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The New Headmaster.

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 12:16 pm
by J.R.
NEW HEAD MASTER OF CHRIST’S HOSPITAL

The Board of School Governors is delighted to announce that Mr Simon Reid, currently Principal of Gordonstoun School, will succeed John Franklin as Head Master of Christ’s Hospital with effect from September 2017.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 1:49 pm
by LJG
Didn't see that coming. No mention of what is happening to Franklin. Retirement?

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 2:33 pm
by J.R.
LJG wrote:Didn't see that coming. No mention of what is happening to Franklin. Retirement?

I'm sure we will hear in the future.

Simon Reid has taught at Christ's Hospital before.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 4:14 pm
by sejintenej
I don't know what has happened at Gordonstoun in recent years. Their boys used to form the local Mountain Rescue which says a lot for their pushing pupils in normal activities - first aid, self-reliance etc. - I hope that this will translate to CH.

OTOH Mr Potts, Jnr housemaster in Col A in 1960-61 was ex Gordonstoun and I didn't rate him in any half-way decent capacity

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 4:21 pm
by Mrs C.
Yes John Franklin is retiring at end of next summer. Simon Reid taught at CH for a few years so knows the school well, even though a lot has changed since then. A good choice IMHO

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 6:03 pm
by John Knight
I do hope that one of the first things he does is to put the Broadie Buckle back at the front where it belongs ...

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 6:50 pm
by rockfreak
Poor old Prince Charles used to refer to Gordonstoun as "Colditz in Kilts". After a while of the new beak will CH be referred to as "Colditz in Bluecoats"? Rather strange post from Banker Brown about Gordonstoun and the local mountain rescue team. I know a couple of Lake District rescue team people and schoolboys definitely aren't part of the set-up.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 8:33 pm
by J.R.
rockfreak wrote:Poor old Prince Charles used to refer to Gordonstoun as "Colditz in Kilts". After a while of the new beak will CH be referred to as "Colditz in Bluecoats"? Rather strange post from Banker Brown about Gordonstoun and the local mountain rescue team. I know a couple of Lake District rescue team people and schoolboys definitely aren't part of the set-up.
Hardly likely, Young Freaky. Bonnie Prince C was up there at the same time as you and me were enjoying CH hospitality and discipline.

And on the Bonny Prince note, I used to enjoy a drink with an ex Chief PO who was on H.M.S. Bronnington at the same time as our future King to the throne. His tales and anecdotes of young Charlie were marvellous, but as usual my modesty prevents !!!!

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 7:28 pm
by sejintenej
rockfreak wrote: Rather strange post from Banker Brown about Gordonstoun and the local mountain rescue team. I know a couple of Lake District rescue team people and schoolboys definitely aren't part of the set-up.

Sent you an email via the forum but it bounced. Remember we are talking about the 1950's when a CH pupil was a member of that team. As for Gordonstoun they had a reputation of being hardened and making up their local team.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 8:57 pm
by rockfreak
Being hardened up is not on its own a qualification for being in a mountain rescue team. It's a job for adults since you will have to be at least on a par and even better skilled and experienced as the climbers you're rescuing. For instance, the Glencoe rescue team used to be headed up by Hamish McInnes, international explorer and one of Chris Bonington's partners. Please stop fantasising and talking crap.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 10:15 am
by postwarblue
Gordonstoun certainly did cliff rescue, as I once discovered in this wise:

Back in 1963 I was doing a course at (then RNAS) Lossiemouth. Early on we were invited to an evening beach barbecue. As the shadows lengthened it was going rather well UNTIL

The entire scene was illuminated with floodlights and a crew of teenagers came abseiling down into the middle of it.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 11:44 am
by Katharine
Is there anyone who posts here who remembers him at CH before? It would be interesting to hear a pupil's eye view of him.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 5:45 pm
by MKM
Katharine wrote:Is there anyone who posts here who remembers him at CH before? It would be interesting to hear a pupil's eye view of him.
There are some very positive comments on facebook (and no negative ones).

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 6:02 pm
by Katharine
Thanks Mary, I hope that bodes well for the future of the school.

Re: The New Headmaster.

Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 10:01 pm
by rockfreak
[quote="postwarblue"]Gordonstoun certainly did cliff rescue, as I once discovered in this wise:

Back in 1963 I was doing a course at (then RNAS) Lossiemouth. Early on we were invited to an evening beach barbecue. As the shadows lengthened it was going rather well UNTIL

The entire scene was illuminated with floodlights and a crew of teenagers came abseiling down into the middle of it.[/quote

Rockfreak replies:
Abseiling is only part of it Robert, and it's often the thing that youngsters learn first (and maybe only). It can indeed be spectacular but proper abseiling is done slowly and methodically (like all climbing) and doesn't seek to be spectacular. The full repertoire of safe mountain skills come only with a depth of experience learned over time. It's worth looking a little more broadly at this "elite school/challenge" thing. The truth is that people like Chris Bonington (boarding school and Sandhurst) are actually a bit of a rarity in climbing. The whole idea of the "gentleman amateur", Whymper, nineteenth century alpinism, etc, were outdated after the second world war. Better education, more jobs and cheap and plentiful public transport led to an explosion of almost exclusively working class activity in our climbing grounds in the late forties, fifties and sixties. Somewhat anarchic but fiercely enthusiastic clubs like the Bradford Lads, the Rock and Ice, and the Creag Dhu in Scotland led to a dramatic upping of climbing standards and many of these people transferred their skills to the Alps and took on the Italians, French, Germans and Austrians in their own back yard. My experience of this thing is that some may take to it and pursue it after school, moving on to what we call leader/second climbing on the bigger crags but others are left unmoved and never bother thereafter. I used to hate heights and wouldn't have used a climbing wall at CH if they'd had one. I got to it much later in life through a common route of fell walking and then what is called scrambling.