Welcome to the unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum - for discussing everything CH/Old Blue related. All pupils, parents, families, staff, Old Blues and anyone else related to CH are welcome to browse the boards, register and contribute.
Share your memories and stories from the Hertford Christ's Hospital School, which closed in 1985, when the two schools integrated to the Horsham site....
englishangel wrote:Would you please stop changing your signature, I can't keep up.
I change my avatar but keep my signature.
Well Mary you know I have a reputation to keep up. You must have read the book about me (by Enid Blyton) : "The Naughtiest Girl in the School".
I will improve by the final chapter
I had to drop chemistry as it clashed with Food & Nutrition, I wanted to do Biology, chemistry, Geography, English lit, English Lang, Maths, Music, French (no I didn't but it was compulsory - that or Latin & German Arghhhhhhh) Food & Nutrition... i got to do all bar the Chemistry.... I did an entire term without it clashing, then something happened and the timetables clashed I was really P**d off as I rather enjoyed the explosive side of the chem lab! and Miss Jukes was always repremanding me on my decorations on cakes - "they are quite anaemic looking - just like yourself Judith" I would get... she really didn't get the fact I prefer pastel shades of icing on a cake!
I was anaemic - spent two weeks in the infirmary (having decent food and visitors and fun!!) having injections and awful dreadful iron pills... but the quietness and single room in the annex was such a luxury! However, when we all had the flu (every February like clockwork) we started off in the dorms in the infirmary, then it moved to each house ! It was quite fun being in bed in house during the day, even when you were poorly - somehow the food seemed to be better!
Jude Comber (nee Kelynack) 5's 5.38 1975-1980 Herts. To Learn - read, to Know - write, to MASTER - Teach
Alexandra Thrift wrote:" So ,again....briefly ( for Jude ,who asked who she was)...Miss Mercer was the most erudite and scholarly teacher I have ever come across............ and ...quite famously...logic ( I've got a "Logic" "O" level 'cos Miss Mercer suddenly taught us the whole syllabus in six weeks of the Lower Sixth and then we took the exam...we all got A grades even though we were really the "A" level history group!)."
Hello Alex - how are you?! Only manage to get a look at what is going on on the Forum occasionally - and always seem to be late posting on a particular thread.....but here goes:
Who could ever forget Miss Mercer - and her Logic lessons. I still proudly list my Logic O level on my CV - though if truth be told I never fuilly understood what on earth it was all about and was slightly astounded that I passed - let alone got an A for it!
But despite all Miss Mercers excellent qualities, she also managed to teach us the wrong syllabus for A level history in the lower sixth - remember that? Am I right in thinking that she left the School then and we had a new teacher join us (name totally forgotten) who taught us two years worth of Medieval European history in one year - whilst Miss Farrow carried on with 19th century European history (Congress of Vienna and Lord Palmerston) as well as 19th century Chinese and Japanese history (wasn't she doing her PhD in this rather esoteric area?!)
Anyway - because of this I do remember that I dropped the idea of doing history at university and applied to do Geography instead. Dear Miss Wilson - I still think of her very fondly - particluarly when looking at glaciated scenery! and remember her tales of her and Miss Jukes holidaying in Lanzarote - which was consideref exotic back in those days as well as being volcanic!
Jude wrote:I was anaemic - spent two weeks in the infirmary (having decent food and visitors and fun!!) having injections and awful dreadful iron pills... but the quietness and single room in the annex was such a luxury! However, when we all had the flu (every February like clockwork) we started off in the dorms in the infirmary, then it moved to each house ! It was quite fun being in bed in house during the day, even when you were poorly - somehow the food seemed to be better!
I have very different memories. I was horribly healthy then, and still am really. I did not go to the infirmary to stay until I was in the S VI - Alex says I was very important. I had to ask some squit which room was the Ward I had been told to go to - you can imagine the look of horror on her face!
Well Katharine if you will maintain a hale and hearty body - what do you expect???!!!!
I'm glad you didn't spend much time in the informary!
We had a really tragic event when I was in Herts - a young girl of 14 died of a massive heart attack in 6's. They had no resucs kit to try and get her back with, she had an older sister - it was an enormously sad time, and to go so young seemed so unfair. i think she lived abroad as well, as it seemed days before her parents could come - what a shock.
Last edited by Jude on Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jude Comber (nee Kelynack) 5's 5.38 1975-1980 Herts. To Learn - read, to Know - write, to MASTER - Teach
Jude wrote:Well Katherine if you will maintain a hale and hearty body - what do you expect???!!!!
Jude, please take care with the spelling of my name - I am particular about it.
