Editorial

Headmaster's Notes

Speech Day

- Rugby Football

• Under 14 XV
• Under 13 XV
• Under 12 XV

• The YFC
• Drama Club
• The Library
• Music
• Printing Club
• Art Club

Editorial

YOU WILL NOTICE in this edition we have not included House Notes. In future these will only appear once each year. Another change is the inclusion of an advertisement by Messrs Bentalls Ltd, the school outfitters. We had originally intended to print other advertisements, but found that the cost of type did not make it worth while. However, Messrs Bentalls Ltd provided us with their own type, for which we are grateful.

To encourage boys to write articles we offered two Book Tokens for the best work submitted by First and Second Formers and by Third and Fifth Formers. This incentive certainly encouraged boys to write, but in many cases we did not think that articles reached a very high standard. Many essays were not written in a particularly interesting way, and we were sometimes under the impression that we had the new Oxford Junior Encyclopaedia before us. There were quite a large number of poems, but an extraordinary high percentage had a nautical flavour. No doubt this was due to the influence of the old London Nautical School. However, we have chosen the most unusual and best-written.

As many of you may have noticed in the Press, the Education Commiittee is proposing to spend nearly £360,000 on building us new dormitories, classrooms and an assembly hall. So we may consider ourselves very fortunate. Their aim is to provide room for 360 boys, against the 170 at present, and there exists a further scheme to provide us with a swimming pool and tennis courts, which has not yet been approved. The new buildings will probably be completed in 1956.

Leslie Johnston

A SOMEWHAT TRYING Spring Term is now over. The weather has been bad and the influenza epidemic earlier on in the term did not help very much. We have, however, finished this winter period on a high note with the first Concert from the Musical Society, some first-class House matches, and perhaps most important of all, the announcement that the London County Council proposes to build some fine new buildings and to make the physical attractions of the School worthy of the traditions we hope to build.

The various Rugby XVs have had a remarkably successful season, and I hope this success will go on as the boys concerned grow older and play the older teams from the other schools. I have been glad to see during this last term more interest taken in the gardens, and I shall look forward to still more improvement being made by various groups of boys. In particular, I hope that suitable gardens will be laid out around the boat-shed. This part of the School grounds suffered badly during the floods but, of course, we were very fortunate in that our boats themselves virtually escaped damage.

These last terms have not been a time of spectacular achievement. There are, however, signs of solid progress in many directions, of continued hard work, of increasing pride, of a raising of esprit de corps. Solid progress is of far more, value than any spectacular or flashy achievement, and so I think we can say that in spite of one or two setbacks, which could well have been avoided, the School is growing up on sound lines. I hope that when the end of next term comes, and I make my report on Speech Day, I shall be able to say that the School has grown out of babyhood and has got through many of its teething troubles successfully.

Leslie Johnston

OUR FIRST SPEECH DAY was held on 18 October 1952. Normally, of course, we would expect it to come at the end of the Summer Term (as it will this year), to mark the end of the School year; a time when we can look back, with greater or lesser satisfaction, on our achievements and failures, and look forward with anticipation to what the next year will bring. This first Speech Day of ours, through circumstances over which no one had any control, was late, but nevertheless a successful and significant day.

It was successful because the weather was kind, because all those with any responsibilities undertook them well and efficiently, and because all four elements in the life of the School combined and co-operated in a constructive way. The day was significant because it was for us the first coming together of these four elements of the School: Governors, Parents, Masters, Boys. As the Headmaster said in his report: 'These four create the whole society of the School, and today we are all together in one room for the first time, and this gathering is in itself an expression of our concern for the well-being of this unit which we are creating'.

Mrs Irene Chaplin, Chairman of the Governors, presided over the day's proceedings, the Headmaster reported on the first year of the School's life, and was presented at the end of the ceremonies with a cricket bat (autographed by many famous cricketers) by Mr J. H. Jones on behalf of the Parents' Association. The prizes were distributed by Mr John Trevelyan, O.B.E., formerly Director of Education for Westmorland, and sometime Director of the British Families' Education Service in Germany, who also delivered a wise and witty speech.

After the formal part of the ceremony was over there was tea in the dining halls and in the huge marquee erected for the occasion, and there was opportunity for those interested in the School and its future to meet and exchange impressions and ideas.

