Hitchin Boys' School
Encyclopedia
Hitchin Boys' School is a specialist technology and language college in Hitchin
, Hertfordshire
, England
. It educates boys aged between 11 and 18. The school currently has around 1000 pupils. The school is part of a consortium
for sixth form
teaching with other schools in the town whereby the classes are mixed with the pupils from Hitchin Girls' School
and the Priory School.
put strain on the teaching at the school, especially as boys were more inclined to watch Oliver Cromwell
pass through Hitchin. In 1664 William Patricke succeeded Heyndy as Headmaster. He relaxed the rules of the school, allowing laxer and simpler Latin
as well as more English
and Mathematics
lessons to be taught in the "Free and Easy School", as Patricke put it.
However, the Trustees hatched a counter-attack to this, and summoned the Reverend Richard Finch from London
to the School so that when Lawrence, Tristam and Radcliffe arrived, the School had been overthrown. The matter went to a "Chancery suit", and in the end the defense were defeated by a strong argument for putting Finch in the job, with Lawrence proved incapable of teaching. A new board of Trustees was formed, five by the prosecution and four by the defendants.
.
The School entered into debt after the Chancery suit of 1709, and after the death of James Lawrence in 1741 a London lawyer called Dodson seized property for debt repayment, became receiver of the trust property and appointed a new Headmaster - John Lyle - to teach at the salary of £17, a very low sum at the time for a Master. The School became more associated with the local church in 1750 when Lyle became the Parish Clerk, with the boys attending church on Wednesday and Friday mornings with Edward Radcliffe. When protests broke out about this, the Lord Chancellor ruled in 1750 that Dodson had to be paid a further £63 in debt repayment with his understudy John Lyle to resign and a new Headmaster - Richard Snell - to be appointed. The Board of Trustees was enlarged to 21, some from outside Hitchin.
But in 1779, Snell was deemed incapable of the "Duties and Business of his place" by the Board of Trustees, and a new Master, William Reynolds, was chosen. An unfortunate man, he had been lame from his youth and had to have "an iron up his leg to be able to walk at all". But in his time truancy, was reduced significantly if not stopped, and visits from the School Carpenter became rarer. When Reynolds died in 1819 the School had returned to normal. One unfortunate incident occurred in that same year, when Paynes Park was deemed not to be a part of the Boys' School. There were numerous protests, some from men of Hitchin, some from the students, but despite this Paynes Park was taken away and the Boys' School was forced to share Butts' Close with other Hitchin boys.
The succeeding Headmaster was the Reverend Joseph Niblock, writer of "The New Improved Classical Latin and English Dictionary" in 1825. It was praised to the extent that an English-Latin Dictionary was written to translate in the opposite direction. He spent only 11 of his 25 years in teaching at Hitchin, but he helped to improve the School, though in one unfortunate incident the son of a Colonel Lousada was killed when he was punched in the nose by William Miller, the grandson of Sir Thomas Miller. The School schedule at that point was a 9 o' clock start finishing at 12 noon every day except for Wednesday and Friday when the School was closed for public prayer at St Mary's Church. Thursday and Saturday working hourse were extended until 3 o' clock in the afternoon as a result. Niblock was said to be "one of the best Greek scholars in England", and a Greek Grammar that he wrote was in use for many years at Eton College
, among other public schools.
, and expelled him for a breach of rules.
In 1828, a new batch of Trustees were appointed including Lord Dacre (1774–1851), who would in 1929 be commemorated in the name of Wilshere Dacre Primary School found opposite the School grounds. Goodwin's expulsion had caused him to set up a school himself, subsequently reducing numbers in the Free School. The new Trustees passed a new set of rules for the School, including a leaving age of 15, a minimum entrance age of 8, twice school yearly examinations and most importantly, an immediate payment of £500 by any incoming Headmaster into a bond as insurance against discharge or death. The latter caused the resignation of Niblock in 1835; he could not cope with the payments and left, dying in 1842 with two daughters succeeding him. His successors were the Reverend William Hopewood, who resigned in 1832, the Reverend E.C. Cumberbatch, who resigned in 1835, and the Reverend W.B. Dyntram, a man who felt he was more important than both students and the Trustees. Seen as a "Blockhead", he soon resigned in 1838, passing power to the last Free School Headmaster John Sugars.