When I was in the VI form I was told there was a list of names up in the staff room telling staff to be careful when writing reports - mine was there!! There was a Kathryn in my class as well.
How awful having a death in school, we didn't have any in my time. I have had them where I have been teaching and it is very unsettling to put it mildly for those left behind.
Jude wrote:We had a really tragic event when I was in Herts - a young girl of 14 died of a massive heart attack in 6's.
I have a feeling I know who you were talking about (I think) - her sister was also in 6's.
Yes both sisters were unusually in the same house - I left in 1980 - and she had died when I was either a 4th former or 5th - we had a memorial service - but it was such a shock to the whole school, and we didn't have counsellors or any support in those days, the poor sister - what could we say - I think she was either a year below me or the same - it may be that you had a 2nd death Vonny
There was a bit of a whoo hah over the lack of rescus equipment and I belive that within a year they had a trolley and all that went with it. Sadly too late for Justine (I think that was her name)
Jude Comber (nee Kelynack) 5's 5.38 1975-1980 Herts. To Learn - read, to Know - write, to MASTER - Teach
Jude wrote:Well Katharine if you will maintain a hale and hearty body - what do you expect???!!!!
Jude, please take care with the spelling of my name - I am particular about it.
When I was in the VI form I was told there was a list of names up in the staff room telling staff to be careful when writing reports - mine was there!! There was a Kathryn in my class as well.
How awful having a death in school, we didn't have any in my time. I have had them where I have been teaching and it is very unsettling to put it mildly for those left behind.
sorry Katharine - I have ammended your name - most humble apologies
Jude Comber (nee Kelynack) 5's 5.38 1975-1980 Herts. To Learn - read, to Know - write, to MASTER - Teach
I can understand the hoo ha but whether a rescue trolley is any help I dont know. do they have one at Horsham?
a) you have to know how to use it, although I know they have then in shopping centres nowadays.
b) In all the discussions we have had here covering all the years, and all the hundreds of people it appears it would only have been used the once.
The death of a 14 year old is a terrible shock anywhere. You see it in the paper sometimes (Terry Yorath's son for one) precisely becasue it is so rare. Even in a hospital the sudden death of a child casts a pall.
When I was a student nurse we had a 14 year old brought in with a bad nosebleed which wouldn't stop. The a & e nurses were talking about it at midnight (I was on nights), at 4 am the cardiac arrest signal went for her. BY 7am when we went off duty we heard she had leukaemia and by the time we came on duty the next night she had died. This was a big teaching hospital in the 70s.
"If a man speaks, and there isn't a woman to hear him, is he still wrong?"
Morning Mary
Wow you are up early these days.... and no time to play in here during the day anymore!
not only are resus trolleies in shopping centres, but the fire brigade have been asked to carry them on board as well, and are being trained to use them - Any one with basic first aid whould be able to follow the basic instructions and use a defrib - infact some of the newer ones only require you to put the plastic pads and paddles in place and they do the rest for you!
new technology eh? We will all be out of a job soon!
Jude Comber (nee Kelynack) 5's 5.38 1975-1980 Herts. To Learn - read, to Know - write, to MASTER - Teach
englishangel wrote:I can understand the hoo ha but whether a rescue trolley is any help I dont know. do they have one at Horsham?
a) you have to know how to use it, although I know they have then in shopping centres nowadays.
b) In all the discussions we have had here covering all the years, and all the hundreds of people it appears it would only have been used the once.
The death of a 14 year old is a terrible shock anywhere. You see it in the paper sometimes (Terry Yorath's son for one) precisely becasue it is so rare. Even in a hospital the sudden death of a child casts a pall.
When I was a student nurse we had a 14 year old brought in with a bad nosebleed which wouldn't stop. The a & e nurses were talking about it at midnight (I was on nights), at 4 am the cardiac arrest signal went for her. BY 7am when we went off duty we heard she had leukaemia and by the time we came on duty the next night she had died. This was a big teaching hospital in the 70s.
I don't think they have a crash trolley at Horsham - however, when there are sports matches, there are some ambulances (St John's?) on standby...
Jude wrote:There was a bit of a whoo hah over the lack of rescus equipment and I belive that within a year they had a trolley and all that went with it. Sadly too late for Justine (I think that was her name)
Justine was a first year in 5's and died when I was in L6 (1978/9) - she'd been in the infirmary with a cold, I remember the ambulance arriving and not knowing where to go.
Jude wrote:it may be that you had a 2nd death Vonny
It must be the same one I am thinking of - I wasn't at CH when it happened but there were all sorts of stories/rumours going round when I was there about what had/allegedly happened a few years before.
Another girl later died but I can't actually remember whether she was still at CH or not when she died.