Leslie Johnston

Woolverstone House is a fairly large, red-brick building, originally designed as a convent for Roman Catholic girls, from whence it passed into the hands of the late occupant, a certain Mrs White. The gardener employed there by the School also used to work in the employment of Mrs White. His name is Mr Farthing, and he is a first-class member of his trade.

The house is a three-storied one. The rooms of the bottom floor will be used as dormitories, Housemaster's study, showers and changing room; the second-floor rooms will be dormitories and House and Assistant Housemasters' rooms, and the top floor will be mainly used as common rooms. All the windows are old-fashioned and recesses in the walls are found in a lot of the rooms. Above the house is an old belfry, which still has its rusty bell hanging inside.

There will be two large dorms, one of ten boys and one of twelve. There will also be a room for seven, and about five rooms will each hold four people. The House captain will have a small room for himself.

The surroundings of the house would be more appreciated by adults than by boys, but I shall describe them as best I can.

From the road the drive leads up to a small courtyard, through a small area of rugged grass and trees. On the left is to be seen a garage and greenhouse, while on the right are no buildings, just the fence which runs on two sides of the estate. A small, wooden gate opens on to the garden on the other side of the house, which is the flower and vegetable garden. The vegetables are grown on the right side of the garden together with strawberries and raspberries and some other fruits, while the flowers abound on the left side of the garden, the two being separated by a small expanse of lawn, on which tennis will be played and cricket practised. Immediately below the house is a layer of crazy-paving, with such rockery plants as can live there growing in groups. A large holly hedge runs round the back of the house, and beyond this a large L-shaped field, which will in time, be a School rugger pitch.

A lot of work still has to be done, however, for walls have to be built and some have even to be knocked down. A staircase also has to be built, and pegs, wash-basins, showers and baths have to be fitted.

The House which hopes to start living there in September is Corner's.                                                                  B. E. Workman (IIIA)

(The name Adam is often used in connection with Woolverstone Hall, and though the architect of our main building was one Johsyon, or Johnstone, of Leicester, the Hall certainty belongs to what is sometimes called the 'Age of Adam'. - Ed.)

Robert Adam was born in the Scottish town of Kirkcaldy, on the Firth of Forth, in 1728.

He inherited much of the architectural talent of his father, William Adam, and he was as expert at carpentry as the most experienced woodworkers of his day.

Having left Edinburgh University, where he was a student, he travelled to Italy and from thence to Dalmatia, where he made some drawings of the ruins of Diocletian's palace to help him in his future career.

On his return to Britain, in 1762, he was made the King's Architect. He entered. into partnership with his brother James, and began to specialize in interior decoration. This partnership proved to he very successful indeed, and they decorated many famous buildings, such as the Register House in Edinburgh, and the Adelphi Buildings in London. The latter were demolished in 1936.

The main building of the School has several rooms which are decorated in their style. The Adam brothers always used light colours, such as pink, pale blue, yellow and white. They mainly decorated the ceilings and upper parts of the walls. Instead of being content with an ordinary pattern like the modern wallpaper, they would take a common article -for example, an urn, a bow and arrows, a flaming torch or sometimes a human figure wearing long flowing robes - and mould a pattern round it of long strings of leaves or flowers. These designs would be all round the ceiling and in the centre would be a large circular design, not unlike a flower, with petals spreading in all directions.

In 1773 the brothers published a series of engravings of their chief designs.

Robert Adam died on 3 March 1792, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.                                                              B. JENKINS (IIA)

SCHOOL JOURNEY TO DERBYSHIRE

During the summer holidays of 1952 a party of boys and two masters went on a holiday to Derbyshire. We stayed at a youth hostel about two hundred yards from the centre of Castleton. We arrived from London on the 11.45 train from St Pancras Station. We had to change at Sheffield and transfer to a local train, which took us to Hope Station, and from there we had a walk of three miles to the hostel. When we arrived, about six o'clock, we at once sat down to a salad dinner. After this meal we established ourselves in the bedrooms.

Castleton is a fairly big village situated in the Hope Valley in Derbyshire. It is sixteen miles from Sheffield and three miles from the next village. Although it has a regular bus service to Sheffield, the nearest railway station is Hope. Castleton is spread round a narrow, winding road. Traffic jams are frequent, as this is the main road to Manchester and the North-West, also a huge cement works near by uses this road for its lorries.

