Roger and Mary Medill

The loss of two such talented, vital and generous people as Roger and Mary Medill
will be sadly felt by Rendcomb. A tribute from the Chairman of Governors will be
found in his Founder’s Day speech. There follow three others, which we hope will
give some impression of the invaluable part they have played in Rendcomb life
during the past 16 years. Finally we print the text of the Headmaster’s Address to
Sixth Form leavers and their parents, given on 20th June, which conveys
something of the spirit of the speaker.

From Founder’s Day, Chairman’s Speech May 23rd, 1987:

...

As if these changes were not enough, it is my sad duty to tell those of you who
may not already know it that this is Roger and Mary Medill’s last term before
Roger’s retirement as headmaster. Roger came to Rendcomb in 1971. In those days
Rendcomb was a small, perhaps rather introspective, school which under Anthony
Quick’s headmastership had nevertheless grown from 100 to 155 pupils. During
Roger’s 16 years as headmaster the numbers have grown out of all recognition.
The foundation stone for Park House was laid in 1972, the sports hall has been
built, the science laboratories extended, Godman House completed as a place
where the primary and prep school children are combined before moving to the
senior school, an excellent idea which we are preserving in our Development Plan.
There has been the construction of 11 new study bedrooms, the Computer Room
and numerous extensions to the sporting facilities.

And of course Roger has had a voice in the contents of the new Development Plan
itself. But I think Roger’s greatest contribution has been the result of his fine
personal qualities, combined with enormous commitment and hard work. Roger
has always had a vision of what the school should be: a place where tolerance
reigns, school discipline is as far as possible replaced by self-discipline and where
pupils can develop the widest possible range of interests.

Roger has striven to replace formality with what has been described as ‘relaxed
good manners’. He has truly carried the Founder’s aims forward into the 1980s.
Roger has opened the school to the world outside by encouraging expeditions of all
kinds and bringing in speakers on a wide range of subjects. He has had a flair for
public relations, and as a result of his efforts Rendcomb is far better known in the
world outside. He also abolished the short trousers which characterised Rendcomb
for so many years.

And of course there is Mary. In spite of cruel difficulties with her health Mary has
been a wonderful support to Roger. The cheerfulness and generosity with which
she has lavished hospitality on so many of us, both in the school and in her home,
and the work she has put into organising the riding and many other aspects of
school life over the years will always make us deeply grateful to her. She has been
a wonderful influence. I would also like to take this opportunity of thanking you
both, Roger and Mary, for the help and support you have given to me, an almost,
uniquely green and unqualified Chairman of Governors. Roger and Mary, thank
you for all you have done over so many years for Rendcomb.

...

THE HEADMASTER’S ADDRESS TO SIXTH FORM LEAVERS AND THEIR

PARENTS GIVEN IN RENDCOMB PARISH CHURCH ON 20th JUNE

What will you remember of your schooldays in 20, 30 or 40 years’ time? Perhaps
you will forgive a few reminiscences and thoughts from my own time at school, a
place I have revisited only once in nearly 40 years. There were special reasons for
that, and I am sure you will be visiting Rendcomb more often; but what stands out
in one’s mind? People, of course, schoolmasters, both eccentric and relatively
normal. Obviously stronger memories will remain of friends and friendships,
which will no doubt be maintained by planned meetings, and you will find it
amazing how often chance meetings occur; even a school photograph can arouse
powerful memories. I’d just like to mention an odd thing that has remained with
me, and that is inscriptions on buildings, five of them. At my school you arrived
down a long drive at a huge portico flanked by pillars, and across the top were the
words:
OSTIUM MIHI APERTUM EST MAGNUM

A great gate is open to me. I don't suppose those words meant much to any boy of
13, shaking in his shoes on arrival; certainly to me that gate seemed unnecessarily
large. Some of you may know the words inscribed over the entrance to Hell in
Dante’s great poem on the Inferno:

LASCIATE OGNI SPERANZA VOI CH’ENTRATE!

Abandon hope all ye who enter here That would have been more like it, especially
for me, as I had the misfortune to arrive a fortnight late, when everybody else had
settled down and, worse still, wearing shorts instead of long trousers. My
Housemaster hurried me away to be kitted out, but too late; I had been spotted.
That was bad news in those days when schools were rather harsher institutions, and
it took me some time to live it down. We all know what it feels like being new and
feeling different from everyone else. So I didn’t appreciate at that time that those
words a great gate is open to me could have another meaning, but you might like to
consider the great gate which has been open to you while you have been at
Rendcomb, probably a richer, fuller experience than people at school have ever had
in the past, quite possibly richer and fuller than in any other country at the present
time. You start off needing help to open the gate, but the whole purpose of your
education is of course to enable you to open it for yourself and leave your teachers
behind. What will you find through that gate? This brings me to my second
inscription, over the science labs:

EPPUR SI MUOVE

It was inscribed looking like a single Greek word, but it is three words in Italian
and means nevertheless it moves. What is the point of that? Galileo,
mathematician, physicist and astronomer of genius, one of the greatest scientists
who ever lived, proved by telescopic observation and deduction on January 10th,
1610 that, contrary to all previous belief, the sun did not move round the earth, but
vice versa. If the earth was not at the centre of the universe there was no up and no
down, so in effect it seemed that Heaven was abolished. Of course the Church
wasn’t going to have that, and the Inquisition brought out the thumbscrew and the
rack. One look at these instruments convinced Galileo that a recantation was
necessary - and who would blame him? He made a public statement that, contrary
to all he had taught, the earth stood still at the centre, but under his breath he
muttered defiantly what he had discovered and knew to be true: EPPUR SI
MUOVE Nevertheless it does move The Church no longer wields the power of life
and death as it did in those days, but people still need to find something which
gives meaning to life. When Galileo was asked “Where is God in your universe?”,
he replied “In us or nowhere.” What would your reply be to that question? I think
my answer would be “In us and everywhere”, but the main thing is at least to look
for an answer to that question, rather than to ignore it. There is a paradoxical
remark worth remembering: ‘Who seeks for God has found Him. ’ So through the
great gate lies the stubborn quest for truth, human, scientific or spiritual. The third
inscription was over the same portico through which you entered, but on the other
side, so that you read it as you left the school:

GRATIS ACCEPISTIS, GRATIS DATE

Freely you have received, freely give.

Challenging words. As you will recognise, they come from the Bible, where Jesus
reminds his disciples what they have learned from him - the greatest teacher who
ever lived - and how they should conduct themselves. But you don’t need to be a
Christian to recognise the fairness of that comment, because it appeals to our
natural sense of justice. It must be right that those who have much should be
generous and give much. And, we here today, are among the most highly
privileged people who have ever lived. The fourth inscription, in great gold letters,
was in the school chapel:
ESTO FIDELIS USQUE AD MORTEM ET DABO TIBI CORONAM VITAE

Be thou faithful even unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.

Whatever you may think of the promise of a crown of life, believe it or not believe
it, nobody could quarrel with the nobility of that command and that aspiration, ‘Be
faithful even unto death’, faithful to our friends, later on faithful to our wives or
husbands, to our families, faithful to our ideals and beliefs. There’s a story of a
headmaster showing round a parent whose one concern seemed to be how much
money her son could earn after leaving school, and when she asked once again,
“But, Headmaster, what are you preparing your boys for?”, he replied, “For death,
madam. ” History doesn’t relate whether the boy went to that school; I think not.
He was clearly exasperated by her narrow persistence about material things, but I
don’t think that was just a cutting reply. Surely we would all one day want to look
back on our life and feel that we had fulfilled a purpose and 10 that, near to the
end, we were in some sense prepared?

And so I come to the fifth and last inscription, in even larger gold letters round the
great shallow dome of the dining hall, which held 600 people: the magnificent
words of Mr Valiant For Truth, coming to the end of his journey in The Pilgrim’s
Progress, in sight of the Celestial City, with only the river to death between. Then
said he: My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my
courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a
witness for me that I have fought his battles who will now be my rewarder. So he
passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side. I learnt those
words over 45 years ago and I’ve never forgotten them, but perhaps I should add
before my conclusion that none of these inscriptions was pointed out to us at
school; they were just there, part of the background. And it may be that for you,
too, some of the things at Rendcomb which you have taken for granted or even
ignored will come into focus as you grow older. See what you remember 40 years
on. After 45 years of listening to sermons, I know from experience how little
remains in one’s mind, so may I sum up the five inscriptions?
1. The great gate of learning and experience.

2. The pursuit of truth, human, scientific and spiritual.

3. The appeal for generosity.

4. The command to be faithful, even unto, death.

5. Mr Valiant For Truth’s final words of achievement, fulfilment and reward. If I

were to choose only one of these to remember and to recommend you, if I may, to
remember, it would be the third inscription, the one you read as you left the as a
source of lasting happiness in life:

FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE

Bill White, Senior Resident Master 1966-75, Second Master 1973-85, writes:
When Roger Medill became Headmaster in 1971 Rendcomb was at a turning point.
During the previous ten years under Anthony Quick the school had increased in
size and retained its record of academic achievement, and the Headmaster had
joined the Headmaster’s Conference. But it was still a very small school, with only
150 pupils, and largely a local school, with modest facilities despite the recent
building programme: it was the kind of school that could very easily have been
swept away in the growing tide of competitiveness in independent education. That
this did not happen is in itself a tribute to Roger Medill’s headmastership.

Two things, the one intentional, the other fortuitous, may be considered to have set
Rendcomb on its course for the seventies and eighties. First, the Governors’
decision to admit girls to the Sixth Form: Rendcomb was one of the first boys’
boarding schools to become coeducational, largely owing to the advice of Sir
David Wills, then also a governor of Atlantic College, where he had seen the
scheme working successfully. From the beginning, the interviewing and selection
of candidates for the girls’ entry was carried out solely by the Headmaster; the
success of the venture, whether judged by their academic achievements, by their
unanimous appreciation of their two years at Rendcomb or by the fact that in 15
years only two girls found they had made the wrong choice and did not complete
the course, illustrates very clearly Roger Medill’s especial skill in this field.

Secondly, the increase in numbers. Purely by chance, in 1971 there was a strong
potential thirteen year-old entry of double the normal size; it was decided to admit
a double-form entry that year, as an exception. Economics, and the increasing
feeling that the school needed to expand if it were to compete with other
independent schools, caused the exception to become the rule. In time this allowed
the school to increase to its present numbers, incorporating on the way extra
accommodation for girls.

Very early in his time here, as I recall, Roger Medill said to me “Rendcomb is a
very good school, but no-one has ever heard of it”. Herein lies the pointer to
another of his major contributions to the success of Rendcomb today: his
determination that Rendcomb should compete strongly in the increasingly
commercialised world of independent education and be ‘put on the map’. This
required not only more contact with local preparatory and primary schools, but also
the improvement of facilities and accommodation, made all the more urgent by the
increasing size of the school and the absence, until recently, of any real future
planning. Despite some opposition from conservative minds (et ego cum illis eram!
) and the problems of persuading the Governors to realise the necessary finance,
Roger Medill’s foresight and innate optimism brought about the building of the
Sports Hall, the extension of Godman House, the modernisation of the Science
Department, the construction of more study bedrooms and the conversion of the
conservatory into the Dulverton Hall. Most of these plans required endless
negotiations, and it says much for his belief in his ideas that the schemes were
completed to provide the facilities we enjoy today.

The expansion of the school both in numbers and buildings has meant that its
character has necessarily changed from that which had been preserved for its first
50 years. Yet I think it is true to say that Roger Medill has kept before him the
early ideals of the school and attempted to preserve the most important of them.
His sympathetic understanding of the problems of young people and his desire that
everyone should have the opportunity to prove his best have led to Rendcomb
continuing to be an essentially happy community.

He has recognised the changing pressures to which young people are subjected and
with gentle firmness steered them through the more difficult phases. The position
of Headmaster at Rendcomb has undergone some change in the past 16 years.
When Roger Medill was appointed, the Headmaster was still very much in the
traditional mould, an autocrat in his school, responsible for all decisions directly to
the Governors. With the passage of time and with the increasing need for the
Headmaster to spend much of his time on ‘selling’ the school, some of the
responsibilities have been shifted in an attempt to rationalise the Headmaster’s
role. The appointment of a Bursar and the establishment of a Finance and General
Purposes Committee have relieved him of one area of responsibility; the Future
Policy Working Party and its offshoot the Development Committee have provided
a channel for other people to advise on new projects. This has enabled the
Headmaster to concentrate his energies on seeing that the number of pupils in the
school remains high - something at which over the years Roger Medill has been
significantly successful - and that the school keeps abreast of new curriculum
developments.

I am sure that his successor will be grateful that such a shift in emphasis is already
well established. To turn from broader issues to a more personal level, visitors to
the school, prospective parents and pupils will have been struck first by the
courteous and affable manner with which the Headmaster at once put them at their
ease.

Again, his Founder’s Day speeches will be remembered for their combination of
wise precepts, wit, clarity and fluency; his Sunday sermons and addresses at
morning prayers have contained sound advice easily acceptable to his young
audience. This facility for public speaking has been prominent whenever he has
addressed the school on a specific topic. Throughout his time here his energy and
enthusiasm have been much in evidence, seen in practice on the squash courts, on
our sponsored walks - and even quite recently on a sponsored run.

His passion for rugby is well known, and he has made a particular point of giving
keen support to rugby teams. This energy and enthusiasm, infectious in itself,
spread also to his encouragement of all kinds of spare-time interests, whether
lectures or computing, musical events or art and craft, the Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award Scheme or bridge. As a result, pupils at Rendcomb can now enjoy a far
wider range of interests than was possible 15 years ago. He used these same talents
to launch and organise the highly successful Appeal which realised a sum far in
excess of that predicted by professional advisers.

I know how much, throughout his time here, he has depended on the support and
advice of his wife, Mary. Her wide circle of acquaintances and her professional
connections have been valuable to us. Although she has always, on her own
admission, not wished to ‘interfere’ in school matters, she has, despite uncertain
health, been most generous in her hospitality, entertaining visitors, leavers and
others connected with the school.

In addition, of course, she was responsible for initiating riding as an extra activity,
one which, in our superb surroundings, has given much pleasure. The family
connection with the school was strengthened by the fact that both Rachel and
Oliver were pupils at Rendcomb. In conclusion I would say that the buoyant
atmosphere of the school and its continuing academic record in themselves indicate
the success of Roger Medill’s 16 years as Headmaster. I hope that he will see these
as some reward for the work which he has put into making Rendcomb what it is
today. We hope that Roger and Mary will look back on their time at Rendcomb
with happy memories and will enjoy a long and contented retirement.

Ruth Beckett, OR (1972-74) writes: I remember Mr Medill for many reasons... I

remember him firstly in his capacity as headmaster of the school. He rapidly
invigorated the primary purpose of Rendcomb as a centre of academic
achievement. He showed himself to be a man of wisdom, and I recall on many
occasions his ability to clearly and quickly a situation or event and prescribe a
solution in the same breath.

All this was not however at the expense of other school activities. Mr Medill
continued to improve the school’s sports facilities culminating in the opening of a
new sports hall in the grounds. He supported fully all extra-curricular drama and
musical projects within the school and expended time and effort encouraging
groups and individuals in their endeavours. “Absolutely marvellous” was a phrase
I remember well.

I personally remember Mr Medill as the first person I ever met at Rendcomb. For
better or for worse, the decision was made to admit ‘young ladies’ at sixth form
level, and I was one of the first twelve! It fell upon the headmaster to make the
decision as to which of the first batch of young hopefuls were right for Rendcomb.
Perhaps the dozen finally chosen were another manifestation of Mr Medill’s wit
and sense of humour - as mixed a bag of individuals has probably yet to be
repeated, and we had a wonderful time educating a boys’ school about girls!

I also remember Mr Medill as a generous man. When the girls arrived, he was
happy to share his house with three of them, share his horses with several of them
and share his larder with all of them! His dinner parties for the sixth form were
much heralded events and seats at the table were hotly contested. Not only was
there the delight of the best food around at his table, but Mr Medill and his wife
could also engage their young guests in the best conversations for miles! Perhaps I
can note here the affection still held by many of the ‘first’ girls for Mrs Medill -
vivacious, exciting, always charming, incredibly amusing and, like her husband,
generous to a fault with her house, possessions and family life.

And perhaps most importantly to a headmaster, I remember Mr Medill as an

approachable man. For these and many other reasons he was a man liked, respected
and understood by all. During his time at Rendcomb he has overseen many
exciting projects and several really major ones to keep the school in tune with the
rapidly changing expectations and demands on education and private educational
establishments.

I hope that I speak for the girls past, present and future of Rendcomb when I say
thank you to Mr Medill. May his retirement be as happy, full and rewarding as our
time at Rendcomb was, and for future generations I am sure will be.

Nick Miles, OR (1975-80) writes: It has been Rendcomb’s good fortune to have
been under the leadership for so many years of Roger Medill, in my opinion one of
the world’s natural gentlemen. He was a perfect ‘front man’ who could provide the
right image of the school in all academic, commercial and social circles. This
allowed him to raise for the school new resources in the form of pupils, equipment,
finance, publicity and good will.

To be the headmaster of any school is an onerous responsibility, let alone of an

institution as unique as Rendcomb. What kept Roger Medill so young throughout
his headmastership was his unrelenting enthusiasm for all aspects of school life,
from the pomp and ceremony of Founder’s Day to the internal politics of the
General Meeting.

Rendcomb has always been a ‘practical’ school in that emphasis is given to

nonacademic pursuits alongside the mainstream of the examination curriculum.
Luckily, Roger Medill shared this ideal and promoted its attainment through his
enthusiastic sponsorship of all kinds of pursuits ranging from the traditions of
rugby, cricket, music and woodwork to the lesser known thespian readings, bridge,
golf and computers. Lest I have conveyed a picture of Roger as being a rather
serious person, let me correct this by reminding everyone of his natural loud, warm
laugh and inimitable but instinctive gesture of clasping his hands together when
‘tickled pink’ by a story whether told by a parent or impudent third former. Also it
is a testimony to his open-mindedness that he never took our caricatures of him at
the Christmas party to heart. You always knew how far you could go with Roger;
you knew exactly where he would draw the line between acceptable and
unacceptable behaviour.

He was a man of high principles and saw things strictly in terms of right and wrong
with very little grey area in between. He tried to convey this perception of life to
all of us, but sometimes we were probably not bright enough to appreciate his
wisdom.

Personally I owe a large debt to Roger and his wife Mary, who took me into their
family as one of their own whilst I was recuperating from a serious illness in the
third form. I spent the best part of two terms living with them as my parents were
abroad; their hospitality, warmth and caring will never be forgotten. The best way
to review Roger’s stewardship of Rendcomb is to compare the school on his arrival
with the school on his departure; a small, introverted establishment has been
transformed into a forward looking college which can provide a whole range of up-
to-date facilities needed to equip today’s youngster to face the world with
confidence and a well rounded personality.

Yet this transformation has been achieved without harming the essential character
of the school; a warm, friendly and relaxed ‘home from home’ set in the most
beautiful countryside of England. Such progress is a testimony of Roger’s vision
and expertise.

My lasting memory of Roger will be that of his gaunt, greyhound-like frame

striding the touchline ‘Up Top’ totally immersed in the performance of the 1st XV,
oblivious to the entanglement of his dog’s lead round his legs, yelling
encouragement and revealing instinctive delight when the team scored a try.

FOUNDER'S DAY 1972

Headmaster's Speech

I suppose that any Headmaster standing upon his first Speech Day does so with
some diffidence, and I don't mean simply the understandable diffidence about his
speech.

Here he is, newly arrived in a school which has been running successfully for
many years quite without his help. The school has its own institutions, its own
customs, and it has achieved its own distinction, and it is therefore with some
feelings of presumption that I speak to you.

However, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all here today, and especially our
Speaker, Sir Patrick Dean.

I would like to start by saying, on behalf of my wife and family, as well as myself,
how very glad I am to be here. There were many things about Rendcomb that
struck me when I first heard that the appointment was open - its high academic
record, its unusual foundation and history, the beautiful Cotswolds Surroundings,
but there were three other aspects that appealed to me particularly.

The first was the size of the school and the chance that this would give for a
personal knowledge of every member of it. What Imost enjoyed as a Housemaster
at the King's School, Canterbury, was this close involvement and here too I shall be
able to teach every boy in the school at some stage, and get to know everyone well.

One Headmaster of a large school, whom I know, told a story which is perhaps
worth repeating as a contrast. Like most Headmasters, he asked all boys who were
leaving to come and see him towards the end of their last term. One boy, a pleasant
boy, but one who had not excelled in any particular way, arrived at his house, and
the Headmaster said to him, "Now, when did I speak to you last?" and the boy
thought for a moment and replied "About 3 years ago when you told me to get my
shoes cleaned." Well, the Headmaster told this story partly against himself, but it
really reveals the difficulty of running any large school in a personal way.

As you know, a limited expansion is planned,over the next two or three years, but
Rendcomb will remain a small school and I shall try to ensure that it retains its
own individual quality and character.

The second aspect of Rendcomb that Iliked was its special connection with
Gloucestershire and the Local Education Authority. Enlightened public schools for
some years now have been anxious to accept grant-aided pupils, but always money
has been the difficulty. Owing to our most generous foundation and the goodwill of
the County this problem has been solved here, and the original vision of the
Founder has been preserved. We value our Foundationers, and I believe that we
also do well by them. But, of course, many other members of the school come
from Gloucestershire and it was for this reason that I was so pleased when the
Duke of Beaufort did us the honour of coming here in May to lay the Foundation
Stone of the New Building.I took it as a symbol of our unique relationship with the
County, and at a time when parents are increasingly sending their children to
neighbouring rather than to distant schools,this is one of our strengths. Not that all
our entries are local. Present members of the school fly out to Europe, to America,
and toThailand. I have just had another inquiry from Hong Kong, and it seems that
the name of Rendcomb is known even in the Azores,as I have just accepted a girl
from there for next term.

This brings me to the third feature that appealed to me - the prospect of a co-
educational VIth form. One of the virtues of thePublic Schools has been their
diversity and their independence has enabled them to pursue their own ideals of a
full education. From its foundation Rendcomb has been an exciting place, original
and pioneering, without being cranky. The central idea has been to make aboy's
time at school the fulfilment of experience that it ought to be. This will now be our
aim for girls as well, and I believe that the life of the school will be richer for the
change.

I am glad to say that demand for girls' places has been strong, and I expect to have
9 or 10 girls at Rendcomb next term. They will be living with masters' families for
this first year, and moving into the building with the 12 new entrants in September
1973. I think I can reveal that reactions in the school to this new departure have
been favourable, and for myself, having interviewed the candidates, I look forward
to it with confidence and enthusiasm.

Now to the record for 1971-72. A-level results inevitably vary from year to
year,and the 1971 crop was not quite up to the outstanding vintage of 1970, but the
O-level results were distinctly better, and the crowning success came at the end of
the Christmas term with 3 awards and t place gained at Oxford out of 7 candidates.
This reflects great credit, both on the boys themselves, and on their teachers.

It was encouraging to hear from a recent Cambridge conference that in spite of

recent doubts about the future of these awards, they are likely to stay for the next
few years at least. There is no doubt that they provide an incentive and an
opportunity for the table boy to extend himself well beyond the range of A-level
papers.

The two 1st Class Honours degrees also gained this year, one at Oxford and one at
Bristol, show that this success is no chance occurrence, but a continuation of the
school's strong academic tradition, which aims not to cram boys for honours, but to
equip them to think for themselves.

I have spoken of 'O' and 'A' levels, but of course these are only the culmination of
years of valuable teaching and learning and I like to think that with our broad,
unspecialised curriculum up to 'O' level and the variety of our other activities, these
examinations are taken more or less in our stride.

For me, the most heart-warming tribute to the school during the last year was paid
by one of its younger members said to his father quite simply, 'This school has
taught me to love learning.' I can't think of anything I would rather have said about
us than that.

We try to strike the right balance between work and sport, and we got off to a good
starting the Christmas Term with a fine rugby side,which was only once defeated,
and which drew with the 1st XV of a neighbouring PublicSchool nearly three times
our size. I remember asking a leading member of the scrum before the match what
were our chances of winning or losing, and he answered, "Oh, I never think of
being beaten." This was the spirit of outside, and we look forward to an equally
good season ahead.

Hockey suffered from the Lent Term mud,and if I say that the weather was nearly
as bad as it has been this May and June you will realise what it was like! Nothing
is more tantalising than to have fine pitches prepared with keen, well trained sides
unable to use them.

Cricket has been an even more English sport than usual this year, something of an
ordeal for players, and almost impossible for spectators. However, a surprising
amount of enthusiasm has made a success of the season.

