There it
is. My name. Its there alongside others in
the entry list for 1948-49. I dont recall
many of the other names. There are three Dereks;
Cross, Hewitt and Dangar, who had little in
common other than their Christian name. Then
there was Mickey Barron who seemed to know all
about finger pie many years before the Beatles
introduced the term to a wider audience.
Theres Brian Stanhope. That name rings a
bell. After all this time none of the others has
any resonance at all. Nor for that matter does
the Prescotian magazine itself from that time. I
dont remember it. However, now that I have
seen that old publication on the website
Ive done a little research. The list is
headed SALVETE (Im one of the Lambdas if
you want to look it up) and a moment or two on
Google tells me that it means Welcome. I
wouldnt have known that at the time. How
could I? And so far as I can remember that was
the only indication I ever encountered that I
really was welcome in PGS.You may have gathered
by now that my years there were not what might be
described as the happiest days of my
life. I only have a few vivid memories of
my time there. Those are about the nasty things
that boys did to frogs on the school playing
field and with the frozen cat behind the air-raid
shelter, along with the mild bullying to which I
was subjected. In the class room I can recall
warm compliments from Miss Beresford about an
essay I wrote and facetious ones from Mr Dixon
because in those days I used to read some science
fiction. After four years of loneliness and
deteriorating school reports in an environment
which in retrospect was clearly not for me I
ended up in 5C. Sixth-form of course was a
non-starter. Its not that I mis-behaved
during my years there, on the contrary, but I
suppose I was a bit of a loner, perhaps even what
might be described as a wimp. I had passed the
11-plus and so I was deemed to have had some sort
of potential to succeed in a grammar school. The
11-plus was a test of intelligence but I now know
that we need more than intelligence to enjoy
success. These days there is talk of
emotional intelligence as well and a
degree of motivation can help.
What perhaps stands
out in my memory was not something that was there
at PGS but something that was absent. There was a
total lack of any guidance or support. I cannot
recall anyone offering advice or talking to me
about my performance. That was even true about
sporting performance. I wasnt at all
interested in football but I do remember that I
had the makings of being a good runner.
Thats just my perception but nobody
spotted or encouraged me or gave me
any feedback whatsoever. I cant remember
the school motto and as it was probably in Latin
it wouldnt have meant much to me at first.
However, whatever it was I think it should have
been Sink or swim because that was
what it felt like. For many it was fine, they
managed to swim and as a result they were able to
succeed in one way or another and they probably
enjoyed their time at PGS. Others, like me,
simply sank without leaving much trace at the
school. Why was that I wonder? Was the fault
solely mine or might a different environment have
awakened within me a greater desire to learn? As
it was the system in those days didnt
acknowledge such things as late
developers and it was designed to admit
only ten percent or less into higher education.
The rest who did not make it to grammar school or
who did not perform well there were apparently of
not much concern.
Fortunately, since
then it has increasingly been realised that
education shouldnt be available at just one
early stage in ones life and these days
there are opportunities for more mature learners
throughout their lives. And in a way my lost
years at PGS dont matter now as I am able
to look back on a very successful and rewarding
career in Human Resource Management. In addition,
Ive been to the Palace and received my gong
from the Queen. Ive sung, danced and acted
my heart out in a variety of amateur musical
productions and that latent ability to run quite
well was exploited late in life as I have enjoyed
over twenty-five wonderful years of fell-running.
On the other hand for me my time at PGS was not
really what education should be about. Schools
have changed a lot since those days and they do
try to help, encourage and enthuse more than they
did then. But what a waste it was for me and no
doubt still for others today.
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