THE PETERITE ol. LXIV OCTOBER, 1973 No. 389 Edited by D. G. Cummin, J.P., M.A. EDITORIAL The Labour Party has been at it again : another plan for education; Ior rather, the usual plan by which nobody does better than anybody else, but presented by a different spokesman, sometimes known as the Shadow Minister for Education, a title that would surely have delighted W. S. Gilbert. Perhaps he would have given us an opera called 'Equality" or "Labour in vain;" Commentator: In politics he made a small sensation As Shadow Minister for Education; He planned to stultify the British Nation By stopping any chance of elevation. Chorus of Dolts: Here comes, with Axe, and Policy sinister, Our Comprehensive Shadow Minister. The Plan is heavy with progress; nearly everybody will be able to start being educated at the age of three and go on to at least eighteen, although at present this formidable prospect will not be compulsory. There will of course be more and better teachers; well, more anyway. parents, while losing almost any right to decide how their children are o be educated, will have a small voice in the running of the schools, because the Plan says : "We shall make governing and managing bodies of schools more representative of parents, teachers, and, where appro- riate, pupils—and give them more power." Predictably the Direct Grant hools are again destined for destruction, and, says the Plan, "Our aim to abolish fee-paying in schools and to bring all children of compulsory chool age into the national education system." This is heady stuff, cloth cap and all; and to bring every child into e state system is a bold move towards equality; but is the intention to aise the general level? If not, it is an aim without principle. If it is, en we must look at it with care. The Plan says of the independent schools: "the Newsom report's judgment that they are a divisive influence in the life of the nation is incontrovertible." Maybe; but at least this implies that by some the quality of education is thought to be better in such schools. The teachers are not better people than other teachers; they are not superior beings; but the education they provide is probably thought to be better because they enjoy the freedom of movement that is traditionally a part of teaching in independent schools, which is often why they seek to teach in them. If you are going to bring every child into the state system, you are going to bring in every teacher as well. Thus you will run the risk of taking from the present independent school teacher one major factor 1 CONTENTS PAGE Editorial 1 School Notes ... 2 Mr. E. R. Marshall ... 4 Commemoration, 1973 5 Examination Results ... 11 Valete 12 Salvete 13 Chapel Notes 14 Music ... 15 C.C.F. Notes 16 Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme 18 Boat Club 19 Shooting 22 Cricket ... 23 Tennis ... 34 Swimming 35 Fencing 37 The Oxford Cup, 1972-73 37 Rugby Fixtures, 1973 38 Walking Club 38 Orienteering ... 39 Young Farmers' Club 41 House Notes ... 41 Bradfield '73 ... 47 The North Yorkshire Moors Railway 49 York . 50 The Best Month of the Year 51 Old Peterite News 52 that enables him to provide good education; that is, the freedom of movement he enjoys in a school of the type he has chosen to be in. Independent school teachers have no claim to dedication; most of them would find the word embarrassing. Dedicated teachers are found everywhere. It is, however, likely that if you force the independent school teacher into a state system which rightly or wrongly he has not chosen to be in, he may no longer produce his best. He may even soon become unduly conscious of his hours and conditions of work, and it is almost certain that from among such teachers there would emerge some formidable shop stewards. The outcome need not be a positive lowering of teaching quality; but it is unlikely to be a raising of that quality for all; thus it will have achieved no good, and could even have caused harm. The planners of the new Jerusalem have usually hoped to build through education. Like so many planners, they seem easily to forget that education is a personal process; you can make a child learn a few things, but you cannot make him think. Nobody really knows how a child learns to think; what is certain is that it isn't done by legislation or by plans. Perhaps the planners should look first at the foundations of the new Jerusalem, and they may find that the strongest ingredients of a human foundation are still the family, the