Sugars was a man of education, particularly regarding foreign languages
. But he came to the School in its twilight years, and in its twice yearly examinations the Vicar of Hitchin at that time, the Reverend Canon Lewis Hensley, found more and more depressing results, with only four boys taking Latin in 1872. One did Greek but no English and Mathematics was woefully poor. There was no improvement and eventually Sugars had a mental breakdown in 1876. The Trustees closed the School and paid Sugars a small pension.
Now the problem of a site arose. Thanks to donations from several wealthy families, including Seebohm's, the Scheme decided to purchase land known as the Woodlands in Bancroft. It was here that the new School opened on May 1, 1889, its first Headmaster Joseph Edward Little of Lincoln College, Oxford
. Ironically, when the ownership of the land was examined it was found to have been John Mattock's previously. In the beginning the Girls' and Boys' School were both in the large Portmill Lane building, but within two years the new buildings for the Boys' School were ready, and Portmill was free for the Girls' School to do with as they pleased. Compulsory education was still young, and Hitchin was still a market town that saw manual work as a better alternative to written education. Parents removed students if discipline was implemented, set homework was not completed and attendance was poor. In 1897 Little left, dying in 1935.
and English
. A fearless climber, he placed the traditional chamber pot on one of the spires. He felt a change in discipline was needed so that beatings were rarer, but still occurred in matters such as bullying. Occasionally the Headmaster would make several students swap a lesson of Scripture for an hour of cleaning out the chicken coops and the cow sheds down by the entrance from Bancroft. The School groundsman and cow-herd were summoned with the use of King's megaphone from his Oxford years, and often he left the School on Tuesdays to take part in the local Farmers' Market. Often the running of the School was left to Second Master Freddie Jones. School funds had balanced out again by the end of the 19th century, and in 1908 the School was able to start the Junior Preparatory School for younger boys that would now go to primary and junior schools. A small interview was conducted and if King - the interrogator - liked the boy, he was admitted. The School tuck shop began in 1910, and the following year tar paving was laid in the School Quad to stop excessive amounts of mud getting into the School.
The First World War began soon after, but School life remained about the same. While letters from Old Boys in the fight were placed in the School Chronicle, a prefect system became prominent in 1915, and funds for the war established. Allotments and plots for growing vegetables also emerged in the School fields. The House system began in 1920, but lapsed in 1922 before being revived in that same year due to the change in School schedule of Wednesday becoming a School day and Saturday being a Games day. By 1925 the system had changed twice more, but to the names of Mattocke, Pierson, Skynner and Radcliffe after John Mattocke, Joseph Pierson, Ralph Skynner and the Radcliffe family, all of whom had been School benefactors. In 1926 Jabez King retired, with 265 students at the School. King died in 1931.
or any other time, and staff regularly carpeted, who left in small droves in the early years of Jones's rule. His motto was "Good manners, good work, good games". Later in his school career it is said he showed a caring side of himself, looking after all students and encouraging them in all endeavours. His staff, however, claimed never to see much of this Headmaster, and even when they did he was often strict and disparaging. He and his wife claimed the top of the School House for themselves, and this was where they stayed for most of their lives outside school. Quiet and lonely, Mrs. Jones died in 1949, but even after this the Headmaster still welcomed the visits of the Old Boys, interested in their social and professional lives.
In School, the House Points Scheme was established, with only deductions seemingly of points, not additions, with punishments for those students with the most penalty deductions. The Work and Conduct Cup - now retired and replaced by the Times Shield - was awarded to the House with the least deductions. In 1930 work began on the creation of the main building of the School, and in the Autumn of 1931 it was ready for moving into, including the Main Hall, the modern-day Art Rooms, the modern-day Modern Foreign Languages Rooms, the modern-day Science Department and the modern-day Business Studies Room. The former Hall became the Dining Room, the former Science Block the Library and the Art Room the Scout Hut, which is now disused. Trophies and prizes became more prominent in the Jones era, and School uniform became prominent at this time.
With the advent of the Second World War, the arches in the new North Court were sandbagged, with discounts on food and milk established and eating habits changed with the addition of compulsory non-meat meals such as spaghetti cheese. School allotments sprouted up again, but as more of a detention task than required vegetable sources. The force call-ups became more and more regular, and the names of the dead were read at morning assembly. The School trees were felled to provide wood for the War effort, but in 1944 an even bigger change took place in School life. No longer would students pay for school - they would compete under examination. After the war the 'O' level and the 'A' level came to force and were tested with great success. In 1953 Thomas Jones retired. He died in 1956, paying just one more visit to the School.
until 1974 when it became a comprehensive school
.
