Are we alone?

[onewestguncopse]

A few comments

The idea that Eton is a place full of thick toffs is so out of date. I know a number of Eton Housemasters and they would say that they have a very academic intake now. They would not be in the top 20 in the UK otherwise. They are also on course to offer 50% means tested bursaries by 2020 ish. They already have a huge foundation - second only to CH PLUS fee income (hence their facilities are second to none).

Using Eton is a poor example anyway as it such a unique school. CH is now in competition with essentially Sussex/Kent/South London day and boarding schools offering increasingly good scholarships on a means tested basis. Many of our intake remain primary state but they do look at the alternative too.

You cannot go backwards and cut corners/offer less - or you will (a) lose many of the good staff (b) find it harder than it already is to attract good staff (CH salaries are poor in comparison with other schools) and (c) fall foul of social services and parental expectation.

There is no going back - just evolution IMHO. I have every sympathy with JR but sadly (and I mean that) CH is not able to offer what it did and that is just that! Time to stop looking back and look forward instead.

[icomefromalanddownunder]

[quote="wurzel"]

Personally I think the mistake was CH spending millions to try and compete with the flash schools on creature comforts - why ? If you are not trying to compete for the same parents then why compete head on. Market yourself on your Unique Selling Point the charitable side not "our dormitories are as nice as Cranleigh's so pay us as much". quote]

If this is what they did (not disputing you Wurzel, just that this is the first time I have read this: possibly because I haven't kept up with this thread), then I agree entirely.

Caroline

[wurzel]

I remember being told that the reason for the updating (which cost millions) was because modern parents no longer wished to send their children to a school where pupils slept 25 to a dormitory in Victorian conditions.

Whilst I agree with the fact that the old houses were too Spartan the half way solution put in place by the block system when they had to create studies in what had been junior houses actually worked pretty well. When I went to the 20 year reunion this year everyone commented that the grecians houses a re better than any Uni accommodation that people ahd come across whilst when they were announced it was declared that they would be to allow grecians to transition from ch house style accommodation to uni style hall accommodation.

Whilst I understand going back would now cost more money the school doesn't have I think a lesson should be learnt that there is a "sweet spot" where facilities are "good enough" without additional cost being incurred. The spending in places like the arts schools and CDT are far more justifiable I feel (although I was never an artist or engineer at school).

Maybe it was just me but having come form a small 1920's semi with no cavity walls and sharing a room with 2 brothers I found the facilities fine except except when they removed the toroidal radiators after demolishing the boiler house and replaced them with an inneficient single pipe running along at skirting height. The only year I didn't sleep in dorm was my deps and come my grecians I had a study in what had been the games store in LHA and as the only opening window was too high up for a fire escape it was only a day study. After a year at Uni in hall I moved into private rental and eventaully I ended up in a rented house with 13 outstanding environmental health writs against it as it was the only place that didn't want a bankers reference or parental garantees (neither was going to happen)

In the light of what has been said about Eton i will investigate the local bursary more but I still find the idea of CH competing with Cranleigh sticks in my throat (maybe due to the rivally during my years).

[J.R.]

......... and there was me thinking that Eton was just a training ground for Hofficers' in the Blues and Greys, etc !

What was it my Warrant Officer cousin called 'em ??

That's it - 'Chinless Wonders'. He encountered many of them when instructing at Sandhurst !

[englishangel]

JR living in the 1960s still.

[J.R.]

JR living in the 1960s still.

And proud of it ! When men were men, and women were thankful !

[englishangel]

hmmmmm

[Jo]

Oh good grief

[englishangel]

Actually my son at the grand old age of 23 was complaining on Thursday how H & S and Human Rights have stopped British Bulldog on ashphalt, conkers and all the stuff he used to get up to as an Army Cadet. (Read as "all the stuff that was most fun")

[icomefromalanddownunder]

Actually my son at the grand old age of 23 was complaining on Thursday how H & S and Human Rights have stopped British Bulldog on ashphalt, conkers and all the stuff he used to get up to as an Army Cadet. (Read as "all the stuff that was most fun")

Last week I was required to write a risk assessment for the use of boric acid in the lab, as it is, according to its MSDS, a reproductive hazard.

I hate writing so%%ing risk assessments, even when I feel that the item in question might be dangerous in the hands of someone we would happily have removed from the gene pool, so I pulled sad faces, I explained that the reproductive organs of some of the people working in the lab are well past their use by date, so I would put a label on the bottle saying that it could only be opened by X, Y and Z, I ............

all to no avail.

So

I am currently writing a risk assessment for a chemical that I can buy at the supermarket, and which I use at home to kill ants. I am also no longer allowed to put diluted bleach down the lab sinks. It has to go into a special container, be picked up by a licensed contractor, and disposed of at great expense. How long before these regulations are applied to home usage? How much will it cost each household? How many of us will comply?

And yes, I am well aware that this is entirely, totally and probably unacceptably OFF TOPIC, but, just for this moment in time, I DON'T CARE.

(blames writing the Haiku about SWSNBN and Liz's post about how no matter how hard we tried to be good, we still failed).

[Jo]

Still
I was H&S Manager for my building in my last job. The H&S Officer came into my office one day rubbing her leg and complaining that she had knocked it on a corner of one of the triangular end-tables in the training room. I couldn't believe it when she asked me to fill in an accident form.

When I came to the bit about "preventative action to minimise the risk of recurrence" (or some such), I wrote "advised the H&S Officer to be more careful next time" and sent a copy to her. I never heard any more about it

[englishangel]

Dictionary definitions

Shin; a part of the human anatomy specifically for finding sharp corners in the dark.

[Barnes Mum]

Little toes obviously have the same definition. Especially when it comes to door frames!

[englishangel]

YOu too, I have a black little toe from exactly that (and the foot of the bed sometimes)

[J.R.]

A little more water with it, Mary