home, and love. From this it would follow that in a free society parents may wish to express their love through sacrifice so that they can provide for their children what seems to them the best in education. They will pay fees as long as they know they are paying for what is good; the fee-paying school that is less than good will sooner or later destroy itself without any action from a government, because sooner or later it will find no takers. With the best intentions you may plan to build Jerusalem, and find that by some error in the plans or by a weakness in the foundations you have instead built Jericho, where the walls came tumbling down at the blast of a trumpet. The Editor wishes to thank the many contributors to The Peterite and would welcome correspondence and articles of general interest from Peterites past and present. SCHOOL NOTES At the end of next Summer Term Mr. L. C. LeTocq will retire as Second Master. Mr. D. G. Cummin, who will give up the House• mastership of The Rise at the end of next Easter Term, will succeed Mr. LeTocq as Second Master in September, 1974. Mr. D. Kirby will become Housemaster of The Rise at the start of the Summer Term, 1974, and Mr. R. H. Hubbard will become Housemaster of Queen's. * * At the end of the Summer Term we said goodbye to Mr. S. E. Bray and Mrs. S. Kershaw who had each taught here for one year: and to Mr. D. Chapman-Smith who was here for two terms. We thank them all for the time and energy they gave to the School in many ways. Mr. 2 Bray has written to thank masters and boys for their gifts when he left, and adds: "My wife and I will miss York more than we thought we should . We wish the School every good fortune in the future." We welcome Mr. I. J. Armstrong, B.Sc. (Durham), who will teach Maths; Mr. A. W. Roberts, B.A. (Leeds), for French and Russian; and Mr. W. Riley for Music. We hope they will all enjoy their time at St. Peter's. In June Mr. D. G. Cummin was elected in the Clifton Ward to the ork District Council which will take office on 1st April next year. * * * The Summer Term started on 24th April. * * * The first Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition, for the Bronze and lver Groups was on 5th and 6th May. * * * On 12th May the Boat Club Dance was held in the Memorial Hall. * * * The Scholarship Examination was from 21st to 25th May. * * * Half Term Holiday was from 25th to 29th May. * * * The Choir sang in the R.S.C.M. Festival at Ripon on 24th May, and Evensong in York Minster on 30th May. * * * 2nd and 3rd June: second Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition, r Preliminary Group Section 2. * * * On 5th June the C.C.F. was inspected by Group Captain J. L. W. owler, R.A.F., the Officer Commanding Royal Air Force, Linton-on- use. * * * On 7th June a party visited the Greek Play at Bradfield; and the me day the Northern Secretary of the Independent Schools Careers rganisation (formerly P.S.A.B.) visited the School. * * * From the 8th to 10th June the Silver Group of the Duke of Edinburgh Award had their expedition; and the Bronze Group were out from 9th to 10th. * * * The Common Entrance Examination was from 11th to 13th June. 3 On 16th and 17th June the Preliminary Group Section 1 of the Duke of Edinburgh Award were on expedition. * * * The Music Prize Competition was held in the Memorial Hall on 22nd June. * * * The last Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition, for Preliminary Group Section 2 was on 23rd and 24th June. * * * On 1st July there was a party for parents of Lower VIth boys to meet the masters, and this was followed by the St. Peter's Day Service in York Minster. * * * The Choir Supper was on 6th July, and the same evening there was a barbecue at which £615 was raised for the Sports Centre Fund. * * * The Shooting team was unable to go to Bisley because of illness in the School. * * * On 10th July a pathetic hoaxer caused trouble to Police and the Fire Brigade by starting a bomb scare in the School. There is no truth in a rumour that an Old Peterite named G. Fawkes was helping enquiries. * * * On 11th July there was a concert in the Memorial Hall. * * * On 13th July Mr. Hamilton organised a team competition, "It's a knockout", which proved very popular. More please! * * * Term ended after the Commemoration Service on 15th July. MR. E. R. MARSHALL After 19 years' service to the School, Mr. Roy Marshall, the Bursar. retired on 31st August. As the Head Master said in his Report on Speech Day, Mr.