The school's present site has expanded continuously since its establishment. It began in 1889 as a building known as the 'Schoolhouse', a Dining Hall (now the School's Library), the Headmaster's Office (part of the present-day Reception) and the School Hall. The large present-day complex was not established until 1930, as can be determined by a close inspection at the top (or bottom) of the complex's drains. In the late 1980s the local building company Hunting Gate built a new building onto the main School complex that held a new I.T. suite for graphics lessons, a small cookery classroom (for the Food Technology GCSE) and a large Music classroom, as well as several smaller practice rooms for individual student lessons.
There have been also been changes to the outside of the school. In the 1960s a Memorial Pavilion was established honouring the dead of the Second World War. In the 1970s the Lower School Block was created, easing the crush of students that had to come out of the main School complex after registration. This contained six classrooms, a small staff room (now disused) and an office for the newly-created job of Head of Lower School. In the 1990s the School built a new Sports Centre next to the Lower School Block. It also became a local Sports Centre for Hitchin
and Hertfordshire
, allowing for fitness, badminton, basketball and volleyball sessions among other sports. Conferences are also allowed in the Centre's theory classrooms as well as small individual rooms.
In the late 1980s, the School's hockey/cricket pitch (but not the rugby pitch on the hill) on the top of the grounds (on Butts Close
near Wilshere Dacre School, and which was unreliable, particularly for the hockey players) was converted into an all-weather pitch for the benefit of hockey, complete with floodlights. The pitch is used for clubs and groups to hire for events and training; one example is that of the local hockey club Blueharts (which was originally started as the Old Boys' club). The pitch is also used for P.E. lessons and the lunch time activities of cricket and football. When rugby union legend Joe Worsley
left the School in the early 1990s, he left the token of his England
rugby shirt, which he gained when he was capped against France in the Five Nations
in early 1993.
In 2003 construction started on the creation of a Sixth Form Centre (previously the Sixth Form had been forced to establish base in the former School Stables). It was completed in the summer of 2005 and took its first intake of Sixth Formers in September of that year.
In July of 2010 Mr.K Wadsworth retired as head teacher and Mr.M Brown became head, starting in september of 2010
s, there are (and were) several traditions at Hitchin Boys' School that have been discontinued or continue to this day.
Founders' Day, normally on July 1, was originally a large ceremony. All of the students would go to St Mary's Church, accompanied by their teachers, and listen to a large service. Nowadays only the Sixth Form and Year 11 students continue this tradition. Founders' Day also signalled the arrival of the School's Swimming Competition. This was terminated, then revived in 2006 to take place on the afternoon of Founders' Day.
After the War inter-house competition became the main focus of the Sports Day, with the Times Shield becoming the main prize and prizes of small cups and medals awarded instead, bought by cash donations. In 1924 the Victor Ludorum Cup was first awarded, to the boy who gained the most points on Sports Day. In 1926 T.E. Jones changed Sports Day to the first Wednesday, and later a mid-June Saturday. The townsfolk of Hitchin were excluded from the event, with only parents and invited guests being spectators to the event. In 1931 the Junior Victor Ludorum award was first awarded and the Sports Day became Sports Days, with general races on the first days and inter-house events on a second day. This was reverted the following year. During the Second World War, the Sports Day was run as per normal. In 1948 the javelin
and discus throw
ing were introduced to the event, followed by the shotput in 1952 and hop, step and jump
in 1958. Even hammer throw
ing was tried, but the danger of the event (because of the lack of a cage) forced its stoppage. In 1955, after the arrival of M.G. Dolden in 1953, Sports Day was moved to May, a Victor Ludorum Cup was introduced for the intermediate years (14-16), the novelty races were scrapped completely, the tug-of-war was dropped as the finale and the Hitchin Town Band stopped playing at the event, making it school-only for the first time since 1899.
Hitchin
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It educates boys aged between 11 and 18. The school currently has around 1000 pupils. The school is part of a consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
for sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
teaching with other schools in the town whereby the classes are mixed with the pupils from Hitchin Girls' School
Hitchin Girls' School
Hitchin Girls' School is a specialist science college in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. The school has 1030 students and is in a consortium for sixth form teaching with Hitchin Boys' School and the Priory School...
and the Priory School.
History
Hitchin Boys' School was founded on July 25, 1639 by John Mattock. Originally it was an Old Free School, and its first Headmaster was Thomas Heyndy. The rigours of the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
put strain on the teaching at the school, especially as boys were more inclined to watch Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
pass through Hitchin. In 1664 William Patricke succeeded Heyndy as Headmaster. He relaxed the rules of the school, allowing laxer and simpler Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as well as more English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
lessons to be taught in the "Free and Easy School", as Patricke put it.
