NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2010

An Adobe PDF version of this newsletter is available here.

Items in this newsletter:

Rowland Brown  |   JOHN-PAUL STEVENS  |   Letters to the Editor  |   New Building Programme  |   News from the RGS  |   OW Events  |   Remembrance Day  |   Visit of the Queen

Editor writes:

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS!

To those of you who are on our emailing-list, my apologies. All 2000+ of you should have received another email in the last couple of months. However, we have had technical hitches. First of all, the different lists of OWs on my computer disappeared, and then when Martin Berry had set up all the lists on a gmail account, we found that you could not send many out at one time.

Therefore it is with this in mind that Steffi Trott will in future be sending out the emails on my behalf. Due to the recent issues with sending to large volumes of email addresses and that as Development Officer with responsibility for maintaining communication between RGS and its Old Boys, it would be appropriate for Steffi to take on this responsibility from this point forward. The emails will still be written by me, but forwarded by Steffi and maintain the same format. If we currently do not have your email address and you would like to receive an email, with news and events of OW activities and the School, then please email it to Steffi (sat@rgshw.com) and she will gladly add you to the distribution list. If you want to respond to anything that appears in the email or newsletter on the website, or send any photos, reminiscences or articles, please continue to send them to me (ianrclarkuk@yahoo.co.uk.)

Old Boys’ Rugby Match, Friday 17 December 2010

FRORGS (Friends of Rugby at RGS) is looking forward to welcoming all OWs at the 2nd annual Old Boys’ Rugby match on Friday 17 December, at 1pm at the school.

There will be the opportunity to purchase refreshments, a rugby stash as well as a raffle. Players will be going to the Beaconsfield Rugby Club after the match, making it a perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends.

To register your interest, please email Stephanie Trott, Development Officer, on sat@rgshw.com.

OW EVENTS IN 2011

A number of events that may be of interest to OWs will be taking place in 2011, from sporting fixtures to the Old Boys' Dinner, and we hope that the variety of events scheduled for 2011 will provide a greater opportunity for as many OWs as possible to attend.

Saturday	Old Boys' Family Garden Party
7 May 2011	An occasion for Old Boys to show their friends and family where they went to school; play cricket on the pitches, take a tour of the grounds or just relax in the company of fellow OWs, the Family Garden Party is open to everyone including children of all ages.
Wednesday	Duncan Moore Memorial Cricket Match
13 July 2011	The match has been played annually since 2000 in memory of OW Duncan Moore (1990-1996), a very talented all-rounder at school and county level, who lost his life in a car accident. The OWs now lead in the series 5-4 with the 2009 match having been cancelled.
Monday	26th Anniversary Cricket Match in Honour of 1985 U15 Team Reaching the final of the Lord's Taverners Colts Trophy Competition at Edgbaston
18 July 2011	Following the win of the Old Boys' 'Over 40s' team at the 25th Anniversary Match in 2010, it will be a tense match to see if the 1985 U15 team can level the playing field.
Saturday	Old Boys' Annual Dinner
17 September 2011	The Dinner is open to all OW members and their guest(s). If you would like to organise a reunion for your year or for any special group, such as a decennial anniversary reunion, please get in touch with Stephanie Trott, the Development Officer, who can help you with addresses, contacting contemporaries and providing a venue for special additional meetings if you wish.

Further details for each event, including prices for the Family Day and Dinner, will be released in due course. If you would like to be involved in any of the OW events listed above or you have an idea for a regional reunion and want help in organising it, please contact Stephanie Trott in the Development Office either by email to sat@rgshw.com or telephone 01494 551412.

DEATHS

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Those of you who live in Wycombe have probably heard the sad news that Rowland Brown, Headmaster of the RGS from 1975-1993 has died. I believe that Rowland was a great Headmaster and as a Deputy Headmaster for 15 of those years, he made my job so much easier because he was held in such esteem by colleagues and boys alike. Roy Page, the present Headmaster, said, "There can be no doubt that Rowland will be remembered as one of the great Headmasters of the RGS and arguably on the national scene as well. It was a privilege to work with him, and there will be many who will testify to Rowland's extraordinary dedication to the RGS. Never a man of the grand statement or gesture, but when Rowland spoke, it was always worth paying attention and listening carefully."

