammar School, though a Royal one ; an integral and vital part of the new educa tional system planned in 1944 : and this is no less an honour because it is shared by thousands of other schools. Our relations with the public schools and great grammar schools of the country, in friendly rivalry in sport, candidature for University scholarships, and other things, are much prized. It is perhaps less fashionable to consider our relations with our partners in secondary education, the technical and secondary modern schools, who as Mr. Birley said on Speech Day, have the really exciting future in the next few years. The stock Ministry of Education phrase “ parity of esteem ” is uninspiring. It has not the ring of the true slogan : but it has far more accuracy and justice than most slogans. It does not mean equality, for it is obvious that the grammar school, designed to train managers, teachers, leaders, needs more money, more highly-qualified teachers, more advanced equipment, perhaps more corporate spirit, than the others. It does not mean that being selected for a grammar school at the age of eleven is not a thing to be proud of. But it does specifically deny that we should be considered “ above ” those who are going to technical schools to become artists, engineers, craftsmen, and to the secondary modern schools to fill every kind of position. For most of us come from the same elementary schools ; we are mainly supported by the same public funds ; and we are all trying, in our various ways, to avoid mere vocational training, for whatever kind of occupation. It will do us no harm to consider our bonds with our fellows in the task of education, as well as our undoubted differences. 839 SCHOOL NOTES Staff. In the past two terms we have lost two of our most popular masters. At Easter Mr. J. 0. Roberts left to become a Housemaster at Dorchester Grammar School. In his 16 years here Mr. Roberts had made his good influence felt beyond the A.T.C. and the classical department, and he will be widely missed. In July Mr. H. R. Thomas left us to take up a post at Tottenham County School. As master in charge of tennis, as Youens house master, as mentor to the historians and economists, he has been invaluable. The Welsh contingent has suffered a serious loss this year : we wish the best of luck to Mr. Roberts and Mr. Thomas in their new posts. We were obliged to say “ Ave atque vale ” to Mr. P. W. Thacker, who was with us for the Summer Term only, teaching classics and propping up the staff cricket team. We also welcome Mr. M. J. Hayes, who comes to us from St. Marylebone Grammar School to teach chemistry. Mr. Nicholas from Jesus College, Oxford, and Mr. Engler, from Reading University, did teaching practice here during the Spring Term. Congratulations to Mr. R. Pattinson on winning the Derbyshire Amateur Golf Championship. Mr. Bowden replaced Mr. Scattergood as School Bursar in April of this year. General. On March 9th, 1951, the Reading and District Classical Association met in the school hall, when a talk was given on the Augustan Age. Several boys from the sixth form attended. The annual House Music Competition was held on March 20th, 1951. Results were as follows : 1. Fraser. 2. Youens. 3. Disraeli. 4. Arnison. The Junior school at Uplyme was opened at the beginning of the Summer Term, as was the restored School Library. The School Sports took place on May 2nd, 1951. On Wednesday, May 23rd, 30 members of the Senior Choir took part in a Choral Concert in Reading University Great Hall, organised by the Reading University Institute of Education. On June 14th a party of boys from VIm visited “ Antony and Cleopatra ” at the St. James’s Theatre. 840 Kemsley Prizes were won this year by C. R. F. Maunder, I. J. McCreery, B. Sinnatt, B. Lewis, A. R. McIntosh. Scott Prizes were won by I. H. C. Waters and A. R. McIntosh. On July 16th and 23rd, 1951, large parties of boys from the school enjoyed visits to the South Bank Exhibition of the Festival of Britain. On July 24th, 1951, Mr. Courtenay, formerly a war correspondent in Korea, gave a talk to the school on modern strategy and air power. Junior and Intermediate athletic standard certificates were presented on July 24th to R. I. Garratt, A. J. Gordon, B. K. Johnson, T. A. Long, A. J. Redrup and P. W. Webb. During July about 30 Finnish boys were the guests of members of the Olympic Society, on a visit to be returned next year. The Dramatic Society presented “ Maria Marten, or the Murder in the Red Barn,” in the School Hall on the evenings of Monday and Tuesday, July 23rd and 24th, 1951 A review appears on another page. Congratulations to : D. D. Kirby for his Open Scholarship in Modern Languages at Jesus College, Oxford. D. Bates for his Flying Scholarship. A. R. M c In to s h . SPEECH DAY School Speech Day this year was held on the afternoon of Thursday, July 19th. The Chairman, Mr. P. C. Raffety, opened the proceedings by thanking the Headmaster and staff for their work during the year. He mentioned the various improvements effected during the year, and said that while we were not satisfied—that would be impossible—we were very much pleased at all that had been done. The Headmaster opened his report with a special acknowledg ment of a debt of gratitude to Mr. Robert Birley, the principal speaker : he recalled the generous help given by the classical staff of Eton College to our scholarship candidates during the war, and the remarkable successes scored by these boys with their aid. He was grateful too for the services of the former Senior Chemistry Master at Eton College, who had come to us for five years after his retirement from the college. Mr. Birley, he said, could be seen, on account of his work in Germany, in Europe, and at home, to be one of the great leaders of thought in this country for the next twenty years. During the last year, the Headmaster continued, his optimistic hopes had been largely fulfilled. The new Dining Hall and Kitchen had been opened, and carried on successfully under the direction of 841 Mrs. Freeman, the Supervisor : the opening of Uplyme, with its Hall, six classrooms, laboratory, and two music rooms, had improved the amenities of the mam school, at a cost of only £5,000 all told : as a result the Library had been splendidly refurnished, and in ten or twenty years’ time should be magnificently equipped. With various improvements in details around the school and the future expansion of Tyler’s Wood, he could say that we had almost all we want, although the staff problem was still difficult, and we had been sorry to lose Mr. Roberts and Mr. Thomas. The list of examination successes shown on the Programme marked the end of an era, for in 1951 the new General Certificate of Education came into force. Compared with 1935, when one boy obtained Higher Certificate and one boy a University Scholarship, fifty-eight boys took Higher Certificate this year, and of these thirty-four or more were proceeding to Universities, a reasonable number with Open Scholarship Awards and a good number with County Grants. At Jesus College, Cambridge, three Open Awards and five places had been secured—an exceptional number. The Headmaster deplored the age limit of sixteen for the new public examination, which meant that many boys had to take the same examination twice, once for the satisfaction of the school, and once for the examiners. He wanted to emphasise that boys who went to Universities were not restricted to the Civil Service or professions, and he particularly mentioned the openings for University graduates in Wycombe’s main industry. The school football, cricket, and cross-country teams had maintained their high level during the year. By the end of the season the First XV had a very good record, and while the cricket had not been quite so distinguished, the cross-country reputation had even been added to, especially by the winning of the Southern Counties C.C. Championship. Lawn tennis this year had started as a full school game, and colours had been awarded for the first time. The C.C.F., and particularly the Air Section, were flourishing, and the “ Mikado ” at Christmas and “ Messiah ” at Easter again proved how satisfactory our musical reputation was. The Headmaster commented on the danger of the Grammar Schools, and many Public Schools, being frustrated by central control of finances, but he was grateful for the understanding and co-operation of the Bucks Education Committee, which gave the school in many ways the best of both worlds. Mr. Robert Birley, C.M.G., M.A., Headmaster of Eton, presented the prizes, and in his speech emphasised the close links between the Grammar Schools, the Public Schools and the Uni versities, all of which had the duty to foster the family spirit, social tolerance, and a respect for ability.