THE PETERITE O.P. CLUB CENTENARY YEAR No. 403 1985-1986 R. N. PITTMAN HEADMASTER 1986 This number was designed to celebrate the centenary of the foundation of the Old Peterite Club in 1886; and so it does. But on the 22nd July 1986 came the dreadful news from Norway that Mr. R. B. Daniel had been killed in a climbing accident on the Svartisen glacier, while leading a School group. To him too we dedicate this edition as a tribute to his courage and skill as a mountaineer as well to the memory of a fine and dedicated schoolmaster, whom we all miss with aching hearts. "omnia tecum unaperieruntgaudia nostra " THE PETERITE 1985-1986 No. 403 Contents PAGE PAGE School Notes 2 Rugby 45 Senior Common Room 2 Hockey 52 Valete 3 Squash 55 Commemoration 5 Badminton 55 G.C.E. Examination Results 8 Swimming 56 Careers 11 Cross Country 57 Chapel; Music 12 Cricket 59 Drama 15 Tennis 63 Societies 18 Athletics 64 Expeditions 21 Boat Club .. 64 The Weather 26 Oxford Cup .. 65 Combined Cadet Force 27 Archives 65 House Notes . 30 Old Peterite Club . 66 B arry E)anie l I-XV1[ School Appointments Head of School: T. Lakin. Vice Head: T. D. Welburn. School Monitors: L. Helen Benton, C. R. Bosomworth, A. M. Bowler, P. J. Brotherton, S. Forman, Leman Harris, S. J. M. Jones, B. B. Reed, Victoria H. Rigby, J. J. Semlyen, D. M. D. White. Games Captains: Rugby Football J. Brewster Cricket S. Forman Hockey T. J. R. Wharton Girls' Hockey Jennifer M. Ward Boats W. P. Davidson Girls' Boats Philippa C. Mutter Netball Alison Kitwood Squash Leman Harris Girls' Squash Lorna E. Hambly Shooting S. G. Carr Tennis Leman Harris Girls' Tennis Lorna E. Hambly Swimming J. A. Fricker Cross Country J. J. Semlyen Chess A. M. Bowler School Notes In the last issue we welcomed Mr. R N. Pittman as Headmaster. During his first year at the School a tutorial system has been introduced, which will do much to encourage pupils in their work and life here. As there are now more day pupils than boarders, the Sunday community services have been discontinued. In September 1985 Mr. D. M. Crook, B.A. (Hull), joined the Staff to teach French, Mr. R. G. Shread, M.Sc. (York), to teach Chemistry, and for one year, Mr. P. R. Kingsbury, B.Sc. (York), to teach Mathematics. They are happily making their mark in many areas. During the year Mrs. J. Dawson and Mrs. J. C. Dench have left and we congratulate them on the birth of their children. Mr. D. J. Raggett has gone to Fulford School to look after Computer Studies. Major P. B. Jelbert has succeeded Colonel J. P. F. Abbott as Bursar. We wish all these ladies and gentlemen well, and thank the leavers for what they have done, especially Colonel Abbott who has served the School untiringly for twelve years in a most important role. At Oxford and Cambridge. places were awarded to S. P. Harrison at Fitzwilliam College, D. W. Pearsall at Emmanuel College, Judith A. Charman at Wadham College and Tharangini Sriharan at St. Hilda's College. B. W. Lowes and D. J. McLean Steel were awarded Army Scholarships, and P. F. Wareham an R.A.F. Scholarship. Lectures to the Sixth Form have been given by Mr. H. Doswell of Project Trust, Mr. M. D. B. Sinclair, Major S. W. Sykes and Mr. R. A. Hall. Princess Anne landed by helicopter at the School during the Christmas Term Half Term Holiday and was greeted by the Headmaster and Mrs. Pittman. The Princess was fulfilling an engagement in York before flying to Catterick. Mr. J. N. Gaastra died in hospital on the 12th November 1985. He had retired only two years earlier after serving as Director of Art for many years. We send our sympathy to his wife and family. M. S. Rickman won the Under 16 Class 1985 Hong Kong and Macau Ballroom and Latin American International Championship with his partner. D. N. Calderhead represented England in the World Youth Fencing Championship at Stuttgart in March. Scholarships at 13+ were awarded to J. M. L. Ayers, J. J. M. Blewitt, A. G. Curtis, A. P. N. Dunn, R. M. Macleod, M. W. E. Sumpton and M. J. G. Williams, at 16+ to P. S. Bond, N. P. Durham, Jacqueline L. Grace, Marianne Klar and Rebecca J. Sharrock. Again the School has been eager to raise money for charities. A 'non-uniform' day on 4th February raised over £110 for an 'Emergency Box' appeal, and on the 25th May £210 was given to the Sport Aid Race Against Time. On the 1st May the vast majority of the School took part in a sponsored walk which raised over £9,000 for the paediatric