The school in the 17th century
In 1680 Richard Stone became the third Headmaster of the School. He did not know anything about Classics and preferred to live "in the quiet enjoyment of the school". This allowed the students to become lazier than under Patricke, and the Trustees at the school were forced to endure a testing period. After Stone's death in 1691 Sir Ralph Radcliffe employed a new Headmaster - Thomas Cheyney - who invoked discipline and original Latin. Under Cheyney and his successor, Thomas Harris, School life was good, but a fallout between Radcliffe and his co-trustees brought the school to the brink again, and when Harris died in 1709 Radcliffe and Laurence Tristam - another School Trustee - appointed the new Headmaster - James Lawrence - without consulting the other Trustees.However, the Trustees hatched a counter-attack to this, and summoned the Reverend Richard Finch from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to the School so that when Lawrence, Tristam and Radcliffe arrived, the School had been overthrown. The matter went to a "Chancery suit", and in the end the defense were defeated by a strong argument for putting Finch in the job, with Lawrence proved incapable of teaching. A new board of Trustees was formed, five by the prosecution and four by the defendants.
A new chapter
The Reverend Richard Finch retired in 1720, having created a storm by teaching the boys too well and raising them far above their working-class backgrounds. As a result the people of Hitchin wanted James Lawrence in the job, and he was forced back into the Mastership by order of a local judge and the people of Hitchin's support. It was not an unmitigated disaster, but Lawrence could not do the job with the same gusto that Finch had. In 1730 the Reverend Mark Hildesley was appointed in Hitchin. He enjoyed teaching the boys, but at the same time helped to gave them wisdom in life. He left in 1755 when he became Bishop of Sodor and ManBishop of Sodor and Man
The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese covers the Isle of Man. The see is in the town of Peel where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of St German, elevated to cathedral status on 1...
.
The School entered into debt after the Chancery suit of 1709, and after the death of James Lawrence in 1741 a London lawyer called Dodson seized property for debt repayment, became receiver of the trust property and appointed a new Headmaster - John Lyle - to teach at the salary of £17, a very low sum at the time for a Master. The School became more associated with the local church in 1750 when Lyle became the Parish Clerk, with the boys attending church on Wednesday and Friday mornings with Edward Radcliffe. When protests broke out about this, the Lord Chancellor ruled in 1750 that Dodson had to be paid a further £63 in debt repayment with his understudy John Lyle to resign and a new Headmaster - Richard Snell - to be appointed. The Board of Trustees was enlarged to 21, some from outside Hitchin.
The school in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
After Hildesley's promotion in 1755, Snell found it hard to keep the School in good order. Competition from other grammar schools and Quaker academies did not help. In 1777 the School's books noted that while the School maintained strong numbers, discipline had decayed, with many boys "discharged" for "playing truant and not attending". There was more mention of the playing of the students of games of football and cricket in nearby Paynes Park than of work, and frequent visits by the School carpenter often came about by the demolition of fences and windows by these games.But in 1779, Snell was deemed incapable of the "Duties and Business of his place" by the Board of Trustees, and a new Master, William Reynolds, was chosen. An unfortunate man, he had been lame from his youth and had to have "an iron up his leg to be able to walk at all". But in his time truancy, was reduced significantly if not stopped, and visits from the School Carpenter became rarer. When Reynolds died in 1819 the School had returned to normal. One unfortunate incident occurred in that same year, when Paynes Park was deemed not to be a part of the Boys' School. There were numerous protests, some from men of Hitchin, some from the students, but despite this Paynes Park was taken away and the Boys' School was forced to share Butts' Close with other Hitchin boys.
The succeeding Headmaster was the Reverend Joseph Niblock, writer of "The New Improved Classical Latin and English Dictionary" in 1825. It was praised to the extent that an English-Latin Dictionary was written to translate in the opposite direction. He spent only 11 of his 25 years in teaching at Hitchin, but he helped to improve the School, though in one unfortunate incident the son of a Colonel Lousada was killed when he was punched in the nose by William Miller, the grandson of Sir Thomas Miller. The School schedule at that point was a 9 o' clock start finishing at 12 noon every day except for Wednesday and Friday when the School was closed for public prayer at St Mary's Church. Thursday and Saturday working hourse were extended until 3 o' clock in the afternoon as a result. Niblock was said to be "one of the best Greek scholars in England", and a Greek Grammar that he wrote was in use for many years at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, among other public schools.
