THE BARBICAN

NUMBER TWENTY-ONE

The Magazine Of
The Lewes County School
For Boys

1944 - 45

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SCHOOL LIST 1944-5

Captain of the School : . . . K. A. Hills.

Prefects:
Lewes : . . . K. A. Hills, R. W. Thomas, J.S.W. Henshaw, J. P. H. Davies.
Martlets : . . . E. L. Lavender, R. Lanham.
Seahaven : . . . R. W. Short, K. J. Payne, R. C. Michell.
Uckfield : . . . A. H. Rogers.

Captain of Rugby : . . . K. A. Hills.
Vice-Captain : . . . R. C. Michell.
Captain of Cricket : . . . K. A. Hills.
Vice-Captain : . . . R. W. Thomas.

Form Captains :
IIJ - Phillips; IIB - Manser; IIA - Tuppen;
IIIJ - Craik; IIIB - Hills, D.; IIIA - Funnell K.;
IVB - Brooker; IVA - Newman;
Rem C - Parkinson; Rem A - Carter, E.;
VB - Brickell; VA - Walter.

Editor of Magazine : K. A. Hills.
Sub-Editors : J. S. W. Henshaw, K. J. Payne.

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SCHOOL LIST, AUTUMN TERM, 1945

Captain of the School : . . . E. Lavender.
Vice-Captain of the School : . . . A. H. Rogers.

Prefects:
Lewes : . . . J. P. H. Davies, G. Ashdown, P. C. Eden.
Martlets : . . . E. L. Lavender.
Seahaven : . . . J. Vass, P. Galer.
Uckfield : . . . A. H. Rogers, A. Constable, B. Russell.

Sub-Prefects:
Lewes : . . A. W. Robbins.
Martlets : . . M. Huggett, H. Reynolds.
Seahaven : . . C. W. Hill, R. Larkin, B. Saunders.
Uckfield : . . J. M. Cornford, M. Cunningham.

Captain of Rugby : . . . B. Russell.
Vice-Captain : . . . G. Ashdown.

Form Captains :
IIB - Creasey; IIA - Balkham;
IIIJ - Phillips; IIIB - Turner; IIIA - Goodayle;
IVJ - Craik; IVB - Hills, D.; IVA - Funnell, K.
Rem B - Brooker; Rem A - Newman;
VB - McTear; VA - Hall, J.;
VIG - Carter, E.

Editor of Magazine : C. W. Hill.
Sub-Editors : G. M. Burt, C. J. Oxley, J. W. Searchfield.

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EDITORIAL

This Barbican, we trust, will be the last ever to appear reporting the activities of the School during a year of war. Not one of our present strength was a member of the School before the war. To us the annual School play, camp, fete and trip are no more than highly coloured reminiscences of uniformed and magnificently moustached Old Boys. We have just cause for regret that these pleasant "extras" to our school life have been denied us. Yet with that regret we can, and should, feel proud that we were part of the School in the days of its trial and that we bore our part, however humble, of the corporate burden.

Too little has been said in appreciation of the work done by the Headmaster and Staff during the past six years. Upon them devolved by far the greater share of the responsibility for keeping the School going. We thank and admire them for what they have done.

And now peace has come, and with it fresh problems. Reconstruction is as difficult as the hasty improvisations of war, and the spur to greater effort which war emergency gives is lacking; yet if the School acquits itself as well in the uncertainties of the future as it did in the dark times of the past, it will not have failed.
K. A. Hills.

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SCHOOL NOTES

We have said goodbye to Mr. P. L. Worman, Miss Thorpe, Mrs. Gourlay, Mr. Dennis and Mr. Oliver. The School will always be deeply in their debt for the unstinting help,they gave during the most difficult days of the war.

The departure, too, of Mr. Jarvis, who has been appointed to the headmastership of Haywards Heath Modern Secondary School, creates a gap which will be most difficult to fill. Mr. Jarvis was one of our first masters when the School opened in 1930. There are few sides of the School life he has not touched. In charge of geography and, at first, physical training, he coached School soccer when it was our, principal winter game, founded the School Scouts, took charge of the camp at Chamonix in 1937 was joint secretary of the Old Boys' Association from its inception, acted as secretary to the Careers Fund, ran the School dinners and performed numberless other tasks as well. There are few subjects he has not taught at some time or other, and few school duties he has not performed. On one notable occasion he even sang at a parents' concert. Although they did not know it, he was always the champion of the not-very-clever boy. An " Admirable Crichton " of schoolmasters. We say goodbye with gratitude, but in sorrow.

Mr. Courtney, who was with us before the war and who returned last January, has also gone. His loss to the modern language staff can be best assessed by consideration of the post he has secured - the sixth form French mastership at Manchester Grammar School probably the leading day school in the country. We condole with him in having to live at Manehester but believe that he will be consoled by " the breath of Sussex air " which will soon follow him there.