Castleton caters mostly for a summer tourist trade, as it is a well-known beauty spot; though it has a few shops for the inhabitants' use. There is a rich trade in Blue John Stone curiosities, a brittle stone only obtainable in one place in the world, Treak Cliff, a small range of hills about half a mile from the village. The stone is polished and sold in many little shops. There is one hotel, the 'Stag's Head', a school and an old church, the Church of Saint Edmunds, as well as shops and houses.

The land is hilly and split into valleys. Both high land and low land are used for the pasture of sheep and cattle, and a few fields are kept for growing purposes. Few other animals besides sheep and cattle can be found. The rock formations are mostly limestone, which is mined open-cast near by and made into cement. On the high land, rnillstone and shale are found.

Interesting features near by are Peveril Castle, an ancient Norman castle, almost impregnable on account of its commanding position over the village, the limestone and Blue John caverns, Winnats Pass, a deep, steep-sided gorge, and Mam Tor, the Shivering Mountain, a high mount overlooking the village about fifteen hundred feet high.

DERWENTWATER: On hearing that my next Scout camp was to be at Derwentwater, I was from then onwards expecting a beautiful crystal-clear lake typical of Cumberland. We arrived at Keswick Station at a quarter past five in the morning, and were taken the seven miles along the rippling shores in a lorry to Borrowdale, where we were to pitch camp for the next two weeks. When we arrived at our camp site we had a splendid view of the lake, with the rising sun just peeping over the surrounding hills, which are 1,000 to 1,500 feet above sea-level. There was a smooth, cool wind making little ripples on pebbled shores.

The surrounding hillsides are steep and the slopes continue until they meet 98 feet below the surface. We went swimming in the mouth of the River Derwent which, with the famous Lodore Waterfall, supplies the lake with water. Both these supplies are swift-flowing, but there is considerable evaporation of the large surface area. When the spring comes a rise of about two inches may be recorded. I was surprised to learn that in the height of summer the surface evaporation may amount to two feet. This exposes one of the three islands in the lake, which is composed of a compact lump of waterweed which is stuck to the bottom. It is known as the Floating Island. In winter the island is covered, and the combination of these surface changes gives the illusion that it floats. A local guide- book states that the Keswick Band once gave a two-hour concert on this island to an audience in boats and on the shore. All the time the members of the Band were in constant danger of its subsiding under their weight.

I went on a pleasure trip by motor-boat round the lake, which is a great attraction to visitors.                           M. GORDON-SMITH (IIIC)

Sayings of the Term

'A philanthropist is a person who feels bumps and tells your fortune.' (IA)

Verse and Prose

JANUS COMPETITION: JUDGES' COMMENTS

The idea of offering two book token prizes for the best contribution from the upper and lower halves of the School respectively has proved valuable, as both the quantity and the quality of the entries show.

The winners were F. P. Cockerill, for his 'Out of My Window', and A. Hallows, for the poem 'Julius Caesar'. To say a little about those that failed to win may help to make clear why the judges selected these two.

It was remarkable that over half the poems sent in were about the sea, usually a wreck or a storm. This appears to be regarded as a 'poetic subject'. The next favourite subject was the free life of wild places or of gipsies - another 'poetic subject'. There was not one poem which seemed to be about something the writer had experienced, seen or felt himself. Yet that is the raw material of good poetry. Perhaps it is difficult to realize that you have felt anything worth expressing in verse, and, of course, much more difficult actually to do so. But a good poem cannot be faked. If you try to write on what seems to you a 'poetic subject', you tend, in fact, to imitate what others before you have written on that subject. Whereas the judges were struck by the freshness of the poem 'Julius Caesar'. There may be some peculiar lines in it, but the writer has not borrowed ideas or feelings or even verse forms from somebody else.

The prose entries proved more difficult to judge, partly because they were of such varied kinds -articles, reports, stories. Some quickly disqualified themselves by being written without care, dashed off in a hurry. Others, though quite good in themselves, seemed very remote. An account of the ways of the camel, for example, may be interesting, but one is left wondering what place it has in this context. A third category, while being sound, well put together and to the point, never succeeded in rousing our interest; they were rather heavy and dull. As against these, 'Out of My Window' has a most ingenious opening paragraph which immediately stimulates attention, and though it tends to tail off into an anticlimax, this imaginative opening raises it above the other entries.

Those who have failed to win a prize at the first attempt should not feel discouraged. Perhaps these remarks will show what the judges were looking for and what they will hope to find next time.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I.R.B.