The discipline scheme
Reports were sent many times during the school year to the Board of Trustees, mainly with discpline reports. There were four classes of conduct: Best, Second Best, Third Class and Fourth Class. There was also a progress rank, from Great to None. As a result some students received terrible progress ranks but excellent conduct marks. Niblock was very severe when it came to discipline. Suspensions and expulsions were very common, with some students taken out of the School for the punishments they received. When a severe 'crime' was committed the School became a Court of Justice, with culprits becoming 'the accused' and taking evidence on oath. One case saw eight witnesses called to the stand, and a resulting verdict of guilt, with a punishment of suspension - to satisfy the Trustees - and then expulsion upon two boys; one of these boys was found to have committed the crime of "affrontery", and he was expelled for good. The other boy was reinstated upon a letter being written by his father regarding his son's poor conduct.The end of Niblock, Samuel Goodwin and the Free School
Niblock's usher was a young man called Samuel Goodwin, a man Niblock had taught himself. However thanks to an anonymous letter sent to Niblock, the Reverend determined that Goodwin was an impostorImpostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
, and expelled him for a breach of rules.
In 1828, a new batch of Trustees were appointed including Lord Dacre (1774–1851), who would in 1929 be commemorated in the name of Wilshere Dacre Primary School found opposite the School grounds. Goodwin's expulsion had caused him to set up a school himself, subsequently reducing numbers in the Free School. The new Trustees passed a new set of rules for the School, including a leaving age of 15, a minimum entrance age of 8, twice school yearly examinations and most importantly, an immediate payment of £500 by any incoming Headmaster into a bond as insurance against discharge or death. The latter caused the resignation of Niblock in 1835; he could not cope with the payments and left, dying in 1842 with two daughters succeeding him. His successors were the Reverend William Hopewood, who resigned in 1832, the Reverend E.C. Cumberbatch, who resigned in 1835, and the Reverend W.B. Dyntram, a man who felt he was more important than both students and the Trustees. Seen as a "Blockhead", he soon resigned in 1838, passing power to the last Free School Headmaster John Sugars.
Sugars was a man of education, particularly regarding foreign languages
Language education
Language education is the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics.- Need for language education :...
. But he came to the School in its twilight years, and in its twice yearly examinations the Vicar of Hitchin at that time, the Reverend Canon Lewis Hensley, found more and more depressing results, with only four boys taking Latin in 1872. One did Greek but no English and Mathematics was woefully poor. There was no improvement and eventually Sugars had a mental breakdown in 1876. The Trustees closed the School and paid Sugars a small pension.
The School in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
In 1888 the great debate regarding the quality of schools and their students was resolved, with a new proposal of a higher education school, the British School being one example designed for the poorer members of the community. So it was that Frederic Seebohm formed a Scheme, one that would provide for both the girls and boys of Hitchin. Already Dame Mary Radcliffe and Vicar Hildesley (not a relation to Mark Hildelsey) had founded the Girls' School, and so the Boys' School was born again. Natural Science, Drawing and English Grammar were among the subjects to be compulsory teaching for the School. The School was now fee-paying, occasionally £12 a year, sometimes £6 a year.Now the problem of a site arose. Thanks to donations from several wealthy families, including Seebohm's, the Scheme decided to purchase land known as the Woodlands in Bancroft. It was here that the new School opened on May 1, 1889, its first Headmaster Joseph Edward Little of Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
. Ironically, when the ownership of the land was examined it was found to have been John Mattock's previously. In the beginning the Girls' and Boys' School were both in the large Portmill Lane building, but within two years the new buildings for the Boys' School were ready, and Portmill was free for the Girls' School to do with as they pleased. Compulsory education was still young, and Hitchin was still a market town that saw manual work as a better alternative to written education. Parents removed students if discipline was implemented, set homework was not completed and attendance was poor. In 1897 Little left, dying in 1935.
