The Peterite
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THE PETERITE Vol. LXXI OCTOBER, 198o No. 397 Editorial Committee: Alistair Carder-Geddes, Christopher Ashurst, Michael Bowstead, Anthony Dixon, Ian Cramb, Andrew Fawthrop, Timothy Blackburn, Andrew Cochrane, Neil Harness and David Aspinall. Photographs: Lawrence Bleasdale. Edited by R. C. G. Drysdale, M.A. PREFACE The Peterite caters for several different markets. Many readers rightly want a record of what has been going on in the School during the previous academic year. Parents and prospective parents want to gain an idea of the multitude of activities available. Some want to see evidence of the consider- able artistic and literary talent in the School. Others expect a measure of entertainment. The Old Peterites, too, have a strong claim on the magazine as it was originally published with them in mind. These claims are not, of course, necessarily mutually exclusive. It is, however, difficult to satisfy all these competing interests equally and the end result is, inevitably, a compromise. This year's magazine sets out to publish a greater number of original contributions and while the response to the Poetry competition was encour- aging, the committee was disappointed by the comparative lack of interest in the Short Story and Photographic competitions. This edition of The Peterite is thus not exactly what the Editorial Committee wanted, but it is a step in that direction. It is hoped that next year's issue will contain more contribu- tions from the wealth of talent in the School. The Editor wishes to thank the many contributors to The Peterite and would welcome articles of general interest from Peterites past and present. 1 CONTENTS PAGE Preface 1 Editorial .. .. 2 Presentation of Prizes 3 Oxford and Cambridge .. 8 Prize List .. .. .. 8 Examination Results, 1980 .. 9 Common Room Notes .. 11 Valete .. .. 11 Salvete .. 16 School Notes .. .• 17 InterView with the Headmaster .. 18 Thirty Years On .. .. .. • 19 Result of "The Peterite" Opinion Poll .. 20 The Chapel .. .. 21 Chapel Flowers .. 23 Comnlemoration Day 23 Musid Notes .. 25 Drama .. .. .. .. 30 A Day's Climbing in Snowdonia .. 35 Sahara Expedition — Easter, 1980 36 Norway, 1980 .. 38 Cairngorms, 1980 .. 40 Combined Cadet Force .. .. 40 Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme 48 The Harris Science Society .. .. 51 The Northcote Parkinson Historical Society 51 Young Farmers' Club .. 52 Business Game .. 52 The Chess Club .. .. .. • • • • 52 "St. Peter's School, York, A.D. 627" — A Sequel 54 Visit to Parliament by Lower VI Politics Set .. 57 School Bird Ringing 57 Scanner Appeal Day 59 Visit to Munster .. 59 House Notes .. 61 Poetry Competition .. 65 Poetry Folk Evening 72 Crossword .. 80 Athletics .. 91 Cross Country 93 Swimming .. 96 Rugby .. .. 98 Boat Club .. .. 109 Hockey Club .. 113 Cricket .. .. .. 116 Squash Rackets, 1979-80 .. 125 Tennis .. .. 125 Water Polo .. .. 126 Fencing .. .. 127 Bristol Letter .. 128 Cambridge Letter 129 Old Peterite News 130 EDITORIAL "Titanic sunk — one Aberdonian feared drowned." Such reputedly was the headline of an Aberdeen newspaper after the catastrophe in 1912. Whether this headline was ever printed I have yet to discover, but it does have a certain credibility and confirms the insularity found in many countries. Britain has had to be an outward looking country to survive and yet, paradoxically, in the context of the international community we are often too pre-occupied with our own relatively petty problems. The Media has much to answer for in this respect. A staggeringly high proportion of the world's population lives either on or below subsistence level. We see appalling images of starvation crawl across our television screens and die in front of our eyes. And yet the Media gives such disasters a comparatively low news-rating. Certainly if five people die in a London train crash it commands more attention than the rising tide of famine and lingering death in the Horn of Africa. We, in the western industrial democracies, are a small, affluent elite surrounded by a sea of world poverty. Too often the cries of the starving are ignored. Was the Chapel Collection of £55 from staff and pupils a realistic donation to the Kampuchean refugees dying in their hundreds each day from starvation ? And yet when our record is examined closely, as Richard Harding has done in his excellent chronological history of the School, it can be seen that if St. Peter's stands for anything, it is not insularity nor lack of commit- ment to the wider world. Generations of Old Peterites have made significant contributions in every walk of life. This present generation will see more fundamental changes in their lives than any other. We are living in an age of "dissolving certainties", to borrow a phrase. It is for this reason that one of the major challenges facing education is not simply to produce exam success, but to make pupils more aware of the problems they will face not just as citizens of this country, but as part of the world community. 