department of York District Hospital. Mr. J. C. Brown designed and executed a St. William's cross which the Archbishop presented to the Fire Brigade for their services in saving the Minster, when fire gutted the south transept in July 1984. In return the Fire Brigade gave a commemorative plaque to Mr. Brown. Senior Common Room At the beginning of the year we welcomed Robert Shread (Chemistry), David Crook (French) and Peter Kingsbury (Mathematics), who is leaving us after a year to enter the preparatory school world. At the end of the Easter Term Jane Dawson left and we were very happy to learn of the arrival, soon after the Summer Term began, of a son to Jane and Michael. Jane's place was taken by Robert Worsnop who came temporarily to teach Mathematics for the Summer Term. It all seems to be happening in the Mathematics Department and David Raggett is moving to the other side of York next term when he becomes a Head of Computer Studies, having strongly established the place of computers in this School. Our final farewell is to Jean Dench whose baby is due during the Summer holidays and we wish her well for this event and look forward to seeing her and Jane with their respective infants when they revisit the S.C.R. Common Room participation in School affairs has again been widespread and a number of examples follows. It would be impossible to mention all that has happened and I can only apologise in advance for any glaring omissions. Two major events in the School year were directed towards Charity and these are reported in full elsewhere. Some staff entered into the spirit of the non-uniform day and Messrs Hubbard and Shuttleworth made a particularly elegant pair. A number of us took the easy way out and paid up to be allowed to dress normally. The whole Common Room was involved in the sponsored walk in early May and we were delighted to be joined by colleagues from the School offices, the maintenance departments and the catering staff. Some dozen members of the Common Room, as well as the Head Master, walked the full 20 miles, while the rest were involved in marshalling and in manning check points during what turned out to be one of the most perfect days of the Term. The School play, again reported elsewhere, in the Summer Term was a performance in the Chapel of Zigger Zagger. Again there was good representation from the S.C.R. and the typecasting was often so good as to be almost cruel! However all who took part enjoyed themselves to the extent that even Ian Lowe's patience was sorely tried by his colleagues. The usual wide range of sporting activities can also be recorded, while the older and/or less athletic of us could only sit and admire. Activities included numerous 5-a-side football games and an 11-a-side match against leavers, a 7-a-side rugby match against Old Peterites in the Christmas Term and a full 15-a-side match against the Old Peterites in the Easter Term - in this match the S.C.R. team was grateful for the help given by members of the 1st XV in making up the numbers. The S.C.R. was also involved in hockey and basket-ball while a number of cricket matches are pending at the time of writing these notes. K.G.C. 2 Colonel J. P. F. Abbott CBE 'If it's not teaching it must be the Bursar's responsibility' is often thought and sometimes said / > in an independent School. This means that a bursar must have, apart from administrative skill, a deep measure of tolerance and readiness to deal with the unexpected; a pained request for something to be done about litter in front of the School or the state of the school bus might be followed by a call from a senior Governor for an explanation of an estimated additional hundred thousand pounds of expenditure, or from a parent asking what should be done about her son's torn jacket. Colonel Paul Abbot came to St. Peter's well equipped to face varied problems large and small. Commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment from the Territorial Army in 1939, he transferred some years after the war into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, graduated from the Staff College in 1954 and served in a wide range of posts from Washington to Malaysia, where he was Director of Ordnance Services for the Malaysian Government. Colonel Abbott was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1964, and his last Army post was Deputy Director of Ordnance Services at North East District in York.