Jabez King
Jabez King came to the Headmaster's job in January 1898 with just 24 pupils in the School and full permission to do whatever it would take to repair the situation. He was a former Oxford University student with a M.A. in ClassicsClassics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
and English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
. A fearless climber, he placed the traditional chamber pot on one of the spires. He felt a change in discipline was needed so that beatings were rarer, but still occurred in matters such as bullying. Occasionally the Headmaster would make several students swap a lesson of Scripture for an hour of cleaning out the chicken coops and the cow sheds down by the entrance from Bancroft. The School groundsman and cow-herd were summoned with the use of King's megaphone from his Oxford years, and often he left the School on Tuesdays to take part in the local Farmers' Market. Often the running of the School was left to Second Master Freddie Jones. School funds had balanced out again by the end of the 19th century, and in 1908 the School was able to start the Junior Preparatory School for younger boys that would now go to primary and junior schools. A small interview was conducted and if King - the interrogator - liked the boy, he was admitted. The School tuck shop began in 1910, and the following year tar paving was laid in the School Quad to stop excessive amounts of mud getting into the School.
The First World War began soon after, but School life remained about the same. While letters from Old Boys in the fight were placed in the School Chronicle, a prefect system became prominent in 1915, and funds for the war established. Allotments and plots for growing vegetables also emerged in the School fields. The House system began in 1920, but lapsed in 1922 before being revived in that same year due to the change in School schedule of Wednesday becoming a School day and Saturday being a Games day. By 1925 the system had changed twice more, but to the names of Mattocke, Pierson, Skynner and Radcliffe after John Mattocke, Joseph Pierson, Ralph Skynner and the Radcliffe family, all of whom had been School benefactors. In 1926 Jabez King retired, with 265 students at the School. King died in 1931.
Thomas Jones
Thomas Ernest Jones was the third Headmaster of the new Hitchin Boys' Grammar School in 1926. During his time canings were regular, detention automatic for lateness during the General StrikeGeneral strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
or any other time, and staff regularly carpeted, who left in small droves in the early years of Jones's rule. His motto was "Good manners, good work, good games". Later in his school career it is said he showed a caring side of himself, looking after all students and encouraging them in all endeavours. His staff, however, claimed never to see much of this Headmaster, and even when they did he was often strict and disparaging. He and his wife claimed the top of the School House for themselves, and this was where they stayed for most of their lives outside school. Quiet and lonely, Mrs. Jones died in 1949, but even after this the Headmaster still welcomed the visits of the Old Boys, interested in their social and professional lives.
In School, the House Points Scheme was established, with only deductions seemingly of points, not additions, with punishments for those students with the most penalty deductions. The Work and Conduct Cup - now retired and replaced by the Times Shield - was awarded to the House with the least deductions. In 1930 work began on the creation of the main building of the School, and in the Autumn of 1931 it was ready for moving into, including the Main Hall, the modern-day Art Rooms, the modern-day Modern Foreign Languages Rooms, the modern-day Science Department and the modern-day Business Studies Room. The former Hall became the Dining Room, the former Science Block the Library and the Art Room the Scout Hut, which is now disused. Trophies and prizes became more prominent in the Jones era, and School uniform became prominent at this time.
With the advent of the Second World War, the arches in the new North Court were sandbagged, with discounts on food and milk established and eating habits changed with the addition of compulsory non-meat meals such as spaghetti cheese. School allotments sprouted up again, but as more of a detention task than required vegetable sources. The force call-ups became more and more regular, and the names of the dead were read at morning assembly. The School trees were felled to provide wood for the War effort, but in 1944 an even bigger change took place in School life. No longer would students pay for school - they would compete under examination. After the war the 'O' level and the 'A' level came to force and were tested with great success. In 1953 Thomas Jones retired. He died in 1956, paying just one more visit to the School.
The school from the mid 20th century to the present
The school was a grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
until 1974 when it became a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
.
The school's present site has expanded continuously since its establishment. It began in 1889 as a building known as the 'Schoolhouse', a Dining Hall (now the School's Library), the Headmaster's Office (part of the present-day Reception) and the School Hall. The large present-day complex was not established until 1930, as can be determined by a close inspection at the top (or bottom) of the complex's drains. In the late 1980s the local building company Hunting Gate built a new building onto the main School complex that held a new I.T. suite for graphics lessons, a small cookery classroom (for the Food Technology GCSE) and a large Music classroom, as well as several smaller practice rooms for individual student lessons.
There have been also been changes to the outside of the school. In the 1960s a Memorial Pavilion was established honouring the dead of the Second World War. In the 1970s the Lower School Block was created, easing the crush of students that had to come out of the main School complex after registration. This contained six classrooms, a small staff room (now disused) and an office for the newly-created job of Head of Lower School. In the 1990s the School built a new Sports Centre next to the Lower School Block. It also became a local Sports Centre for Hitchin
Hitchin
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...
and Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, allowing for fitness, badminton, basketball and volleyball sessions among other sports. Conferences are also allowed in the Centre's theory classrooms as well as small individual rooms.