I came to Rendcomb from a very musical school, and I was delighted to find that
music here was so flourishing. Weber's opera "Der Freischutz'' last Autumn
followed by fine Advent and Carol services, a music recital and Passion music in
the Spring, and the Vaughan Williams Centenary Concert at the end of this term
have made up an interesting and ambitious programme for the year, and we shall
be performing Haydn's "The Seasons" in Cirencester Church next October. With
our enlarged VIth form we also hope to increase the scope of our orchestral music.

I hope you will have time to look around - if you have not already done so. The
newPhysics Laboratory and Chemistry teaching room, only partly furnished at
present, will be a great asset, and the New Building is

making good progress. The exhibitions show what a central place Art and
Woodwork having our education here, and what a tremendous amount of excellent
work goes on. There is great freedom and variety, but also a key concern for real
craftsmanship.

Now I would like to have spoken of or many other activities, the tennis, squash and
judo, mountaineering, the drama, dancing, and so on but it is impossible to cover
everything.
I just want to mention two other events from the year which come to mind. One
was during the power cuts when we learnt that we were to be extinguished for
three hours one evening. Various plans were made and in spite of anxieties the
building took quite a different quality by oil lamp, and candle-light. An impromptu
sing-song in Saul's Hall by firelight made an attractive and memorable finale.

The other event was the 20 mile sponsored walk at the beginning of this term
which you all supported so generously. The entire school took part in one way or
another and it was a splendid day out for everybody. The result was a cheque for
£550 which will buy a much-needed piece of equipment for Cirencester Hospital -
a life support machine for premature babies, and a colour television for the
children's ward.

The link between these two very different events was the feeling of a whole
community united, a shared challenge in which everyone was involved. This unity
is one of the advantages of a small school, and I think, a peculiarly Rendcomb
feature.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks. Firstly, to Mrs. Sinclair and the
Governors for the warmth of their welcome to me and my family; secondly, to the
teaching staff for their hard work and forbearance during my first year, and, thirdly,
to all those other members of the Rendcomb community without who's loyal and
much appreciated efforts we couldn't continue. Thank you all very much.

FOUNDER'S DAY 1973

Headmaster's Speech

MR. CHAIRMAN, Lord Amory, my Lords, ladies and gentlemen . . .

About three days ago you may have seen a leading article in The Times entitled
"The Doom Of the Public Schools." In fact, when you read the article, it was not
quite so threatening as it ap-peared, but this doom has been echoing around for
many years now. I have nothing new to add to the great debate about education, but
perhaps it is worth making a few comments before I go on to review the past year.

As always, the extremists gain all the publicity. There are those who wish to
deschool society altogether and towards the end of a long term this certainly has its
appeal—to masters no less than to boys—but I think most of us would not go quite
as far as that. Others would abolish the independent schools by legislation, thus
denying the rights of all parents stated in the Education Act 1944 and recognised in
every country of the European Community which we have just joined. The reason
given for this action is not an educational one, it is that these schools are socially
divisive. The idea is often exaggerated for political purposes, but whatever truth it
may have generally, I am thankful to say that at Rendcomb—as was the Founder's
intention—it has no place. More insidious are proposals which would lower
academic standards under the guise of equality for all. Of course, not all these
plans are wrong-headed or impracticable. I welcome the new proposals to broaden
the range of VIth form studies provided that intelligent boys and girls still have the
chance, in some subjects, of working to the limit of their ability.

I have no wish to decry other kinds of education, many of which are admirable. I
prefer to say what we believe in here and let the school be judged on its record.

Firstly, we have a high regard for ability and scholarship, but an equally high
regard for hard work at any level, and we value creative interests of all kinds, the
effort that goes into them as well as the results.

One clear indication of this is that on Founder's Day, unlike most other schools, we
have no prize-giving. It is very pleasant for the clever and successful to march up
to the platform for their accolade, but isn't it rather superfluous to reward those
who already have so much?

You may remember in 'Alice in Wonderland' how, when the animals emerged from
the pool of tears, they ran about to dry themselves. At the end of this Caucus race
they asked the Dodo who had won. "Everybody has won," it replied, "and all must
have prizes."

The prizes here may be intangible, but they are nonetheless real; they are the
reward which anyone may feel at work well done, whether it is gaining a hard won
'0' level or a scholarship to Oxford, completing a fine piece of sculpture or singing
an anthem, gaining a judo belt or making a table lamp.

And what else besides all this achievement?

I was asked by an inquirer during the year whether we went in for character
building. It is rather quaint notion that the school should be following a blueprint
or master plan and putting people together into some predetermined shape.

The only person who can build a character — if we are to use that metaphor — is
the person himself, and we, in close cooperation with you, the parents, can only
provide a framework within which this can be done—the scaffolding if you like.
There is no Rendcomb product. The idea is objectionable. What I would hope is
that boys and girls here should learn from living and working together the meaning
of independence, of determination, of tolerance, and of human understanding , and
that in addition to becoming useful members of a society they may become more
themselves.

We all believe in independent education, or we should not be here. We all agree

that parents should have the opportunity to buy an education for their child in
preference to buying a Rolls Royce,though I should like to point out in passing that
for the price of a 1973 model you can educate 131 daughters at Rendcomb. School
fees seem high, of course, but it is broadly true that you get what you pay for
(indeed with our generous endowment you get more than you pay for) and school
fees have risen less than many other things over the years. They also offer better
value for money than they have ever done.

When I look back to my school days I remember doing a certain amount of work
and enjoying quite a lot of sport. But music? It went on, but it went a long way
from me. Art? There was an art room, but it was tucked away up some staircase.
Woodwork? I think there were two boys in my House of sixty or seventy who
headed off towards the carpentry shop—little known and little regarded.

You will realise that I am going on to point the contrast here and mention some of
the enjoyable things of the year.

Anyone who heard our performance of Haydn's "The Seasons" in Cirencester

Church, or Purcell's "King Arthur" earlier this term, will understand the place that
music holds in the school.In addition to the main choral works and beautifully sung
Church music, the Orchestra is growing in size and in the range of works which it
can tackle, and we are extending the music rooms to cope with the increased
demand.
In Drama, a memorable production of "A Man for all Seasons' ' last December is
being followed at the end of this term by a Junior Play in a rather lighter vein
which I am sure will give as much pleasure as last year's did.

A look round the exhibitions of Art and Woodwork will convince you more than
any words that I can say of the range of imagination and quality which so impress
every parent I show round.

An added interest this year are the Science Exhibitions which give you some idea
of the lively work that goes on. They have taken a great deal of time to prepare and
I very much hope you will go and see them.

Now a word about the school sport. Rugby has been so successful in recent years
that we've upgraded our fixture list to include the 1st XVs of schools considerably
larger than ourselves. This has inevitably meant tougher matches, but we had a
good season and we start the coming year with many of last year's players. Our
vaccination against 'flu in the Lent term proved less effective than we had hoped,
but a dry Spring produced an excellent hockey season which everyone enjoyed.
Finally, to crown the year, the best cricket team we have had for many years,
undefeated so far, and relying for its strength on all the skills reaching right
through the team, pace and spin bowling, aggressive batting and excellent fielding.

I have no time to speak of all the other sports : judo, climbing, squash, tennis,
volleyball and so on. I would only mention the swimming which last year was
virtually eliminated by the weather and this year has given so much enjoyment. It
goes without saying that prowess at sport doesn't just drop into our lap. It has to be
worked for and I would like to commend the spirit of our teams and the skilled
coaching which they receive.

Last of all these activities I come to the most important thing — the academic work
of the school. '0' and 'A' level results were very respectable, and there were some
distinguished performances. We gained one Open scholarship, two places at
Oxford and one place at Cambridge. We don't neglect other Universities, in fact we
gained seven places at them, but I am sure it is right for those with sufficient ability
to aim at the top. Most boys who do stay on for that one term find it their most
rewarding. Next term we shall have 40% of our 2nd year VIth form trying for
Oxford And Cambridge entrance, an unusually high proportion.
One of the differences between a school and a business is that a school doesn't
have to expand in order to succeed. For many years Rendcomb remained the same
size and was highly successful. But, nowadays, with the variety of courses required
and the facilities expected, the minimum effective size of a school has increased.
Next year our numbers will be about 215 with a further limited increase the
following year. This terms' leavers will have witnessed an enormous change during
their time here. The conversion of the Old Rectory, the building of the Arts Block,
the Studies,the Squash Courts, the Pavilion, the new Science rooms, and now the
new building which will be opened by Lord Amory this afternoon. It is very good
of him to come and we welcome him most warmly. May I suggest that after the
speeches everyone should make their way either through the side door or past the
stage and through the main building over to the new House. It can be inspected
either after the brief opening ceremony or after tea.

Schools need buildings, and we are fortunate to have one as attractive as this, but
of course schools are primarily composed of people, and this has been the year of
the quiet revolution.

Eleven girls have joined us and things will never be quite the same again! They
have shared our homes during this year, and in the charming, unobtrusive way that
girls have, they have become part of the scenery. Next year their number will more
than double, and Rendcomb will have acquired a new quality, its sympathies
perhaps wider, its society more complete than in the past. I think the girls
would agree that the gain has been mutual.

Expansion of any kind produces problems because things never work out exactly
as you want them to. Teaching is rewarding, but it is also hard work — almost as
hard as learning, and the staff have had to cope with the education not only of 180
or so boys and girls, but also of a Headmaster. There is no school for Headmasters,
so you have to pick it up as you go along. I want to thank them for their work for
the school as a whole and for boys and girls individually: the work done in form
and the additional work put in out of school. And may I also put on record my
appreciation of all the other people who work away throughout the year to make
the school a success whether in adminstration, in cooking, in cleaning, and
gardening, in all those tasks without which we should be unable to function at all.
It is this dedication that makes a school successful.
And this leads me, in conclusion, to speak of two people who are retiring this year.
Mr. Fell came here with a 1st class Honours degree from Cambridge in 1934, and
apart from the war years he has been at Rendcomb ever since. During the war he
specialised in radar both here and in America, and ended with the rank of Wing
Commander and was awarded the M.B.E.

He built up the Science at Rendcomb, starting from one large and one small
laboratory before the war until now, when the whole Stable Block is devoted to
Science. After the war, two additional laboratories were made, and all the
construction work was done by boys under his direction—plumbing, gas fitting,
furniture—everything.

The Industrial Fund, which was set up to provide money for schools who needed
better science facilities had made a firm rule that no school with fewer than 250
boys could be helped, but when they saw what Rendcomb had done for themselves
with 85 boys, they broke the rule and made a substantial grant. Mr. Fell continued
to encourage in every way the study of Science at the school, largely by the
unsparing use of his own time. Junior project work in electronics is now a valuable
option, and the senior 'A' level projects receive high commendation from the
professor who comes to assess them. They can be seen in the Science Exhibition
today.

On a personal note, I feel very lucky to have had Mr. Fell's wise help and advice
during my first two years here. We shall miss him very much in the school, but at
least the Oxford and Cambridge entrants will have the benefit of his teaching next
term and both present and past members of the school will be pleased to know that
he and Mrs. Fell will continue to live in the village. Their Hospitality and kindness
are well known. We offer him our warmest thanks and good wishes.

And now to another man whose contribution to Rendcomb has been outstanding:
Mr. Telling. He has served the College for 43 years in many capacities — engineer,
head groundsman, clerk of works, building supervisor, part bursar and there are no
doubt others unknown to me. He has worked for four Headmasters, that is for
every Headmaster the school has had since its foundation, and his knowledge of
the school is unrivalled. I should have been entirely lost without his help and I am
particularly grateful to him for postponing his retirement for a year until I could
find a successor.We meet officially only once a week, but I know that between one
meeting and another an enormous number of essential jobs will quietly and
efficiently have been completed. I am sure that you will join with me in wishing
him and Mrs. Telling a long and happy retirement, and it is a great relief to me to
know that in any emergency, Mr. Telling will still be available in the village to
supply just that piece of vital information that everyone else has forgotten.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, thank you, Ladies and Gentleman.

FOUNDER'S DAY, 1974

Headmaster’s Speech

Mr. Chairman, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, May I first welcome on your
behalf our distinguished Speaker, Lord Goodman. And secondly, a warm welcome
to all parents. We value your support and cooperation. Not so long ago, anything
more than a termly parental visit at most public schools would have been severely
frowned on, and even now it is sometimes forgotten that parents are the senior
partners in our joint enterprise. Here we have always welcomed contact between
parents and the school, and the cordial relations that exist between us are a great
encouragement. I calculate that with exams, half terms, concerts, plays and so on,
most parents drive up to our doors between 25 and 30 times a year. It is all part of
the increased openness and naturalness of boarding school education in general,
and of Rendcomb in particular. Because it is one of the many advantages of being
firmly rooted in Gloucestershire and drawing much of our support from within the
county. Since I last spoke to you, the county boundaries have been redrawn, and
although I welcome our new catchment area for Foundationers from the Forest of
Dean and the City of Gloucester, I naturally regret losing the contact with South
Gloucestershire. I very much hope that we may be able to establish as friendly
relations with Avon as we have always had with the Gloucestershire Education
Authority.

Anybody approaching Rendcomb for the first time cannot fail to be impressed by
this building. You may feel a bit overwhelmed by the architecture, but you have to
agree that above all it expresses stability and confidence. Two world wars and the
dismantling of an empire have destroyed this enormous Victorian assurance but we
are privileged to teach and learn in surroundings of such quality and permanence.
The motto of Sir Francis Goldsmid, who built Rendcomb Mansion in 1865, was
"Concordia et Sedulitate‟- by harmony and diligence. We see these words every
day, as they are written in the stained glass window on the main staircase. I believe
that we do live in a harmonious and hard working community, and that in
preserving some of the best of the Victorian tradition we are also fulfilling the
intention of Noel Wills, who made this school possible and whose memory we
honour today.

Now to 1973, a year in which the pressures against the public schools have
increased sharply. Political measures at present are aimed at raising the cost of
operating an independent school, and this at a time when inflation is running at a
record level. As you know, one consequence for us has been the postponement of
our building projects - a regrettable necessity - and an increase in fees which,
although sizable, is unlikely to be sufficient to cover our costs. In spite of this I am
glad to say that there is a strong and increasing demand for places here. I think the
reason is simple. With all the doubts and uncertainties about other investments,
parents are determined - at some personal sacrifice if necessary - to buy something
of lasting value for their children.

Fortunately, Park House was completed before these problems accelerated. During
the past year it has proved an exceptionally pleasant and congenial place for VIth
formers to live and work in. Our first generation of girls have nearly completed
their two years here and are about to become Old Rendcombians. I do not expect in
future to make particular mention of the girls as they have become completely
integrated into the school, but it is worth recording that this decision of the
governors to admit girls must have been the most radical change at Rendcomb
since the school's foundation. Radical - and yet what could be more natural and
more in keeping with the school's pioneering and forward-looking spirit? The
complete segregation of boys and girls nowadays is not likely to promote
education in the truest sense, and a school must help to produce not only good
scholars, but good citizens, good husbands and wives.

"O‟ and "A‟ levels fluctuate like the harvest. Last year, although we doubled our
number of "A‟ grades, the A levels were still a little below the heavy crop we
hoped for, but the O levels matured exceptionally well, and show great promise for
next year. I always remind those who have gained their O levels that the most
important educational process is about to begin. They have acquired over a number
of years not only a considerable quantity of knowledge, but a habit of steady
application. Now in the VIth Form, studying only subjects of their own choice, the
discipline must be largely self generated. It is at this point that the qualities of
character are most vital. If there is a lack of tenacity and fibre, then opportunities
can certainly be wasted. But if a boy or a girl has real determination then the
chances for him or her are excellent.

When speaking about the other activities that go on after school hours it is hard to
know where to begin. How to convey for instance, the keenness and quality of our
rugger, hockey, and cricket teams at all levels of the school and not just at the top.
All we can show you today is a brief glimpse of the gymnastics which have started
enthusiastically this year in the lower part of the school, and next week at the fete
the judo which continues to be very popular. But pride of place this year, as last,
must go to our cricket XI which, as you will know if you have been reading your
Times or Daily Telegraph, has now remained unbeaten for 20 matches extending
over two seasons - a fine record - though a record nearly equalled, I must add, by
the girls' netball team which has for two years polished off its opponents with
relentless energy and flair. I hope that most people here saw one or both of our
dramatic productions last year so I don't need to speak of their quality and
entertainment value, which seemed to me quite exceptional.

What nobody saw, however, except the producers concerned, was just how much
patient work and organisation were needed for their success, not only from actors
but from all those who generously gave their time to stage design, construction,
make-up and all the other ingredients required. There cannot be many schools
where over half the members have participated in a single year and numerous boys
and girls must have been surprised to find what they were capable of. A play has at
least three or four performances, but a concert only has one. All the more important
than the intensive rehearsals, and our programme this year has certainly been
ambitious - Brahms Requiem, Haydn and Schubert Symphonies, a Mozart Piano
Concerto and a Bach Cantata - these were the highlights. The school music is
thriving and the orchestra continues to grow and flourish.

A brief word about the fete next week. I am most grateful for all contributions so
far received for the various stalls. Much of the school's art and woodwork talents,
as varied and inventive as ever, have been directed to this end rather than to the
usual Founder's Day exhibitions, though there is a display of work in the Arts
Block which I hope you will take the opportunity of seeing.

Last term we said goodbye to our Rector and Chaplain, Sidney Lambert. He had
served the school and village faithfully for seven years and he had gone with our
affectionate good wishes to a parish church in Cheltenham. I have now been
appointed as Chaplain to the school the Revd. W. K. A. Hussey, who will also be
Priest in Charge of Rendcomb Parish, and who will be taking up his appointment
in September. It is always difficult in a community such as ours to show full
appreciation for the work done during the year - so much happens in a quiet,
unobtrusive way.

Perhaps I may mention one person who is leaving - Eirwen Morgan, who for seven
years has ensured that the school food should be of such excellent quality. We wish
her well for the future.

And then a tribute, which I am sure you would support, to the teaching staff, and to
their wives who also contribute so much. I thank them most warmly for making
this year such a happy and successful one. And now I end on a note which is both
sad and, I think, inspiring. Last November we were deeply saddened by the death
of John James, a master here for 38 years, second master for 35, acting headmaster
for one year, and after this great service to the school living in retirement in the
village. Personally, I knew John James only for a short time, but besides enjoying
his wit and fund of anecdotes and hospitality, I recognised his judgement, his
authority, and his dedication. It is because of men like him, and qualities like these,
that public schools have for so long remained a vital force in the education of this
country.

FOUNDER’S DAY 1975

HEADMASTER’S SPEECH
 Mr. Chairman, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen: I would like first to welcome
our speaker, Lord Chalfont. Anyone who reads The Times may feel that they
already have an acquaintance with him through his articles, which cover a wide
range, particularly of foreign affairs in which he is an expert. It is very good of him
to come, and we look forward to hearing what he has to say. Then, a warm
welcome to all parents and friends. We often meet informally, but I am glad to have
this one occasion each year when I can speak to you all, and thank you for your
continuing confidence in the school. We do appreciate the great compliment which
you pay us by entrusting your sons and daughters to us, and may I repay the
compliment by saying that a school is only as good as the quality of all its
members. If Rendcomb is a good place - and I think it is - then it is largely because
our raw material, if you will forgive the phrase, is of first rate quality.

As I approach the school year two feelings are dominant. The day before term
begins there is a faint sinking feeling which anyone who has ever been to school
will instantly recognise. But as soon as the first boy heaves in sight this changes to
exhilaration. And then, when you face a class for the first time - what a privilege;
and what a challenge. Because when I look back to my days at public school and
try to remember what I learnt, I can truthfully say that only two things came to
mind. One was an experiment to distinguish the allotropes of sulphur - I
particularly liked the one where you melted the stuff in a dish and let it cool before
puncturing the crust and pouring out what was still liquid. I cannot honestly claim
that this has been of great value to me in life.

The other experience which has remained with me was studying Macbeth for 'O'
level - or School Certificate as it was then. This I also enjoyed, but taking both
things together it does seem rather a meagre harvest of learning from 5 years of
schooling. I very much hope that everyone taught here will remember more than
that in 30 years time.

But perhaps I did learn some other things less easy to identify. One of the schools
where I taught before I came to Rendcomb had two rather charming statues which
illustrated the difference between the new boys and those about to leave. The
newcomer stood cap in hand, cautious, humble, diffident; the statue was named
Philomathes, the lover of learning. The other bold, mature and confident - this was
Polymathes, the possessor of many sided learning. It was rather like one of those
"before and after‟ advertisements. No doubt things aren't quite as clear cut as this -
most people learn less than Polymathes and most people remember more than I
did, but let me give you one definition of education: "It is what you have left after
all you learned at school has been forgotten‟.

And I believe that some of the greatest values of a boarding school education are
the intangible ones. Take confidence, for instance. Some cynics would say that you
simply become confident that life can never be quite as grim again; but I was very
pleased to read quite recently in the Daily Telegraph a review of a book called One
Hand Clapping by Cohn Middleton Murry. It speaks of his gruesome school days
at the local grammar school, a sadistic headmaster and arch-bullies for
schoolmates. I quote: “That everyone was bound to betray you soon became
Murry's youthful philosophy, but he survived his childhood largely through the
enlightened regime of his second school, Rendcomb.” What a fine memorial to
Noel Wills, the founder of this school, whom we remember and honour today. It is
a real pleasure to read an account like this, and I can only say that though Mr.
Murry would find many outward changes I hope that the essential spirit of the
place has remained the same.

Confidence, then, is central, no less for an individual than for a nation. With it you
have the assurance to reject demagogues and detractors. Without it, all your other
virtues and qualities are diminished. How is it acquired? I think you need an
environment which has firm guidelines and is fundamentally secure, but which
offers a variety of challenges, not all of them within reach. Young people need
above everything positive achievement and success, but they also need to become
aware of their limitations.

And another of the valuable things about this kind of education where we live
together as a community is that we not only learn to recognise the abilities and
needs of others but we learn to swallow a few unpalatable truths about ourselves.
My impression is that this is often more effectively done at school than at home.
Our approach is, I hope, compassionate, but it has a detachment which parents find
difficult. May I say that I am speaking from personal experience. When a teacher
said to my daughter the other day, “You must look into people's hearts. You must
forgive them”, I felt that it had an impact on her which I could not have achieved.
And I also felt, “That's what I am paying my money for” - not just for all the
learning process which is essential but which we expect in any case - but for
standards, for Christian values and for human understanding. Nobody enjoys home
truths at the time, but most people have the good sense to see that it is an essential
part of growing up.

A full education should at times be a little astringent or bracing like a dose of

quinine or a cold shower. A summons to the headmaster's study isn't what it used to
be but it sometimes entails straight speaking. Perhaps this was in the boy's mind
who had pinned up a notice on his desk which rather took my fancy. It read quite
simply, "With the schoolmaster as your friend, who needs enemies?‟ An Oxford
philosopher don - an entertaining and liberal-minded man - offered the other day to
give a talk here entitled "In praise of Discipline and Latin Grammar‟. It sounds a
bit austere (though I'm sure it won't be), but it does no harm to remind ourselves
that little of value can be achieved without self-control or hard work. I am afraid
this flies in the face of those modern theories of education which emphasise above
all freedom and self-expression, but what we aim at here is that by the time a boy
or girl is in the VIth form most of the external discipline essential earlier on has
become self-discipline and being taught is changing into teaching oneself. The vast
majority of boys and girls do recognise their responsibilities, and this applies not
only to prefects, though I would like to thank them for the help they give us, but to
the VIth form as a whole.

On looking at the academic results in today's programme you might consider that
1974 was one of the weaker years but I think you would be wrong. We were
particularly pleased that nearly everyone gained as much as they expected, and
some a good deal more. Out of 27 candidates, 21 decided to follow degree courses,
and included in our three entrants to the ancient universities were our first two
girls, one going to Oxford and one to Cambridge. In addition, the average number
of 'O' levels gained was 7.5, which considering that we limit the number taken to
nine is an unusually good achievement. Other attainments of special note were a
Post Office university scholarship in engineering and an army scholarship, both
won against strong competition.

Much good work has been done all through the school. I see this reflected in the
regular grades and reports, and there are further illustrations of it in the physics
exhibition, which I hope you have managed to see today (if not, it remains open);
in the high quality of literary contributions to The Rendcomb Magazine; in the
conservation essay prizes we have won and in many other ways. In sport, the last
rugby season was something of a prelude and preparation for what lies ahead; a
young team was beginning to come into its own, and we look forward to the
Christmas term with every chance of doing well against a series of strong
opponents. Hockey, perhaps the most popular of the main sports, was bedevilled by
rain, and if any parent would like to give us an all-weather hockey pitch we would
not refuse the offer. I think it was Charles Lamb who said, “One of life's greatest
pleasures is to do good by stealth and to be found out by accident”. I should be
happy to arrange this pleasure for anyone.