His quiet authority, wisdom and passion for the school will be much missed. He was hugely respected by his fellow Headmasters. There is no doubt that the RGS was a great debt to Rowland Brown. He was an exceptional Headmaster and a remarkable man. We extend our deepest sympathy to Jay, his wife, and his family.

ED: If you have any memories of Rowland, that you would like to share, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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JOHN-PAUL STEVENS, who came to the RGS as Head of Maths in 2006, collapsed and died, while playing hockey. He was married with two young children. We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife, family and friends.

The Headmaster, Roy Page writes as follows:

"This is tragic news for RGS. We have lost a popular and supportive colleague who was an outstanding teacher and an inspirational head of department. We will miss him greatly and there will be an opportunity at a later date to pay full tribute to Mr Stevens and all he contributed to the RGS.

Our loss is indeed difficult to contemplate, but it pales into insignificance when we remember that Mr Stevens leaves a young widow and two young daughters, aged 6 and 3. Mr Stevens comes from a large loving and caring family who were immensely proud of all he had achieved.

We offer our condolences to all of them. Their loss is unimaginable and we will of course be supporting them in any way we can."

MALLOTT Herbert C. (1927 - 32). Died at the ripe old age of 94 years. Senior Electrical Control Engineer in the West Midlands and Yorkshire. He always felt that the RGS gave him the best start in life and that his Headmaster - Mr GW Arnison was the 'finest man he had ever met'

FUNNELL E.T. (1930-1938)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Hi John and Ian:

Attached is a photo which I don't think you have. The date on the back appears to be 1964 (it's hard to read). It looks like the Colts Cricket team (or the Junior Colts 1963).

The players I recall are:

TOP (Left to Right) Johnnie Clark, Capek?, Leo North, ?, Huggins?

BOTTOM: Me, D.H. Whitwham?, Dave Gatland, John Culley, Keith Chamberlain

I'm terrible with names so they are guesses. There was a K.J. McIntosh in the team, perhaps he's the one next to Huggins and also a Setterington was on the team that season.

Cheers, Peter

Ed. If you do have any photos of School events, Sports teams trips etc, do sent the in. We will publish them, and bring back memories

Dear Ian, 1954 CCF CAMP

Re the photos published in the last newsletter, (Ed. and republished above), they were taken at the 1954 CCF camp at Pirbright by Andrew MacTavish on his box camera.

Regarding the group photo at bottom right, Andrew explained "The camera was balanced on two empty Bofors ammunition boxes, everyone was told to remain rock still, and the shutter was opened for about 3 seconds.

Despite everything, and despite the blackened faces, some people are identifiable. The light has caught the glasses of someone in the front left, and John King is to his right. Derek Slade is leaning forward in a light jacket just off centre.

Directly above his head is the head of Willatts. and the second head to his right, at the back, is Peter Severn. Small, Arnold, Maunder and Simmons are also visible, as are others if only I could remember their names."

Andrew wrote a full and fascinating account of this CCF camp for the Wycombiensian at the time and I have put the complete article on my website http://www.rgs.tonyhare.co.uk/ccf/1954_pirbright.html together with many further identifications Andrew made. If you can add any further information, please contact me directly via my website.

Thanks, Tony

Hello Ian

Thanks for the newsletter and I'm very sorry to hear about Judy de Gelas. I didn't know her personally, but it's sad nevertheless.

Michael Vaughan-Williams wrote in glowing terms of Mervyn Davies' enthusiasm and linguistic fervour and you asked "Anyone else have memories of Mervyn?"

