PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
Mr
Chairman, Mr and Mrs Oppenheimer, Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen
I will start by dwelling a little bit on the past, then address the future and then talk about the present.
Tribute to Alan Megahey
I would like to pay tribute to the ten years that Alan Megahey spent at Peterhouse. During his time, the school expanded from one school of 400 boys into three schools of over 1 000 boys and girls. He had to cope with the early years of a post-independence government, who were not well inclined towards independent schools. Tinokura was built, the new Design Centre and the Computer Centre were opened and there were many other projects. He was a man of great vision. Virtually his first comments to me, when we met after I had accepted the job were 'I imagine you will be thinking ahead to the 50th Anniversary of the School in the year 2005'. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am not, I am first of all looking at 1994 and am just beginning to think about 1995.
I have been entrusted with an enormous task in looking after Peterhouse, and it will be sometime before I am completely abreast of the situation. Alan and Elizabeth gave ten years of their lives to Peterhouse, and I would like publicly to thank them for their inspiration and hard work in making the school what it is today.
Gibbs Centre
What of the future? This time next year, we hope to be opening the new Sir Humphrey Gibbs Centre, the money for which has been raised by Sir Roger Gibbs in the UK in honour of his uncle, Sir Humphrey. This should provide a magnificent entrance to the school and will house the Gibbs Board Room, a room for Sir Humphrey's and Peterhouse's archives, various offices and some much needed classrooms. At the same time we are going to create Lady Gibbs' Court where the girls will have common rooms and work rooms.
Developments
We have not forgotten the Petrean Sports Fund and we hope, over the next few years, to move slowly towards our target of creating a Sports Centre. Much money has been given, but we do need more if we are to realise our ambitions. The money that has been spent this year has been spent very necessarily, but invisibly. Drains have appeared and have been covered over. Work has been done on updating a sewerage system which catered for a school of half this size, and we still have much to do, on both sides of the road, over the next two or three years. It is always hard to spent a lot of money and not actually see any results. We are slowly spending money on refurbishing the boys' accommodation in the Houses. I am afraid that while much money has been spent on new buildings over the last few years, we have rather ignored the fabric of our old buildings, and we are paying the price. Next year we will be forty years old, but we will not be having major celebrations for this minor landmark, unlike another school I could mention. Perhaps Alan Megahey was right after all, and when my feet eventually do touch the ground, I will start planning for a major event to celebrate our fiftieth anniversary instead.
John Greenacre
What of the present? What of 1994? It started with John Greenacre as Acting Rector and I can honestly say that no-one seemed more genuinely pleased, or should I say relieved, to see me arrive than he did. I had sometimes wondered, while still in England, whether I would arrive at Peterhouse to find that there had been a coup and that John was at the head of the unofficial government. I would like to thank him for holding the reins during that term and, indeed, over the past years for his service as Headmaster in Grinham and as Sub Rector. He is resigning from these posts at the end of the term but will not be taking a back seat. He still be Head of Mathematics. Master-in-charge of the Timetable, Master-in-charge of the School Bank, organiser of Squash Leagues and many other jobs that he does so well, indeed, a veritable Pooh-Bah. It is typical of the man that he was tile first to volunteer to umpire an away cricket match at Falcon in an emergency!. even though he would have to drive down on the morning of the game. Mind you, those who have experienced John's driving. and not many, do it more than once, will realise that he did not need to leave early to get there on time! Thank you, John, for your support during the change-over period and for all your hard work over the past years.
Staff
It is a time of flux. At the end of this term we say goodbye to Russell Lynch who has been teaching English for two years who follows his wife, Raffaella who taught Computing, back to Italy. Michael Loriot, Head of Modern Languages, returns to Australia and Andrew Preston who has been teaching Geography for the last year, Mark Gibbons who has been teaching Management of Business and Derek Vincent who has been here for the past three years as a Mathematician and Scientist and Assistant Housemaster in Grinham all depart. We are sorry to see them leave.
Archie Kennedy
Also at end of this term, Archie Kennedy retires who, with the exception of a couple of years during the seventies, has been Head of the Art Department since 1966. He has seen the Department grow and over the last few years, has been in charge of one of the best equipped Centres in Southern Africa. For some years he was Housemaster of Founders and has contributed to the school in many ways. We will not be saying goodbye to Archie and Ann, as they will live in one of the retirement cottages, but I would like to thank them both very much for their contribution to Peterhouse over the last 27 years.