As for cricket, three years ago last Tuesday was the date of our last defeat in a 1st
XI match, which is really quite a record, and we have some very promising players
coming up through the school. Netball, tennis, squash, swimming, volleyball,
athletics, and soccer have all been enjoyed and I was glad to hear recently that two
old boys have gained black belts at judo - one of them being in the Cambridge
University team. For anyone looking round the school the Arts Block is a focus of
interest. It is so obvious as soon as you walk in that there is a great deal of talent
and keen interest, and that the facilities and the teaching are excellent. Whether a
boy is throwing a pot or inlaying a backgammon board you feel that there is the
same concern for individual creativity and craftsmanship.

Many schools say, "Because our boys are not very strong academically, we
emphasise the practical side‟. We say because our boys are strong academically it
is important to develop their imaginative and creative skills. The same is true of
drama, and it would be hard to imagine a greater contrast between our two plays
this year - the gay, delightful fantasy of The Wind in the Willows and the profound
spiritual dilemma of Murder in the Cathedral. Having done a little very amateur
play production myself, I know what time and energy are needed to produce the
standard that has become traditional here. It is particularly pleasing this year that
our leading actor gained one of the few highly prized places at the Bristol Old Vic
Drama School. The music continues to grow in quantity and quality, and I was
delighted when our only entrant in the Cheltenham Music Competition won the
cup for pianists between 16 and 17. I know that many people were looking forward
to the performance of the Messiah which has had to be postponed until October. I
am glad to say that the latest news of Mr. Willson is reasonably encouraging and he
hopes to be back at the beginning of next term; I would like to pay my tribute not
only to him and what he does for the music and climbing, but also to the work of
all the staff during the past year and to thank them for their loyalty and dedication.

And I want to go a step further and, in reminding you that 1975 is designated as
Woman's Year, to make special mention of the women of Rendcomb. To those who
teach, to masters' wives, the administrative staff, cooks, assistants and to those who
keep the buildings looking so clean and polished a special word of thanks. Their
influence is profound, their work is vital to us.

I am sometimes asked by prospective parents how we keep in touch with the

outside world. I reply firstly that all communities that live and work together
generate most of their own interests and recreations. Of these I have already
spoken - and I think you would agree that it is nearly always preferable to create
entertainment for yourself than to be a passive recipient. It would be a negative
attitude for a school to say, "We don't have television here‟, for instance, but I see
nothing but gain in providing at school sufficient alternatives so that television
takes its proper place in the background as an occasional source of interest or
relaxation.

Having said that, I go on to point out that our contacts beyond the school are
extensive. Apart from the exams, which retain the links with home, and the regular
sporting fixtures in which we meet other schools, you have only to look at the
school calendar to realise how much goes on. This year, the Royal Ballet at Covent
Garden and the Turner Exhibition in London, Shakespeare at Stratford, Blenheim
Palace, Coventry Cathedral, Tintern Abbey, the Veterinary Department at Bristol
University, geology and ecology on the Dorset coast . . . the list is endless. And in
the holidays there are our successful exchange visits to France and Germany. We
are not reluctant Europeans at Rendcomb. 11 Then there are the distinguished
speakers who come to give talks or to preach; two recent examples being Mr.
Freddy Fisher, editor of The Financial Times, an old boy, and the Rev. C. F. D.
Moule, perhaps the foremost New Testament scholar in the country.

Next week we are having the Industrial Conference at Rendcomb. We have invited
over 30 girls from Westonbirt to join with our VIth form in this two-day inquiry
into the challenge of industry and the problems an industrial society needs to solve.
What could be more relevant to our country's situation at this time? Finally, I
would like to commend to all parents, as I do to boys and girls, the community
service which we do in Rendcomb village and in Cirencester. We give help to the
hospital, to a school for handicapped children, and to old people by way of visiting,
gardening, and so on. This is something which I hope most boys and girls will help
with at some time during their school career. Building at Rendcomb has become
almost a perennial activity, but we are now nearing the end of the dramatic
expansion which started about 12 years ago, and which has nearly tripled the size
of the school in that time.

Anyone visiting the science laboratories today may have noticed the extension
being built onto No. 1 Rendcomb to make the new 3rd form house. In these
uncertain times this is both an act of faith and a statement of our confidence in the
future. Predictions are impossible, but I can only say that judging by the hard
evidence of our waiting lists, more people than ever before believe in what
Rendcomb stands for and want to send their children here. And may I say to the
Gloucestershire Education Authority a warm word of thanks for their continued
help.

Now in this review I have given some account of the school's activities and
achievements and in my earlier remarks I tried to suggest some of the less tangible
qualities that a boarding school offers. Confidence, Christian values, hard work,
responsibility, individuality, human understanding. And if this sounds a rather
solemn list I would add the capacity to laugh at oneself and to accept the laughter
of others. I think I would conclude by mentioning friendship and the capacity for
making good friends which is especially fostered in a small school where we share
so much. It is my final example of those things which cannot be priced, but can
only be valued and which have a lasting effect upon our lives. Mark Twain once
said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education”. But then Mark
Twain attended a day school, and I would like to think that at Rendcomb schooling
and education are one and the same thing.

FOUNDER'S DAY 1976 Headmaster's Speech

Mr. Chairman, I would first like to welcome on your behalf Lord Ashby, our main
speaker. It is a great distinction for us to have a fellow of the Royal Society as our
guest. He was until last year Master of Clare College, Cambridge, and he is well
known for his work and writing and broadcasting on the environmental and
biological problems which are more and more coming to dominate our lives. His
appointment as the first chairman of the royal commission on environmental
pollution was a mark of his pre-eminence in this field. We are very pleased and
honoured to have him with us this morning.

An examination paper I looked at recently asked the question - what are holidays
for? One of the things I use mine for is to do a little of the reading which I find
impossible to fit in during term. During the last holiday I read, among other things,
the History of Rendcomb College during its first fifty years. Looking back on
Rendcomb's past I found it a fascinating and humbling experience to read about all
the work that has been done here since 1920, and I gained a memorable impression
of the founder of this school, Noel Wills. That rare combination of scholar,
sportsman, soldier, artist and craftsman, and of his vision of what Rendcomb might
be. A very remarkable vision, it was too far in advance of its time, though also in a
way sharing in the spirit of the great founders of earlier centuries. It is up to all of
us as the inheritors of this school to cherish it by keeping faith with the past and
looking to the future as Noel Wills did. We all have a vision, however faint, of
what we would like to create, and these ideas are none the worse for never,
perhaps, being realised by most of us. As Plato said, in writing of his ideal city,
“Who knows whether such a city could ever exist? But the great thing is to live
after the manners of that city.”

But the account of Rendcomb's founding communicated to me a splendid and

exciting sense of what it is like to see your ideas actually take shape: “to give to
airy nothing a local habitation and a name”. If there is one thing that this country
seems to be short of today it is far-sighted and imaginative men - I suppose a North
Sea oil man might describe our position as : “Long on crude, short on vision”, and
we should be thankful not only that vision was backed by determination and
generosity in the 1920's but that the founder's family have maintained their keen
interest and support to the present day. May I remind you of one other thing that
Plato said of his ideal city: it was that every citizen should be able to know all the
others by sight. You cannot do that in a large city any more than you can do it in a
large school, and I regard it as one of Rendcomb's great strengths, particularly
unusual in this day of monsters, that it should aim at a size where an atmosphere of
friendship and unity can flourish. It is a very vulgar error to confuse size with
significance.

Another great strength which Rendcomb enjoys, and one which contributes so
much to the quality of the school, is our close link with Gloucestershire. As the
school has expanded we have established links far beyond the county, but I feel
that we are still in a way a neighbourhood school - with a fairly large
neighbourhood. We have always valued our connection with the local education
authority and I think we can claim to have served the county well in the past. I am
confident that we can continue to provide an essential service in the future. A
young pupil - not at Rendcomb - recently spoke of her school as follows; “It's quite
nice because there is always something new going on, like a new headmaster, or it
might be a new rabbit”. That is a good salutary remark, and even after five years I
sometimes feel quite a new headmaster. But one of the pleasures during this time
has been a constant stream of new events. Not only the stimulating flow of fresh
faces each year, but new buildings, new subjects, new sports, increasing numbers
of boys - and of course new girls. I was turning out a drawer the other day when I
found a piece of paper with a name on it and the sketch of a tent - obviously a
doodle of mine done years ago in an idle moment. Suddenly I remembered that the
name belonged to one of the first girls to enter Rendcomb - an unusually able girl
of sixteen who announced on the first day of term that she was engaged to be
married, and could her fiancé come and camp in the garden for the first ten days.
Well, I was ready for new challenges, but I envisaged things getting a bit out of
hand with an army of camp followers swarming in, so I regretfully said no. I am
sad to say that she was the only girl who failed to stay the course at Rendcomb,
returning to her fiancé at the end of term, but I'm happy to say that things have
settled down a bit since those first heady days.

Thirteen years ago was Rendcomb's last inspection by the Ministry of Education,
and it has changed so much during this time that I asked the inspector of schools
for Gloucestershire if the Department of Education & Science would agree to a
new inspection. We try to keep a critical eye on ourselves all the time - after all, we
do expect rigorous analysis and assessment - but impartial judgement is always
worth having, so the inspection took place early this term. The report is
confidential, but I can assure you that we are still in business. In fact the inspector
said some kind things about the quality of teaching, the generous provision for
creative and imaginative skills, and opportunities for sport and recreation. Of
course they also made some valuable constructive suggestions which we shall be
considering carefully.

Audiovisual aids, for instance, can contribute a good deal to the interest and variety
of teaching, but it remains true that the best audio-visual aid on the market is a
dedicated schoolmaster or schoolmistress. I believe that we have as good a supply
as you would find anywhere, and I take this opportunity of thanking them for their
hard work and support during the past year. The inspectors concluded by
emphasising strongly the relaxed and friendly atmosphere they found here. It is a
little embarrassing for a school to blow its own trumpet, so it is encouraging when
somebody else takes a blow.

These qualities, which we shall do our utmost to preserve, are, I believe, some of
the reasons for which 10 you have chosen to send your children here, often at
considerable personal sacrifice. And I think there is also the sensible, hard-headed
reason that with all the taxes on income and capital, people are looking for an
investment that will not depreciate. Any government can tax the transfer of capital
from parents to children, but no method has yet been devised to deprive a person of
a good education once he or she has received it. It is true that the financial rewards
for jobs requiring training and ability have been reduced - witness the main leading
article in The Times yesterday - but there are signs now that common sense is
returning, with a growing realisation that ability must be rewarded. And beyond
financial reward there is the much greater chance that a good education gives you
of choosing a job that is rewarding in a deeper sense.

Of course everybody wants to enjoy a full share of material possessions. But there
is no greater source of happiness in life than doing work in which you find real
fulfilment. Only two or three years ago the great cry was “Education for Leisure”;
now a new cry is being heard, “Education to create wealth for society”. Even the
word "profit‟ is no longer as disreputable as it was and, after all, it was that left
wing Fabian socialist Bernard Shaw who said, “A country can only have as much
socialism as its capitalists can afford to provide for it”.

It seems to me that at Rendcomb we educate for leisure and for work, and the two
things overlap. Look at the exhibitions today with their splendid variety and all the
imagination and craftsmanship that have gone into them. Read the magazine, and
you will be impressed by the interest and vitality of the contributions. You would
also see there some accounts of the splendid music we have had during the year,
the orchestral and choral concerts and a most memorable performance of The
Messiah. In drama, too, this has been a year of adventurous experiment in which
producers have ignored the proscenium arch and given us theatre in the round, in
the vertical, and this term - we hope - in the open air.

Naturally, the best thing is not just to read about these events, but to be here for
them, and we do appreciate the support which parents give by attending
performances.

In addition to all these pleasures, we are extending our range of choice in sport
without lowering our standards in the main games. A number of boys choose other
sports in the summer term, but the cricket teams have played with great keenness.
Cricket surely educates you for leisure because you need a good deal of leisure to
play it. But anyone watching David Steele in the first test match would recognise
that you need some fine qualities to play the game well. The dry spring enabled us
to complete a highly successful hockey season enjoyed by everyone, instead of the
more customary series of cancelled matches and slippery pitches.

The first girls' hockey team we have seen here performed creditably against
various opponents, but went down three-nil to the 2nd form boys' team. Then, how
shall I describe our rugger? Perhaps, as Jorrocks spoke of foxhunting, it is the
image of war without guilt, and only five and twenty percent of its danger. A great
Gloucestershire sport - you may have followed the fortunes of the county
championship team touring South Africa - and you would have admired the spirit
in which our matches were played, and more than half of them won.

Unfortunately, I cannot do justice to all the other sporting activities - the tennis,
squash, netball, judo and others, but I must just mention one tour de force, when an
under 15-year old long jumped his way into the national athletics finals with a leap
of 18 ft. 10 ins. - a new Gloucestershire record. Now I turn to work, and if I don't
speak of it at length it is because you know almost as much of it as I do. The
parents' meetings which take place six times a year provide an excellent
opportunity for you and for us to talk together on matters of mutual concern, and I
always enjoy these occasions for their relaxed and constructive atmosphere.

Examinations are often trying and sometimes unfair, but with all their faults they
do provide a stimulus to study and a goal to aim at, besides their obvious use to
provide credentials for the future. An average of 7 "O‟ levels at one go throughout
the school is not to be sneezed at even if it is half an "O‟ level short of last year's
figure. And a glance at the founder's day programme will show an "A‟ level list
thickly sprinkled with asterisks for grade A's, Merits, and Distinctions.
Furthermore, of the sixth form leavers, over 80% are going on to university, while
nearly a third of those university entrants gained places at Oxford or Cambridge - 8
places in all. Having given credit where credit is due I must point out that in any
one year the "O‟ and "A‟ levels account for only one third of the total work output,
and I commend all those not basking in the limelight, but simply pressing on
quietly with their everyday study. Their turn will come, and judging by the work I
see lower down in the school, they will not fall short of these high standards.

But let me also add a word about those people whose forte is not academic study.
For these boys and girls Rendcomb has often done particularly well, and, for them,
modest results have been a triumph of determination and character. They come
roaring back in three or four years having acquired during that time jobs, sports
cars, girl friends, and other glittering prizes. The fact that they are indistinguishable
from their contemporaries suggests that academic success is not the only key to the
future. They seem to have gained in other ways from their education. From the
many events of the year two very different ones come to my mind - the opening of
the third form boarding house this term, and the sponsored walk which raised £735
for the earthquake victims of Guatemala. The first was an expression of faith in the
future of independent education; the second an expression by the boys and girls of
this school of their concern for other people. 20 miles is a long way to walk even if
you are sure which way you are going - which some of us weren't.

Before concluding, I want to say goodbye to Mr. Jackson, who is leaving us this
term for a senior post in another school. His contribution during the past five years
has been a most full and varied one, both in teaching and in sport; he will be very
much missed, and we wish him every success in the future. My one consolation in
losing him is that I have appointed an old boy of Rendcomb to replace him - the
first time this has happened.

And now, I end where I began, with the History of Rendcomb College. I
recommend the book to you if you haven't seen it, and the warmest thanks of all of
us must go to Mrs. James, who has not only completed the writing of it, but has
seen it through all the tiresome detailed work which precedes publication. It is full
of good things, and among them I am glad to see that a great English poet once
visited the house which stood here before the present one was built. He looked out,
as we can do this afternoon, upon a view created by man in harmony with nature;
the kind of view so noble and expansive that nowadays it can be enjoyed only by
dukes and schoolmasters. My wish is that every member of Rendcomb past and
present should be able to echo the words of Alexander Pope, who wrote over 200
years ago: “I look upon the mansion, walls and terraces, the plantations and slopes
which nature has made to command a variety of valleys and rising woods, with a
veneration mixed with pleasure.”

FOUNDERS DAY 1977

Headmaster’s Speech

Mr. Chairman, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure first to

welcome our main speaker, Lord Roll, until recently Sir Eric Roll. A distinguished
economist, he has been a director of the Bank of England since 1968 and he is
chairman of S. G. Warburg, one of the great merchant banks in the City. The latest
distinction conferred on him is a life peerage in the Jubilee honours list a fortnight
ago.

A glance among the long entry in Who’s Who informed me, among many other
things, that Lord Roll's address is Albany, Piccadilly, and I couldn't help recalling
the story told of the well-known speaker and wit F. E. Smith, who also lived there.
He was attending a dinner where everyone was eagerly waiting to hear him, but the
Alderman introducing him droned interminably on to everyone's exasperation.
Eventually, he concluded with the words, “I will now call upon Mr. F. E. Smith to
give us his address”. Smith rose wearily to his feet and said, “Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen, my address is B4, Albany, and I'm going there now”.
 I shall try not to weary you in the same way, but there are some things I want to
say; and with the small numbers in the forms at Rendcomb it's not often that I have
the chance to speak to a class as large as this one. I make no apology for
mentioning the Jubilee, as I shall not be here for the next one. Most of us found
that when the day came we were more deeply moved than we had expected. The
extraordinary mixture of magnificence in ritual and informality in walkabout
reminded us of the greatness of our past and how we were coming to terms with
the present. If it meant anything at all surely it spoke of the unity and goodwill that
should replace the barren strife of meaningless class differences. I believe it
produced a surge of confidence that a united nation could overcome our present
difficulties. My conclusion is that Jubilees should happen more often.

You may be wondering what this has to do with us here on Founder's Day. But
doesn't Founder's Day emphasise some of the same things? It is a time to look back
into the past and remind ourselves that history is important. It is fifty years ago this
year that Noel Wills died, and besides living on in the memories of his family and
friends, he has created this living memorial and we honour him for it. It is a time of
confidence when we come together to confirm our belief in what the school stands
for and to assess its achievements. And it is a day of unity, friendship and
participation. During the great debate on education this year, the anxieties of
teachers, employers and above all parents have at last been recognised and
discussed openly.

Even if the debate has in part been a public relations exercise, it has had some
value in revealing the enormous difficulties of maintaining standards, especially in
large city schools. Splendid work has been done in progressive schools, but there
have also been some disasters. An article I read recently was headed “Blunt call to
bring back hard work” and it stressed competition, discipline, decency, and what it
called “the morality of delivery dates”. There is no doubt that the requirements of
school must bear some relation to the needs of society, and especially a society
struggling to recover from years of overpaying and underworking itself. If children
are allowed to do shoddy work and hand it in late, isn't it obvious that a few years
later the production lines will slow down and the nuts and bolts continue to drop
off our motor cars?

Of course schools can't do it all; the confidence and support of parents is

paramount. But I wonder if we are making full use of this support. Last year, you
remember Rendcomb was scrutinised by Her Majesty's Inspectors - incidentally
one of the last of such inspections for independent schools - and we have been
thinking how to apply some of their suggestions. What might be the danger for us
after such a positive and complimentary report? Surely the danger of complacency
- the feeling that we have finally got it right. We shall do our best to avoid it by
self-criticism but in this year of debate and participation how about the parents?
Isn't it time that you gave us some of your ideas about the school? We would be
very glad to consider them.

I don't need to remind anybody here that economic difficulties have continued this
year, and one sad result is that the Gloucestershire Education Authority has been
compelled to cut the number of foundation places from seven a year to five. All the
same, it is a great pleasure to be able to continue our close relationship with the
county, and to provide for boys who need boarding education and who are able to
gain from what we offer. And this is such an important part of the Rendcomb idea
that the governors have decided to maintain these two places by means of the
endowment. This autumn, I shall be inviting the heads of all the primary schools in
Gloucestershire to Rendcomb and I hope particularly that those who have not been
before may find time to visit us. Rendcomb College was founded in the belief that
the true aristocracy among men is in reality simply an aristocracy of brains and
character. These are the words of Noel Wills himself. Has this belief been
vindicated? Having met this year many former members of the school I have not
the slightest doubt that it has. You would have been immensely impressed by their
distinction and their success in the professions, in business and in every other walk
of life. And there was about them also more than a touch of originality, as you
might expect from people whose schooling had broken away from the accepted
pattern of its time.

Let me quote from two letters to illustrate these qualities. One is written by a boy
who left 9 only two years ago for Bristol Drama School. He writes, “The breadth
of scope here can be judged by a few of the productions I have been involved in:
the main part in King Lear, the lead in a film entitled Dracula, a video recording of
a biting satire called Captain Oates’ Left Sock, and street theatre all over the west
country.” While at the Edinburgh Festival he will be performing in the British
premiere of a new translation of a play by Maxim Gorky. He has also written his
first play, which should be performed shortly.

The other letter is from the Elephant Boatyard on Southampton Water, describing
the single-handed Atlantic yacht racing of a couple of Rendcombians, who came
sixth and fourteenth respectively out of fifty boats sailing to the Azores and back.
In The Observer single-handed Transatlantic Race last year, though, they were
unlucky. In the thirty one foot Arctic Skua, Mike Richardson's self-steering gear
broke, having worked perfectly for four thousand miles, and Angus Primrose had
the misfortune to be rolled completely over, losing his mast. He returned to
Plymouth under Jury Rig and down to his last bottle of gin - a very creditable
effort. It is good to know that there is still plenty of scope for brains, character and
adventure as well.

Now what of the brains at work here? I cannot disguise from you that this has been
another very good year academically: the "O‟ level average throughout the fifth
form was about eight per head, and a significant thing about the advanced level
results was the remarkably high proportion of A and B grades. It was well over
half. Again over eighty percent of sixth form leavers went on to university, and the
list was crowned by two awards and four places at Oxford and Cambridge. Minor
achievements, but very pleasing in the enterprise and ability they showed, have
been three holiday study scholarships to Osnabruck awarded by the German
government, and a Barclay's Bank essay competition prize of one hundred pounds
was won by a first year sixth former.

Elsewhere in the school much good work has continued, and I am particularly
impressed by the way in which boys who come here with quite a modest standard
at eleven or in common entrance seem to be making remarkable progress. In spite
of our problems over staging, drama has flourished, and so has melodrama. We
were closely absorbed in watching Tiger at the Gates, a play with no heroes or
villains; while in Maria Marten and Black-Eyed Susan everything was larger than
life; we cheered the noble and hissed the dastardly. The Choral Society gave two
excellent concerts, Mozart's King Thamos and Handel's Judas Maccabaeus, and
with the orchestral concert, two piano recitals and the church anthems ranging
from Palestrina to Vaughan Williams there has been a splendid range of great
music.
I hope that you have seen the exhibitions of biology and electronics in the Stable
Courtyard, and if not they will remain open for a short while after the speeches.
You would also have noticed the building work going on - the first of the appeal
projects aimed at bringing our facilities up to the high standard of the work
achieved there. Don't imagine, please, that because we are giving the art and
woodwork exhibitions a rest this year that these departments have been less active.
The flow of beautifully made things has been unabated, and it is particularly good
to see a boat being built - not perhaps for transatlantic racing but a reminder of the
dozens of canoes which used to paddle about on the lake. And thinking of the lake
- that reminds me - if anyone has a giant earthmover, dredger or sludgegulper lying
idle we would very much like to borrow it for a week or two; the rain we have had
suggests that aquatic sports are really the only answer.

Seriously, though, the year's sport has given a great deal of pleasure to everyone,
and if it has not been a vintage year at least we held our own competitively. I hope
that the judo display - a sport in which we have excelled over the years - will have
shown you that we are not to be trifled with. And as further proof a boy who left
Rendcomb four years ago is representing Great Britain as a black belt in the Jewish
Olympic Games this summer.

Now, two important points before I speak of the people who work here and
approach my last topic. First, since this country lives by what it can make and
manage, schools must play their part in encouraging their ablest boys and girls to
believe that industry offers an exciting challenge and great opportunities. I am glad
to report that for the first time a girl is considering engineering as a career. Surely
the intelligence and ability of women is the most underemployed natural resource
this country has - especially in science and industry.

During the last week of term we are inviting Deer Park sixth form to join us for an
industrial conference and we look forward to welcoming them. Secondly, our
community service with the old and infirm and the handicapped is something that
engages the interest of far more boys and girls than it ever did before, and,
voluntary though it will remain, I would like it to be part of the education of every
boy and girl who comes to Rendcomb.

E. M. Forster in one of his essays made a harsh remark about public schools. He
said, “The public schoolboy leaves school with a well developed body, a fairly well
developed mind and an undeveloped heart”. But if this was ever a partial truth it is
certainly not true now. He said it when we were governing an empire. Our
concerns have changed and, if they are narrower, they are also deeper and more
human. Aren't these two activities symbolic of what all schools must do? Look
outwards, answer the needs of our country, share our facilities, help our
neighbours. Independent schools are the nation's schools just as much as
maintained schools and in this Jubilee year let us call for an end to the futile
sniping and bickering of politicians. We are all engaged in the same task, and the
most important thing which we still have to give to the world is the vitality of our
education, our culture and our thought. Now, people, and first a person.