OUT OF MY WINDOW

The view from my window is not the view you would find on looking out of your window. You would see a country or a lawn scene with clouds above you. Mine is entirely different. All I see is the sky above, and the great billows of clouds below me. My -window hasn't got a sill, and it's not made of glass; the nearest thing I have to that is a perspex hood and cockpit runners. My little room has no homely pictures hanging on one wall, all I have is eight Browning guns and instruments for war.

I don't relax in an armchair and think pretty thoughts, I have to keep my wits about me in case I meet the enemy. It's the one I don't see that gets me. My vigil never ceases, my life depends on that, my reflexes have to be very quick. In the expanse of space anything might happen. I sit cooped up in the cockpit of my plane, which at any time might become my coffin and plunge earthward engulfed in flames. It's a difference all right from your seat by the window safe at home.

While this was running through my mind I was suddenly aware of my surroundings, I was mixed up in a dog fight and about to collide with a plane which, all of a sudden, had loomed up in my gun-sights. It was too late to do anything, so I shut my eyes. All my past life loomed up before me. What a horrible thought, I said to myself afterwards. Opening my eyes, I found I had missed the other plane by a hair's breadth. What a sight to see through your window, planes banking widely, here and there being shot at. Then, all of a sudden, the sky was clear of planes. I called over my radio for the rest of the flight to form up but only one turned up out of the three that started. Just imagine having a friend coming to meet you and you see him killed by a passing bus. That's how I felt, sick of the world and ready to cry.

The rest of the journey was an anticlimax, coaching the other plane to keep up with me and watching him land on his belly, as his undercarriage had been shot away. Then I flew in to land and reported my mission and the lost man. After which I went and slumped into a chair by a roaring fire.

F. P. COCKERELL (V)

THE STORY OF RASCHID

Raschid was a small Egyptian boy, one of the many orphans who made their living by begging in the streets of Cairo.

One hot day in 1940 he was sitting on the top of a lonely flight of steps which had once led up to a very majestic hotel which had been bombed by the Nazis but three weeks ago.

He was very surprised to hear a low whistle near by, as there was nobody in sight. On scrambling to the bottom of the steps, however, he perceived the head and shoulders of a white man protruding through a narrow aperture in the base of them. The boy thought of a spot of easy money, for white men are very sympathetic with orphans. He broke out into the little English he knew, and which had cost him ten piastres to learn.

'Baksheesh! Baksheesh! Father dead, mother dead, me soon die as well!'

The white man tossed him a coin and inquired as to his identity in the boy's own tongue. When the reply came, the man said, 'Raschid, will you go on a journey for me?'

At first the boy looked reluctant, but when he saw the money the man brought from his pocket, he consented. Several coins changed hands, and giving Raschid a small slip of paper, the man said: 'In Alexandria there is a cafe called the "Achmet". You'll soon find that. Wait outside the door at about two o'clock tomorrow afternoon and you will see a man in a green coat and with a large black moustache. He will drop a white handkerchief and you must pick it up and return it to him with that slip of paper I gave you. He will then give you plenty of money.'

After giving Raschid a further ten piastres, the man crawled back into the cavity and the boy started on his journey. He was quite used to going to Alexandria, as he always accompanied old Hassan, the chair-mender, who went there every week. However, as he was decidedly rich, the ramshackle old cart did not appeal to him. He smiled as he remembered how one of the wheels once fell off in a busy street. Raschid thought that the quickest and most exciting way of reaching his objective was by the electric train, which had been running between Cairo and Alexandria since before the war. He was very thrilled by what was the first train ride he had ever had, and when he reached Alexandria, dusk was beginning to set in, so he curled up in the branches of a tree for the night.

When he awoke he set about finding the 'Achmet', which problem presented no difficulty whatsoever, and passed the time till two o'clock by begging. He had only collected about three piastres when the very person he was looking for walked up. He was accompanied by another man, whom he addressed as Dachville. Raschid could have sworn it was the right person, but he did not drop a handkerchief, nor did he show any signs of doing so.

After a while the two men walked into and sat down in the 'Achmet'. Raschid, not to be cheated of his tip, bought the brushes of a nearby shoe-shine boy for a few piastres and walked boldly into the cafe, intending to clean the boots of the green-coated man. As soon as he approached, the latter started to swear at him in English, but Raschid was unperturbed, as there was a twinkle in the man's eyes. The man pulled out a white handkerchief to mop his brow and dropped it on to the floor. Raschid picked it up, slipped the note in, and gave it back to him. Under cover of another fit of swearing the man placed a coin and a note in the boy's hand. All the time Dachville sat with an amused smile on his face.

