SPEECH DAY 1972

The sun, as usual, was beating down - not exactly in time with the CCF’s impersonation of a massed band, but then that wasn’t in time with itself. Their subtle satire on in-step marching was most entertaining.

The chair at the 410th anniversary was taken by Alderman Clarke. It was the Alderman’s swansong as chairman, but his merry introduction was proof of his high spirits. The Headmaster then read his traditional speech and informed us that girls from Lady Verney H.S. had been playing with our boys, and warned us that it may also be his ‘academic regime’s’ swansong. In fact, everyone, except the principal speaker, seemed preoccupied with the advance of comprehensive schooling in the county, and the Headmaster reluctantly gave statistics to prove the academic success of this school, and finally quoted from the Bible to support tripartite education.

The prizes which were piled high on the table like the second-hand bookstall at a jumble sale were speedily and efficiently disposed of to the happy recipients.

At last the principal speaker, Professor J. Ferguson, M.A., RD., F.I.A.L., of the Open University started his speech. If he had not ‘made it’ as an academic, he would certainly have done so as a stand up comic. You see there was this Dean and Director of Studies in Arts and he never won no neatness prize, see, so he admires people who are neat don’t he? There then followed a quick-fire selection of anecdotes and jokes and Prof. Ferguson’s speech ended with a plea for us to involve ourselves in the world’s problems, and help solve them through adapting our learning.

The speeches finished with a vote of thanks which included another statement of support for this school in its existing form.

The exhibitions, I thought, were of a higher standard than last year. The most impressive being the Stage Exhibition which had a certain atmosphere (a Spanish restaurant?) and the latest Test score. By the way have you heard the one about the gibbon in a fur coat ... ?

[written by] F.G. [these initials are not decoded anywhere in the magazine - a correspondent, Paul Evans (RGS 1965-71), suggested this might be Fred Glenister]