This term we were saddened by the death of Ann Tooms after a painful illness
which she bore with great fortitude. It is right that we should recognise all those
whose work is indispensable to us and her twenty three years of cheerful, devoted
care in looking after the main building is an example of loyalty and service to us
all. And similarly in thanking the staff and all who work at Rendcomb, I would like
to remember not so much the great successes and achievements, fine though they
are, but the steady performance of essential tasks and duties always taxing, often
unrecognised, the day to day work upon which everything depends.

And now lastly, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to speak of the appeal. Our target as
you know is a substantial one, one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, but there
has been a most warm-hearted response and the latest figures show that we have
reached eighty five thousand pounds. A large number of old boys are still to be
approached, and I am confident that they will support us strongly as others have
done. One of the great rewards of having an appeal has been the enormous renewal
of interest in the school which it has aroused among old Rendcombians. You
become aware of the school as a very much larger community than you realised,
stretching back into the past and reaching out across the world, particularly to
Canada and Australia. We are inviting every old boy and girl back to Rendcomb
during this year and already we have had one reunion gathering. It was a most
enjoyable occasion, a time for renewing forgotten acquaintances and reviving old
friendships. Another reminder of this year's theme of unity and participation. Many
parents have already given, and the average donation so far is a covenant of thirty
pounds per year. This is most kind, and I do thank you very warmly indeed for
your support.

Of course I fully realise that some people just cannot manage this kind of sum,
even spread out over seven years; on the other hand, others have been able to give
more. This is where I remove my headmaster's hat - presumably a mortarboard -
and put on my parent's hat. We, as Rendcomb parents, all know that the fees are
heavily subsidised by the endowment and what I would like to feel is that we all
join to make our contribution a free and generous giving to something we believe
in. Rendcomb was founded on the open-handed principle: “From each according to
his capacity, to each according to his need”. I know that many other parents are
intending to give, and in order that we may continue with our building programme
as soon as possible may I ask you to respond with as generous a gift as you can -
do make it a covenant if you are able. One further request, could you grasp the
nettle before the end of term? We have no professional fundraisers to siphon off
their ten percent and I would like to write to everybody personally as I have done
so far, but I think I shall need a holiday. May I then leave you with a final paradox.
What you give, you keep forever.

FOUNDER’S DAY 1978

Headmaster’s Speech

Mr. Chairman, My Lords, ladies and gentlemen, may I first welcome on your
behalf our main speaker today, Vice Admiral Sir Louis le Bailly. It is a pleasure to
welcome such a senior member of the senior service, and it's a nice coincidence
that one of our school prefects has just passed his admiralty selection board for a
naval commission, and next week is visiting the Marine Engineering College of
which Sir Louis was in charge. Personally, I am particularly glad, because it was in
the navy that I did my utterly undistinguished end of war service. I suppose one of
the earliest things I learned was the well tried maxim: "If it moves, salute it; if it
doesn't move, polish it'; but something more useful than this, it is to nearly three
years sleeping in a hammock that I attribute my ability now to sleep anywhere; at
any time: and at critical moments in my teaching career, when some awful crisis
has happened, I still comfort myself with the lower deck remark: "If you can't take
a joke, you shouldn't have joined‟.
During my time in the navy I never came across anyone so exalted as an admiral
but - if I may tell a story against myself - I did have to fetch the captain of my
destroyer from a ceremonial visit to an American admiral in Shanghai. I should tell
you that the River Yangtze Kiang flows at about five knots and the cutter of which
I was coxswain managed about eight, so we hadn't much in hand. The captain was
piped over the side of this large cruiser by the top brass and started the long walk
down the gangway steps to the little platform at water level where I was to pick
him up. Unfortunately, I fluffed the approach, my bowman made a wild grab with
his boathook at the rope, missed, and the current swept us gently away just as the
skipper reached the platform. He was left standing there in fuming isolation while I
made the wide circuit to come alongside again. He didn't actually say, “Write out
five hundred times: I must come alongside successfully” but I was given the
equivalent of a Rendcomb hour's work - practising approaches.

We meet today in memory of our founder, Noel Wills, and I speak with confidence
when I say that I know what item of Rendcomb news from the past year would
have pleased him most. You may remember that there was great anxiety last year
when the Department of Education asked for details of all places taken up by local
authorities in independent schools. Would our long connection with the county be
brought to an end? We were delighted when the minister decided that for the next
three years at least our places were safe from government direction. Naturally,
Shire Hall will want to keep the arrangement under review, but at least we have
this tacit admission that there is still a need for boarding education which the state
cannot fill. We are more than happy to fill it, because it is one of the main purposes
for which Rendcomb was founded, and over the years many of our most successful
pupils have come to us from Gloucestershire in this way.

In talking of boarding needs, one normally thinks of one parent families, parents
abroad and so on, but there is no doubt at all that a good boarding school provides
a great many things that everybody needs. I was discussing examination questions
with a VIth form the other day, and this was one of them: "Show how Shakespeare
explores the limitations and potentialities of human nature‟. I suppose we are all
engaged in this exploration all our lives, but isn't it one of the greatest values of
school, and especially boarding school, that we learn to realise our limitations and
our potentialities. Limitations first, because unless we are to become insufferably
conceited and arrogant we need to recognise that everybody is better at something
than we are. But at least with the Rendcomb system it is not drummed into you by
excessive competition that X is always bottom of the form while Y is winning all
the cups. Then we need to learn the difficult lessons of tolerance and self-control. I
remember a comment made to me last November by a master in charge of a rugger
team when the aggression of our opponents had gone well beyond what is
acceptable even in a tough contact sport. He spoke of the team's fairness and
restraint under considerable provocation, and to me that was worth far more than a
victory on points. In a world of increasing violence this is something worth
preserving - but in case you may think that we scored only moral victories last year
and that this is simply a cover up, do consult the records - like the record this term
of our second eleven, under fifteen, under fourteen and under thirteen cricket
teams, all unbeaten so far.

And thirdly we need to learn the limitations which an ordered society imposes by
reasonable discipline for the good of all. It was the great Dr. Johnson who said
"There is less flogging now in our great schools, but then less is learned there; so
what the boys gain at one end they lose at the other‟. Perhaps you have read in the
papers of the continuing debate about corporal punishment. It is now many years,
I'm glad to say, since a cane was raised at Rendcomb, and I believe that the boys
have gained at both ends.

Enough of limitations, because when we turn to potentialities, the range is

enormous. You may have noticed from your Founder's Day programme that the A-
level results were impressive and they enabled the majority of boys and girls to go
on to the universities of their choice. We maintained our usual high average of
between seven and eight O'Levels per head, while to crown it all out of eight
candidates to Oxford and Cambridge we gained four open exhibitions and two
places. You would have to look a very long way to better that record for our size,
and I do congratulate the boys and girls concerned as well as those who taught
them. One further point is that this is no intellectual hothouse cramming weedy
scholars who have shot their bolt when they leave here. Our honour boards and
your programme this afternoon show that there is a steady record of university
prizes, first class degrees and research distinctions which emphasise that
Rendcomb is a launching pad for further successes and the fulfilment of potential
in later life.
Now turning from the intellectual to the practical, I hope you have spent some time
in the exhibitions because I think you will agree that they are remarkable. Imagine
yourself faced by a large block of stone, your aim to release the 11 shape of a cat
from inside it, your only weapons a hammer and chisel, knowing that one false slip
would ruin two months' work. This is an achievement requiring not only
imagination and skill, but patience and determination, not to mention some expert
guidance on the way. Sculpture, pottery, carving, painting, glass engraving,
photography - an exceptional range and variety of media.

About woodwork, I speak from personal experience as our drawing room has
recently been graced by a milking stool without which no well ordered Rendcomb
household is complete. Whether we shall ever come in for such a fine thing as the
oak bureau I noticed remains to be seen; but the same high quality of
craftsmanship is evident throughout the range.

As for physics and electronics, it really is quite beyond me. I gather from the
newspapers that before long most of the work we do will be taken over by
microprocessed silicon chips. Fortunately, however intelligent these midgets may
be, they haven't yet learned to programme themselves, and I shall be surprised if
some of our best Rendcomb software doesn't find scope for their talents in this
developing field. If at the age of fifteen you are organising complex lighting
circuits for a school play and designing subtle burglar alarms for your headmaster
there must be an opening for you in British industry or business.

And talking of business, a headline from the local press this year read "Rendcomb
Tycoons Progress'. This was a reference to the Business Game, organised by the
Institute of Chartered Accountants and International Computers Ltd., and schools
all over the country choose a board of directors from their sixth form to make
decisions simulating those in a real business. Out of 390 we reached the last 27 and
missed reaching the last 9 by the narrowest margin.

But one further thought before I move on, and a vital one: boys and girls from
Rendcomb have another quality besides business acumen still not common enough
in our society; they are free from the limitations of snobbery and class prejudice of
every kind. If the same could be said of all our youth the future of industrial
relations in this country would look a good deal brighter than it does at present.
Now from the practical activities I have mentioned, tangible objects remain, and
some of them will become the antiques of the future. From the year's music and
drama only memories remain, but what splendid memories of Fidelio, The Song of
Destiny, Sons of Light: the very names have a noble ring to them, and they
received exciting and vital performances.

Both senior and junior plays this year were rich in entertainment value, profound in
meaning. It's quite a challenge to produce a full scale musical like "O What a
Lovely War‟, and much of the Rendcomb Mystery Cycle performed by the
younger boys was written by themselves. War and Peace on earth and in heaven -
that's a bold enough theme for one year's drama.

And here I want to make a general point about a boarding school of our size. I
counted up the performers in both plays - 6o players trod the boards: backstage a
slightly larger number constructed, lit, applied the grease paint, ushered the guests;
it comes to over half the school involved in different ways - and so it is in many
other activities. A great part of a good education goes on outside the classroom,
and it draws out from people more than they dreamed they were capable of. You
have only to look through the school magazine to see that talents are not buried in
the ground here, but used and increased.

That mention of the parable of the talents reminds me of a very large hole in the
ground in the Estate Garden. The foundations of the sports hall show just how big
this new building is going to be and it will be ready in January, just at the time
when the snow is lying deep on the hockey pitches. Badminton, netball, basketball,
tennis, cricket - as far as I can see rugby is the only game which you cannot play
on it. As I expect you know, the science laboratories have been extended and
completely modernised, and from where I speak I can see the solar panels which
are at this moment funnelling the sun into the swimming pool. You have to watch
people swimming to realise just what pleasure a few thousand gallons of water at
seventy degrees can provide. When we enter the element from which we originally
came there is an access to power and freedom which converts everyone into a
dolphin .. . no wonder they always have that playful grin. The Garden of Eden
must have been a water garden.

Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of us all, I do thank you most sincerely - and all
those not present - who have given so generously to the appeal which now stands
at over £110,000. As much of the money is in the form of seven year covenants, a
most handsome loan from the Dulverton Trust has enabled us to go ahead with the
work immediately. There remains the final stage of our development programme,
the conversion of the conservatory into what will be the most attractive and
unusual assembly hall and theatre in the country, retaining its period charm, but
provided with all the up to date equipment and furnishing required. The appeal will
be closed on Founder's Day in 1979 so we have exactly one year to find the
remaining £40,000.

Parents have most kindly felt able to give, on average, covenants of between £20
and £30 so may I encourage those who are still considering what they can manage
to help us towards our goal. After all, a covenant of only £5 a year gives us £50 in
the end - a substantial sum, and five or ten pounds is reasonably painless. Giving
money is like having a tooth out - there may be a slight twinge at the time, but you
do feel better afterwards. We have in mind also a Christmas holiday dance for
parents and friends which I do hope that all those living within reasonable distance
will support by coming and bringing a party with them, as I am sure it would be a
very enjoyable occasion.

Now, do you remember only ten years ago when the cobblestones were flying in
the streets of Paris and the vice chancellors' studies were being rifled by Marxist
students, one of the war-cries: “A university should not be a seat of learning, but a
powerhouse of change”? Aren't both these phrases apt for a good school? I have
given some strong evidence for Rendcomb as a seat of learning, but it is also - in a
different sense from the Revolutionists' meaning - a powerhouse for change. A
good school is a powerhouse providing the physical and moral and intellectual
energy that an industrial country needs more surely than it needs coal or oil. And
the change which it brings about will, in time, change our society - making it less
hidebound, more hard-working, more humane - but the immediate change is to
individuals, enabling them to find the best in themselves.

I have spoken of ten years ago; what will be the picture ten years from now? All
we can say for certain is that the future will be different from what we expect and
the speed of change will increase. In an age of uncertainty what course should we
adopt? Surely the answer is to remain as flexible and as farsighted as we can, but
hold firmly to the things that remain unchanged. What are these things? Of course
there are the abilities we need to learn our living and contribute to the society in
which we are lucky enough to live - but isn't there something more than training
for jobs, important though that is? There is a fine saying of G. K. Chesterton which
may have an old-fashioned sound, but it does so for the essentials : "England is
Faith, and Green fields, and Honour and the Sea‟. Here in the heart of England,
surrounded by green fields, we are only an hour from the sea. Honour I take to be
that personal integrity which is the most valuable possession we can acquire as we
grow up.

Now as to faith, I must tread carefully. In a secular age what school can say
outright "We are a Christian school‟, but nobody who has not been taught about
the religious faith of his own country, and has not had the opportunity of
worshipping in that faith during his formative years can be considered fully
educated, and I am convinced that one of the quiet but permanent strengths of the
boarding schools of this country is that they are communities which consciously
uphold a Christian way of life and they have at their centre a Christian church.
Surrounded by the trappings of a consumer society in a world of poverty, the
idealism of young people looks for something beyond materialism. They may not
find what they are seeking here, and now, but at least they have been made aware
of possibilities.

This leads me on to say goodbye to our chaplain, Mr. Hussey, who has been with
us for four years and who now goes to be chaplain of Berkhamstead School. I
would like to thank him for his tireless and selfless work both in the school and in
the village. He and Mrs. Hussey will be much missed and we send our warmest
wishes with them. Mr. Hembry is also leaving this term, having secured a job as
head of department in a large comprehensive school. It is one of life's ironies that
he was appointed to run our new sports hall which was to be ready four years ago.
Galloping inflation postponed our plans, and now the hall will be completed almost
as soon as he has gone. However, he has made a great contribution to Rendcomb
sport and in many other ways and we wish him every success in his new school.

When I tell you that I have appointed four able young men to the staff in
September you might well believe that they would be needed simply to replace the
work of these two men. However, it is not exactly like that - a larger staff will
improve our ratio of masters to boys and enable us to extend our range of
opportunities. As chaplain I have appointed a young man who has had both
teaching experience and responsibility for 10,000 parishioners in a Welsh town. As
physical education master and assistant biologist a Loughborough-trained man
with the experience to coach the first fifteen and run the sports hall. In addition to
these a well qualified musician to help Mr. Willson, and finally a graduate of
Durham University to launch our A-level geography course from the firm
foundations laid by Mr. Burden. You may be interested to know that the Ph.D.
which he is just completing at Durham is based on his experience of 14 months
living in the African bush with a native tribe hunting buffalo and elephant with 10
ft. spears and poisoned arrows - the subject promises well!

As I am speaking of able and well qualified men, I must just mention a woman of
the same calibre - Miss Beeston, helping us out as matron for two terms, one of
them stricken by "flu, with impressive efficiency and concern; and finally, a warm
thank you to the staff - men and women - for their sustained and most successful
efforts during the year. When in ordinary conversation with people one says that
one is a schoolmaster the unguarded reply is sometimes "How lovely to have all
those holidays‟. But if you actually add up the hours worked, the time spent in
preparation and assessment, the Saturdays fully employed while others are
enjoying their 5-day week, the duties expected or done voluntarily on a Sunday,
then you get a different picture altogether. It's this full-hearted commitment that
makes Rendcomb the school it is.

FOUNDER’S DAY, 1979 Headmaster’s Speech

Mr. Chairman, My Lords, ladies and gentlemen. Firstly, may I welcome on your
behalf, Lord Wolfenden, our main speaker. I will only mention in passing his entry
in “Who’s Who” under Recreations. It is: ‘getting used to retirement’. For anyone
who has held such a variety of important positions this must be a challenge but in
fact men of Lord Wolfenden’s distinction often find themselves upon retirement
busier than ever. It is extremely kind of him to be with us today.
Then a very warm welcome to you all. It is so nice to be able to see everybody
under one roof again. Before saying something about the school during the past
year, I would like to add to what the Chairman has said and pay my own brief
tribute to Colonel John Godman as a man of rare quality. Every Governors’
meeting was enlivened with his wit or with some amusing story prompted by the
business in hand. He was a shy man, but he had a warm appreciation of people and
he loved Rendcomb. He inspired immediate confidence as a man of absolute
integrity, and I valued very much his trust in me. Shortly after my appointment
here my wife and I felt privileged to be invited to tea and to see his wood garden at
Banks Fee near Moreton-in-Marsh where he lived alone. We entered a house where
time seemed to have stood still for half a century, yet he himself was always open
minded to new ideas, as you would expect from a man who had presided over the
development of this school, one of the most interesting educational experiments of
the pre-war years. And it is largely owing to his negotiations with the County
Council in those early days that Gloucestershire Foundationers still come to us—an
arrangement which we value highly as a central part of what Rendcomb is about. It
is unlikely that any Chairman of Governors will again serve a school for 35 years,
but I hope that John Godman’s qualities of resolute independence and service to
the community will continue to be, as they have been in the past, very special
characteristics of this country. And I believe that these qualities are the very ones
which would have appealed most strongly to Noel Wills whose memory we honour
today.

Those two qualities I have just mentioned—independence and service—I regard as

keynotes for 1979. Education should, as far as possible, be removed from the
political arena, but it would be hypocritical for any Independent School to ignore
the fact that we no longer have a Government pledged to abolish us. Having said
that, my feeling in an election year is not primarily that one Government rather
than another has been elected, but simply to be thankful that we have the freedom
to choose. We so often take it for granted, and we need to remember sometimes
how lucky we are to have this freedom.

But freedom means responsibility and we do need to earn it. I was reminded of
these things when I visited my old school last year. I hadn’t been back since
leaving 34 years ago and when I saw how little had changed I didn’t know whether
to be glad or sorry. But over the portico leading into the school I remembered the
Latin phrase:

Ostia magna mihi aperta sunt

Great gates are opened to me. Well, it may not strike you quite in that way when at
the age of 11 you’re tangling with Latin and Rugger, Physics and punctuality for
the first time. In fact, you might be forgiven for thinking of that other inscription
over the gate into Dante’s Inferno—Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate
—‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’; but when you reflect on the range of
learning and experience you encounter at school the opening of great gates is not a
bad image. All that happens during this time is directed towards making you
independent, with all the confidence that brings you. And then, what was the Latin
phrase over the great gate as you left school?

Gratis accepistis, gratis date

Freely you have received, freely give. This is where our responsibility comes in,
service to others, to our community, to our country. We start to put this into action
here among ourselves and in Cirencester with old people and handicapped
children, because if we haven’t learned something of our responsibilities while at
school, then we haven’t learned much, whatever our examination results. But in
fact I think that most boys and girls here acquire both kinds of learning. You
probably remember the story of the boy aged 14 who said that his father knew
absolutely nothing, but at the age of 19 he said he was amazed at how much the old
fellow had picked up in 5 years.

Now for some details. What are we teaching your children to enable them to cope
in the world of post O. P. E. C. man? I did mention ‘silicon chips with everything’
in my 1978 speech but that was almost at the start of the explosion. On October
2nd last year the first leader in “The Times”—a sad casualty of our present troubles
—was entitled ‘Ineluctable Electronics’. A hasty glance at my dictionary gave me
the meaning of ‘ineluctable’—‘against which it is vain to struggle’ and from the
article came the following sentence ‘The availability of skilled people to
programme the microprocessors is of overriding national importance’. A month
later the first letter in “The Times” from the Duke of Kent, Chairman of the
National Electronics Council, was headed ‘Lack of Experts in Electronics’. The
need continues to grow rapidly, as was indicated in a report only this week of 25,
000 unfilled jobs in this field. There has been a keen awareness of this need here
for some time in our busy electronics room, and the purchase of our teaching
computer, which has now been joined by a second, has aroused enormous interest.
I understand that it plays a good game of chess though it lacks the finesse of our
best players. However, it is learning fast, and by the time it has coached our first
group through their ‘O’ level in computer studies next year, it may indeed prove
ineluctable.

Next a word about Modern Languages. With the English channel dwindling all the
time, and the Parliament in Brussels full of Euro-Tories, you would expect the
study of these languages to be booming. But this just isn’t happening. In the
country as a whole, the study of French is in decline, and German even more so.
However eager foreigners are to learn English, if we are to play our full part in
Europe and to succeed as a major industrial nation, we must produce linguists, and
all pupils in secondary education by the time they leave school, should be able to
make themselves understood in a foreign language. It really is rather ignominious
if we have to be always on the defensive, as even Winston Churchill was when
opening a speech to the French people he said in an execrable accent ‘Prenez
garde! Je vais parler Francais’. I am glad to say that the study of French and
German continues to attract able people here, and it will be possible next year for
members of the VIth Form not specialising in languages to pursue the study of
French beyond ‘O’ level or to take a foundation course in German.

And talking of pursuing subjects reminds me of H. G. Wells’ description of a

public school in his novel “The History of Mr. Polly”—‘A number of subjects were
pursued but none effectually overtaken’. Not so here, where we were fortunate
again this year to win two holiday study scholarships to Germany out of 30 offered
by the German Government in the whole country; our exchange visits to Annecy
also continue to thrive, though I would like to encourage even more parents to take
advantage of this opportunity. And as I am mentioning visits abroad, 33 boys and
girls from here enjoyed a highly successful trip to Moscow and Leningrad last
holiday.

Now let me take one more academic example, the study of History. I have
sometimes been asked what is the point, what relevance has it? My answer would
be that it provides one of the best possible trainings for an intelligent boy or girl. In
examining the actions of great men, in understanding something of economic
forces, in assessing evidence, in constructing a rational argument—what better way
of perceiving that subtle balance between the ideal and the possible in the exercise
of power towards improving our societies. If we know nothing of the past we are
mere provincials in time, confused by the constant flow of trivial information. I
quote from Acton—‘History redeems us from the temporary and transient, and
fixes our minds upon abiding issues’. What I am saying is simply that we cannot
survive by the development of science and technology alone, and the study of
human problems and the human mind never goes out of date.

Perhaps you will forgive a brief digression to illustrate this point. A professor
attending a conference abroad wished to send a telegram to his wife. With
remarkable originality he hit upon the message ‘Having a lovely time; wish you
were here’. Nothing wrong with the technology, but there was a human problem;
the Telex typists were working to rule and unfortunately omitted the last letter of
the message which then read ‘Having a lovely time; wish you were her’.

Having said this much about work, may I leave our results to speak for
themselves? Our average ‘O’ level pass holds steady between 7 and 8, with most
VIth Formers adding one, or two a year later; and 3 sound or good ‘A’ level passes
remains the norm. But as always, these results tell only part of the story, just as a
Passport gives you entry into a country without saying much about you. The
important parts of your education are those permanent qualities of mind and heart
and character which you have acquired, and which remain with you throughout
your life.

Now something about the Appeal, to which so many have contributed so

generously—parents and former parents, Old Boys and Girls, Governors, friends
and well wishers. Members of the school have also done their part, two years ago
in a sponsored walk, this term in a Fete which raised over £1, 000 and today in the
Sale of Art and Woodwork which I hope you have seen. The usual high standard of
workmanship was evident, even when some mass production techniques were
employed, and our new pottery kiln is proving a great asset. Even Sir Francis
Goldsmith, who built Rendcomb, has contributed; the bells which summoned the
lady’s maid to the boudoir or the butler to the drawing room have now gained the
status of antiques and have been selling like hot cakes.
I must also mention the huge and handsome interest-free loan from the Dulverton
Trust which has enabled us to go ahead at once with our plans. The work on the
Science Laboratories, essential and excellent though it was, might have escaped the
eye of the casual observer, but nobody could ignore this magnificent Sports Palace
in which the grass is always close-clipped, the climate always dry and temperate.
In case you are wondering what these hangings are, they pull out to full length
cricket nets in which we have this term entertained the East African World Cup
Cricket Team; some winter coaching will give a further boost to our cricket in
which there has been an increased interest this year, and our Hockey teams will
find this practice area invaluable.

In fact, there are few games that cannot be played in here, and I am sure you can
imagine the pleasure that this building has already given. It’s worth remembering
that two years ago, when I asked a well known firm of fund raisers what we could
expect to raise, they did their sums and came up with a figure of £28, 000. So far,
we have exceeded their estimate by over £95,000 and there remains the Rendcomb
Summer Ball on Wednesday, July nth which should add to the total. There are still
tickets available for this, and we have priced them moderately to encourage
everyone to come and celebrate a very special occasion. We hope that you will
come prepared to invest in the tombola and we look forward to seeing as many
people as possible there.