In mid-2005, soon after I learned of MMD's death, I wrote to you that "Mervyn was my House Master at Uplyme from 1952-58. What a wonderful influence he was on my life! His skills in man-management would have suited him to any job in industry or the diplomatic service, but I'm sure that his role at Uplyme was what he was cut out to do. With the help of Iris and kindly matrons, Nessie S. Macintyre & Mrs Connolly, he was able to ensure a real home-from-home, with no bullying and always with a totally fair handling of every situation. I was able to go and see him about 18 months ago when we reminded each other of several happy and/or funny occurrences of 50 years ago. May he rest in peace".

As joint Uplyme Boarding House Head Prefect in 1957-58 (along with Bill Hackett and deputy Nick Krohn), I enjoyed Mervyn's weekly visit to the prefects' common room in what would have previously been the garage, to chat in general about life and any problems that we might have wished to share with him. It was a 2-room brick-built garage, the main part of which was a lounge of sorts, with facility to rustle up such delicacies as beans on toast or suchlike, while the back was largely storage. Just before Mervyn arrived, always by prior agreement, we would do our best to burn some toast to cover up the smell of cigarettes. Mervyn would always knock before entering and say in that lilting Welsh accent "Bit stuffy in here boys. Open a window". We knew that he knew why it was 'stuffy' but he never let it spoil our relationship. Total respect without fear.

To that I would simply add that I never heard anyone ever have a bad word to say about him. He was a fine human being with a remarkable ability to make others feel better about themselves.

Good to hear from you Ian, as always.

Graham Watson

Dear Ian,

Thank you for your email, which caused me to open the Newsletter. I notice that you have requested any anecdotes about Mervyn "Taffy" Davies, who was my housemaster at Uplyme when I was there from about 1947 until 1951.

He and Iris and their two children lived on the top floor of Uplyme and had a dining room and sitting room on the ground floor, while we boys had dormitories on the first floor. We also had a part of a big hut in the garden as a common room and some outhouses were occupied by the prefects' study. It was a pleasant arrangement and suited me very well.

The Davies' formed the habit of asking us boys down to their sitting room on Saturday evenings to watch "In Town Tonight" and the Vic Oliver Show or some other offering. The TV set had a small screen - black and white, of course, and we all crowded round to enjoy the show. One day Taffy was very cross with us over some problem, and because nobody would own up to being responsible, he cancelled our Saturday night TV.

We talked of revenge, but how to do it? Well, I was always messing about with electrical equipment and I possessed an electric bell, battery-driven. I knew that TV signals were prone to electrical interference, and that my bell produced a healthy spark from its internal contacts which would certainly affect Taffy's TV, producing "snow" on the picture. His antenna had been mounted on the wall by the window next to my bed, so one evening we tried it out. Not long afterwards Taffy appeared on his usual round before "lights out", complaining bitterly that he had been unable to watch some rugby match because the TV was on the blink. We were delighted, and continued to sabotage programmes that we thought he would like to watch.

Eventually we tired of this sport, and soon afterwards Taffy reinstated his TV evenings "now that the TV set seems to have cured itself". Looking back on it, I now wonder if he wasn't aware of our nasty little trick. He was a kindly man, with a volatile disposition and I think all my contemporaries were fond of him. I certainly was, and I was sad to hear of his last days, blind and lonely. He deserved much better than that.

Richard Howard Jones (1944 - 1951)

Dear Ian,

Yes, I have one....

I have always been amazed at how Mr Mervyn Davies used to be able to recite the names of all the students in his class, in alphabetical order, without referring to any notes, and he did this year after year!

In my first term at the RGS he recited the list of 30 names daily, without once looking down, for the attendance record and it's been firmly lodged in my head for 45 years now - and I just can't get rid of it!

I therefore have no problem either in recalling as if it were only yesterday.......

"Abbott, Barnes, Birch, Britnell, Brown, Cook, Copping, Crisp, Dawson, Dicker, Evans, Gibson, Hansell, Haynes, Hutchison, Indge, Lance, Lord, Losasso, Mawhinney, Newton, Nutt, Phillips, Raine, Rose, Russell, Saunders, Smith, Spencer and Woolley"

John Lance Form 2E 1965 jwlance@hotmail.com

Ed. More OWs have written in over the years with their memories of Mervyn than any other teacher. Was there a teacher you would want to write about with fond memories?