In the late 1980s, the School's hockey/cricket pitch (but not the rugby pitch on the hill) on the top of the grounds (on Butts Close
Butts Close
Butts Close is an park in the town of Hitchin, Hertfordshire that used to once be a sporting ground for archery. The name refers to the archery butts that used to be on it during the Late medieval and Tudor times. During those years it was much larger but in the last centuries buildings such as a...
near Wilshere Dacre School, and which was unreliable, particularly for the hockey players) was converted into an all-weather pitch for the benefit of hockey, complete with floodlights. The pitch is used for clubs and groups to hire for events and training; one example is that of the local hockey club Blueharts (which was originally started as the Old Boys' club). The pitch is also used for P.E. lessons and the lunch time activities of cricket and football. When rugby union legend Joe Worsley
Joe Worsley
Joseph Paul Richard Worsley MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.-Biography:...
left the School in the early 1990s, he left the token of his England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
rugby shirt, which he gained when he was capped against France in the Five Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
in early 1993.
In 2003 construction started on the creation of a Sixth Form Centre (previously the Sixth Form had been forced to establish base in the former School Stables). It was completed in the summer of 2005 and took its first intake of Sixth Formers in September of that year.
In July of 2010 Mr.K Wadsworth retired as head teacher and Mr.M Brown became head, starting in september of 2010
Traditions
As with many former grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s, there are (and were) several traditions at Hitchin Boys' School that have been discontinued or continue to this day.
Founders' Day, normally on July 1, was originally a large ceremony. All of the students would go to St Mary's Church, accompanied by their teachers, and listen to a large service. Nowadays only the Sixth Form and Year 11 students continue this tradition. Founders' Day also signalled the arrival of the School's Swimming Competition. This was terminated, then revived in 2006 to take place on the afternoon of Founders' Day.
Sports Day
The School Sports Day is also a popular attraction at the school. It began in 1890 when it was held at the Bedford Road football field, including the Hitchin Volunteers. When Jabez King came to the school he realized that it could be used as a fund-raiser on Whit Mondays. As a result the Sports Day became enjoyed noy only by the boys, but also by the townsfolk of Hitchin. Boys could enter as many races as they liked for a small fee, which went to the school. Early prizes included malacca canes, toast racks and cycle lamps, with third place's prize (a pen-knife) used as a way of encouraging competitors to strive for better placings. Alongside the serious athletic events there were also novelty events to keep spectators amused, such as the Fathers' Race. During the First World War prizes were often donated to the War Fund, and the event was kept going by the number of local soldiers who wished to take part. Medals were engraved with Hitchin Grammar School-The War 1915 and distributed by the Lieutenant Colonel of the Scottish Signals Service.After the War inter-house competition became the main focus of the Sports Day, with the Times Shield becoming the main prize and prizes of small cups and medals awarded instead, bought by cash donations. In 1924 the Victor Ludorum Cup was first awarded, to the boy who gained the most points on Sports Day. In 1926 T.E. Jones changed Sports Day to the first Wednesday, and later a mid-June Saturday. The townsfolk of Hitchin were excluded from the event, with only parents and invited guests being spectators to the event. In 1931 the Junior Victor Ludorum award was first awarded and the Sports Day became Sports Days, with general races on the first days and inter-house events on a second day. This was reverted the following year. During the Second World War, the Sports Day was run as per normal. In 1948 the javelin
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
and discus throw
Discus throw
The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
ing were introduced to the event, followed by the shotput in 1952 and hop, step and jump
Triple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
in 1958. Even hammer throw
Hammer throw
The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...
ing was tried, but the danger of the event (because of the lack of a cage) forced its stoppage. In 1955, after the arrival of M.G. Dolden in 1953, Sports Day was moved to May, a Victor Ludorum Cup was introduced for the intermediate years (14-16), the novelty races were scrapped completely, the tug-of-war was dropped as the finale and the Hitchin Town Band stopped playing at the event, making it school-only for the first time since 1899.
Alumni
- Arvind ParmarArvind ParmarArvind Parmar was born 1978 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire and attended Whitehill Junior School followed by Hitchin Boys School. He is a former top British tennis player. Of Indian descent, he retired in December 2006. Parmar is nicknamed the "Hitchin Hurricane". After retiring he began coaching and...
, tennis player - Christopher Woodward, Director since 2006 of the Garden Museum
- Joe WorsleyJoe WorsleyJoseph Paul Richard Worsley MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.-Biography:...
