From 1957-8, I have in my possession copies of 'THREE B.I TIMES'(Editor R. I. Riley), '3A1 DIGEST '(Anonymous Editors), 'ZEITUNG '(3A2 : editors Joe Forshaw, JP Daniel, Gary Easthope, and featuring a free beginners' course in German), 'COMMENT' (IIIb1: Editorial staff: JAS Green (Editor), Mick Howarth, Trevor Gray, Pete Glasby) and the eponymous 'J.K.GUARDIAN' (Editors G.P.King and P.G.Johnson). Most of these were very small - a single sheet of A4 folded in two , and rather limited in content. 1958-59 however saw a development in both size, quality and variety with the field being contested each month by THE EXPLORER (IIIa1) and THE GLOBE (IVB2). Each of these was sold throughout the school, and attracted contributions from sixth formers and Old Boys as well as members of their 'home' form. Below are summaries of a typical issue of each. Fascinating what apparently interested 11 to 13 year-old boys at the time!

The Explorer (111a1 1958-59, editors Mick Howarth, JAS Green; 10 to 15 A4 pages; price 2d)

Feb 59 issue:

Editorial
Articles on: Development of the Spitfire, Phil Coulson
The new Austin A55 Cambridge, Keith Brudenell
What Flying Saucers Are Not, Trevor Gray
A Belgian holiday, Mick Howarth
A Trip to Moscow, Alan Acourt (Old Boy)
The Cunard White Star Line, JAS Green
Hydro-Electricity, JAS Green
A Hobby? Try Photography, JM Large
The RAF's Last Fighter? Barry Foster
General knowledge quiz

Collection of schoolboy howlers ('Vivisection is all right when practised on dead animals')

A puzzle
A crossword
Part 1 of a thriller serial 'Flight to Freedom' by Trevor Gray.

Why Prefects Should Be Abolished, Jeff Blood

There are several reasons for having prefects abolished, the chief one being that when members of the Sixth Form achieve the office of a prefect, they think it is an opportunity to get revenge on the persons they dislike by doling out lines or detentions for any and every trivial offence.

If a boy happens to get an occasional fifty lines, prefects regard him as an inveterate offender, and from then on he is a marked man. When they see him, they say , 'Here's our trouble-maker. We'll give him some lines.'

A friend of mine is always met by the remark , 'Don't push your luck!' when he meets a certain prefect, who shall remain anonymous.

About three weeks ago, I asked a prefect how many lines he had given out since the beginning of term. He said, ' About 750.' This is far too many when you realise that the Lines Book contains about sixty pages of twenty-three lines each, and should be changed about once a term - and this prefect has a reputation for not giving many lines!

When I last visited Room 19 it was said to me, 'Ignorance is no excuse.' So, lines are given to boys who are doing wrong and do not know it. There is no quiet warning - it's 'Right! Name? Form? Take 100 lines.' My friend said to a prefect, ' Lines cure nobody.'He replied, 'I know - but it's a bit of fun.' If this is so, who is enjoying himself most, and winning the race for giving most lines?

The Globe (IVb2 1958-59, editors Graham Nown, R Platt, Ron Barston, D. Lee; 10 A4 pages; price 1d) November 1958 Editorial

Articles:

Arundel Castle, Ron Barston
'We Want an Answer' (Account of an appearance by a panel of sixth formers on a Granada TV current affairs programme - putting questions to Dick Crossman, MP.)
'The Everton Shield 1958' - recounting the school football team's victory. PG Morgan (Captain)
G. Stephenson, Pioneer of the Railway, R Platt

'We must not scream with laughter in a manner more befitting the higher apes than human beings.' - a thoughtful piece giving strategies for writing, and avoiding, lines. Anonymous, but I think I recognise Graham Nown's style - or is it a guest article by form master Joe Kirk? (It is 'signed'with a green skull and crossbones..)

A maths puzzle
Crossword
Third instalment of a thriller serial 'Periscope Down or Die'.
Small advertisements. Prize quiz (Prize - free copies of 'The Globe'for life)