Dear Ian

I have found the above photo which still to this day makes me laugh out loud. We used to hold the "RGS Arts Festival" annually and I think this would have been about 1976, huge paper letters sellotaped in the windows to attract the locals. Rod Bungey and I crept into this block at lunchtime when it was empty and ran up and down the stairs and in this front classroom changing the letters around. We even dared to cross the busy road outside and take this photo as evidence. The weird thing was that by the time we had excitedly reached our classmates to tell them the news and they in turn had poured outside to see the changes, it had all been reassembled. Luckily the photo, retrieved from Boots about two weeks later, provided the proof we needed to enhance our "street cred".

Best wishes Nick Bishop

Ed. What was your favourite act of mischief at the RGS? Did anything happen that makes you laugh whenever you think about it?

Dear Ian,

This autumn my wife and I toured around the Baltic with the Great Rail Journeys company. We visited Copenhagen, Stockholm, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki and St Petersburg,. In Copenhagen we met Axel Lethin and his wife. Axel stayed with my family in Wycombe in the summer of 1952 and I stayed with his family in Korsor in Denmark. We have been in touch for most of the intervening years and our families have stayed with each other at various times. In Helsinki we met Risto Soivio and his wife. Risto stayed with my family in 1951 for the Festival of Britain and I, along with about 25 RGS boys, visited Helsinki for the 1952 Olympics. Risto and I have stayed in contact over the years and have exchanged family visits. Our guide in Helsinki took us to the Olympic stadium and explained about the '52 Olympics. She was somewhat bemused when I told her that I had seen most of the athletics including Zatopec's three gold medals. At a special Antiques Sport Roadshow at Lords last year they valued my '52 Olympics tickets etc. at around £750 +. All these continuing links were made possible by the efforts of Aubrey Rees, our gym master, and his wife. My real regret is that he did not live long enough to know about such long lasting friendships.

Geoff Sherlock (1947-54)

Dear Ian,

"Year 13" won't mean much to pre-1970 leavers with no children of their own but I understand "last day of school". To be honest I cannot remember my last day at school very clearly. It would have been the last day of the Autumn Term, 1970, and most of us in the Classical Sixth (3rd/4th years) were still waiting for the results of our Oxford/Cambridge entrance exams. Some of the high-fliers already knew they had won scholarships and exhibitions, but we borderline candidates were still in the dark. There was one sensation when it was learnt that Peter Costello, widely tipped for an Oxford scholarship, had only achieved a commoner's place. It is true to say that he was absolutely distraught, but before long he learnt that there had been an administrative c ock-up in sending out his result and that he had indeed won a scholarship. After the Oxbridge entrance exams we had nothing much to do at school but managed to obtain permission from 'Jock' Learmonth to use one of the school gyms (which is now the library and had originally been the school hall) to play basketball as long as it was available. That is all I recall of those last few days at the RGS, playing basketball with Richard Staynor, Richard Simons, Peter Costello and others. I've probably never been fitter.

Of the very last day, nothing remains, but I recall the bittersweet feeling of leaving. I didn't feel necessarily that I was coming to the end of 'the happiest days of my life' - nor do I feel that now, but I was perfectly aware of the significance of schooldays in my life. I can't quite find the words but John Comer's excellent book The Old Time (see http://www.theoldtime.com/) captures this end-of-era feeling extremely well, when he describes going on a summer holiday with some fellow OW leavers.