As soon as he got outside Raschid put the coin into his pocket and read the note, which told him to stay outside for a minute. After a while the man in the green coat came out alone and led Raschid to a dark alley. He opened a small door and, followed by the boy, he entered a room which had a cupboard against the wall as its only furniture. Raschid replied to the man's question of what his name was, and was informed that he was in the presence of Colonel Walcott of the British Secret Service, and that he intended to split open a gang of Nazi spies who were in close proximity. Raschid promised to help him wherever he could.

'Righto, then,' said Walcott, 'to start with we'll both need some disguise, as the enemy will undoubtedly recognize you.'

He crossed over to the cupboard and pressed a hidden spring. The whole thing swung round, leaving a gap in the wall through which could he seen a large room. They both entered this room where, by the use of make-up, Walcott disguised them as a poor beggar and his son. After this they went out to the street and thumbed a lift to Cairo in a dustcart. When they arrived they went straight to the steps where Raschid had first seen the man. He was still there, but a wicked-looking dagger was sticking through his shoulder-blades. Walcott broke the silence. 'He told me in his note that they were after him, but he couldn't have known they were as near as that.' He climbed right into the hollow to see if there was any clue as to the identity of the killer. While he was in there a large Egyptian strolled round the corner, and, with a cry of recognition, pulled a knife from his belt and ran towards Raschid, thinking him to be alone. The boy was forced to, the ground, but just as the knife touched his throat his cry for help brought Walcott out of the cavity to leap on the attacker and overpower him. When Walcott threatened him with the knife the native broke down and told them that Dachville was the leader of the spy ring and that he had orders from him to kill Walcott and Raschid in case they discovered too much.

Dachville was found in his home, together with sufficient documents to convict him, and was handed to a firing squad and shot. The other spies were useless without their leader, and so the gang broke up.

CORONATION PREPARATIONS

On Tuesday, 2 June, a most important event will go down in history. On that day Her Majesty the Queen will be crowned Queen Elizabeth II.

Already the plans have been drawn up and passed for the great day. Everywhere people are organizing parties, dances, and outings. Even in the smallest of villages something special is laid on, money being raised by raffles, socials, and whist drives; while in the bigger towns and cities lavish parties and impressive speeches are being prepared at the Town Hall, with the Coronation mayor presiding.

In the capital itself work is going on everywhere to cope with the crowds and the traffic. In the Abbey, seats are being installed. Extensions for Very Important Persons and also an annexe are being made for the people in the procession to have lunch and rest awhile before the return journey.

On the route itself large crush-barriers are being put up to stem the great crowds. Seats and stands are going up in some of the roads for children and ex-Servicemen to sit on. Also special Coronation decorations are being hung from lamp-posts and other suitable places. In some parts of the route the road has had to be widened to let the State carriages pass easily.

The Palace officials have a big job on hand: seeing that all the coachmen and footmen have their proper uniforms, and that each event goes off to time. As well as that, in the Royal Mews everyone is rushing about doing jobs. All the harness has to be in perfect order, and so must the horses. Every day the stablemen gather a little crowd together, who blow trumpets and horns, ring bells, shout and wave streamers near the horses so that they get used to the crowds and noises. Another big job which has just been finished was the renovating of the State coach. The wheels were filled with plastic to give them more spring, and also it was regilded at a price of £1,000.

The police, too, have to prepare for the great day. Thousands of extra policemen are being drafted into London from the Home Counties. They will be billeted in some of the big parks. Special classes are being given to teach them the proper way to hold back large crowds with their backs.

The man with all this responsibility is the Duke of Norfolk, who is in charge of all the Coronation preparations, which will finally bear fruit when the Queen and all the lords ride in the State procession to Westminster Abbey, knowing that all is safe and well.

