Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

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eucsgmrc
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by eucsgmrc »

J.R. wrote:I don't recall having to 'pay' for films from my pocket-money. Maybe it was kept quiet in Coleridge B !!
Pocket money would make a good topic for another thread, but I'm too idle to begin it. So ...

In Col A, so far as I remember, Kit declared (to parents) an acceptable maximum and minimum for a term, and the parents sent the money to Kit. He kept an account book, and issued pocket money to boys on Saturday mornings. You could ask for whatever you wanted each Saturday, and he would hand it over, but when your account ran out then there was no credit, so you were poverty-stricken for the rest of the term unless you could persuade your parents to send some more - something that I never dared ask for. Also, Kit would deduct items like the film money, without giving you any choice.

We all learned very quickly to be miserly with our money, so that we might have some left over at the end of term, which Kit would return to us as a lump sum.

The amounts were small. When I started in 1954, I think I was allowed less than a pound a term.

If any friendly aunt or uncle sent you a postal order, you could cash it at the post office. I don't think Kit expected us to turn the money in to him.

All of which is a preamble to my reply to JR: if there was a similar system in ColB, then you might never realise that you had paid film money.
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by DavidRawlins »

Some boys had their pocket money paid from some school or house funds on odd occasions if their parents were unable to give them any.
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by michael scuffil »

The (minimum) amount of pocket money was specified on the back of reports for a long time. When I started, it was 30/- per term. It was also specified that 5/- of this was to be deducted for 'House Funds'. By the time I left, these figures had risen to 40/- and 7/6 respectively.
So that would have left 25/- for a ten-week term, or at most half a crown a week. Though I imagine most parents topped this up when they came to visit, and if you were a swab, you could expect at least another 10/-.
In Th.B., John Page would hand out pocket money every Saturday after lunch. If you asked for more than 2/6, he'd probably ask what you wanted it for.
The School Rules which I have in front of me state quite explicitly that 'All money must be banked with housemasters.'
(For modern purchasing power, you need to multiply by about 20-25, i.e. basically pounds instead of shilling plus a bit.)
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J.R.
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Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by J.R. »

It has been suggested on another thread that the above subject might be of interest.

So please comment......................


As you will see, I have selected the posts that refer to pocket money and moved from "Films..." !
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by sejintenej »

When I started in Prep A the minimum was £1 10/- and I never heard of it being increased.
After a few weeks I got called in by the housemaster (de Jones man, don't e know but I don't speak Welsh) and berated because I had never bought anything at the tuckshop. Thus humbled I presented myself and was confronted by a terrifying display of bottles of multicolored objects, some of which I was compelled (my bum had already tasted my slipper) to purchase and consume. There were no shops where I lived so I had never seen sweets before so dismay was the order of the day (joined with fear of the slipper) so I pointed. Then there was the follow-up of how many ounces? (To self, what in heavens sake is an ounce? Does it bite? sting?)
Yeuch, yuck, eugh and every other applicable word. Don't take me within a mile of liquorice again. That bit got spit out and the rest in the bin and I had learned that sweets are baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. I don't need the PM to tell me. (Oh, but I like the covering of liquorice allsorts - why do Bassetts have to put that muck in the middle? )

Back to pocket money, as I became older I got a generous amount for the year such that if I got the whole lot back from Kit I could pay my train fare home and even spend a few shillings on Xmas presents (or buy a shirt). I didn't dare not supply Kit with his 30/- to hold until term end or I might get close to winning the most cane/slipper contest against a certain boy in Peele B
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by Requested Removal 18 »

Genuinely can't remember the exact amounts but I seem to remember it being about £30 per term by the end of my time there in 1990.