One thing I do recall extremely well was going back to school on the first day of the following (Spring) term in January. By then I knew I was bound for Cambridge in the Autumn, having had my Oxbridge result a few days after the previous term had ended. I'm not quite sure why I chose to go back to school for this one day, as I had quite definitively left in the December whether I had succeeded in getting into Cambridge or not. Perhaps it was because I wanted to swank about getting into Cambridge(!) with my fellow pupils, or to thank Mr Haworth, you and my other classics masters and say a proper goodbye. I think I was wearing school uniform and went into assembly as usual. But the journey to school that day was really rather pointless. After assembly, as pupils and staff went into classrooms for their first lessons of the day and closed the doors behind them, I was left outside in the corridor and the school suddenly went quiet. That moment, in the corridor outside the Classical Sixth form room, I can picture very clearly. What to do now? I no longer belonged. Nothing left to do but to wend my way home. I remember feeling rather sad.

Regards John Saunders

Ed. What was your emotion when you left the RGS? Joy? Relief? A touch of sadness? Do send in any personal memories.

Dear Ian,

Just after sending you my last mail, I realized you might be interested in a couple of photos I have of Lizzie's visit to the school back in 1962. They are digital conversions from colour slides I took myself. I was 16 at the time, and Lizzie 36!. The head boy (to be seen to the right of Tucker as he's greeting Lizzie) was D.K.Stratford.

Best wishes, Michael Ferguson

Hi Ian,

I have just discovered the web site and it has brought back many happy memories. I was a pupil from 1956 to 1963.

The old rugby photos were a particular joy and reminded me of several old friends, not seen since those distant days. I had no idea that my old team mate Ian Whitwham was so famous.

I have a number of old tennis team photos, but these were always published in the school magazine.

Best wishes, D.G. (Dave) Orchard

Ed. The more photos, the better!

Hello Ian,

I see in my Jesus College Cambridge 2010 report that Adrian Runswick died on 17 May aged 83. He was my housemaster at School House before John Skipp arrived (I think). I certainly remember him. There are more details in his college obit if you want them.

Hope you are well, Best regards Robin Dorkings

NEWS FROM THE RGS

Ed. I thought OWs would be interested in learning about Proposed Change of Status of the RGS, in view of the discussion in the Media about the new Academy Status. Following is the text from a letter to Parents from the Headmaster, sent home on Friday 22nd October:

Dear Parents

The Governing Body of The Royal Grammar School is currently considering whether the RGS, as an "Outstanding" school, should become one of the first grammar schools in the country to become an Academy. This conversion would be in line with the government's plans for a reformed system of strong, autonomous schools and a modernised role for local authorities.

The Trustees and Governing Body have approved the submission of an 'application to convert' to the Secretary of State for Education. If accepted, this will release funds that we will use to research all aspects that are required for the final application. Predominantly these funds will be used for legal advice. This submission does not signify confirmation that we will apply formally for change of status.

The Governing Body has set up an Academy Project Committee (APC) which will gather all relevant information, including comment from staff, pupils, parents and other stakeholders of the school in order to make an informed decision about whether the Royal Grammar School should convert to Academy status. The decision to change status, however, resides entirely with the Governing Body and will be based on the findings of the APC. We hope that the APC will be in a position to make a recommendation to the Governing Body early in the New Year.

As you will be aware, the RGS is currently a foundation school and I'm sure you will share with me a vision of the RGS as a leading innovative force in the delivery of continuously improving and high quality education within a culture of intellectual freedom. We want it to meet the needs and aspirations of boys across the 11-18 age range whatever their background or circumstances. We also want the school to provide a rich environment of opportunities for students to develop a broad range of extracurricular skills to their highest potential. There are no cast iron guarantees, but the additional income and freedom that Academy status brings should enable the RGS to achieve that vision more effectively than remaining as a foundation school. In particular, we would hope that the freedom to develop our curriculum, our extracurricular activities and our estate will bring benefits to current and future generations of RGS boys that would not be possible under local authority control.