Exam results
Midway during the first term, our O and A level results were published. The A level pass rate of 80.6% as a record for Peterhouse, and although the score of 40.9% A, B or C's was respectable, it is in this area that we need to improve. University entries in this country are getting more competitive and it is also anticipated that the same will happen in South Africa. The O level pass rate of 80% has been bettered in the past and we must be aiming for better.
I am reminded of the story of a small boy who had cabled his mother overseas 'Failed all O levels. Prepare father.' The reply came back 'Father prepared. Suggest prepare yourself.' The world outside is getting more competitive and a Petrean Tie is not going to get you a job by itself. However, the signs are good and I very much hope that we will get a good crop of O and A level results this year.
Maths Olympiad
Earlier in the year, we were placed first out of all the Zimbabwe schools in the first round of the Mathematical Olympiad; I am glad to say that three of our pupils qualified for the last 28 out of an entry of more than a thousand.
Quiz team
Our Quiz Team did extremely well in winning the Inter-schools Championships, which were held in Bulawayo at the end of last term, and we can look forward to seeing them in action on television next year.
Yes, high flyers will get their three or four A grades, but still I am also interested in the less able, who are struggling to make the grade, but still manage to leave Peterhouse with respectable results. The important thing is that our young make the best use of their talents while here, and are well prepared to go out into the outside world.
I am delighted to report that three of the very prestigious ATS teaching bursaries at Rhodes university have been awarded to Peterhouse and congratulate Paul Brous and Stuart Edmonstone from the Boys' School and Jane Harris from the Girls' School for obtaining these amongst great competition.
Music and Drama
It is important that we keep up a high standard of music and drama, and there have been numerous plays and concerts this year. Few, I suspect, gave more pleasure than The Pirates of Penzance.
Sport
On a personal note, I would like to say what a privilege it has been arriving at Peterhouse and being able to watch so much high-class sport. We have had the most fantastic year. Last December, the rugby team had a highly successful tour of the UK in which they were unbeaten and this bodes well for the season over here. I missed the exploits of the first term, but an unbeaten Cricket XI had an excellent win over Falcon, and the Athletes did very well. Six boys went to an inter- schools meeting with 8 South African schools and returned with 6 gold and 3 silver medals. Peterhouse also won the Peterhouse Invitation Relays, The Slazenger Trophy and the local inter schools.
In the second term, we must have had one of the best rugby sides in the history of Peterhouse. Although they lost their first match narrowly to Price Edward, revenge was duly gained at the end of the season in the last match, which provided a splendid climax. Every other game had been won, many of them by large margins and, as usual, none would have given more pleasure than the big win over Falcon down in Matabeleland, the first win away from home against our old adversaries since 1966. Ten boys in this team went on to be selected for the Zimbabwe National side and if all of these young men stayed in the country and continued playing rugby, I feel that we would be able to watch a rather more successful match national side than we can at present. The hockey team also had a good season, getting three players selected for the Zimbabwe Schools' team, and they had a good tour down to South Africa, which included a win over Hilton on artificial turf, for many of the players, their first experience of it. The soccer team qualified for the national finals of Coca Cola Competition and I was delighted to see that they won the Fair Play Award. I feel that a school is judged, as much by its behaviour of its pupils, as by the results they get, and this is as true on the games field as elsewhere.
Squash
Our squash players carried all before them. Our teams won four of the top five leagues and three players represented Zimbabwe, with two more at Under 14 of the level. The National Champions at Under 19, Under 16 and Under 14 all came from Peterhouse. We had 3 representatives in the Zimbabwe Rowing and 2 at Polocrosse.
Basketball
This term, the basketball team has been playing very well and they came fourth in the National Layland tournament.
The cricket team have continued their successes with more convincing wins in their first few matches, including completing the double over Falcon, and they also went on a tour to Michaelhouse and Hilton. Both of these games were drawn, but in our hosts' favour. There is no doubt that if we are to continue to compete at the top level, we are going to need to have as much contact as possible with schools from South Africa.
