Who Knew What?

This section was setup in August 2018 in order to move the existing related discussions from other sections into this new section to group them together, and separate from the other CH-related topics.

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jakew
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by jakew »

I'm of similar vintage, I think the mid 1990s might mark the end of the "good old days"; decreasing public enthusiasm for Victorian virtues - as well as the increasing number of paying customers at CH after that date - might have led to a greater degree of scrutiny.
Otter
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by Otter »

scrub wrote: Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:51 pmWith a few notable exceptions who did say something, you were more likely to be told off for having your socks down than, for example, putting a younger kid in a headlock and steering them into a doorframe.
I was bullied in my junior years but actually my memories of CH in general are good, as my senior years were some of the best times of my life.

But yes, in the vein of Scrub’s post, I had once had enough and knocked on my housemaster’s door with a bl**dy nose after another boy had walked into the room, jumped on top of me on the sofa and started punching me repeatedly in the head.

I was given a disciplinary detention for pushing him off me in self-defence (“I shouldn’t have reacted”). He was given the same punishment as me for his unprovoked attack.

I wrote in my essay during the detention about how I would never report anyone ever again, as the victim is so often punished equally or more than the bully. Never heard anything back from whoever read it - or maybe no one did, they just give you an essay for something to do then chuck them in the bin afterwards?
sejintenej
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by sejintenej »

Otter wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:40 am
But yes, in the vein of Scrub’s post, I had once had enough and knocked on my housemaster’s door with a bl**dy nose after another boy had walked into the room, jumped on top of me on the sofa and started punching me repeatedly in the head.

I was given a disciplinary detention for pushing him off me in self-defence (“I shouldn’t have reacted”). He was given the same punishment as me for his unprovoked attack.
Too late now but when the equivalent hapened to me I knew had to and went straight to the sicker. If you turned up at the sicker then they were obliged professionally to deal with it and record it. I suspect that they would not have been able to sweep it under the carpet and you would not have been punished .
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J.R.
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by J.R. »

sejintenej wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 12:41 pm
Otter wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:40 am
But yes, in the vein of Scrub’s post, I had once had enough and knocked on my housemaster’s door with a bl**dy nose after another boy had walked into the room, jumped on top of me on the sofa and started punching me repeatedly in the head.

I was given a disciplinary detention for pushing him off me in self-defence (“I shouldn’t have reacted”). He was given the same punishment as me for his unprovoked attack.
Too late now but when the equivalent hapened to me I knew had to and went straight to the sicker. If you turned up at the sicker then they were obliged professionally to deal with it and record it. I suspect that they would not have been able to sweep it under the carpet and you would not have been punished .
I quite agree, David.
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by loringa »

Otter wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:40 am
But yes, in the vein of Scrub’s post, I had once had enough and knocked on my housemaster’s door with a bl**dy nose after another boy had walked into the room, jumped on top of me on the sofa and started punching me repeatedly in the head.

I was given a disciplinary detention for pushing him off me in self-defence (“I shouldn’t have reacted”). He was given the same punishment as me for his unprovoked attack.
I find this quite appalling - a massive dereliction of duty by your housemaster. I think you would be entirely within your rights to name names; the best defence against libel is, after all, the truth! What years were you at CH? I like to think this sort of thing didn't go on when I was there but then, I was never, ever bullied physically and saw very little physical bullying (though I found out later on that it did happen on occasions).
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by scrub »

loringa wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:36 pmI find this quite appalling - a massive dereliction of duty by your housemaster.
I think that most people who went to CH during the 90's would find it unsurprising, either something you can easily imagine happening, or something you actually saw.
You could use it as another example of the 'no grassing' culture that I remember.
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DazedandConfused
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by DazedandConfused »

scrub wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:37 pm
I think that most people who went to CH during the 90's would find it unsurprising, either something you can easily imagine happening, or something you actually saw.
Yep. This was CH in the early to mid 90s. The saddest thing is that I didn’t see it as a problem at the time, it was only after I’d left that I started to question all the things that happened.
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by Ever Bluer »

michael scuffil wrote: Tue Feb 26, 2019 5:31 pm Newsome's appointment was, by modern standards, eccentric. He had no schoolteaching experience...
Not so, Michael. Before becoming a Cambridge don he spent five years teaching at Wellington, latterly as Head of History. (And of course he subsequently returned to Wellington as Master, not that that's specially relevant).
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by Pe.A »

RusticationPhil wrote: Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:34 pm I have somewhat hazy memories of the Husband incident. I recall that I was chatting to a few folks whilst running/walking school drills one weekend morning down by the old gym near the train station. The story was that he had "eloped" with Grecian or deputy Grecian. I remember that here was rumour that some older boys from Mid A had rung "the Sun" newspaper to give them the story. So anyway if this was true, its quite possible that the sun still have records of this. I believe we were told that we were told explicitly we were not allowed to contact the media, by the school, as it would be harmful to the "good name" of CH and because it would be bad for Mr husbands kids kids were still at the school, for his father to be dragged trhought the gutter press. I cant remember exactly who told us not too contact the media but I remeber it was like an official thing. My memories are hazy but it might have even been like annouced in chapel or something.