Apart from the Ball, if anyone still wishes to make a donation it’s not too late and
this can be done by cheque—or if possible—by covenant. It really is surprising
how easy it is to give £100 by covenanting £10 a year. All funds remaining will go
towards the final Appeal building, our Assembly Hall and Theatre to be built on a
new site. The old Gymnasium or Conservatory will be converted into the Senior
Dining Room—and surely this will be the most elegant and attractive Dining Hall
of any school?

You may not be aware that one spin off from the Appeal is that the staff are moving
out of what was in Victorian times, the Servants’ Hall, and having as their new
Staff Room the former Billiard Room; but I do assure you that this elevation will
not encourage us to spend our time trying to pot black, nor shall we forget that
although we are masters, we are all of us servants too, servants of a school whose
life and traditions we cherish.
 May I take this opportunity of thanking the Staff most warmly for their loyal and
dedicated service this year.

I emphasise this year the minor sports which flourish here, those which rely more
on individual performance than team work. A long tradition of success in Judo has
been continued, with 6 medals gained in the Dowty Junior Championship, one of
them a gold. Climbing is a very different sport, but it also involves pitting yourself
against an opponent. As William Blake tells us:

Great things are done when men and mountains meet

This is not done by jostling in the street.

If you want to assess the strength, balance and determination needed, I invite you
to step out to the climbing wall at the far end of this building and try to climb up it;
and at a more modest level, year after year boys have made their first acquaintance
with hill walking and elementary rock climbing at the camp in North Wales each
summer.

Golf has suddenly attracted a number of keen players, and we are lucky to have a
good course only four miles away; and Badminton has joined the other racquet
games at which both boys and girls have been gaining increased success. As we are
on the threshold of the Wimbledon fortnight it’s appropriate for me to mention that
a member of this school was last year the British under twelve tennis Champion,
and only last month he represented this country against Israel, Spain and West
Germany. He is this year ranked No. 1 in the British fourteen and under tennis
team. Finally, although riding is non-competitive here it gives much enjoyment,
more especially for its freedom from restrictions of time and place. You can take a
white horse anywhere, and last week one girl got up at 5-30 a. m. to do just that.
Furthermore it is, I believe, the only sport in which boys and girls, men and women
find themselves on absolutely equal terms.

From sports for the individual to those activities requiring perhaps more teamwork
than any others—Music and Drama. Of these I will only record the great pleasure
we derived from imaginative performances of Shakespeare and Stoppard,
Beethoven and Mozart and Haydn. Our orchestra continues to enlarge its size and
repertoire, and the school plays, always of a high standard, are beginning to benefit
from our recently introduced drama periods for junior forms.

Before ending with a valediction I must mention the sad death a fortnight ago of
Walter Telling who, as Clerk of Works, gave a lifetime of service to the school.
During 40 years he gained a remarkable knowledge of buildings, grounds and
everything electric and mechanical contained therein. His keen practical mind and
readiness to turn his hand to anything, and his shrewd assessment of people made
him invaluable to three successive Headmasters and our sympathy goes to his
widow and family.

And now to conclude, we say goodbye at the end of this term to Mr. Swaine who is
retiring as Head of Biology after 26 years. Rendcomb has always been a
favourable spot for Biologists and Mr. Swaine has more than upheld a
distinguished tradition. He is well known in Gloucestershire as a naturalist and
photographer, especially for his interest in birds. For his success as a teacher you
have only to look at the record of those who have gone on to advanced work in
Universities. His enthusiasm for his subject has inspired generations of scholars.
But it is even more for his qualities as a person that we shall remember him. There
was a characteristic note in one of his reports on a girl this term —‘she responds
best to a friendly approach’—in brackets (don’t we all! ). And this, I’m sure, is
why former pupils have paid tribute to him with such evident appreciation and
affection. His sympathy and understanding made formal discipline unnecessary;
they expected to find a good teacher, but they found also a friend. So, as scholar,
colleague and friend, we send our warmest wishes with Chris Swaine and with his
wife, Eileen, to their new home in Anglesey. May they enjoy a long and happy
retirement.

FOUNDER’S DAY, 1980

Headmaster’s Speech

Mr. Chairman, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen. In welcoming you all, I would
like also to welcome on your behalf our main speaker, Field-Marshal Sir Roland
Gibbs. It is very good of him to come to speak to us this morning, and it is a
particular pleasure to welcome some one so closely related to the Wills family. It is
a long time since a distinguished soldier has been invited to address us, and I think
it particularly appropriate this year, when the turbulence in the Middle East has
alerted us all to the dangers of an oil race as well as an arms race.

Two years ago I was lucky to have an opportunity to visit the British Army on the
Rhine, and a look through the Iron Curtain of barbed wire, explosive devices and
guard posts gave me a powerful impression of what we are up against and what the
freedom of our country means. And this year we have not only seen the army in
action against terrorism but in that remarkable campaign without weapons in
Zimbabwe— a quiet triumph of cool judgement and good sense against all the
odds. We should be glad that we have, man for man, the finest and best equipped
army in the world, and for our part, although Rendcomb has no Combined Cadet
Force there has been no lack of candidates for service in the Armed Forces.

There is no doubt that a good boarding school does encourage many of the
qualities needed— among which I would number the ability to get on with other
people, self-reliance, self discipline and a readiness to accept responsibility. That
word discipline reminds me of the following communication which I received,
quite out of the blue, exactly one month ago:

Dear Sir, We are writing to inform you that we are suppliers of curved handle
School Punishment Canes, regulation 34 inch length, flexible, at £1. 25 each. Any
quantity supplied.

This rather quaint, old world touch did make me think of the kind of discipline we
have in the school. There is a structure of order certainly, but hardly one which
needs the application of force. And within this framework there are all the
obligations and opportunities of a freely ordered society. Right from the first day in
the school a boy is starting to choose and decide for himself important things like
how to use time and freedom constructively and as he progresses through the
school responsibilities increase. We are summoned by bells, but who rings them? A
IVth Form boy rings three different bells about forty times altogether in one day
and he has to get them right. A Sixth Form boy or girl will supervise preparation,
or will be in charge of a Duty group or a Serving group doing essential jobs in the
provision and clearing of meals—a valuable training in organisation by efficiency,
example and persuasion. Perhaps parents don’t always realise the opportunities that
exist for service and leadership.

I have given two or three examples and there are many others, but of course, some
initiative is needed to seize them. And from these opportunities emerge two
fundamental aspects of boarding school life: First, you become responsible for
your own actions, Then responsible also for the actions of others. Now sport: There
is a passage in a book by Aldous Huxley which I remembered recently. One
character says ‘Those games! Can’t we ever escape from them? ’ And the reply
comes: ‘But they’re the greatest English contribution to civilisation. Much more
important than Parliamentary Government or steam engines, or Newton’s Principia
Mathematica. More important even than English poetry. Poetry can never be a
substitute for war and murder, whereas games can be. A complete and genuine
substitute’.

That’s an interesting comment, with some truth in it, but it has an ironic ring in our
ears at present. In the long drawn out conflict of ideas and testing of consciences
over the Olympics it seems that war and murder can exist side by side with games
and many people can accommodate them quite happily. The only opinion I will
express here is that when people say ‘The Olympic Movement will never be the
same again’ I heartily approve. Superb though they are to watch, the Olympics
need a radical change to restore to them some of their original spirit. At least at
school, the genuine amateur spirit is what counts. The full enjoyment of any game
depends upon a fair chance of losing. And anyone who watched the appalling
exhibition of foul play in the Wales/England Rugby match would agree that
learning to lose is at least as important as learning to win.

But lest you should gain the impression that learning to lose is our main aim, let
me assure you that we have had one of our very best and most enjoyable years in
sport. When a squad of twenty boys gives up the last few days of the summer
holiday to return to school for fitness training you can understand the enthusiasm
of our 1st XV and the reason why we defeated teams from schools double our size.

The Hockey, too, benefited greatly from the increased skills gained in this
invaluable building and on the new hard tennis courts so generously provided by
Sir David Wills. In Cricket we have the strongest batting side for years and our
only problem has been to get our opponents out, as we haven’t yet taken to the
practice of bowling bouncers at their heads. Before concluding on sport, I must
mention, too, the remarkable success of our girls’ Netball, Tennis and Squash
teams.

From sport to a very different experience. We started this term with a Refugee
Week during which the Bishop of Namibia in exile came to preach and to talk to
us, while two African refugees spent two days as our guests— one a priest from
Namibia and the other a man who was recovering from fifteen years in a South
African jail. This personal encounter brought home to many of us the reality of the
refugee problem and the urgency of helping the people of the Third World on
which the Brandt Commission has recently reported.

It isn’t easy for us to help our neighbours in other countries but I would like to
commend to all parents the work of our Community Service group which offers
help to the aged in Cirencester, and to the handicapped there and at the Star Centre.
Including those who help with entertainments here, up to forty members of the Vth
and VIth Forms are involved each year, all on a voluntary basis. Not everyone feels
able to contribute in this way, but I would like everyone at least to consider doing
so. And some boys and girls are generously prepared to spend a week of this
summer holiday with the physically handicapped. If we are aiming to produce a
caring society in this country—and we must be—this is the age to start and I would
welcome any support that parents can give, whether in encouragement or in funds.

Another way of broadening our horizons and meeting our neighbours is by travel
abroad, and besides the Annecy exchanges and two study scholarships to
Osnabruck awarded by the German Government, there were popular visits to
Iceland and to Florence this year. There is a French anecdote about two English
tourists standing on the dock at Calais when suddenly a small French boy detaches
himself from his father, races across and gives the pair a great shove into the water.
“Why did you do that? ” says the horrified father. “Because they’re English” says
the small boy, “and the English burnt Joan of Arc”. “But that was 549 years ago”
expostulates the father. “Maybe”, replies the boy, “I only heard about it this
morning. ” If we are going to create any kind of harmony in Europe, not only to
eliminate surplus mountains of food but to hammer out some agreement on foreign
policy at times of crisis we must get to know something of our neighbours'
language, culture and history.
About three weeks ago the main letter to “The Times” criticised the education
system’s obsession with words and symbols, emphasising instead that the need to
shape and master materials is a part of our psychological make-up as deep as
hunger. In a strongly academic school such as this, words and symbols are essential
tools in our learning and understanding process, but I can claim without fear of
contradiction that few schools make such provision on the curriculum as well as in
free time for that kind of education through the manipulation and mastery of
materials. Whether in graphic art, pottery, sculpture or in the practical work of
dissecting a cockroach. Whether in building an electronic circuit or making a
chocolate eclair. Whether in acting out the passionate conflicts of a play like “The
Crucible” or in spending up to two hundred hours—two hundred hours—in
designing and fashioning a wooden desk. Or whether in the art of arts, music, you
interpret a Beethoven Sonata or sing in a choir of fifty an anthem with the
perfection which was attained on Trinity Sunday this term—.

Some of these things you have seen today, but I wish you could have seen or
experienced them all and you would agree with me on the rich variety and quality
of this immediate, practical experience of the senses and the feelings. A real
education for life, and for the unlimited leisure which we are assured the microchip
will provide for all who live to see it. Now turning to the educational scene I want
to mention the heated controversy over the Government’s Assisted Places Scheme.
As you probably know, this scheme is intended to enable a certain number of
children with some special need or talent to benefit from Independent Schools
regardless of their parents’ income. To anyone connected with Rendcomb, these
words must have a familiar ring. I don’t want to sound smug, but we celebrate
today the 60th year of the Foundation of Rendcomb College by Noel Wills with
precisely this idea in mind, but with one most important addition: the
Government’s scheme at present can provide funds only for children in Day
Schools. The Foundation places at Rendcomb are for boarders, and thus
complement the provision in the maintained sector.

I wish to express our appreciation of the continuing support from Shire Hall and to
say that we on our side will continue to pay particular attention to applicants who
need what we can offer and who are able to benefit from it. That our pupils take
full advantage of their academic opportunities is indicated by our average of
between seven and eight ‘O’ level passes throughout the Fifth Form, maintained
again this year, and most Sixth Formers pick up another one or two in the year after
‘O’ level. It’s a nice point that the two most popular ‘O’ levels at this stage are
Classics in Translation and Computer Studies, a meeting of the Ancient world and
the modem. But the important thing surely is not merely the number of passes, but
the fact that boys and girls are working to their full potential and reaching their
own best standard.

The same is true at Advanced Level: it was a sound year, by no means one of our
strongest. But looking through the list of results we felt that a large majority of
boys and girls gained what they were capable of and most serious University
candidates achieved their objectives.

Of course, Universities are not quite what they were. I like the description which I
read this year of the Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge. “They were, for the
most part, of the python kind; they had swallowed their intellectual goat in early
life and were passing through the years of inactivity requisite for digestion”.
However, this was a hundred years ago and the pace now is a good deal brisker, so
we were pleased with our tally of University places, among them five at Oxford
and Cambridge, including the first girl ever to read History at Christchurch. I am
sure Sir Roland will recognise that crisp, military comment by Von Moltke ‘No
plan survives contact with the enemy’. Our plans for the new Assembly Hall have
not, I’m sure, met with enemies, but with opponents certainly, and various plans
have failed to survive. We had hoped to start building before now, but we are
waiting to hear from the Department of the Environment whether or not we have
permission to take down the Conservatory so the outcome is not yet certain.

Parents will probably know, however, that the Governors now intend to build on
the Conservatory site if possible, the Hall for Assembly, Drama, Concerts,
Examinations and for all the purposes which make it an essential requirement. It
will round off the expansion of Rendcomb from 90 pupils eighteen years ago to
two hundred and sixty in September. Thus with a Sixth Form larger than the total
number of pupils at that time we are able to provide the full range of courses
needed in the 1980s, and feel confident that our facilities as well as our
achievements are, for a school of this size, second to none.

Now a lighter touch before I draw to a close. Some of you may well have found the
BBC series on Radley interesting, so you can imagine my apprehension when
approached by Thames Television. However, instead of a searching expose of our
way of life, they simply wanted to film down at the Cirencester bridge a pastoral
scene from “Love in a Cold Climate”. As far as the media are concerned, I think
I’d settle for that. In conclusion I would like to thank firstly the administrative and
non-teaching staff whether they work inside or outside. We have a quite
exceptional team of people who serve the school devotedly and I am constantly
impressed by their unobtrusive professionalism and hard work. All schools are
labour intensive, but at Rendcomb the phrase deserves a second meaning indicative
not merely of number but of quality. And those same words I would apply most
warmly to my colleagues who have supported 9me so wholeheartedly throughout
the year. I am sure that you will wish to express your appreciation of them. Ladies
and Gentlemen— the Staff.

Headmaster’s Speech

Mr Chairman, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen. In welcoming you all, I would

like to add a word of special welcome to our main speaker, Professor Dahrendorf.
It is well known that the Professor is one of the most distinguished Economists in
Europe and when the London School of Economics secured him as their Director it
was universally regarded as a feather in their cap. In the face of his enormous
erudition, even that turbulent institution fell quiet. How privileged we are then to
have with us today a scholar and administrator with an international reputation, and
especially now when economic recession narrows our horizons and conflicting
interests in the European Community tend to emphasise our differences above our
common interests. We look forward very much to hearing what Professor
Dahrendorf has to say.

Here, at Rendcomb, we might appear to the uninitiated a little detached from the
outside world, a moated castle in a strong, defensive position—but far from it.
Firstly, on the economic front, besides sending on next October an excellent
candidate to the London School of Economics we showed considerable talent in
reaching the quarter finals of the National Business Game in which 400 schools
compete, a battle of wits in which we have done consistently well. And not content
with that, another ‘board’, competing in the National Stock Exchange game
“Stockpiler”, won the County division for the second year running, won also the
Regional Competition and came 20th out of 2, 000 schools in the whole country.
Two silver cups and £100 is not a bad profit for six months work by part-time,
unpaid directors! Their shrewd judgement is evident not only in winning but in the
way they have invested the proceeds. Ignoring gilts and equities, they have
ploughed it back into education—the one investment that lasts a lifetime. Thank
you stockpilers for your confidence in Rendcomb.

Secondly, there’s quite an international flavour about the school at present. We

have pupils from two countries in which decisive blows for freedom have been
struck this year— Poland and Jamaica—not to mention nationals from Germany,
Iran and America. Two study scholarships to Osnabruck have again been awarded
by the German Government and a party of 25 German students from Cologne spent
a day with us this term. We continue our exchange visits to Annecy and there have
been two highly successful school holiday parties during the year involving over
60 people, one skiing in Italy and the other visiting the ancient sites in Greece.
These contacts and these visits are not only enjoyable, they are a valuable part of a
liberal education, by which I mean the understanding of our environment, of other
people and of ourselves. Incidentally, it’s also quite instructive to note the
idiosyncrasies of different countries, it gives you a glimpse of national character.
When Gilbert Harding travelled to the U. S. A. he had to fill in a visa application—
this was one of the questions: “Is it your aim to overthrow the elected government
of the United States of America? ” He wrote down ‘Sole purpose of visit’.

Sixty years ago, give or take a month, Rendcomb had completed its first year with
12 pupils; and the plan of Noel Wills, our Founder, had been launched. In
remembering him today we remember also, with sadness and with gratitude, his
widow whose Memorial Service many of us attended last October. She gave every
support to the School in its early days, she was a Governor for many years and her
kindness and sympathy will be remembered by all who knew her. The breaking of
this link with the past reminds us of the importance of a school’s history and
tradition, of the people who, over the years, have worked so hard for its
continuance and success; and fortified by its traditions a school must look forward
constantly to the challenges that lie ahead and the innovations that are needed: but
before I speak of the future I turn to some of the events of the past year.
Firstly, a word of warm appreciation to Shire Hall who have maintained their
support for the school at a most difficult time. I am very pleased to welcome here
today Mr Clark, the Chief Education Officer. Our relationship with the County has
always been cordial and we are glad to offer a service for boys in need of boarding
education.

Now buildings. The addition of six new study bedrooms to Park House was in
response to the continuing strong demand for girls’ places and to ensure that the
proportion of 1 to 2 in the VIth Form was maintained. Girls in the VIth Form are
no longer an innovation but I’d claim that Rendcomb was one of the first Public
Schools to take the idea seriously and the building specially designed over 10 years
ago to provide equal accommodation for boys and girls still bears comparison with
any that I have heard of, and is better than most. The Headmasters’ Conference met
this year in Edinburgh and a slogan painted on a bridge in the outskirts of the city
read ‘Women of Scotland unite! Phase men out! ’ I don’t think Rendcomb girls are
quite as militant as that but we are glad to be contributing to the changing role of
women in our society. After all, it’s not so long ago that an eminent lawyer wrote,
“In marriage, husband and wife are one person, and that person is the husband”.
Hardly the basis for a life-long relationship and I think Mark Twain had the last
word on this, as on many topics, when a lady gushingly said to him “What would
men be without women, Mr. Twain? ” He replied tersely, “Pretty scarce. ”

Next, the Conservatory. The Chairman has outlined the problems we have had and
the solution arrived at. In spite of past disappointments I have no doubt that it will
be exceptionally attractive and well suited to our purposes. The Inspector, in his
report, described Rendcomb as “The outstanding group of buildings”. Living
amongst them we tend to lose sight of them but any newcomer must be struck by
their diversity and originality. Wherever we live in future years we shall not, again,
inhabit buildings of this scale and style. Some aspects of our education, such as our
recognition of quality, we soak in without noticing.

Now to the work, and if I mention particularly external examinations, that is not to
forget the solid progress made in every form in the school. ‘O’ levels are under
attack at present and it would certainly solve many problems to have only one kind
of examination at 16, provided that standards can be maintained. Still, while ‘O’
levels remain, you feel about them as you do about money—it’s an awful nuisance
but it’s nice to have enough. ‘A’ levels, too, are rightly criticised for their
narrowing effect and there is growing support, which I strongly endorse, for a new
examination at Intermediate or ‘I’ level, two of which would be equivalent to one
‘A’ level. We badly need greater breadth in our sixth forms.

Meanwhile, however, your Founder’s Day programme will have shown you the
remarkable results achieved last year. Out of 36 candidates 30 gained University
places, 7 at Oxford and Cambridge, including one Exhibition; this amounts to
nearly 85%, while three others also went on to degree courses. Let me say first that
University is not the answer for everyone. Over the years, many boys have done
extremely well from here with ‘A’ levels or with ‘O’ levels. But next, I must
emphasise to you all that these academic achievements will become more difficult
in the coming years. Universities are cutting their intake so the standards required
for entry will rise. Most people at Rendcomb work hard, but some a good deal
harder than others and the competition for jobs will become more intense; the
world owes nobody a living and, as a trading nation, relying for our living
standards upon our inventive and competitive energies, we must encourage more of
our able young men and women, whether with ‘O’ levels, ‘A’ levels or University
degrees to enter the industries from which we derive what wealth we have.

I feel sure that I shall be returning to this theme in future years. I was interested by
an article on Japan’s economic strength recently, and it underlined the contrast with
the West from which we might learn something. It was summed up like this:
Japanese are born into families as the basic group and loyalties must work upwards
from there or society cannot function. Against this is a Western view of being born
as individuals and seeking a fulfilment to which first, the family, and later society
should contribute. The East Asian stresses human obligations, the West human
rights. I believe that in a good school, perhaps especially in a good boarding
school, our obligations to each other, to our parents, to the school, and to our
country, are held in balance with our rights as individuals.

This mention of the rights of individuals leads me to say something of the future of
independent education. I am extremely reluctant to mention politics, but I think it
would be agreed that any institution, in the same way as any individual, accused
and threatened with extinction, has not only the right, but the duty to defend itself.
The first leading article in The Times of September, 1980, was headed “An
Educational Tyranny” and referred to a new phase in a long-standing campaign
against the Independent Schools. It spoke of a fundamental issue of principle that
education should not become a State monopoly. The right of minorities to have
their children educated as they see fit is safeguarded, both by the United Nations’
covenant and by the European Convention on Human Rights, to both of which
Britain is signatory. The article concluded as follows: “The onslaught on private
education is a more serious invasion of basic human rights than any project yet
carried into British law. To deny to parents the right to educate their children as
they, rather than the stare, think right is a form of compulsion that strikes at the
liberty of the individual, at liberty of conscience, at liberty of religion and at liberty
of opinion.

The full details of this abolition policy were set out in The Times less than a month
ago. What can we do in defence of this freedom? I would just ask for your help in
influencing the opinions of the people you meet. Parent Power is what we need.
Just as we hope that satisfied parents will tell their friends and acquaintances about
Rendcomb—since no advertising we do can approach in effectiveness your
personal recommendations—so all of us should by discussion and argument and by
letting our M.P.’s know what we think, mobilise what support we can in order to
win the middle ground. If opinion polls mean anything, a large majority of
ordinary people in this country would support the continuation of Independent
Schools whether their children were attending them or not.

Now I move on to more agreeable matters with a brief comment on sport. In the
Welsh Rugby Centenary year it’s worth remembering that the great game started in
Public Schools from which many innovations have come. And when on a single
day we field six teams against other schools as we sometimes do, a quick
calculation will show you that 40% of the boys in the school are actually
representing Rendcomb. Is this a record? It must be an exceptional proportion for
any Public School, and as with so many events here I’d call it not just participation
but involvement. In case you are unsure of the difference, a little story will serve to
illustrate: The chicken said to the pig “I feel like bacon and egg for breakfast, how
about it? ” The pig replied, “It’s all right for you. You’re only participating: I’m
involved. ”

The Hockey and Netball have been highly successful, Badminton and Basketball
have grown in popularity and our squash team came second in the Gloucestershire
Under 19 League level on points with the winners; it’s easily the best we have ever
had and I believe the same might be said of our Cricket team if they had had a fair
chance to show their paces. They are at least unbeaten so far. But in what other
country in the world, except perhaps Tierra del Fuego, do you have six inches of
wet snow on the first day of the Summer Term, followed by six weeks of almost
incessant rain?

Mind you, it was the same in Shakespeare’s time. Tomorrow is Midsummer's Day,
and in ‘A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream’ you may remember that when Oberon and
Titania are “ill met by moonlight” proud Titania speaks these lines: ‘Therefore the
winds piping to us in vain As in revenge have sucked up from the sea Contagious
fogs; which falling in the land Have every pelting river made so proud That they
have overborne their continents. The spring, the summer, angry winter change
Their wonted liveries and the mazed world By their increase knows not which is
which. ’ —And don’t forget that Shakespeare wrote the play to celebrate a Royal
Wedding. It all only goes to prove the truth that England has no climate—only
weather.