R. M. CROUCHER (111A)

THE CAMEL

The camel looks a queer creature as it stands gazing over your head with an expression of proud conceit on his face. He is tall, with rough, untidy hair and a small, ugly head that defies Nature itself. His wide padded feet are split into two, forming two large toes. His eyes bulge out of his head as if the sockets were too small to hold them. His nostrils are normally just like slits, but they can be opened wide or shut until they are practically closed if a dreaded desert sandstorm blows up. He chews his food by swinging his lower jaw backwards and forwards, while his forked upper lip 'shovels' in the food. His stomach is honeycombed with tiny cells that store up water. The camel may have one or two humps, according to the type of camel he is, either Dromedary or Bactrian, the latter having two. These humps are the camel's larder, or store of fat, on which he can draw if the need arises.

The camel has been useful to man for many years, but he is as stubborn as a mule, as stupid as an ass, and as ill-tempered as an angry bull. This ill-temperedness comes when one is least expecting it, so it is not advisable to stand near a camel's head, as he will lash out with his feet and try to bite the nearest person. He will work, but not willingly like the horse.

About the only thing a camel has ever learned to do is to kneel when he is ordered. When he does this he makes terrible groaning noises like a beast in agony. We do not know why he does this, but he does it just as readily with a five stone pack as he does with a five hundredweight load.

If you are seasick easily you had better not ride on a camel, as he rocks along, moving both left or both right feet at once. This irregular movement does not upset his digestion, though, and he can eat anything from the scanty desert bush to his own leather bridle in spite of it. So good is his digestion that a dose of poison has little effect on him.

A mother camel who has just had a baby always has the young creature carried in a hammock on the back of the camel in front. If the hammock was slung on her own back she is so stupid she would think she had left it behind and would try to go back for it.

A baggage camel goes no more than three miles an hour, and with a load of about five to six hundred pounds (a normal load) goes about twenty-five miles a day. A riding camel, which carries only the weight of a man and saddle, is expected to go from fifty to seventy-five miles a day.

Altogether, the camel, with its good points and bad points, makes an ideal animal for the Arabs. This creature, which is the only one that can cross the desert on such a small amount of food and water, has earned the nickname of 'the Ship of the Desert'.

H. D. CLARK (IIA)

SPORTS REVIEW

RUGBY FOOTBALL

A year ago in JANUS I said that the foundations of a Rugby playing tradition had been laid. Now, I feel, it can be safely said that they are firmly laid. We have no cause to be complacent, however, for in September we will be launching a Colts XV, another step in the direction of the faster and more robust 'rugger' which is played by schools' first fifteens.

The three School fifteens - Under 14 XV, Under 13 XV, and the Under 12 XV - have performed creditably in their matches, usually playing good, constructive and open football. It is worth noting that when they have departed from this type of play they have lost matches, e.g. Under 14 XV at Culford and the Under 13 XV at Colchester.

UNDER 14 XV

Won, 8. Lost, 2. Cancelled, 4
Points for, 189
Points against, 31.

Despite the fact that four matches had to be cancelled because of frost and that fixtures were difficult to obtain in the Easter Term, this team has enjoyed another successful season.

A little of the guile that is so much a part of this fascinating game is beginning to creep into their play, though in the main they play solid, fairly fast, orthodox Rugby. They do endeavour to get the backs moving. The number of tries scored by the wing three-quarters has proved the value of such a policy.

Day and Kuptz have made the most of the chances offered them by the sure handling and passing of Davies and Gilbert. It is a pity that the tackling of this three-quarter ine is not as good as its attacking potential. Warren and Workman have combined well at half-back and usually succeed in sending their line away smoothly.

Lamb has again led the forwards efficiently and the response of the pack has usually been adequate, especially in the loose. Their tight scrummaging still leaves something to be desired, for I have not always felt that these were eight men pushing their hardest in set scrums. McCulloch, Boyce, and Cook have all played well at wing forward, though they have all tended to shadow tackle the opposing outside half.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I.G.E.

UNDER 13 XV

Won, 11. Lost, 3. Cancelled, 3
Points for, 235
Points against, 39.

The team has had a most successful season. On most occasions they have tried hard to play a good game of open Rugby. Exceptions to this occurred in a few games, when the opposition proved very weak. Perhaps their best performance was in their December match with Northgate School, when they overcame what was beginning to look like our 'bogey' opponents. Colchester R.G.S. inflicted our only heavy defeat. They proved a really excellent team, out-playing us in nearly every phase of the game, and should provide an incentive to our boys in the future to produce their very best. The captaincy has been shared by McMaster, Brown, and Cuffley, who have all striven hard to fulfil their duties.