I also remember something about a 2nd band master eloping with a girl. Dont remember his name. I wonder if that is being investigated.

Thinking back on it now, I bet there were also some issues of sexual abuse with older boys pupils as perpetrators. I was in lamb A and there was a real weird Grecian who had a strange sort of pyshcological hold over several younger members of the house. We had a housemaster who had zero control over the house (xxxxxxx). I guess the weirdo seemed to have lots of tobacco and alcohol to give out to the ones he liked. He was at least rumoured to be a perve. I remember several kids who were in his weird circle seemed phychologically scarred by encounters with him. I think he ended up leaving under spurious circumstances too. I wonder if that was ever investigated?
Youre conflating the Andrew Husband and Bandmaster ones. With the bandmaster one, Mid A Grecians wanted to sell tbe story to the Sun under the headline "Randy Bandy", which to pupils was well funny. This was c. 1995.

Uf youre talking weird pupils, there was one in Ma A at similar time. Proper psychopath, got expelled for sexually abusing a girl
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by Pe.A »

loringa wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:36 pm
Otter wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:40 am
But yes, in the vein of Scrub’s post, I had once had enough and knocked on my housemaster’s door with a bl**dy nose after another boy had walked into the room, jumped on top of me on the sofa and started punching me repeatedly in the head.

I was given a disciplinary detention for pushing him off me in self-defence (“I shouldn’t have reacted”). He was given the same punishment as me for his unprovoked attack.
I find this quite appalling - a massive dereliction of duty by your housemaster. I think you would be entirely within your rights to name names; the best defence against libel is, after all, the truth! What years were you at CH? I like to think this sort of thing didn't go on when I was there but then, I was never, ever bullied physically and saw very little physical bullying (though I found out later on that it did happen on occasions).
Depends what you class as bullying. Dead arms, dead legs, leechels (hard stinging slap to a bare back), flicked towels or 'Rats tails' etc etc were par fir tbe course in tbe early 90s. Judging by Otter's earlierposts im quite sure i know who the housemaster was (MJG) and if he didnt like you, he wasnt the type to intervene. Definitely didnt like me throughout my time a junior in his house or after that...
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by Otter »

Pe.A wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 4:03 pm
Depends what you class as bullying. Dead arms, dead legs, leechels (hard stinging slap to a bare back), flicked towels or 'Rats tails' etc etc were par fir tbe course in tbe early 90s. Judging by Otter's earlierposts im quite sure i know who the housemaster was (MJG) and if he didnt like you, he wasnt the type to intervene. Definitely didnt like me throughout my time a junior in his house or after that...
You judge correctly!

He didn’t like me but didn’t not like me. And yep, in all my life I’ve never known anyone less inclined to intervene! As they sometimes say across the pond, in any dispute or problem, he was Switzerland.

To be fair, I hold no malice against him. Only realised after I’d left that some things had been a bit out of order, but in general my time at CH was very positive. He was also a really good science teacher, interesting and humorous. Just not really the pastoral type, but good in the classroom.
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Re: Who Knew What?

Post by Pe.A »

Otter wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 6:10 pm
Pe.A wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 4:03 pm
Depends what you class as bullying. Dead arms, dead legs, leechels (hard stinging slap to a bare back), flicked towels or 'Rats tails' etc etc were par fir tbe course in tbe early 90s. Judging by Otter's earlierposts im quite sure i know who the housemaster was (MJG) and if he didnt like you, he wasnt the type to intervene. Definitely didnt like me throughout my time a junior in his house or after that...
You judge correctly!

He didn’t like me but didn’t not like me. And yep, in all my life I’ve never known anyone less inclined to intervene! As they sometimes say across the pond, in any dispute or problem, he was Switzerland.

To be fair, I hold no malice against him. Only realised after I’d left that some things had been a bit out of order, but in general my time at CH was very positive. He was also a really good science teacher, interesting and humorous. Just not really the pastoral type, but good in the classroom.
Agreed. Had his favourites and i just found him not very supportive or sympathetic. Housemaster on my seniors was far superior in those respects
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