There would be three key differences, if we convert to Academy status:

• The school will cease to be funded through the local authority, but will instead be funded and maintained directly by the Department for Education. In addition, this will mean that the school can retain the Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant portion of its budget. The APC is researching exactly how much this extra money will be and how much we will have to spend on services currently provided by the local authority, some of which we already pay for.
• An Academy Trust will be set up to own the school's site, which is currently owned by the existing RGS Foundation Trust. Transfer will probably be put into effect by a leasing arrangement. It is anticipated that all existing governors will have the right to complete their term of office as governors on the Academy's Governing Body.
• The school staff will be employed by the Academy Trust. As a foundation school, staff are already employed by the Governing Body. The Governing Body of the RGS prides itself on having excellent relationships with all the staff of the school. The employment rights of all members of staff will be protected by TUPE, Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, which came into force in 2006. This means that these employment rights will transfer to the Trust under the same terms and conditions of employment. Pension rights and continuity of service record will also be preserved. The APC will be setting up a full consultation with all staff to ensure that any problems or issues concerning them are fully dealt with.

The APC is made up from members of the Governing Body, including Parent Governors, Staff Governors and Foundation Governors as well as the Headmaster and representatives of teaching and support staff. Over the coming months, the APC will consider the financial, personnel, legal and curriculum implications of such a conversion, and will take fully into account the views of staff, pupils and parents. Once the APC has gathered all the relevant information, a recommendation will be made to the main Governing Body whether or not to apply formally for change of status.

If we decide to become an Academy some important matters would not change:

• We will continue to act as our own admissions authority. We will act in accordance with the government's Code of Practice for admissions and continue to consult on our admissions policy in accordance with the Code.
• We will continue to be named the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe and our uniform would not change.
• The extra-curricular programme, the school day, pastoral support and general organisation of the school will not be affected. Collaborative working with our partner schools will continue. Indeed we would hope that these areas will be enhanced under Academy status.

We will endeavour to make this process as transparent as possible and, to keep you informed as we make progress, you will find a range of material about the potential conversion on our school website, including updated versions of Frequently Asked Questions.

Please send any comments you may wish to make concerning this proposal by email to apc@rgshw.com or in writing to:

Mrs D Chick, Headmaster's PA, Royal Grammar School, Amersham Road, High Wycombe HP13 6QT.

Yours sincerely

R.M. Page Headmaster

NEW BUILDING PROGRAMME

We are pleased to report that the building programme that was announced several months ago will shortly be starting. A contractor has been appointed for the project that will see the creation of extra maths classrooms, Sixth Form study facilities, improved changing rooms, including swimming pool changing rooms and toilets, as well as a fitness and gym suite.

PHASE I: involves the Maths and Sixth Form Block. The Old Gym will be converted to 3 classrooms, with new offices for Maths staff, a mezzanine Sixth Form area upstairs and toilets for pupils

• Cost: £400,000
• Start date: Winter Term 2010
• Duration: 47-50 days

Phase II: will focus on entirely reworking the existing changing rooms to include a "wet" changing area for the pool, an upstairs gym and multi-purpose room as well as a balcony and viewing area.

• Cost: £850,000
• Proposed start date: 2011 (80 - 90 days)

REMEMBRANCE DAY

On Thursday 11th November at 11am the whole RGS school community came together for the annual traditional Service of Remembrance. For the first time, the wet weather meant that we had to hold the ceremony in the Queen's Hall and the Space below. Boys, staff, parents and friends gathered together, sang a hymn, listened to readings and prayers, and fell silent for two minutes at 11am.

On Sunday 14th November the school arranged for a cross of remembrance to be placed in the Garden of Remembrance in Westminster in London in memory of RGS Old Boy Frederick Youens, who lost his life just outside Ypres in Belgium in the First World War, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. Year 9 boys visit his grave in the Railway Dugouts Cemetery and hold a moving ceremony there each year as part of our French History trip. Pictures of the cross in the Garden of Remembrance are shown below.

These three items have all been taken from the RGS website. If you want to learn more about the activities at the School, do go on to their website.

THANKS!

Many thanks to Martin Berry for his management of the OW website and for his wonderful help in preparing the newsletters and the emails.

Hopefully the next newsletter will appear in March.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!