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Great Plum wrote:A 'squit' is a second fomer (IE a first year - or Year 7 in modern speak...)
Confused yet?
Welcome back!
Not in my day. I did my squits in the Prep aged 9. Can't remember what the forms were called in the Prep but I am at this minute studying a piece of basketwork I did in the Manual School while in the Prep. Written in pencil on the base is my name followed by something that is hard to read but might be a "V" (Anyone any ideas?).
After the Prep, you would go in the Upper. There you would be in the 3rd Form now the second form or year 7 in modern speak or (it might be into the Lower Fourth which would be the exactly the same only for brighter kids). Either way, coming up from the Prep you would not technically be a squit. If you came from outside at age 11 instead of 9, you might have been a squit or perhaps in those days squits were Prep beasts only. I can't quite remember.
I hope this has clarified things a little.
Little bell ringing somewhere in the back of my head, Dave.
Seem to remember the first thing you did was a circular board with holes drilled in the bottom, through which canes (?) were inserted before the basket weaving commenced. I seem to remember, (althzeimers permitting), you marked a 'V' beside the hole where you actually started the weaving after the canes had been put in. I hated basket weaving. It used to cut your fingers to pieces
DavebytheSea wrote:
Not in my day. I did my squits in the Prep aged 9. Can't remember what the forms were called in the Prep but I am at this minute studying a piece of basketwork I did in the Manual School while in the Prep. Written in pencil on the base is my name followed by something that is hard to read but might be a "V" (Anyone any ideas?).
Little bell ringing somewhere in the back of my head, Dave.
Seem to remember the first thing you did was a circular board with holes drilled in the bottom, through which canes (?) were inserted before the basket weaving commenced. I seem to remember, (althzeimers permitting), you marked a 'V' beside the hole where you actually started the weaving after the canes had been put in. I hated basket weaving. It used to cut your fingers to pieces
Does this ring your bell ?
Thanks John. I have now examined all 3 of my surviving baskets from that era. All have my name pencilled on the base and only one has the V. BUT this is directly under my name right in the middle of my base and it is definitely a Roman Numeral. The bit in front (though it is hard to see) I now feel is "Py" so that the whole is "Py V". With my own memory cells stiring a little, I am now fairly convinced that this Py is short for Preparatory - indeed I think that is what we used to have to write on our exercise books etc, Prep B and Prep A being more strictly reserved for the house names.
What is interesting about all this is that it pre-supposes that there were at least five forms in the Prep and I would surmise that there were indeed six (being the number of staff in the two houses together). However, I should say that this last is mere supposition and I cannot now remember whether there were any teaching staff who were NOT also Prep housemasters or assistant housemasters other than specialists such as Daddy Dawe who was brought in from the Upper to teach us singing.
Can anyone remember all this - has anyone got exercise books surviving from their Prep School days of this era?
As far as teaching in Prep was concerned, I can only remember venturing to Basket Weaving, and to the Art-School for outside tuition.
The only visitation I can remember to the Prep teaching block was prior to going up to Coleridge, when Dr Rust, (Head of Music), came to Prep to 'audition' for trebles for the Chapel Choir.
As I hated singing, needless to say, I purposely 'bodged' my audition.
Well, we have something in common! I used to do basket weaving in junior 3. It started off with a wooden circular base with holes, as described above. But no matter how carefully you weaved the cane the basket always ended up lopsided. I think my basket ended up contributing to global warming. When I took it home my mum said how lovely it was but within days it ended up on the fire!
r.e. itchy breeches - a cut-off pair of PJ bottoms worn within the aforementioned garments solved the problem well and, as long as the PJs were of a pure cotton composition, were hardly noticable. They also acted as a sweat barrier as breeches only really got cleaned at half terms and holidays (that said, I would take mine home at leave days and stick them in the washing machine along with my housey coat - my family were never the dry cleaning type)
Graham Slater
Maine B 1990 - 1993, Thorn A 1993 -1997
re cats- here were several cats about the place at Hertford, the most unpleasant being that belonging to the Ward Mistress in 8's. It was forever getting stuck up the plane trees in the square, and the poor unfortunate ground staff had to get it down. There was also one attached to 4's called, with great imagination, Fourpence.
shoz wrote:That was another question, lol, why is a first year pupil called a second former?
Because previous to 1966 (I think) there was a 'prep school' for 9 - 11 year olds and they were first formers...
Not in my day, Matt.
You went straight into Prep House at the age of 11, so there must be another reason.
Can't remember the Prep forms but it was normal to go from Prep into the upper school at 11 years of age. At the same age outsiders who got in through competitive exam joined the upper school.
It looks like you went through the Prep because of the month you were born in, but it would be strange
Having more money doesn't make you happier. I have 50 million dollars
but I'm just as happy as when I had 48 million.
(Arnold Schwarzenegger!)
I can, funnily enough, understand Shoz's query here - at Hertford we made beds, swept floors, cleaned bathrooms, etc. and of course had dining-room duties . However, during my UVI my mother ( teacher) joined Roedean ( no sniggers please) as Ass. Housemistress & swimming teacher. I remember commenting to the Head M. that the " gells" didnt seem to do any house duties - she was horrified and commented that her " gells" were there to get an education, not to scivvy..... I replied that we did both at Hertford and survived very well, thank you.
A couple of months later there was a personnel strike at Roedean, and the poor darlings actually had to make their own beds for a few days - so perhaps CH is out of the norm - but at least we are capable of keeping the cockroaches at bay when we get to Uni....
cheers
B.
I am two years younger than Euterpe and I agree with every word she says, but she didn't mentiuon the shoes. Every night we were in the basement polishing our shoes until you could see your face in them.
I am now a real slut (in the housework department) but I have very shiny shoes.
as for year names.
The last first formers at Hertford (year 5, 9 years old) were in 1964, I think there were only 2 or 3 of them, then in 1965 they were joined by half a dozen 2nd formers (year 6, 11 years old) and by 1966 all girls were coming into 3rd form.
It then went (we didn't have the same as the boys) Lower IV, Upper IVth, Lower Vth, Upper Vth, Lower VIth and Upper VIth.
However over the course of a few years they changed it to First, Second, Third form etc. done so no-one had to go down a form. However I did notice that Vonny mentioned the Upper Vth at some stage so I don't know what happened there.