I must pay tribute to the hours that are spent by my colleagues in coaching games and running activities, no less appreciated if one is coaching the Under 15C team than if one is coaching the Ist XI. Many is the afternoon that I see a colleague going off to coach a game, and I wish that I was going as well. A man was invited for a weekend's shooting and was told to bring his own gun dog. Not owning one, he rang a nearby kennels and was told that they had the best gun dog in Mashonaland East; it was called Schoolmaster and it would cost him $500 for the weekend to hire him.
This seemed a lot, but the man was keen to shoot, so he hired Schoolmaster and had a superb weekend. Two weeks later he was invited again, and rang the kennels, but was informed that Schoolmaster was now the best gun dog in the whole of Mashonaland and it would cost him $1,000. After much heart searching, the man agreed and had another fine shoot. Two weeks later came a third invitation. In some trepidation he rang the kennels but on inquiring how much it would cost to hire the dog, he was told that he could have him for $10. On expressing some surprise he was informed 'Well you see, somebody took him out and, by a slip of a tongue, called him Headmaster instead of Schoolmaster. Now all he does is sit on his backside and bark at people'. In a boarding school such as this, We are looking for all-rounders who are able to contribute to the school in every walk of life. We are very fortunate here but there is a dwindling number of such people in the country and I can assure that I will be trying my very best to keep up the high standards that we have here. I am sorry that at the end of this term Allen French is giving up running the cricket after six years: he has done a marvellous job and his will not be an easy act to follow.
So what of my new job? I have found out that Headmasteing is rather like having a much younger wife. The prospect is exciting but the reality is exhausting.
When a new Headmaster takes over any school, people are obviously anxious to know what he is intending to do. made it quite clear when I first arrived that I would be watching and listening rather than trying to change things. I would not make decisions that were based on secondhand information.
Other issues
I have initially, of course, had to rely upon the wise advice of some of the senior staff and I would also like to pay respect to the Head of School, Dale Beswick and his School Prefects, who have helped to guide me through the first couple of terms. We have had our problems, some of which I highlighted in my End of Term Letter in August, and we will be working towards a society where there is more respect. Respect of the young for the old, of course, but also respect of the older boys for the younger ones. Also respect for one's own and other people's property. There are clear guidelines of how we expect boys to behave, but we cannot assume that, just because a boy has been in the school a certain number of years, that he necessarily knows how to cope with his responsibilities. We must educate, we must also be vigilant. There was an incident in one of the Houses this term, in which fire broke out; it was clear that the fire had started in an area of the roof where the boys had been smoking. We must make sure that the boys realise the dangers, and even before this incident, we had an inspection of the Houses looking at their fire safety. Parents will be glad to know that the Building Committee has authorised that the work to improve this should start immediately
I did ask the Headmaster of the Girls' School for some advice on my speech, and one thing he impressed upon me was that I must not start reminiscing about my old school, or making great statements about the schools of England. As usual, I have decided to ignore his advice and I feel that there is one story which is relevant to the incident that I have just mentioned.
When a new Headmaster took over his House at Wellington about five years ago, he decided to do a tour of the House before the boys returned and was intrigued by a trapdoor in the roof leading to a tower. He got hold of the maintenance department and cut the lock off and climbed up to see what was above. He found himself in a big empty room which again had another trap door in the roof, so he obtained a ladder and climbed up there where to his amazement he found a very cosy room with arm chairs, sofas, carpets and a drinks cabinet. He also noticed that on the walls had been inscribed the names of the boys who had used this room over the years, and was intrigued to notice that it must have been going on for a long time as he could identify the names of two governors who had in their time been members of this house. I do not know if any of the present members of the board are feeling uneasy at this moment, but I can assure you that I am continuing my investigations.
A son wrote home from school to his mother 'I hate it here, the food is awful, 1 can't get on with the masters and everyone is horrid to me. Shouldn't I leave now?' His mother replied "No, you must stay·. You are 45 and you are the Headmaster'
I can assure you. Ladies and Gentlemen, that I do not feel like that. My wife and 1 have had a marvellous welcome and we both look forward to the coming years at Peterhouse. Thank you very much.
MW BAWDEN
Rector
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