The main exhibition, which I hope you have seen, is a display of work from the
Geography Department, and while in the Stable Courtyard you may also have
noticed the newly renovated Biology Laboratory completed at Christmas. Also on
show are the computers; we now have four, with one other £200 machine won in a
competition on the way and a multi-user system. Notice how the manufacturers try
to humanise these machines by giving them names—the sort of endearments you
might use to your girlfriend. First PET and now MOPPET or MUPPET—tho’ it's
open to question whether any girl would appreciate being called a FLOPPY DISC.
For the second year running nearly half the Lower Sixth have sat the ‘O’ level in
Computer Studies, so I can assure you that we are doing at least as much in this
important new field as any school of our size. You are no doubt aware of the
extraordinary speed of change in micro-electronics and the fact that if the motor
industry had developed at this pace, a Rolls Royce would now cost £1.25, do
30,000 miles per gallon and you’d get 7 of them on a pin head. We aim in the near
future to ensure also that all those who do not choose to take the examination will
at least have an elementary computer course to gain a working knowledge of what
they can do.
But sometimes we also need to remind ourselves of what they can’t do. A computer
can write a sonnet, but it still takes a poet to write a good sonnet. So turning from
machines to works of the imagination, I would first like to offer our sympathy and
good wishes for recovery to Mr. Thorne, who has been ill this term but whom we
shall welcome back in September. The Art Department has kept going with most
capable help from two part- time practising artists, Mr Rodway and Mr Hunter.

The woodwork room has been as active as ever and possibly some people saw the
display we were asked to put on at the Malvern Three Counties Show this week.
You can see how attractive it was in the Front Hall of the main building. In school
drama there are broadly two approaches and both have their merits. One is to say
“we are all actors, cast aside your inhibitions because there is a part for every
body”. This was the idea for the Junior Plays. The other approach: “Here is a work
by a major artist, only the best actors can do justice to it”, and this was essential for
our production of “Macbeth”, the greatest morality play ever written.

Finally, what a pleasure to enjoy in successive terms, the Orchestra’s rendering of

Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and Mozart’s Flute Concerto with the testing solo parts
played by music scholars. We have also enjoyed attractive piano and song recitals
and we are putting on a short recital for the National Trust in the last week of term.

One more point. It is quite an achievement for anyone to gain Grade 8 in two
instruments but one of these scholars has now gained this high standard with merit
in yet a third. Of course, at the same time as studying for three Science ‘A’ levels.
So congratulations to him.

And now, before I close, I would like to mention two people who are leaving. My
secretary, Miss Janet Anstee, will be remembered by parents, I know, as well as by
boys and staff, for her unfailing kindness and helpfulness. The secretary’s office is
one of the real nerve centres of the school and behind the warmth of welcome there
exceptional qualities of tact, efficiency and dedication have kept everything
running smoothly.

And then Mr Dyke is leaving us, after five years, for a job at Blundell’s School,
where he was appointed from 60 or 70 able applicants. This, in itself, would give
us a measure of his quality if we hadn’t recognised it but the range of his
involvement in the school has been quite remarkable. A stimulating and perceptive
English teacher and play producer, tennis supremo and hockey helper, organiser of
debating, Poetry Society, Folk Club, Scottish Dancing and so on. But I must speak,
too, of his outstanding contribution in building up our Community Service work,
the most important of our contacts with our neighbourhood. His deep personal
concern for the handicapped and the disadvantaged has been an example which
many boys and girls gladly followed, and it is appropriate that, as he leaves here, a
girl from the VIth Form will be setting off for a year in India, teaching children in
an Indian school before going up to University. So to Tim and Sally Dyke every
success and happiness as they head west.

In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, two groups of people. Firstly, the Governors.
Few realise how much they do and how much the well-being of the school depends
upon their experience and judgement. We offer our sincere thanks especially to
Major Birchall, our retiring Chairman, as we greet his successor, Admiral Sir Louis
Le Bailly.

And finally, I express my warmest thanks to the Staff who have worked so hard for
us all during the past year. I am sure you will want to show your appreciation for
them.

Headmaster’s Founder’s Day Speech May 28th, 1983

MR. CHAIRMAN, MY LORDS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. Firstly a warm

welcome to you all on this Founder’s day when we are fortunate to have as our
guest speaker Professor Laurence Martin, Vice Chancellor of the University of
Newcastle on Tyne. Our candidates to Newcastle have been few but of high
quality, selecting courses in Accounting, Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering.
Newcastle is one of the largest Universities in the country, whereas Rendcomb is
one of the smallest H. M. C. schools, but I noted the final words in Professor
Martin’s foreword to the Undergraduate Prospectus, words which seemed to form a
bond between us: “the University has a strong sense of identity and of duty to its
student body. Teaching comes first. If you study here, you will find challenge and
opportunity”. In addition, I was interested to note only last week that the
University had just awarded its first sport scholarship. We offer no sporting
scholarships at Rendcomb, but I regard our sporting record this year as quite
exceptional and I shall say more of that later.

It was in January that General Sir John Hackett spoke to the Sixth Form, choosing
as his title “An Insecure World”. His talk, appropriately for an intelligent audience,
was quiet and undogmatic; but he made some interesting comparisons between
Soviet armaments and attitudes and those of the West, leaving us to draw our own
conclusions. His main reference to C.N.D. was to quote from a Greenham
Common woman who had written to accuse him of a “totally emotional approach”.
Anyone who has watched the recent scenes on television would recognise the irony
of that remark. I mention this because it is part of the education here to ask
distinguished people to come and broaden our horizons with their wisdom and
experience; and because the title “An Insecure World” summed up so accurately
our present situation; it is also the field of study to which Professor Martin has
made such an exceptional contribution; and perhaps I may draw his attention to our
winner of a University Scholarship in International Politics and Strategic Studies.

In the face of world insecurity we, as individuals, feel powerless, but at least each
one of us has the responsibility to think rationally, to understand the arguments and
to hold a positive point of view. So much for world insecurity. How about work
insecurity? Here surely one’s experience at school is crucial. ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels are
at the forefront of everyone’s mind at present and they may be the key to your first
door into the future, but of course they are significant only for the qualities of mind
they reflect. Valuable academic qualities indeed, and it is these that a University is
primarily concerned to develop. As Louis Pasteur said ‘Fortune favours the
prepared mind’.

But let’s not forget those aspects of character which are more important still. It is
not the prime function of a University to develop these. It is at home and at school
that they are nourished, and it is our joint task, ladies and gentlemen, to support
each other in the common purpose of providing a firm moral framework within
which the young can develop the best of which they are capable. I believe that a
boarding school in close contact with home may provide a better environment for
developing these qualities I have referred to than any other. Challenges and
opportunities abound — and not just for Prefects, valuable though their work is,
but at every level of the school — for responsibility, for example and for service.
Employment will continue to be difficult; but for some people there will always be
a demand, regardless of their academic ability. Sympathetic people, with initiative
and enthusiasm. Energetic people who work willingly and just a bit longer than
others. Committed people, prepared to take trouble and put themselves out. You
have only to get in touch with the School office whether on the secretarial or
bursarial side to know what I mean. You feel immediately that you matter, and that
you are dealing with courteous, friendly, helpful people. And just to give an
example from a former pupil whom I met only a week ago — not one of our great
academics ‘I’m going up to University in October’, he said, ‘but I’ve got a
temporary job as a salesman and I’m finding it absolutely fascinating. Business
machinery, the top price model is £58,000 — and as an afterthought ‘and the
money is really amazing’. Note the order there: First, the interest of the job.
Second, the money.

So in spite of all the problems, I am still confident that anyone with a good all
round education who has responded to challenges and seized opportunities at
school will not be unemployed for long. And to give Fifth formers at least a
fleeting taste of what earning your living means, we are hoping to provide a week’s
work experience after ‘O’ levels for the first time this year. We are most grateful to
all those firms in Cirencester who have responded so generously to our requests.

One last point on this is best illustrated by quoting from a report I wrote last term
which concluded; ‘Far too much is made of academic work and examination
results — within a couple of years they will be totally forgotten. ’

Now please don’t misunderstand me: I don’t say this very often, but there can be a
slight danger of examination hysteria and, in spite of a modest pride in our
academic attainments, we have never viewed them in isolation. It is the individual
that matters and what he or she is capable of achieving and of contributing. May I
mention a third source of insecurity? It is the firmly declared policy of one political
party to abolish all Independent Schools, ignoring the undertaking signed in 1976
by that same party, the United Nations Covenant which guarantees that parents
must be free ‘to choose for their children schools other than those established by
the public authorities’.

Set against the other major problems I have mentioned this may seem at first sight
of minor importance, but it is not the only freedom at risk and, if this destructive
action were carried out, Britain would be the only developed country in the free
world to ban Independent Education. We owe it to our Founder, Noel Wills, whose
memory we honour today, and to future generations to maintain our right to
choose. Extreme solutions are alien to the spirit of this country and I hope you
would agree with me that we should do all we can to preserve the freedoms we
have, whether these lead you to protest at Greenham Common or to send your
children to Rendcomb. And if anyone attacks me for mentioning Politics, I reply by
quoting from the Times’ first leading article last Monday: — ‘Without a sure sense
of self-preservation, an individual will bend to every whim. So it is with societies
and nations. The will to survive has to be cherished and replenished in a dangerous
and unpredictable world’.

Speaking of preserving our freedoms reminds me of the memorable address given

a fortnight ago by Professor R. V. Jones, F. R. S., whose wartime career in
Scientific Intelligence saved many thousands of lives. The inaugural lecture in
memory of Michael Wills was full of interesting ideas and illuminating examples.
Two fundamental principles which emerged struck me as directly relevant to the
school:

1. The importance of scale; things will work well at one size, less well or not at
all at another. Too many of our institutions have grown beyond their optimum size,
but Rendcomb is not one of them.

2. If you have a good design, change the parts around and you may get a better
one. Our independence enables us to change rapidly in response to new ideas and
requirements and the Governors’ ‘Future Policy Working Party’ with Staff
representation meets regularly to examine our present practice and advise on future
plans. And we are always open to suggestions.

I’ve touched on academic results and the details are printed in the Programme, but
before leaving them, it’s worth recording that our Advanced level pass rate was just
under 95% and of the passes, over one third were ‘A’ Grade; more than 75% of
Sixth Formers went on to University, and a glance at the programme will show a
varied and interesting range of courses. It’s not surprising that a girl from here is
studying Equestrianism, while a stroll past the study bedrooms any day will show
where an intimate knowledge of Electro-acoustics may be acquired. And in case
anyone should raise an eyebrow at the word Sociology, let me say that the student
concerned, having played a central part in our Community Service work is now
spending a year in India, studying the problem of the Third World at close quarters.
He has already written to suggest a course of ‘Third World Studies at Rendcomb’.

We had hoped for two or three more places at Oxford and Cambridge, but our
experience this year emphasises how important is the choice of College. And it is
agreed that this is a subject of Byzantine complexity. Efforts are at last being made
to simplify the method of entry, but not, alas, the entry itself. You may have heard
about the Tutor for Admissions at a certain College who had to break the news
gently to a wealthy former member and potential benefactor that his son had failed
to gain a place: ‘I’m so sorry’ he said, ‘but we felt that your son might be happier
in a smaller College or,’ he added, ‘in a larger one’.

The ‘O’ level pass rate remained steady at between 8 and 9; most Sixth Formers
have 9 and pick up another one or two before they leave. It’s not that isn’t enough,
it’s simply that any serious course of study may benefit from having a measurable
goal. As you may know, it’s now impossible to pass through the School without a
course of instruction on Computers and nearly half the Sixth Form attempts this
‘O’ level. But I believe that it’s valuable still to have some Sixth Form work that is
not examined and to find interest and pleasure in the subject itself.

The continued popularity and excellence of the woodwork and art courses among
others are evidence of that, and you may have noticed the variety and vitality of the
Pottery on show today under the guidance of Mr. Griffiths, from the Cirencester
Craft Centre. We put on a display of one of the three main sciences each year,
Chemistry this time. It goes without saying that no exhibition can really display
what goes on in a year’s teaching, but I’d like to point out that Rendcomb has been
in the forefront of recent ‘A’ level curricular changes in Chemistry.

In 1979 it was decided that a core syllabus should occupy 80% of the time,
supplemented by two options, each accounting for 10% of the course. We were
asked to be a trial school for the first three options, one of which was chemical
engineering. Mr. Kelsey, among others, was invited to submit a syllabus, and his
was the one adopted by the Cambridge Examinations Board. British Petroleum
then asked to be involved in the second batch of options, particularly
petrochemicals and polymers.

Again, Mr. Kelsey was asked to provide syllabuses for these options. For a number
of years we have sent able Chemists to work in the I. C. I. Laboratories prior to
University, and our industrial liaison has now further increased 9 so that we have
boys working in both B.P. and I.C.I. research laboratories before going up to
Oxford in October. For the first time this year I.C.I. have accepted a girl for a full
year. And you may notice in your programme that a boy and a girl are going up to
Oxford to read Chemistry, and a girl to Salford for Chemical Engineering — a
pretty good performance, especially with girls outnumbering boys by two to one in
this male dominated field.

One final achievement only just announced is that two boys about to take their ‘A’
levels have been awarded two out of the four sponsorships offered by Raychem, a
very go-ahead specialist firm based in Swindon. In conclusion, last year Mr.
Kelsey was elected to be a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry for his
contribution to the Science, an honour for him and also for Rendcomb.

Sport continues to interest quite a few people and we are always glad to welcome
the increasing number of parents who come to home matches. Rugby gets the
school year off to a good start and I can say without fear of contradiction that this
year’s team was the best we have ever had: 2 matches lost, a draw and 12 wins. It
was our Captain’s 3rd year in the XV and I think it’s the first time one of our
players has been selected to play for the South of England. For me, watching the
team play was like a tonic — with a very large gin in it.

Hockey is more dangerous than ever, now they have abolished the sticks rule; it’s
like magnified, mobile team golf, but few serious injuries were reported and the
season was highly successful. It was particularly good to have one of our girls
playing for Gloucestershire as well as the Captain of the 1st XI.

And then cricket: I haven’t searched the records, but the chances of two 1st XI
batsmen having scored centuries in school matches in the first fortnight must be
small and, again, our 1st XI is potentially the best we have ever fielded, ably
coached by Mr. Essenhigh who has been appointed a national cricket coach, the
highest coaching honour that there is. Another rare distinction is for two members
of the XI to be selected for West of England trials, one a batsman and one a fast
bowler. The trouble is that our neighbouring farmer has planted a field of fodder
growing waist high, so every time a six goes soaring into the air on the leg side it
costs us £7 for a new ball. £35 in two matches. Perhaps we should ask the Bursar
to field on top of the wall at mid-wicket.

Talking of fast bowlers reminds me of Freddie Trueman’s crisp comment to a

young opening batsman whom he had just clean bowled. ‘A very good ball Mr.
Trueman’, said the youngster on his way back to the pavilion; ‘Aye lad’, said
Trueman ‘and it were wasted on thee’. What a pity it was though, to miss so much
cricket through incessant rain. By the end of 4 weeks, disgruntled cricket masters
would have welcomed being labelled like a Swan Vestas matchbox ‘Keep in a dry
place and away from children’.

Finally, I draw your attention to the County Sporting Honours in Squash and Golf
and the National Honours in tennis. A remarkable record, and seeing it written
down does remind you that although our pupils are drawn from places as far away
as Jamaica and Hong Kong — and Newcastle — Rendcomb is and always has
been a Gloucestershire school with firm and friendly relations with the County. My
personal links with the locality were given a boost the other day when I received a
letter from a foreign gentleman living in Wiltshire addressed to ‘Mr. North
Cerney’. Not quite the same as Miss World, but you have to start somewhere.

They say that no publicity is bad publicity and there is certainly some truth in the
statement because it can be read in two ways. To receive no publicity is bad for
business. Schools have a natural reluctance to trumpet their achievements, and I
sometimes feel that the kind of record in today’s programme should be more
widely known. By far the most effective way of spreading the news is by personal
recommendation, and I do hope that all parents and former pupils and friends will
pass the word that you don’t have to look very far for a good education.

In a brief survey of this kind there is much that I have to leave out, but I must refer
to the fresh and vivid performance of Dr. Faustus which reminded us that great
drama didn’t actually start with Shakespeare. And as the year has been full of fine
music, chamber, orchestral and choral, we thought we would perform two works
today. One was the charming Eine Kleine Nachtmusik which you may have heard
in the main building.

The long process of building is, I believe, drawing to a close, but we should record
the considerable projects completed this year. Godman House now provides good
accommodation for the Third Form all under one roof; the second computer room
has been opened and equipped; and extensive modernisation has produced three
excellent new classrooms in the Stable Courtyard. In addition to this, the
Governors have decided to build a further eleven study bedrooms in the Main
Building — a statement of faith in the future.

Now I must speak of the saddest moment of the year when we heard of the sudden
death of Mr. Keith Thorne, who had been Art Master for 13 years. He was a
dedicated schoolmaster who contributed fully to many aspects of school life, but
particularly to the Art and Craft which has been for so many years a central part of
the education and recreation here. We remember him with affection, respect and
gratitude and we send our best wishes to Mrs. Thorne and her family in their new
home in Cheltenham. We were lucky that Mr. Denny was able to step in to fill the
gap, and I am glad to say that he will be with us for next year.

I am delighted also to see Mr. and Mrs. Swaine back at Rendcomb — it’s just as
though they had never left. Mr. Swaine is helping us out until next term when our
new Head of Biology, Mr. Hannaford, arrives. Out of a strong field we selected the
best Biologist available; the fact that he has also played Rugby for England and the
Barbarians is, of course, a considerable bonus.

Finally, I come to speak of Mr. Sells who is retiring this term after 29 years. A
Major in the Airborne Division in the 50’s he realised that war was unlikely and
therefore promotion might be slow, so when he parachuted out of the regular Army,
some favourable wind blew him towards Gloucestershire. I am a strong believer in
Providence and I know that generations of former pupils would agree that this was
an auspicious moment for Rendcomb. A Cambridge Exhibitioner, Head of French
and later Modern Languages; organising Hockey, from which came our only
Hockey Blue, in charge of the Main Building, Director of Drama, running the
Literary Society and the Library, spanning three or four Headmasters, Mr. Sells has
done it all, and through it all he has retained a point of view both critical and
generous. Refusing to be bamboozled by passing fads and fancies but always ready
for new ideas and with a warm sympathy for the young. When a parent was asked
why he sent his children to an Independent School he said ‘Above all I want them
to be influenced by men and women of quality’. Ladies and Gentlemen, I end with
a final thank you to David Sells and to the Staff for all they do for me and for your
children.

The Headmaster’s Report

A very warm welcome to you all, and especially to our main speaker, Dame Diana
Reader Harris. Considering that it’s now eleven years since the first girls came to
Rendcomb, it has taken us rather a long time to invite a Lady, distinguished in
education and in public life, to address us. We value the opportunity of hearing a
different point of view, especially in this year which has been designated WISE —
which in case you hadn’t heard of it, stands for Women into Science and
Engineering. Of course there have been women in science and engineering before,
but not enough. A remarkable example was Dorothy Palmer who was one of the
first women to read Engineering at Cambridge and who in the 20s and 30s
supervised the building of the Tashkent to Samarkand Railway, an astonishing and
romantic achievement for a woman at that time. It was she who, in the role of
Great Aunt speaking to a young lady of my acquaintance, gave this piece of good
advice: ‘Let the young men flatter you, my dear; it’s quite all right so long as you
don’t inhale’.

One of the emerging trends in education, and one that I am sure will continue, is
for schools to become more open institutions, more permeable by outside
influences, more responsive to changing requirements. The questionnaire which
parents have recently completed with such gusto is a reflection of this trend and an
indication that Rendcomb is going to be ahead of the action rather than behind it.
To the best of my knowledge, only half a dozen other schools in the country have
carried out such a survey and none has invited such candour as the verbatim
comments revealed. The sort of things that your best friends won’t tell you. I think
the survey implied a proper humility on our part.

We don’t claim a monopoly in the writing of reports, which is why we asked you to
write one for us. And as with any school report, we value constructive criticism as
highly as praise. But it was also surely a declaration of faith in what we are trying
to do and a clear statement that school and parents are partners in a community that
embraces past, present and future. And let me add that our association here with
one another is more important than any item on the curriculum. Already one action
has resulted in better arrangements for our meetings. I think some waiting is
inevitable on these occasions, but parents of boys in the Third form have sampled
the new system and given their approval. I must re-emphasise what I have often
said in the past that these contacts between us are vital and we value them
accordingly. And as the Chairman has mentioned, the formation of a Parents’
Association in the year ahead will undoubtedly improve these links.

Further signs that the school is opening its doors more widely are the foundation of
the Friends of Rendcomb, which I hope will be supported wholeheartedly; the
letting of our premises this summer holiday; and the clarinet and flute
masterclasses planned to take place here. The first of these was a great success and
attracted skilled young musicians from all over Gloucestershire and beyond.

In the Easter holiday, along with 50 other Headmasters and Headmistresses, I

attended a Conference 200 strong to explore the changes we are facing as well as
to remember some things which don’t change. In spite of our largely secular
society, Billy Graham is still drawing people in huge numbers, including a coach
load from here, just as he did when I heard him at Oxford 30 years ago.

The search for what is permanent goes on, and I hope and believe that foundations
laid here will be built upon in future years. I know that this would have been a
central concern also of our Founder, Noel Wills, whose memory we honour today.
And in passing I’d like to mention that the East window of St. Peter’s Rendcomb
needs repairs costing £4,000. The Parish will be holding a flower festival on
Saturday and Sunday, September 7th and 8th, so any parents who had time to visit
the church when bringing their son or daughter back to school on the Sunday
evening would be most welcome.

Now from what is changeless to the rapid changes which face us all the time. In
Computer Studies we have more than kept abreast of any school our size: two
rooms and ten machines plus another couple of dozen private ones, while Mr.
Hawkswell has demonstrated both for parents and for local Primary School
teachers. But further developments are needed and will be undertaken when funds
permit. I would like the teacher of any subject to have access to what computers
can provide, and that means a fully fitted computer room for 24 people. We have to
be prepared for any eventuality — as the great W. C. Fields said: ‘I always keep a
bottle of whisky handy in case I see a snake — which I also keep handy’.

But while recognising this need, just three cautions:

1. There’s some evidence that Computer learning may be superficial learning,

which fades from the mind as easily as the message on the screen. 2. What the
Computer provides is information, and information — however useful — is not
education.

3. I know less of these things than I should, but well-informed people tell me that
much of the software available at present is simply an insult to any self-respecting
computer. Perhaps it’s lucky they don’t have a right of reply.

I’ve mentioned Women into Science and Engineering Year and we are certainly
playing our part, as more than half our ‘A’ level girl candidates last year were
taking science courses. But we must keep our balance. More than half our
successes at Oxford and Cambridge last year — and seven is a pretty good tally —
were on the Arts side, a History Exhibition, two places gained in English and one
in Modern Studies. When people start pontificating about ‘a high technology
society opening up undreamed of possibilities for human development’ — I make a
dash for the door. We sometimes forget that besides the amazing discoveries of
medicine, electronics and atomic Physics, Science has provided the means of
permissiveness and of pollution, and of violence in unlimited quantities. We
desperately need the human qualities of mind and heart to cope with them. The
study of history, of English and of foreign or ancient literature demands powers of
reason, imagination, memory, analysis and human judgement — precisely the
qualities needed for almost any job you care to mention. And the words we use and
the books we read contain the values we live by.

Turning now from the general to the specific, Ladies and Gentlemen, you have the
details of our results in the programme. 8 or 9 ‘O’ level passes by the end of the 5th
Form year remains the norm and the ‘A’ level pass rate was about 88%, down a
point or two on last year, but impressive nonetheless. During the year I have tried
to emphasise to those aiming at University entrance, a sizeable majority, the
importance of adapting rapidly to a new self-motivated style of working in the first
year Sixth. There simply isn’t time to ease off; and with the 7th term Oxford and
Cambridge examinations coming to an end, there is an increasing urgency for 4th
term candidates who, in the coming year, may number more than one third of the
lower Sixth.

And having mentioned Oxford and Cambridge, I only wish that they would
commission a Headmaster’s attitude survey on their proposals for what they
describe as ‘simplified’ entry. They might hear a few home truths. But if I have a
general message this year it would be of praise and admiration for the quiet
workers, those who, whatever their ability or level in the school have slogged away
and pulled themselves up by their own determined efforts, coupled with a plea to
those — comparatively few — who are lucky enough to have ability, but seem
reluctant to use it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Exhibitions and the music this morning. The quality of
these things speaks more clearly than any words of mine can do. We’ve been
summoned by bells, and we’ve also rung the changes by using the Dulverton Hall
to avoid congestion in the Arts Block. I wish we could present more of what goes
on during the year, but in fact, many parents do come to our Open Day in October
as well as to plays, concerts and school matches.