, rugby player - Rob Newman, comedian
Hitchin Boys' Grammar School
- Frank Abbott, Senior Jury Advocate
- Jack Beddoe CB, Chief Executive from 1974-7 of Severn Trent WaterSevern TrentSevern Trent plc is a British public utility. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.Severn Trent is a group of companies employing more than 15,000 people across the UK, US and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East.The main...
- Sir Peter BonfieldPeter BonfieldSir Peter Bonfield, CBE, FREng is a business executive who has led a number of companies in the fields of electronics, computers and communications. Currently a director of several companies in the USA, Europe and the Far East, he was formerly chief executive of ICL and more recently of BT Group...
CBE, Chief Executive from 1996-2002 of BT - Anthony Burton, writer and former BBC Radio 3 presenter
- Patrick Cahil CBE, Chairman from 1967-9 of the British Insurance Association (since 1985 the Association of British InsurersAssociation of British InsurersThe Association of British Insurers or ABI is a trade association made up of insurance companies in the United Kingdom.-History:The ABI began in 1985 after several specialised insurance industry trade associations, including the British Insurance Association, the Life Offices’ Association, the Fire...
) - Ewart Culpin, President from 1937-8 of the Town Planning InstituteRoyal Town Planning InstituteThe Royal Town Planning Institute is a body representing planning professionals in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1914.-Members:...
- Tim Franklin, Chief Operating Officer, Co-operative Financial Services
- Alan Goodson OBE, Chief Constable from 1972-86 of Leicestershire ConstabularyLeicestershire ConstabularyLeicestershire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland in England. Its headquarters are at Enderby, Leicestershire.The current Chief Constable is Simon Cole.-History:...
- Michael Hoffman, Chairman from 1997-8 of the Building Research EstablishmentBuilding Research EstablishmentThe Building Research Establishment is a former UK government establishment that carries out research, consultancy and testing for the construction and built environment sectors in the United Kingdom...
, Chief Executive from 1983-7 of Babcock InternationalBabcock International GroupBabcock International Group plc is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK...
and from 1989-96 of Thames WaterThames WaterThames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom...
, and President of the IProdE from 1987-8 - Dr Robin HollidayRobin HollidayRobin Holliday PhD, FRS, FAA is a British molecular biologist. Heproposed a mechanism of DNA-strand exchange that attempted to explain gene-conversion events that occur during meiosis in fungi. That model first proposed in 1964 and is now known as the Holliday Junction.-Education and...
, molecular biologist - John HollowayJohn HollowayJohn Holloway may refer to*John Holloway , British academic and poet*John Holloway , British baroque violinist*John Holloway , British colonial official and governor of Newfoundland...
, Baroque violinist and conductor - Paul JessonPaul JessonPaul Jesson is a British stage, television and film actor. He has played leading roles at the National Theatre and the RSC and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role 1986 for his role in The Normal Heart at The Royal Court...
, actor - David Lambert, General President from 1975-90 of the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear WorkersNational Union of Hosiery and Knitwear WorkersThe National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded in 1945, with the merger of the Hinckley, Ilkeston, Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham Hosiery Unions. Shortly after, most Scottish unions voted to join the new organisation...
and from 1991-4 of the National Union of Knitwear, Footwear & Apparel TradesNational Union of Knitwear, Footwear & Apparel TradesThe National Union of Knitwear, Footwear & Apparel Trades was a trade union in the United Kingdom.It was formed in 1991 through the amalgamation of the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers and the National Union of the Footwear, Leather and Allied Trades... - Geoff Marshall, Managing Director The Conran Shop UK
- Prof Derek Martin, Professor of Physics from 1967-94 at Queen Mary CollegeQueen Mary, University of LondonQueen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and Editor from 1974-84 of Advances in PhysicsAdvances in Physics-External links:*... - John Pratt, Canadian politician
- John Saville, High Commissioner to Brunei since 2005
- E. H. VisiakE. H. VisiakEdward Harold Physick was an English writer, known chiefly as a critic and authority on John Milton; also a poet and fantasy writer. He used the pseudonym E. H. Visiak from 1910.-Life:...
, writer - Richard WhitmoreRichard WhitmoreRichard Whitmore is a broadcaster, writer and actor. Whitmore is best known for his work as a BBC newsreader in the 1970s and 1980s...
, former BBC newsreader in the 1970s
External links
- Old Boys Online Old Boys Association
- EduBase