It has been said on many occasions that the only ambassadors of a school are its boys. Our Rugby fixtures provide some of the best opportunities for the boys of Woolverstone Hall to prove the worth of their school. I am very pleased to say that the Under 13 XV has always created a most favourable impression by the way they have conducted themselves both on and off the field.

F. J. M.

UNDER 12 XV

28 January v St Edmund's School A Lost 3-9
4 February v St Edmund's School H Won 12-0
19 February v Northgate G.S. H Won 27-0
28 February v St Joseph's College H Won 30-0
5 March v Northgate G.S. A Won 9-0
14 March v St Joseph's College A Won 11-3

Won, 5. Lost, 1
Points for, 82
Points against, 12.

From 'Stonehenge Rugby' to an Under 12 XV is a big step, but these boys have accomplished it by dint of their enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

There are among them the naturally gifted 'rugger' players who found the learning process a little easier than their fellows, but all have worked well to produce a well-balanced team whose aim is always attack.

Bauer is to be congratulated for the manner in which he has led his team. He has the gift of being able to praise as well as to criticize. He can make a team work.

The results, in terms of matches won and points scored, are flattering, but we should not lay too much stress on these. The important thing is that these players enjoy their Rugby, and that, after all, is the foundation of proficiency in any sport.

I.G.E.

THE CROSS-COUNTRY

Woolverstone Hall School has in the first five terms of its existence attained quite a few traditions. One of these is the annual cross-country race, which has, in fact, been passed down from the London Nautical School.

This year's cross-country took place on the fine spring day of Wednesday, 25 March. Apart from the boys who were medically unfit, everybody turned out to do their utmost to gain a satisfactory position, thereby winning praise for their respective Houses.

The competitors were divided into two groups, namely, the First and Second Formers and the Third Formers. The first group was set off by the Headmaster at exactly three o'clock, and at precisely ten minutes past three the second group was started, again by the Headmaster.

The winners of the two respective groups were, in the First and Second Form group, Gerald Byrde of Hanson's House, and in the Third Form group Brian Workman, of Corner's House. In the House competition Hanson's won both the Junior and the Senior events.

D. R. WOOD (V)

BADMINTON

Throughout the winter some thirty boys have been playing badminton on either a Tuesday or a Friday evening, and it was decided to close the season with a Doubles Tournament. There were entries from fourteen pairs, and these were reduced in an afternoon of playing to four pairs as semi-finalists -Workman and Cuffley, Bradley and Hansell, Byrde and P. Wilson, Thorn and McCulloch.

In the first semi-final Bradley and Hansell caused something of a stir when they won the first game from Workman and Cuffley. They could not maintain this standard, however, and Workman and Cuffley won through to the final. McCulloch and Thorn were fairly comfortable winners against Byrde and P. Wilson, whom they beat in two straight games.

The final (Workman and Cuffley versus McCulloch and Thorn) produced badminton of quite a high standard. In a ding-dong battle the climax was reached with one game to each pair, and the score 12 all in the final game. The tension in the gymnasium became acute, but McCulloch and Thorn broke through and won the game and the match. It was perhaps unfortunate that either of these venly matched pairs had to win at all.

R.T.C.

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES

THE YOUNG FARMERS' CLUB

The main feature of the year has been the acquiring of some livestock other than bees - only rabbits, it is true, but requiring the same attention, feeding, and housing as other larger and more strictly 'farming' livestock. At the time of writing one litter has been raised to the age of five weeks, and we hope that this will be the beginnings of a small but profitable activity. The bees appear to have wintered well, in spite of one near catastrophe when the roof of the hive blew off in a gale. Again, we hope for expansion of stocks and a good supply of honey in the coming year.

As a result of this increased emphasis on our own animals, we have paid fewer visits to see other peoples'. There are two memorable visits which stand out from the winter, however. On one of these occasions we were all impressed by the stock at Home Farm, Freston, and on another we were equally impressed by the hospitality of R. W. Paul & Son, whose maltings we visited. It is hoped that during the Summer Term more 'working days' will be spent helping on local farms.

The organization of the Club has been expanded to include some First Formers, and J. Hansell was elected as Chairman. As result of two visits by the County Organizer the Club was judged to be efficient and active enough to be affiliated to the National Federation, and to be put on an official basis. And finally, we have been given two rooms exclusively for the Club's use, which we are rapidly equipping with books, periodicals, and pamphlets.

R.T.C.