Maths teacher David O'Meara was in charge of pocket money in Maine A during the 4 years I was there and was extremely diligent but fair; he would always allow you to go a little into the red as well, provided it was all cleared by the end of term. I also loved the fact he always made himself available for books of chits for the Grecians Club most evenings. :drinkers:
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by BroadieMan »

Well, in the late 2000s, it was somewhere around £20 a term recommended. Which was very easy to squander in the tuck shop, so Tezzer only allowed us juniors in Maine B to take out a pound or so at a time to make it last. And then later, that was removed from us, so we could take out any amount. And we spent it all on cheap pizzas from Horsham. Of course, that's not counting if you were enterprising enough to do as a fair few people did, myself and a few of my mates included (officially known as the East Avenue Company), and buy cheap food in Horsham to sell to juniors for a ridiculous profit. (All to be kept under guard, due to the wrathful approach that teachers had towards student businesses). No shortages of pocket money after that! :D
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by michael scuffil »

School Rules, January 1961 edition, Section M ('The following are forbidden'), clause 9:

'Lending or borrowing money, buying or selling between boys, or buying from casual vendors.'

The pocket money rule was Section L ('Houses'), clause 9:

'Boys other than monitors must bank all money with housemasters.'
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by seajayuu »

As I remember, we were restricted to 15/- a term at Hertford in the 60s. But then, we didn't have a tuck shop.
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by DavebytheSea »

Tommy wrote:Genuinely can't remember the exact amounts but I seem to remember it being about £30 per term by the end of my time there in 1990.
From 1947-1955 it was, I think, 30/- a term (30 shillings for anyone born later) but when Jonathan was there from 2005-7 we gave him the minimum of £20 a term. He never complained, and only later did we learn from one of his friends that she got EMA plus £400 a term - a terrifyingly large amount! When I asked her about the discrepancy , she replied "Well, Jonathan never seemed to need money". True at university, unable to get holiday employment like his younger brother, he went about with holes in his shoes and the soles flapping off. Now at the age of 24, I am glad to say as a full lieutenant in the Royal Navy, with a subsidised 3-bedroom house on the hills behind Portsmouth, he is unbelievably organised about financial planning (as indeed he is with everything else).
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by sejintenej »

DavebytheSea wrote:
Tommy wrote:Genuinely can't remember the exact amounts but I seem to remember it being about £30 per term by the end of my time there in 1990.
From 1947-1955 it was, I think, 30/- a term (30 shillings for anyone born later) but when Jonathan was there from 2005-7 we gave him the minimum of £20 a term. He never complained, and only later did we learn from one of his friends that she got EMA plus £400 a term - a terrifyingly large amount! When I asked her about the discrepancy , she replied "Well, Jonathan never seemed to need money". True at university, unable to get holiday employment like his younger brother, he went about with holes in his shoes and the soles flapping off. Now at the age of 24, I am glad to say as a full lieutenant in the Royal Navy, with a subsidised 3-bedroom house on the hills behind Portsmouth, he is unbelievably organised about financial planning (as indeed he is with everything else).
In 1952 Mr Jones of Prep A wanted no more and no less than 30/- a term. Until I got full control of my annual allowance (and in fact after that) he and Kit got 30/- a term up to summer1961; Kit never commented. The £20 you mention, even with inflation, seems marginally generous but £400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ouch and double ouch. I don't get that now.

From 1957 I had £25 per annum to cover EVERYTHING - fares to school, pocket money, Xmas presents, clothes and everything else. Given my fares were over £20 pa and Kit wanted £4.50 (3x£1.50) I didn't draw much from him.
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J.R.
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Re: Pocket-Money at CH.

Post by J.R. »

DavebytheSea wrote:
Tommy wrote:Genuinely can't remember the exact amounts but I seem to remember it being about £30 per term by the end of my time there in 1990.
From 1947-1955 it was, I think, 30/- a term (30 shillings for anyone born later) but when Jonathan was there from 2005-7 we gave him the minimum of £20 a term. He never complained, and only later did we learn from one of his friends that she got EMA plus £400 a term - a terrifyingly large amount! When I asked her about the discrepancy , she replied "Well, Jonathan never seemed to need money". True at university, unable to get holiday employment like his younger brother, he went about with holes in his shoes and the soles flapping off. Now at the age of 24, I am glad to say as a full lieutenant in the Royal Navy, with a subsidised 3-bedroom house on the hills behind Portsmouth, he is unbelievably organised about financial planning (as indeed he is with everything else).

Another of the great benefits of a CH education, Dave.

Welcome back to the Forum !
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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