You may have noticed the increasing interest in Pottery and in Design as well as in
Drawing and Painting. We are exploring how in an already overloaded curriculum
we can encourage still more people to enjoy these creative activities and to gain the
skills of fine woodwork, which will give pleasure and employment for a lifetime.

And it’s this new, broader, view of employment that gives impetus to the growing
parity of esteem between the practical, the imaginative and the academic subjects.
If we re-define employment as ‘work done for others or for yourself whether paid
or not’, then people who have had a broad education will have the inner resources
to look to the future with full confidence, whether for employment — in our
present sense — or for leisure.

This year The Beggar’s Opera was performed with great zest by a large cast, a
production which left little time to prepare for our rather crazy overgrown Fancy
Dress Christmas Party. It’s a moment for fantasy, so when I went as ‘Beaujolais
Nouveau’, nobody was unkind enough, or truthful enough, to say ‘shouldn’t it be
‘The Last of the Summer Wine? ’. ’

Our junior play production was postponed in order to bring into use the outdoor
stage. What could be more appropriate in that woodland setting than an adaptation
from the Jungle Book? It takes place on June 8th and 9th and any parents are most
welcome. There have been some excellent concerts and recitals during the year,
including the fine Beethoven Concert and a sparkling Bach Concert last Sunday
still fresh in our memory. But for me one of the highlights of the year was: ‘O for
the Wings of a Dove’ sung as a duet by our heavenly twins.

Now I turn to Sport and perhaps it’s worth remembering two points about a school
of our size: your involvement in school teams will be greater, but so may be the
variation of those teams from year to year. You can have two outstanding rugby
seasons, as we had, but three is too much to expect. Let me say at once that I am
not going to speak in code. There’s a kind of rugby reporting language which is
sometimes used to veil the uncomfortable truth, for instance: ‘After a slow start’
means: “We lost all our matches up to half term, ’ and ‘all too often, the backs
squandered possession’ means ‘under pressure they threw the ball to the opposing
team’. I would only use a true paradox and say that I have never gained so much
pleasure from watching a team being defeated. It’s easy and exhilarating to enjoy
rugby when you’re on the crest of a wave but to continue to play with courage and
commitment against heavy odds — that’s what reveals your true quality. As the All
Blacks Captain said after England had defeated them ‘You have to take the losses
with the wins, but if you come out at the end a better player, it’s a plus’. That’s the
true spirit of the game and I was proud of the way we played it.

So, on to mention one of our best hockey seasons for years — fast, dry conditions,
and, with the new field extension, 9 excellent pitches and 9 enthusiastic teams.
Here, as in the rugby, the spirit of the game was highly competitive but convivial. I
ask all captains to write me a brief report and here’s a comment on an away match
which we won 9-2: ‘The pitch was worse than any ridge and furrow that I have
ever seen and we were all sure that somebody had to get hit, and within about 2
minutes one of their squad hit the ball which hit a ridge and flew into the sky,
missing about 3 people and finally hitting one of their team right on the head, but
luckily he was a farmer and so he got up in full spirit unhurt and this represented
the good atmosphere that was associated with this match as all the team members
got on on both sides’.

The cricket season was outstanding, with both first and Under 15 XIs unbeaten.
Seven boys played for Gloucestershire teams and our fast bowler gained 50
wickets during the season, including on one occasion all ten for five runs — an
extraordinary feat in a first XI match. Seven centuries were scored, three by this
year’s captain. Apart from the Main School games there is an increasing interest in
some of the sports which we describe as minor, only because of the smaller
numbers involved — sailing and sail boarding is a popular one this term, for
instance.

But I want to finish my remarks on sport with a reference to climbing, in which our
standard has for 15 years compared favourably with that of any school anywhere.
A glance at the Founder’s Day programme under Rock Climbing may leave you
none the wiser but the grades of difficulty progress through, Easy, Moderate,
Difficult, Very Difficult, Severe, Hard severe, Hard very severe, and Extremely
severe — El, E2, etc. (highest at present E7). This gives some idea of our
exceptional standard this year. A nerve-tingling photograph in the local paper of a
boy clinging by his fingertips and toes to a sheer rockface 200 feet up brought both
B. B. C. and H. T. V. camera teams to film two of our climbers on the rockface at
Chepstow, which we have ‘adopted’. A pity the cameras couldn’t have followed
them to Switzerland in the Summer, where they climbed the Matterhorn and where
only the weather a few hundred feet from the top cheated them of the Eiger too. I
asked one of these Spidermen what he felt like when he reached the top of
Cenotaph Corner and he said ‘The greatest moment of my life’.

And now, as I draw towards a close, I return to my opening comment about girls at
Rendcomb. The first dozen lived in our houses for a year while Park House was
being completed, and then eleven years ago the full house was launched with Mr
and Mrs Price at the helm and with Mrs Holdaway as Tutor. There is no doubt in
my mind that this was the most important change at Rendcomb since its
foundation, more so even than its trebling in size during the last 20 years. Very few
boys’ schools at that time had taken girls into the Sixth Form and fewer still had
made a wholehearted attempt to accept a realistic number of boarders and to make
proper provision for them. So it was a pioneering job and Mr. and Mrs. Price threw
themselves into it with most generous energy and enthusiasm. The demands of the
job have been enormous, not only in the day to day running of the House, but in
the work done and advice given for University and further Education courses, and
all this while Mr. Price was teaching two ‘A’ level subjects.

But I believe that the rewards have also been great because there’s nothing more
heart-warming than the respect and affection of the young; and all those who have
lived in Park House for one year or for two will have memories which they will
always cherish. We owe a warm debt of gratitude to Denis and Mary Price as they
hand over to Mr. and Mrs. Hannaford and move down to the Mill House.

Now, before my last few words, it’s my pleasure to thank the Staff both on my own
behalf and on yours for all they have done during the year. I am sure that you will
want to recognise that. And finally, out of all the people who work here with such
dedication, I would like to record our deep appreciation to the women of
Rendcomb, those other quiet workers without whom the School simply couldn’t
exist; and thinking of our new wider community, doesn’t that also include
everybody present today? Whether cooking or teaching, laundering or learning,
dusting or flower arranging, keeping the books or typing the letters, or caring for
the sick, or simply for being around to supply a bit of sympathy or common sense.
As any former Naval person will know there is a different toast for every day of the
week aboard ship and the toast for Saturdays is ‘sweethearts and wives’, so,
Gentlemen, on this Saturday, I give you the women of Rendcomb, our sweethearts
and wives.

The Headmaster’s Report

In welcoming you all, I welcome especially on your behalf our Guest of honour,
Mr. John Garnett, for 23 years the dynamic Director of the Industrial Society. The
granting of a Royal Charter by the Queen on February 20th this year was a tribute
to the increasing influence of this organisation and to the man who has directed it
for nearly half of its existence. It’s an odd paradox that while our prosperity and
standard of living depend entirely on the wealth we create, too many of our ablest
school leavers and graduates ignore the challenge of a business career. We are
unique in being an industrial nation with an anti-industrial culture. Talking to
members of the Sixth Form after last term’s Industrial Conference, I was impressed
to see how even in that short time interest had been stimulated and fresh points of
view had emerged. We look forward to hearing more about the Challenge of
Industry.

A sad irony is that it was Admiral Sir Richard Clayton, with his keen interest in
personnel management who suggested Mr. Garnett as our speaker, and we
remember him today with affection, gratitude and respect; but at least he would be
glad to know that we were thinking of a vital subject so close to his heart.

And having mentioned Sir Richard Clayton, I would like to add my appreciation to
the Chairman’s valedictory words about Sir Louis Le Bailly. His energy was
boundless, his enthusiasm infectious, and his very personal style and eye for detail
brought him into close contact with everybody, and with every aspect of
Rendcomb life. We owe him a great debt for his tireless work for the School, and
his continuing efforts with the ‘Friends of Rend- comb’ which I warmly commend
to you all.

May I at this point throw out a random suggestion? That when the long years of fee
paying come to an end and your sons and daughters leave us you may not only
breathe a sigh of financial relief, but consider a farewell gesture. Most people who
leave Rendcomb have enjoyed some happiness and success, and a covenant of
whatever amount would help to ensure that the school can enable others to share
these things in the future. Mr. Sells will be writing to you, and I do hope that you
may feel able to respond.

It seems to me appropriate that in the year of Mr. Garnett’s visit we should

welcome as our new Chairman a highly successful businessman whose enterprise
carries him into all the major markets of the world and whose thriving factory in
Swindon has contributed, among many others, to making that town the most
rapidly expanding in Europe. 1986 is designated as Industry Year, and we look
forward to extending further our contacts with local firms by means of yearly
Careers Conventions, the work experience we arrange for Fifth formers, and the
lower sixth mock interviews which the Parents’ Association plans to organise for
the first time this year. I must take this opportunity of thanking those Parents who
have supported the Association during its first year and particularly the members of
your committee. I’m confident that this pooling of ideas will provide great support
for the school, as well as help and guidance to parents in various ways.

Now, turning to Education, perhaps you have heard of that ancient Chinese curse
‘May you live in interesting times.’ In teaching today the times are so interesting
that you have to echo the Red Queen: ‘It takes all the running you can do to keep
in the same place’. New exams at 18 on the horizon — will the Universities have
any truck with AS levels? Only time will tell. New exams to Oxford and
Cambridge — exasperatingly different of course. Admittedly, we did gain a record
number of 9 places and an Exhibition this year so perhaps we shouldn’t complain
too loudly.

But the ancient Universities will have to fall into step before long, and the sooner
the better. Then, all the new courses — we are bombarded with initials: Y.T.S.,
T.V.E.I., C.P.V.E., I.N.S.E.T., G.C.S.E. However, putting aside the jargon and the
technicalities, I nail my colours to the mast by saying that the new single
examination at 16, G.C.S.E., which our first candidates will be sitting in 1988, is a
step in the right direction. The ‘O’ level examination has suited us pretty well — so
well in fact that I almost forgot to mention our average of about 8 passes per pupil,
scored again this year — but what a waste of resources it has been to have two
separate examinations.

The system has often caused distress and resentment, and it has in some measure
reflected the divisions and tensions in our society. Another good reason for the
change is what Sir Keith Joseph calls his anti-clutter movement; the learning of
quantities of unrelated facts and a slavish reliance on the memory.

My clearest memory of clutter takes me back to my Prep. School where the

Headmaster used to teach History Dates. He didn’t teach History, but he had this
sinister Black Book which contained 100 History Dates, which everybody in the
school had to learn for the yearly Test. It was one of those crazy obsessions
Headmasters tend to suffer from. 20 questions and if you got less than 5 right you
were summoned the same evening in your pyjamas for execution. I remember
vividly waiting my turn outside his study listening to the strokes of the cane.

Another example of the same thing is illustrated by the little girl, who, when asked
‘What did you learn at school to-day?’ replied ‘I think I learnt rather more than I
need to know about penguins’. I need hardly say that clutter is not a part of the
History teaching at Rendcomb, nor do penguins figure largely in the curriculum;
and the changes brought by G.C.S.E. for us will probably be more in emphasis
than in substance. But these changes will, I believe, be beneficial; the aims are:
more learning by exploration and discussion; more teaching of practical and
applicable skills; more stress on articulate oral, as well as written expression and
more assessment during the course and less in the examination room.

So it seems that the stranglehold of academic examinations is to be weakened; the

emphasis on personal, social and practical skills strengthened. But I would like to
reassure parents that our firm grip on high results will not be relaxed. And in fact, I
see these changes as a further extension of many of the things we already do. For a
few examples, look at this term’s Calendar, Form I exploring the Romans at
Chedworth, Form 2 Norman Castles in Wales, Form 3 got quite dirty down a
coalmine last Sunday, 4 head for London later this term, 5 should learn something
from work experience, 6 from Historic houses and Theatre visits. This in addition
to all the practical and imaginative work in wood and clay and paint, of which
you’ve seen some examples today, the Biology and Geography field trips,
Community Service, Estate work, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and so on. A
great deal of learning does go on outside the classroom. And looking further afield,
the school trip to Russia provided a fascinating culture shock to those who went.

One more thing — our sincere thanks to the Old Rendcombian Society for the new
travel bursaries. Travel is a valuable part of education and helps to eliminate the
sort of Newspaper headline we used to expect: ‘Fog in English Channel; Continent
isolated’. I’ve spoken of national needs and I’m sure that Mr. Garnett will enlarge
upon this theme, but the purposes of education remain rooted in the develop- ment
of the individual. In a boarding school like Rendcomb there are endless
opportunities for self-fulfilment and for service, and it’s sad to see these chances
neglected by some people — not many, but a few — in spite of the encouragement
of House- masters and Tutors and the support of Parents. We must keep working at
it together, and I hope that our new system of establishing yearly profiles for every
member of the School, a process in which each boy and girl will be asked to
participate by self-assessment, may encourage a greater personal awareness of
progress and achievement.
This leads me on to speak more generally of the School and the two obvious
developments you’ve seen this morning. The new Computer room will be available
next term not only for Computer Studies and Projects but for the teaching of any
subject. I must confess to regarding Computers up to now as implacably user-
hostile — to me, that is. I’ve always regarded I.B.M. as meaning ‘It’s Better
Manually’. As I glanced idly the other day at a computer magazine with the
engaging title of Beebug, my eye fell upon the bland opening words of an article
which read ‘Most of us have some simple understanding of Cartesian Co-
ordinates... ‘Well, not all of us actually...

However, the time has obviously come for me to make a conciliatory move, and
it’s only ten days since our English Department hosted a meeting of English
masters from a dozen local H.M.C. Schools when the first half horn was devoted to
a talk by our resident expert (followed by a lively discussion) on the use of
computers in the teaching of English. But of course the great success, of which
you’ve read either in the local press or in your programme is that our team of 3
Computer buffs, 15, 16 and 17 year olds, have so far in the British Computer
Society Quiz defeated all comers. It was creditable enough to win the area final
against the local schools, but to go on to beat the other 5 area winners in the Home
Counties Final, knocking out first Bedford School, last year’s winners, and then St.
Paul’s School, was a remarkable achievement. We meet opponents from the seven
other regions in the National Final at Reading University on July nth.

And the second development, the fine level stretch of Landage field which we look
forward to using, prompts a few reflections about the year’s sport. Of the rugby
season I would say that ’84’s were not quite a vintage year, but stronger than the
’83’s and with, more than a hint of promise for ’85’s. I remember a comment from
the rugby coach of our strongest opponents who fielded a huge scrum from whom
we nonetheless won a considerable amount of ball. He said: ‘We had the beef; you
had the intelligence’: well, judge for yourself which you’d prefer. Another touch-
line remark I liked, partly because it mirrored the intense activity in front of us, but
partly also because it coined a word new to the English Language, was ‘Your chaps
are small, but they’re very goey’. I wouldn’t mind that as a three word description
of Rendcomb ‘small but goey’. And what could be better than a school where the
boys are goey and the girls are comely?
Last term was the first Hockey season when our extended top field came into play.
Nine pitches beckoned invitingly and were used whenever possible, but the snow
and frost wouldn’t leave us alone this year. It was on March 16th that a record was
to be broken — eleven matches against other schools on one day, but alas it was
not to be. Inter- spersed with the tobogganing we did have a sur- prising amount of
enjoyable sport, but a number of our opponents now have all-weather hockey
pitches, which does tend to give them an advantage in practice and in matches.

As to cricket, we seem to be better at knocking spots off our opponents’ bowling

than prising their last two or three batsmen out of the crease. However, we
continue to turn out keen sides who more than hold their own and if you want to
see how the game should be played, visit the top field for a cup of tea on a match
day — preferably sunny and windless. Alternatively, may I recommend two
exhibition matches to be played there this term: Sunday June 9th, North Cerney v
the Barbados High Commission and Saturday June 30th, Parents v. The Staff. Big
hitting to be looked for on both occasions.

The new tennis courts speak for themselves — rather loudly at present, but they’ll
soon tone down — and they are a great asset to our large tennis contingent. Good
prizes to be won in the Parent/ Child Tennis Tournament on July 7th. I was glad to
see that one of Mr. Garnett’s leisure pursuits is sailing, because I have to report
what can only be described as a quantum leap in our sailing provision owing to
generous loans from parents. We now have six dinghies at South Cerney where
sail-boarding is also popular, but there’s also the splendid addition of a six-berth
boat, the Pampero, at our disposal, moored on the river Exe. We are indeed grateful
to Mr. Scarlett for this marvellous opportunity, and I gather that its choppy maiden
voyage for the school provided some novel experiences for the crew.

I note that another of Mr. Garnett’s interests is Timber Construction, so he may

have noted some advanced specimens in the woodwork display. The Art and
Design work is also of particular interest this year, as it’s the first time ever, I
believe, that two boys have gained entrance to Art School in one year, and on the
basis of their portfolios alone. Our concert last Sunday celebrated the tercentary of
Handel’s birth, and very attractive it was; it was a pleasure to meet so many parents
at the social occasion beforehand, and the church made a perfect setting. But pride
of place this year must go to two unusual musical events — first a fine
performance of Beethoven’s piano concerto No. I, accompanied by our orchestra,
the first time that such a work has been played by a member of staff; and second,
the visit of the Behala Boys’ orchestra from Calcutta, who stayed the night at
Rendcomb and gave us a unique and delightful performance of classical and Indian
music and dancing. ‘If music be the food of love, play on’ — the well known
words which opened an entertaining performance of Twelfth Night this year, and
the final words: ‘But that’s all one, our play is done —... ’ We say goodbye at the
end of this term to three of our younger members of staff: Paul Edwards, Simon
Johnson and Belinda Dennis. Collectively they have served for 10 years — we’d
have liked a little longer of course, — but their contribution has been tremendous:
History, English, French, Oxford coaching, cricket, rugby, hockey, netball,
tutoring, drama, library, magazine — the list could go on with all the other tasks
that come along and need the willing co-operation of energetic people. All three are
joining well known London schools and there is no doubt that Harrow, St.
Dunstan’s and Mill Hill are getting more than they bargained for. Perhaps I could
have phrased that better, but it’s only when people leave that you start to reckon up
the gaps that need to be covered. Congratulations to them on the first-rate jobs they
have secured against strong opposition, but may we share a little of the credit? I
believe that Rendcomb provides a stimulating training ground not only for pupils,
but for staff, Headmaster and — may I say — Governors. To replace these varied
talents is not easy, but we’ve had over 150 applicants in all for the three posts, and
I have appointed a Cambridge exhibitioner to teach History, a graduate from
Lancaster University (who hopes shortly to be awarded his research Doctorate) to
teach French and a graduate from York to teach English. Another major change in
September will be Mr. Knapp’s retirement as Housemaster of the Junior House. It
would be hard to overestimate the importance of this job in the Old Rectory, where
eleven year olds have their first taste of boarding school. It needs a very special
mixture of under- standing, firmness and concern to create secure conditions for
the young to grow steadily in confidence and independence. Kaye and Margaret
with remarkable and wholehearted commitment for 19 years have created a
friendly and marvellously stable environment and many hundreds of parents and
Old Boys, I know, share my gratitude to them. I have every confidence that Chris
and Penny Wood will continue this tradition in their own way. Now in conclusion,
I ask you to reflect upon all the dedicated and professional skills applied here
during the past year — with governing, teaching, caring, cooking, administering,
maintaining, cleaning, over 100 people are involved, and that’s a staffing ratio of
two fifths of a person per pupil. It’s recorded that a visitor to the Vatican, watching
the staff hurry to and fro, turned to the Pope and asked “How many people work
here? ” To which he replied ‘about half’... Let me assure you, Ladies and
Gentlemen, that everybody at Rendcomb works long and hard, and I offer to all, on
your behalf as well as my own, my warmest thanks.

FOUNDER'S DAY 1986

The Headmaster’s Report

A warm welcome to you all, and especially I welcome on your behalf our Guest of
honour, Sir Patrick Nairne. It’s the Chairman’s privilege to introduce the main
speaker, but I did note that Sir Patrick’s distinguished career in the Civil Service
has concluded with the Mastership of ST Catherine’s College, Oxford, and I must
confess that the irreverent thought of ‘Yes, Minister’ and the Master of Bailey
College flashed across my mind. Could it really be like that in the corridors of
power? I haven’t yet had the chance to ask, but I hope to do so. At least I’m glad to
say that our last candidate entering St Catherine’s gained a good degree in a subject
particularly appropriate for Industry Year 1986 - Engineering and Management.

The weather map of public education in Britain this year can be briefly
summarised: ‘A deep depression occupies the whole area. It is centred over the
Secondary School system, but its effects are being felt throughout further and
higher education. Little immediate improvement is forecast’. We all know the
causes: falling numbers, falling resources, falling morale. Independent schools may
be enjoying a brief interlude, with numbers holding up, reasonable resources
available and therefore morale steady, but with the profession to which we all
belong under attack and under-valued as it is, we are in no mood to be smug. It
would be hard to find more dedicated staff than here at Rendcomb, but we claim no
monopoly of dedicated teachers, and a large majority of those who have been in
dispute simply wanted to achieve a fair settlement and get back to work.

Opinions will vary on the methods adopted to achieve that settlement, and on those
I make no comment. But people will work for either love or money; deprived of
both, they lose heart. I would like to express our feeling of solidarity with our
colleagues in the Maintained Sector, perhaps especially because we have always
drawn a large part of our support from Primary Schools in Gloucestershire and
neighbouring counties, as well as maintaining friendly relations and valuable links
with our neighbouring Grammar and Comprehensive Schools.

What comfort can we draw from the present situation? My knowledge of Chinese
is strictly limited, but I understand that they use the same word for crisis and
opportunity. And if I may strike a topical note, the motto chosen for Miss Sarah
Ferguson’s coat of arms with ‘Ex adversis felicitas crescit’. ‘From adversity,
happiness grows’. Let’s hope that the discussions on a new professional salary
structure will be successfully concluded this summer so that the examinations,
about which there has been such dissension, can go ahead with everyone
wholeheartedly behind them.

I spoke in support of the GCSE last year and at that stage members of staff may
well have muttered ‘all right for him, he hasn’t got to teach it’. But now, all heads
of departments have attended two-day courses and, in spite of some reservations
and understandable anxieties, the general response to the ideas behind the new
papers has been favourable. There will be extra demands on time, and especially so
to start with, but the courses should offer more in the way of breadth, relevance,
projects and practical work. The increased emphasis on oral work is not entirely
new; Socrates disliked the written word - he said it made for inflexibility of
thought. He would have approved of Professor Joad who, as an undergraduate in a
philosophy exam, was asked to write for three hours on the question ‘Can a good
man be happy on the rack? ’. He walked out after 1½ minutes having written: ‘If
he is a very good man and it is a very bad rack, yes. Otherwise not’. For which he
was awarded an alpha.

Inflexibility or not, nobody would deny the vital need for writing clear, accurate
English, though you’d be surprised at the difficulty we had in gaining entrance to
Cambridge last year for a girl who was an outstanding scholar but had chosen to
study English, with Maths and Physics. Eventually they conceded the need for
literate engineers, more especially as she had gained a valuable engineering
sponsorship against intense competition. But there is a greater need nowadays to be
not only literate and numerate but articulate. Things are done less by order or fiat
and more by discussion and persuasion. A distinguished historian once said,
‘Britain has been saved not by her statesmen, but by the committee sense of her
people’. Perhaps this is another way of describing the British genius for
compromise, but there’s no doubt that today, and even more in the 1990s, running a
country, or a company or a school, will require these skills.

And what better place to acquire them than in a boarding school where you learn to
respect, or at least to tolerate other people’s views even if you disagree strongly,
rather than shouting them down, as in the deplorable scenes recently reported at a
great University not far from here. And, as I’ve mentioned boarding and the nation,
let me suggest two important things that you do learn in a community such as ours.
First, to be responsible for your own actions and to be held accountable for them;
and following on from that, secondly, to recognise that a free society depends not
just upon laws or school rules, but also largely upon unspoken assumptions. As
Edmund Burke put it: ‘Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will
and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there
has to be without’.

Schools are often blamed for the ills of society, but more truly, I think, they reflect
them, and I believe that this learning about democracy, this learning about
‘obedience to the unenforceable’ is as vital to our country as it is to any school.
Now to academic results, and first ‘O’ levels. We gained our usual average of 8
passes, but I confess to a slight disappointment about the quality. A few able boys
underperformed, and I would say to all candidates: ‘Don’t underestimate the
importance that Universities and employers attach to these results’. In the ‘A’
levels also, one or two people were short on personal motivation, but overall it was
a very respectable performance, with more than half the passes at A or B grade and
a good sprinkling of Distinctions and Merits in the Special papers.

Finally a comment on the Oxford and Cambridge examinations. The previous

year’s record number of eleven places clearly encouraged a spirit of optimism, and
I’m reminded of the man being interviewed who, when asked ‘Are you optimistic
about the future?’ answered ‘Yes’. ‘Then why are you looking so gloomy?’ asked
the Chairman. He replied ‘Because my optimism is ill-founded’.