THE DRAMATIC CLUB

During the Autumn Term a sectional stage at last arrived and was promptly set up at one end of the gym. It was smaller, particularly in depth, than we had hoped. However, it was a matter of Hobson's choice, so work began at once on preparing a set for two short plays which were already in rehearsal. Under Mr Hanson's patient and practised eye a large body of would-be carpenters built and painted a box set, so designed that, with little rearrangement, it would serve for both plays.

Lighting presented the next difficulty. It is not worth spending much money on equipment suitable for a very small stage in the gym when the whole arrangement is temporary - until the new Assembly Hall, with its own stage (and, let us hope, lighting) is built. The Council's safety arrangements prohibit the familiar but by no means contemptible home-made lighting used by most dramatic clubs, so we were very fortunate in being able to borrow floodlights from the Eastern Electricity Board. The effect was far from good, for with the lamps available it proved impossible to eliminate grotesque shadows, but at least the actors and the set could be adequately seen. The limitation on the kind of production possible with such lighting remains, nevertheless, a great drawback.

The plays themselves were light-hearted, in keeping, we hope, with the spirit of the end of the Christmas Term, when they were presented. The audience seemed to enjoy them. Many of the actors who had made their first appearance in The Rise and Fall of Caliban at the end of the Summer Term added to their reputations, particularly J. H. Ashworth, M. J. Haynes, I. J. McCulloch, and N. C. Lamb, while one or two new faces appeared amongst them.

During the Easter Term, as no School production was planned, many members of the Club joined the weekly meetings of the speech training group to develop the power and flexibility of their voices and, incidentally, to hear themselves as others hear them by means of the tape recorder.

At the end of the term, casting readings were held for The Man of Destiny by Bernard Shaw, which will be presented in an outdoor setting on Speech Day.

I.R.B.

THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

Librarians: B. L. BASS   -   G. R. BICKNELL   -   R. COX   -   N. GOULD   -   D. C. HARRINGTON   -   F. W. MOUGTON

Much progress has been made in the Library during the winter. The arrival of more books and new shelves have enabled us to form bays, which give the room a more studious and secluded atmosphere, and curtains have added to the feeling of comfort.

The librarians have been kept busy by the intake of books, now numbering fifteen hundred, and the preparation of card indexes, which are at last ready for use. As the quantity of books on each subject increases, serious use of the Library will in fact become almost impossible without help of the index. The casual handling of books still gives cause for worry. £200 was spent last year on new books alone, without mentioning furniture and magazines. This is fine. But how are they treated when they are put into the shelves? A book can stand only a small amount of rough treatment - of being left about, kicked around, lost for a while in the ferns, let us say - before it falls to pieces and becomes useless. Rebinding nowadays is very expensive. So these books have got to last. That is up to the people who use them.

I.R.B.

MUSIC

The Choral Society's first public appearance at the carol service at Christmas was generally judged to have been successful. A few of the staff joined, and we had the full four parts, so that we were able to sing several of the carols unaccompanied. During the Spring Term we have been rehearsing one of Elgar's Bavarian dances for the School concert, and we hope to give a short outdoor recital of madrigals towards the end of the Summer Term.

Members of the Music Club have been rehearsing songs, piano duets, and recorder pieces for the concert. We have several composers in our midst, two of whom have composed special pieces for recorders and piano.

The Gramophone Circle has met after lunch on most Sundays. There have been signs that the general taste is becoming more catholic, although Rossini's 'Largo al factotum' remains the most popular record.

Concerning the wind and stringed instrument classes, it is now practically certain that a start can be made next term. This is of great importance to the School's music, for it is the first big step towards the formation of a School orchestra.

R.H.C.W.

PRINTING CLUB

We have been able to add a second small press to our resources this term, obtained in part from the proceeds of the printing of Christmas cards, which proved very successful. Several other useful jobs have been done, and we have in hand the printing of a programme for the Musical Society's concert at end of term. We hope soon to add the production of an indisputable book (or at least, booklet) to the labels, programmes, letter-headings, and cards which have so far issued from the press.

L.W.

ART CLUB

While not a few boys frequent the Art Room from time to time, the band of 'regulars' is still fairly small. Clay-modelling has proved popular with the Juniors, whilst others have striven to cultivate a respectable handwriting. Fabric printing appears to offer considerable attractions, and a promising start has been made in this direction.

L.W.