Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I am in GE at the moment. Just found this forum and now wish it was like how it was then, now. Just wondering if any of you had any questions about the school now? Then maybe I can ask some about the school in your day?

Depends how far back you want to go !

Late 1950's, run like a military regime.

hunturk wrote:I am in GE at the moment. Just found this forum and now wish it was like how it was then, now. Just wondering if any of you had any questions about the school now? Then maybe I can ask some about the school in your day?

Please forgive such a direct question but I cannot help being curious as to why you....."wish it was like how it was then, now."......?

I wondered that as well, Andy !!

Which aspects of 'then' seem appealing Hunturk? In the 60's: Sundays: long lie-in (till 0800) , 2 Chapel Services + an hour's compulsory Letter-Writing. "House Out of Bounds" all afternoon, so the younger ones had to find other things to do. Mind you, we were allowed to head off to the river Arun etc. unsupervised. No choice of food in Dining-Hall. No tutor system whatsoever. Corporal punishment. All 50 members of the House (except House Captain + Deputy who had studies) worked and lived in one room (the Day Room). 25 to a dormitory. No showers; just a 'trough' which was filled with hot water for the Seniors. Stone cold and full of mud for those at the end. Two baths to each dorm - no privacy. Two hot taps. Washed in metal bowls. No girls.
There were, of course, many things on the positive side. Which ones were you thinking of?

Thanks Ben, this could be a very useful thread for older OBs.

Do you use the term 'house spirit' today? If so what do you understand by it and how is it expressed?

Goatherd wrote:Which aspects of 'then' seem appealing Hunturk? In the 60's: Sundays: long lie-in (till 0800) , 2 Chapel Services + an hour's compulsory Letter-Writing. "House Out of Bounds" all afternoon, so the younger ones had to find other things to do. Mind you, we were allowed to head off to the river Arun etc. unsupervised. No choice of food in Dining-Hall. No tutor system whatsoever. Corporal punishment. All 50 members of the House (except House Captain + Deputy who had studies) worked and lived in one room (the Day Room). 25 to a dormitory. No showers; just a 'trough' which was filled with hot water for the Seniors. Stone cold and full of mud for those at the end. Two baths to each dorm - no privacy. Two hot taps. Washed in metal bowls. No girls.
There were, of course, many things on the positive side. Which ones were you thinking of?

I couldn't have put it better myself.

At least it made a man out of you, with respect for your elders, etc., etc., etc !!

At least it made a man out of you [quote]

... or a gibbering wreck; one or the other!

Ah I hadn't fully thought it through when I wrote that. Of course there are some good aspects to the school now, for example on Sunday, I can lie in till 10:15 and only have to go to one chapel service.
What I was getting at was the fact that when you guys were at CH, it seems like it was run more by common sense and thought rather than Health and Safety. Reading the stories on this forum has reminded me of why I often think I would rather of lived in the 70s-80s.

I am sure you have heard about the 6 A's rule. Where if I don't get 6 A's at GCSE's then I have to leave the school. Although there is the league tables, I along with lots of others believe this is mainly motivated by money. They have an incentive to bring in International Students who don't have a fee cap instead of bringing in people who need the education. This is the opinion of the majority if the students in the school.
Thoughts? I apologize if I come across as someone who doesn't like having foreign students in the school as that is not the case, it's just to me the school seems to be losing its charitable basis. Do you hear what I am saying?

I would type more but Tea started 5 minutes ago

Those of my era were lucky: majority (or all) of the fees at CH paid for us; County Council grants to go to College/University. The whole world has changed! I would imagine that the demands of Health and Safety, Ofsted and Social Services have increased the costs of running the school far and above inflation and certainly above the increase in income from CH investments etc. And there is nothing the school can do about it. So I don't know what the answer is. I wouldn't have thought that many are 'asked to leave' after GCSE. I might be wrong. Even in my day some 'disappeared' after 'O' Levels. I was back for a 40 year reunion in 2011 and my overriding impression after the visit (although brief) was that the school is a lot more civilised than it was in my time. The pressures are still there, I am sure. Different though. Hope tea was good!

Goatherd 6.32pm puts it very succinctly.

On the positive side, the school had very close relations with the city and would virtually find you a job there if you wanted one and weren't going to university. If you were particularly academic, you could be pretty sure the school would get you to Oxford or Cambridge, and would pull a few strings to help. (And would help you financially once you got there, in the form of book grants and clothes grants on top of the quite generous grant you'd get from the Min of Ed or your local authority.)

Goatherd wrote:Those of my era were lucky: majority (or all) of the fees at CH paid for us; County Council grants to go to College/University. The whole world has changed! I would imagine that the demands of Health and Safety, Ofsted and Social Services have increased the costs of running the school far and above inflation and certainly above the increase in income from CH investments etc. And there is nothing the school can do about it. So I don't know what the answer is. I wouldn't have thought that many are 'asked to leave' after GCSE. I might be wrong. Even in my day some 'disappeared' after 'O' Levels. I was back for a 40 year reunion in 2011 and my overriding impression after the visit (although brief) was that the school is a lot more civilised than it was in my time. The pressures are still there, I am sure. Different though. Hope tea was good!

I have to leave if I don't get 6A's. Yeah, I have heard from my gran and my great-aunt (they were at hertford) apparently it was awful according to them.

'If I don't get 6 As at GCSE I have to leave..."
I think that if the older brethren search their memories properly, they will realise that 'twas always thus. In the 50s many left at age 15 as they were deemed to have gained the most they ever would out of CH. The remainder were permitted to return. In my own case, I vividly remember that one summer holidays I received two letters. One was saying that I had passed 6 O-levels, the other informed me that since I had passed the O-loevels I could now return for the winter term. This came as a terrible shock as it had never occurred to me that there was any question of not going back.
It would be interesting to discover whether the '6 hits or you're out' rule applies equally to full fee payers?????
David

I think so. Not entirely sure, to be honest they can just get more in, they are pining for a place.

Foureyes wrote:'If I don't get 6 As at GCSE I have to leave..."
I think that if the older brethren search their memories properly, they will realise that 'twas always thus. In the 50s many left at age 15 as they were deemed to have gained the most they ever would out of CH. The remainder were permitted to return. In my own case, I vividly remember that one summer holidays I received two letters. One was saying that I had passed 6 O-levels, the other informed me that since I had passed the O-loevels I could now return for the winter term. This came as a terrible shock as it had never occurred to me that there was any question of not going back.
It would be interesting to discover whether the '6 hits or you're out' rule applies equally to full fee payers?????
David

I don't remember it being as bad as that. If you were not going to do well you went into the 5th Form to push up the number of O levels you got up to at least 5 before leaving. However, the majority went straight through into dep grecians - my guess was that it was over 75% went through.
I was diverted into the 5th Form with less than 30 others and ended up with 13 "O" levels. (OK - that was cheating - I had 3 different Maths O levels and Physics and Chemistry separately as well as Physics with Chemistry). Unusually I was not chucked out after 5th Form - a simple remark from Kit "See you next term" - and I went into Deps and eventually got some A levels. No letter, nothing.