2 PRESENTATION OF PRIZES 6th October, 1979 The Chair was taken by the Dean of York, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, and the prizes were distributed by Professor S. B. Saul, Vice Chan- cellor of the University of York. Mr. D. G. Cummin, the Acting Headmaster, started his speech by welcoming the Lord Mayor of York, the Lady Mayoress and the Vice Chancellor. He then continued: There can be no better way of keeping strong the links between the School and the City than to have here together the First Citizen, the Vice- Chancellor of the University and you Mr. Dean as our Chairman, reminding us of our close ties with the Minster. In echoing the words of welcome to our visitors that you have made Mr. Dean, may I add how very gratified we are that one of our Clifton Coun- cillors is this year's Lord Mayor, making this a peculiarly local as well as a Civic occasion. In considering the past year I must first sadly refer to the deaths of three people closely connected with our community: In April, in the fullness of his years, Leslie Creer died: a distinguished citizen and a distinguished Old Peterite; President of the Club for many years, Clerk to the Governors and later a Governor himself — truly a man of whom both the City and the School are justly proud. I said that Leslie Creer died in the fullness of his years, and as though to remind us of the mystery of life, we lost two very young members of our community. The gentle Jillian Harness died in April. She had had to give up her school life knowing that she had not long, but she often came to see us and at every visit she made us all feel happier. Then in July, Paul Green was drowned in a canoeing accident. As a Sub-Lieutenant on the threshold of his career, he had just gained his Engineer- ing degree in the Royal Navy and the future looked bright. We extend our sympathy to those who mourn their loss and we assure them that we remember them with pride and joy. As one having the responsibility to try to keep in good order the bridge between two Headmasterships, I am able both to look back to the past few years and forward to the future. It is with affection and admiration that I look back to Peter Gardiner's twelve years with us here. He brought us intellectual refreshment, and with his quiet and often subtle ways, effected changes in the life of the School that showed his determination to seek to fulfil the vision that he had. But as a practical schoolmaster he took an unstinting part in the day to day life of the School — in games, drama and all kinds of activities — and he was always accessible to masters and pupils alike. Peter Gardiner frequently reminded us that education is a process that has no proper connection with politics or social differences, and it is entirely characteristic of his honesty of purpose that, in seeking change for himself, he should find it in a school where the aim is exactly the same as in any other school and where only the environment is different. We who have worked with Peter Gardiner know that he will enrich those with whom he now works. We thank him for what he has done here and we wish him happiness and success. And now we look to the future, and we are ready to welcome Mr. Peter Hughes from Shrewsbury School. My contacts with Mr. Hughes make it dear that you and the Governors, Mr. Dean, have made a wise choice and that 3 we can look forward to the cautious development of new ideas that can only bring further prosperity to the School. Meanwhile we look back on the past year, and first I refer to academic achievements. You will see on the prize list the successes in entries to Oxford and Cambridge, and there is cause for particular congratulation to Nigel Pemberton who, at the age of 16, became an Associate of the Royal College of Organists. This is not the first time a boy at the School has achieved this distinction, but I think Nigel is the youngest to have done so here. A further individual distinction is the award to John Abbott of a National Open Scholar- ship to read Engineering as a civilian scholar, at the Royal Military College of Science. At the Ordinary Level of the G.C.E., the results were much as last year. Of the 91 Vth Form candidates, 10 passed tz subjects each and the overall percentage of passes (73%) is slightly down on last year, but in general we can say that all through the '0' levels the industrious were rewarded.