I’m sure that those candidates who entered did gain from the experience of
working really flat out. On the last day of term I spoke to a girl I’d been teaching
who looked positively grey with fatigue: “Have a good sleep in the car on the way
home”, I suggested. “Well” she said, “I’m driving”. “In that case, I replied,
“Don’t”. But here, as in other aspects of school life, we do need to strike a balance
between encouragement and realism when we advise candidates whether to make
the attempt or not. Many of you will have seen some of the work in the new
Computer Room. Until recently I would have sympathised with the caterpillar
who, looking up at a butterfly, said to another caterpillar: ‘You’ll never get me up
in one of those’.

But we have to move with the times, and it was while I was trying to word-process
a letter that Mr Hawkswell said to me: “There’s always something new; I’m
learning all the time. If someone has a problem in physics, I explain it; if in
computers I’ll often say: ‘Why not ask J., he’ll help you’ ”. It’s not that he doesn’t
know the answer, but that in some aspects of this expanding subject both master
and pupil are exploring new areas together. Perhaps you noted the arrangements of
the screens, facing sideways and boys working in pairs. When I was at school the
master was on a raised platform at one end - not just so that he could spot the boy
dozing at the back, but as a symbol of authority. He was also wearing a gown - not
only to keep the chalk dust off his jacket, but as a symbol of learning. Now, raised
dais and chalk have gone as the emphasis is switching from teaching to learning.

Of course teachers still teach, especially in the early years, but more and more we
are, and shall be, engaged in helping boys and girls to learn for themselves. Hence
the new emphasis on project work. Choose your topic, research it, write it up; we’ll
advise, help, guide and assess, but it’s your own ... exciting! A recent article in a
paper asked: ‘What is the most popular recreation in Britain? ’ The answer wasn’t
fishing or football, it was going for a walk. We started the year by going for a walk,
a sponsored one of 20 miles - or a little over for some of us. There was a halt for
lunch at 12 miles for those who had had enough, but those with stronger legs or
stouter hearts completed the course, and I’d like to congratulate particularly the
younger members of the school and some of the girls, who set their elders an
example in doing something worthwhile. Nearly £2, 000 was raised, mainly for the
Behala Boys’ Home in Calcutta. I think we should do this more often, perhaps
every two years. It brings everybody together early in the school year, with many
parents as well, and makes a challenging and satisfying day out. Admittedly, it
takes its toll of older participants and, as I staggered home with one of my main
bearings almost seized up and my right elbow already malfunctioning from playing
squash with the school team, I wondered whether I could claim for industrial
injury. At least I hadn’t got it by inflicting corporal punishment, unlike Dr Heath,
Headmaster of Eton, who, in 1796, after giving 70 boys ten strokes of the cane,
retired to bed for a week with strained ligaments and muscles.

But now to other energetic pursuits: I counted 13 different sports on the go this
term and I’ve probably missed some, but I make no apology for concentrating on
our main games and for two reasons:

1. I think there’s a zest and spirit about playing for a school team which you never
quite recapture in later life unless you play at the highest level.

2. Team games are for enjoyment, but look at the demands they make:
organisation, decision making, discipline, loyalty, determination. Aren’t these
exactly the qualities needed in any worthwhile enterprise involving other people?
And that’s without mentioning physical courage and fitness. Certainly our fine
rugby teams showed these qualities throughout the season.

The coach for the American Olympic hockey team gave us an intensive practice
session at the start of term, and this contributed to one of our best sides in recent
years. Sadly, they had to wait nearly seven weeks through that bitter frost and
illness before they could demonstrate their quality. It’s years since we had as many
as 70 people at a time out of action. But they came good in the end, beating our
strongest opponents, and the girls’ XI had their triumph too. You’ll also note from
your programme that, as in other sports, we are well represented at County level,
with some talented younger players coming on.

A sad opening to the national cricket season this year after the debacle in the West
Indies. But, as though to make an ironic comment, the death of those great
stalwarts Jim Laker and Bill Edrich reminded us of some golden days. What a
pleasure to see a flashback of Laker taking all ten Australian wickets - and, by
aiming to remove the batsman’s bails and not his head, which seems to be the idea
nowadays. I’m glad to say that here the spirit of the game is unchanged. We now
have no less than three national coaches on the staff, strongly supported by others
no less experienced and armed with the fine bowling machine given by the Parents’
Association. I can confidently claim that you would not find better coaching
anywhere in the country. Whether we’ll get a chance to prove it remains to be seen.
So far six matches have been played, 12 cancelled.

Finally three sports I must mention which have received a boost this year. We now
have a four-hole, practice, 9 to 5 golf course in the Park, the numbers referring not
to the clock, but the clubs required. Par for the course is 12, but if anyone refers to
it as pitch and putt, I challenge him to land on the 3rd green in one - downhill, but
a couple of hundred yards into the prevailing wind.

Then the swimming pool has been newly heated, and has been enjoyed right from
the beginning of term in spite of wind and rain. Lastly riding, not only because it
has given a lot of pleasure for fourteen years, but because it was at Rendcomb that
Richard Dunwoody, the winner of the Grand National, had some of his early riding
lessons.

This has been a memorable year for music and drama, but I have time to mention
only two highlights besides the very successful pop concert two nights ago. Only
three weeks into the Christmas term we had the rare pleasure of a Mozart piano
concerto and a Mendelssohn violin concerto, performed by very recent Old Boys
accompanied by the School Orchestra. I wish you could all have been there. Then
at the end of term music and drama came together in our first Gilbert & Sullivan.
Fifty performers, supported by all the stage and electrical experts, played, acted
and sang their heads off - a really exuberant evening, as many enthusiastic parents
testified.

Art, craft, design and woodwork continue to flourish, as you may have seen from
the display, with three candidates into Art School this year. My one anxiety at
present is how we are to tackle the new subject, Craft, Design & Technology,
without damaging the long tradition of Rendcomb Woodwork which is agreed on
all sides to be quite outstanding; discussions have started, but decisions will not be
rushed.

Next I’d like to thank the committee members of the Parents’ Association for their
work during this second year. We have had a number of helpful meetings
sometimes lasting up to three hours, and on one occasion, to escape from the
locked building, I had to climb out of a window to get home to bed. We shall
continue to welcome help with careers conventions and mock interviews, and
conversely I’ve been asked to provide closer guidance on tricky points like
clothing regulations and haircuts. On these matters where fashion holds sway it’s
easy for problems to arise with informal school dress.

At least, with our new exeat system, we don’t have to import a barber into the
school and line everyone up as we used to. I still sometimes get the excuse that the
unisex hair person was to blame. You may have heard of the tired executive who
went for a trim and when asked how he would like it cut replied: ‘I’d like it cut like
Prince Charles please’. Awaking from slumber in a quarter of an hour and
surveying the wreckage on top of his head, he exclaimed ‘This isn’t the kind of
haircut Prince Charles has’, to which the barber replied ‘He would if he came
here’.

To be serious though, I would very much like parents and school to work a little
more closely on the question of appearance. Second-hand tramp coats are just not
acceptable; young people are not always the best judges about how they look to
others, and a bit of firm, common-sense parental advice is most helpful; don’t pay
too much heed to the siren voice which claims: ‘everybody’s wearing them’; and
it’s worth remembering that, when trying for a job in these difficult days, it’s no
good having a heart of gold if you’ve got feet of clay. Appearances may be
deceptive but they do matter.

Two last appeals, one on behalf of the Parents’ Committee and one on my own.
First, don’t miss your chance to buy a ticket for the Summer Ball on August 30th.
Perhaps it’s worth mentioning in the year of the Queen’s 60th birthday that Queen
Elizabeth I slept here at Rendcomb. Whether Sir Richard Berkeley gave a summer
ball for her on September 8th 1592 is not recorded, but he may well have done. In
any case it should be a marvellous evening, and you won’t find better value
anywhere, nor better company.

Second, the best way of ensuring that Rendcomb remains as full as it has been for
years is to encourage your friends and acquaintances to visit us, either privately or
on our regular Open Day - this year on Saturday October 11th. Last September Mr
White decided that after twelve years as Second Master he would step down. I’m
grateful to him for all his help and advice during this time and I’m glad that he is
continuing to plan the timetable. Mr Knapp, after nineteen years running the Junior
House, was just looking forward to a slightly easier year, but he willingly agreed to
take over, and in no time at all found himself running the school in my absence.

We say goodbye this term to Mr Ball and Mr Oldroyd. Mr Ball has proved an
excellent Head of French, in addition to all the help he has provided with boarding
duties, music and other school activities. He goes to Ellesmere College as Head of
Modern Languages. Mr Oldroyd is also going north to Shropshire. He has 26 been
appointed Chaplain of Wrekin College. His pastoral and teaching work for four
years here has been very much appreciated, and he and his wife will be much
missed from the school and the village. We wish them every success and happiness
in their new home.

One final valedictory word: it’s with great sadness and warm appreciation that I
record the death of Mr Jack Fell, who after many years teaching at Rendcomb
continued to live in the village, greatly valued as President of the Old
Rendcombian Society, Churchwarden, friend of the school and neighbour to all.

And now it only remains for me to thank you Ladies and Gentlemen, both parents
and pupils, for your continuing support for the school, and may I, in conclusion,
quote a short letter printed in a recent copy of the Times from a Mrs Susan Wood:
“Sir, new exams, a revised syllabus, more direct-grant schools, a revamped
voucher system - the ideas are endless in an effort to improve the educational
standards of this country. For my children, I am looking for a school with an
adequate number of dedicated and highly motivated staff, well qualified, highly
respected and highly paid. Without this foundation, all the rest will crumble”. That
rings true to me as a parent and as a headmaster. So I ask you to join with me, if
you will, in my wholehearted appreciation for the staff and for all who work at
Rendcomb.

FOUNDER'S DAY 1987

The Headmaster’s Report

I add my words of welcome to the Chairman’s and especially I welcome on your

behalf our Guest Speaker, Mr Orr-Ewing. It’s the Chairman’s privilege to introduce
him, so I will simply say that we are happy to have with us today such a successful
and distinguished Industrialist.

1986 was Industry Year, and the theme is being continued in 1987 under the title
‘Industry Matters’. The purpose is to increase still further the links between
industry and education and to broaden awareness of industry’s service to the
community.

At the last Headmasters’ Conference, Mr Corelli Barnett made a scathing

indictment of British schooling over the past century, with its narrow bookish
emphasis which, he said, made sense only if the aim was the production of Dons,
Schoolmasters and Six Humphrey Applebys. An exaggeration, of course,
especially if you think of the breadth and variety of a Rendcomb education, but
there’s more than a grain of truth in it. Changes in education take a long time -
GCSE for instance has taken 18 years to bring into being - but at last things are
under way, and the speed of change is gathering momentum.

Professor R. V. Jones, the first Michael Wills lecturer, who spoke of our brilliant
radar discoveries during the war, said this: “In a Britain that has been drifting
downstream ever since 1945, I hope this story will show what we achieved and
what we could do again if we could only replace the present mood of self-seeking
easement by a sense of purpose and service”. I believe there is a greater sense of
purpose in the air and, though people may be no less self-seeking, there’s a more
realistic understanding that only hard work and commitment will bring rewards.
Also, that unless this is fully understood we are finished as an industrial and
trading nation.

What has this to do with a Headmaster’s report? I’m simply pointing to a positive
shift of emphasis. It’s true that a disinterested intellectual curiosity is one of the
hallmarks of civilisation, but how much of it can you afford? You can’t neglect the
plant to cultivate the flower. The current trend in education is towards a much
wider personal fulfilment: to harness not only the intellectual, but the practical and
social skills of people at every level of ability.

These comments I’ve made: hard work, commitment, a sense of purpose and
service are echoes of Founder’s Days over the past 15 years, because they are at
the heart of what we try to foster and encourage. Here, the individual matters.
Now, with an election on June 11th, we face a renewed threat of political and
financial pressure against 21 all independent schools. Freedom of choice in
education is regarded throughout the Western World as a fundamental human right,
and we have not only a right but a duty to protect it as best we can. We owe it to
you, the parents whose children we educate, to future generations and to our
Founder, Noel Wills, whose memory we honour today.

He was inspired by a vision of brotherhood and goodwill in society and, in order to

test the power of opportunity and environment, the young, regardless of wealth or
background, were to be educated in beautiful surroundings so that, as he put it, the
true aristocracy among men and women, an aristocracy of brains and character,
should flourish. Rendcomb was the result. Noel Wills would have been saddened
by the present division in this country, but not discouraged. On Thursday, the Head
Prefect, the Head Girl and I, following a long tradition, laid a wreath on his grave
in Miserden churchyard. This is written on his tombstone:

‘One who never turned his back, but marched breast forward, never doubted clouds
would break, never dreamed, tho’ right were worsted, wrong would triumph. He
held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake’.

A magnificent epitaph.

And I’d just like to add to this a more personal reminiscence from an old boy - one
of the 12 with whom the school started in 1920, Mr Ronald Daubeny. What he
remembers are trips over to Miserden for tea and the warmth and kindness of the
welcome everybody received there, and of being taught Art by Noel Wills himself.
The staff and I have always respected and admired him as Founder, Chairman and
Governor, but we are glad to salute him also as a former colleague.

My mention of colleagues leads me on to academic matters and, although the 1986

‘A’ level results reflected great credit on the majority of candidates and on then-
teachers, there were a few others for whom work did not come first, with the
inevitable disappointments. But taking a broader view, there were compensations;
‘O’ levels were respectable, many University and Polytechnic places were secured
and five candidates gained places at Oxford and Cambridge, in a good spread of
subjects: English, History, French, Engineering and Physics.
On a personal note, I took particular pleasure in the entry of our Head Girl to my
old college to read Physics. There are now no entrance scholarships, but two
internal awards were gained at Oxford by former pupils, one in Chemistry and one
in English. Moving from the purely academic, another award was an RAF
scholarship, and it was good to hear of our first commission in the Royal Marines
to a recent old boy; for some years now our nuclear force has been strengthened by
a Rendcombian submariner who may, for all I know, be cruising under the polar
ice-cap at this moment and, with these and a number of other serving officers, we
seem to do as well without a CCF as we might with one - perhaps even better.

Four further comments about work: First. I hope you’ve had an opportunity to see,
not only the very attractive Art, Pottery and Woodwork, but also some GCSE
Chemistry at the halfway stage. We’ve hit no major snags yet, and the rethinking of
aims and methods has been of undoubted value.

Second. A new proposal for September, which I foreshadowed last year: Craft
Design and Technology is a comparatively new subject, concerned with the
solution of practical problems: designing and then making things that function. We
shall add construction in metal and plastic to our highly successful woodwork. But
we aim also to expand our computer work with modular courses in Micro-
Electronics, Control and Information Technology. I have no doubt that as these
courses develop they will significantly improve job opportunities, especially in
Industry and Commerce. However, this raises the problem of the overloaded
curriculum.

How can you squeeze a quart into a pint pot? We’ve had to rethink our curriculum
radically - and when I say we, I mean every Head of Department, but particularly
Mr Knapp, and Mr White, who has the unenviable task of working out the
timetable. A problem of great complexity, more difficult in a small school than in a
large one. I’m extremely grateful to them for the time and trouble they are taking to
get the right solution.

Third. I’ve spoken of results, achievements, changes, but let’s not forget the boys
lower down the school, whatever their ability, who are slogging away to improve
their grades. And a word of warning to those who are tempted to rest on their oars.
It’s later than you think - don’t neglect your opportunities; although, if you have a
particular interest of non-examinable kind, don’t neglect that either. Remember
what a Victorian father said to his son: “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs
and ratcatching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family”. The
boy was Charles Darwin.

Now my last comment on teaching and learning: You have paid us the great
compliment of entrusting your sons and daughters to us. What is it that remains
with the young when they leave school? When we look back, we remember not
facts, but people. What a teacher offers is himself. It’s the quality of the individual
who stands in front of a class or runs a House that determines the quality of
education. Among these individuals I must single out this year, John Holt who,
with the support of his wife Anne, has run Godman House with such dedicated care
and concern for 12 years. Your children have been fortunate to experience their
humane and generous influence, and I count myself lucky to have had the
wholehearted support of them and of a staff of such energetic and dedicated
professional teachers. I’m sure that you will join with me in showing your
gratitude to them.

What next? For a moment of light relief I turn to food, and I think we would all
agree that the change to selfservice has now fully proved itself. I noted a letter in
the Times not long ago from an old boy of Shrewsbury School which went like
this: ‘One morning, 57 years ago I found myself on my way to the Headmaster’s
Study. His wife, a finely proportioned and formidable lady, was speaking on the
phone to the town. I could not avoid overhearing her authoritative tones as she
shouted, “Is that the butcher?” Right, well will you please send me 3 pounds of
your best rump steak, and 44 pounds of boy’s meat”. But the letter concluded “I
still enjoyed all my days at the school”.

Well, things are no longer quite like that but, before moving on, I’d like to say a
warm thank you to our Catering Manager, Tony Barrett, who, sadly for us, is
leaving at the end of term, promoted to be an Area Manager, which he fully
deserves.

Next a welcome to two new members of staff: Mr O’Connor, who is teaching

History and English, Mr Sudbury as our new Chaplain. As I saw from my study
window Mr Sudbury coaching cricket in the nets, I remembered an advertisement
which actually appeared in the Church Times not long ago: ‘Vicar seeks colleague.
Left-hand fast bowler preferred. Good golf handicap an asset, but not essential’.

And there was the very young curate at interview who had described himself in his
letter of application as a Christian Gentleman. The Chairman said “could you
elaborate on that a little?” to which he replied, “Certainly, Sir; which term is
unfamiliar to you?”

But if I may be serious for a moment; one of the quiet but permanent strengths of
the independent boarding schools of this country is that they are communities
which consciously uphold the values of a Christian way of life and have at their
centre a Christian Church. Surrounded by the pressures of a secular, consumer
society in a world containing extremes of poverty, young people look for
something beyond materialism. Bob Geldof focused this idealism, this longing for
a fairer world, with his great imaginative enterprise, and that impetus has not
petered out: but the acquisition of enduring values to live by, such as tolerance,
generosity, and integrity are best gained by living in a caring community, whether
that be a good family or a good boarding school.

Thinking of our community, one member of it has been sorely missed this term,
Mrs Charlotte Holdaway, gradually recovering from a serious car accident at the
beginning of the holidays. We send her our warmest wishes for a full recovery and
early return; meanwhile recognising how lucky we have been to engage Mrs
Lewers at about five minutes notice to see us through.

When you think of all the people besides the teaching staff who work at
Rendcomb, the Bursar and his administrative team, the Matron and hers, the
cooking and domestic staff, it’s hard to pick out individuals, but I must mention
three. Mrs Mills in the kitchen has lasted out two Headmasters in her 25 years and
is retiring this term, a marvellous span of service to the school. Mrs Toms, still
running the linen and laundry department after 21 years. A letter arrived for her last
week appropriately addressed to Rendcomb College, Linen Road... I ask you, what
would you do with 101 pairs of unmarked socks? And that’s fact, not fiction. I
called for a recount. Then my third mention, at the head of a splendid team of
grounds and maintenance men, Tony Partridge, one of those towers of strength on
which the rest of humanity depend, and for whom, if I may quote him, “Anything
is possible”.

So I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, again to join me in showing your appreciation
for all at Rendcomb who have given me, and your sons and daughters, such loyal
and committed support over the years.

Now a very brief word about sport - and I keep it brief because enjoying it is so
much better than talking about it: three fine first teams again this year in rugby, the
toughest, hockey, the most popular, cricket, the most individual of main games, and
masses of talent lower down the school. I have entered into the excitement of every
sport here, team and individual, but I must confess to a partiality for rugby. Let a
member of our 1st XV who pulled it off against Bloxham at last this year - though
I haven’t yet forgiven them for doing it in my absence - speak for the game and all
team games at Rendcomb.

‘The team atmosphere was electrifying before we took the pitch, and I can’t really
explain the feelings everybody shared after the match; we thought we’d be taken to
the cleaners, but our game was lifted to the day, and we came out on top. There
was amazing comradeship within the team, and we all responded to our coach’s
dedication and perseverance’. There you have the essence of the game: leadership,
togetherness, strenuous determination. Emerson said “I pay the schoolmaster, but
’tis the boys who educate my son”. There is at least a partial truth there, as
friendships are forged and tested in adversity as well as leisure in our full-time
living together. And education includes more than teaching.

But there is also the loneliness of the long distance runner, the disciplined
concentration of the archer, golfer or fly-fisherman, the Duke of Edinburgh
footslogger as he goes for gold, the aching fingers of the climber as he defies
gravity on a sheer rock face - these and many others yield their rewards to those
who take them seriously. And then the quite different challenge of playing a part in
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. In the last act Shakespeare speaks of ‘The lunatic,
the lover and the poet’ - and we have a few of those around Rendcomb. Or the
opportunity of playing in the school orchestra. The musical range this year has
been remarkable, starting with an Anglo-Japanese concert last September. I asked
one of the girls from the Japanese finishing school in Cheltenham who gave us
their tea ceremony and dancing and Kendo, what the word for very good was,
“Sbalasee”, she said, and sbalasee it all was; as also during the year was the choral
singing and a fine rendering of Mozart’s Concerto on that most difficult of
instruments, the French Horn. Memorable too was the concert by the Rendcomb
Rock Group, a remarkably professional affair which got rave reviews.

Finally, the Oriel Singers delighted us and the Parents’ Association after an
excellent social supper. I am most grateful to the Parents’ Committee who give up
their time and show such a keen interest in the school.

Now a brief personal word from my wife and myself, a downwardly mobile
Headmaster, about to leave our tied cottage and go out into what they like to call
‘the real world’. I’ve always found the young both real and realistic - I heard of a
Headmaster not long ago to whom a leaver said “Goodbye Sir, and thank you very
much; you won’t get away with this much longer...”

And then, the staff are pretty realistic too - when somebody knocks on the door and
says “Headmaster, er, I think you ought to know...” and I wait for the bombshell to
burst. In those circumstances I’ve never felt like Oscar Wilde, who said “The
suspense is terrible; I hope it will last”. And then your friends say “Well, there’s
light at the end of the tunnel”, to which you reply, “yes - of course, it could be a
train coming the other way”. Over the years there have been some brief periods of
turbulence when it seemed the signals had got stuck at red, and on reflection I’ve
come to the conclusion that it has always been the result of inflation. Inflation of
personalities, inflation of issues, or inflation of money. Fortunately my anxiety
threshold is fairly high, and good will and common sense have always prevailed in
the end.

What I must add is that Mary and I have always felt what a fantastic privilege it is
to be here - for us, and for all of us here, and for all who have ever been here, to
live in England, in Gloucestershire, at Rendcomb, in this unrivalled position with
unlimited opportunities for all. I’ve always found the young an inspiration - the
small boys provide the fizz and exuberance which keeps you young, the senior
boys provide the challenge that keeps your feet on the ground and eyes in the back
of your head. A Headmaster was recently showing some distinguished guests round
a new changing room which included one of those hot-air hand driers. He was
pained to see a notice pinned up which read ‘For a short message from your
Headmaster, press the black button...’ And then the girls, well, they smile in that
indulgent winning way girls have, and that helps to keep you going too.

There’s a Chinese saying:

For the beginners there are many solutions.

For the expert there are few.

I think we can rely on these fresh young minds to tackle the problems of the future.
Finally, what is it that’s special about Rendcomb? Most people visiting for the first
time comment on its ‘atmosphere’. This elusive quality is hard to identify, but
nonetheless real for that. I think it springs partly from the domestic scale and
unforbidding nature of the buildings which were, for the most part, built for
families to live in and which retain, whatever their size, a certain warmth and
intimacy.

More importantly, however, it comes from the people in and around those
buildings; the warmth of welcome in the school office, where Anne Purdon has
continued the marvellous tradition of Sandra Taylor; the friendly openness and
courtesy of boys and girls; the informality of dress and bearing which reflect the
ease of personal relationships with each other and with the staff. Rendcomb is
‘User Friendly’.

What also strikes any visitor immediately is the quite exceptional beauty of setting
and surroundings. You thrive and grow up at Rendcomb in a place created by man
in harmony with nature. Not wild enough for Wordsworth, but Alexander Pope
visited Rendcomb in the 18th century and this was his comment: “I look upon the
Mansion, walls and terraces, the plantations and slopes which nature has made to
command a variety of valleys and rising woods with a veneration mixed with
pleasure”. Pope had clear ideas about creating a landscape and one of his lines says
this: ‘Consult the Genius of the place in all’. The Genius, the Presiding Spirit . . . I
like to think of the generous spirit of Noel Wills, perpetuated by members of his
family, still casting a benign influence upon Rendcomb, as each succeeding
generation of boys and girls - with a little help from their friends - seeks to embody
the vision of the school’s Founder.