We welcome Mr. Duffin, who captained Manchester University and played for the Combined Universities at cricket; Mr. Jones who got his college colours at Oxford in cricket, hockey and rugby football, and who played for the University " Greyhounds " ; Mr. Perkins, who got colours for athletics at University College, Nottingham ; and Mr. Neasham, who holds a double degree of London and Cambridge, and who is a musician, swimmer and hockey player. All these gentlemen have joined us from the Forces.

Since the last Magazine was published the School has gained a number of academic honours, and we heartily congratulate the following :
J. S. W. HENSHAW : Exhibition in Modern History Trinity College, Cambridge ; Drapers' Company Exhibition ; Reserve for State Scholarship.
K. J. PAYNE : Exhibition in Modern Languages, St. Catherine's Society, Oxford ; State Scholarship.
K. A. HILLS : Scholarship in Modern History, St. John's College, Cambridge.
R. W. THOMAS : Major Scholarship in Natural Science, University College, Southampton.
J. P. H. DAVIES : Sambrook Scholarship in Medicine, King's College, London ; MacLoghlin Scholarship, awarded by Royal College of Physicians and Royal College cf Surgeons.

We should also like to congratulate S. T. H. H. Pilbeam. Pilbeam went up to Cambridge two years ago. He has been compelled, through the war, to crowd a three-year medical course into two years. Yet he has gained a " First " in both of his examinations and has been elected a College Prizeman and a Senior Scholar of Trinity College. He now proceeds to the Middlesex Hospital.

We have also said goodbye to Mrs. Denman, who has been a School cleaner and has taken a great interest in our activities since the beginning. We thank her for all she has done for us.

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HOUSE NOTES

LEWES HOUSE
House Masters . . Messrs. Hoggins and Larwill.
House Captain . . K. A. Hills.
House Prefects .. R. W. Thomas, J. S. W. Henshaw, J. P. H. Davies.

Of the three trophies available for competition this year Lewes gained one the Cross-Country Cup. It was a magnificent victory, finishing as we did over a hundred points ahead of our closest rival. The three running teams merit our best,thanks for their fine effort, but the House as a whole deserves credit, for a very good number turned out cheerfully for the two Saturday morning practices.

If this same spirit had been displayed in the less popular sphere of scholastic endeavour which takes place in the classroom, we might again have retained the Work Shield. The House average was lamentably low, and most certainly could have been improved. To give honour where honour is due, Remove B returned consistently high averages but all their strivings were rendered ineffectual by one miserable Junior form which actually dared once to send in an average of 1.7 !

We have little cause to reproach ourselves for our lack of success in the games contests. The House Rugby XV performed prodigies of valour and only lost by very slender margins. The Cricket XI had bad luck and deserved to win more often. It was unfortunate for us that members of the 1st XI could not play for their respective Houses because over half of the 1st XI were members of Lewes House. The conduct of our Juniors on the games field at least, was impeccable. They defeated all comers most convincingly, so it augurs well for future Rugger.

And so another year is upon us. There are five trophies to be won. Let it be the firm intention of every Lewes boy to make Lewes House win all five.
K. A. H.

MARTLETS HOUSE
House Masters . . Messrs. Tayler, Auld and Nicholls.
House Captaire . . E. Lavender.
House Prefect . . R. Lanham.

The past year has been one in which Martlets has managed to maintain a similar position in all branches of School activity to the one it has held for a few years. This can be put down, to the scarcity of Seniors in the House, as shown by so few of its members being in School teams.

The Seniors never " lost heart " in their Rugger, although they realised their hopeless position. In the Soccer the Juniors once more proved themselves better than their elders. Cricket was satisfactory. This coming year will once more put the Games Shield within our reach for it will see a Martlets House with a larger and more enthusiastic Senior section.

The efforts of Reynolds, E. Carter, Stepney and Andrews in the CrossCountry were responsible for Martlets retaining second place. Martlets were leading with standard points when the Athietics were brought to such an unfortunate end. Martlets has won the Work Shield, though not by any special effort. Uckfield, in fact, came a very close second and if we are to hold our position each member must endeavour to gain more than five points per " fortnightly". The praiseworthy efforts of Form Remove B and especially of Foster (Va) must not be retarded by the bad record of IIIB if Martlets is to secure first position on the academic side again. By further effort from Juniors in classroom and from Seniors on the field Martlets House will again hold an enviable position.
E. L.

UCKFIELD HOUSE
House Masters . . Mr. D. Jarvis, Mr. W. M. Gourlay.
House Captain . . A. H. Rogers.

This year, 1944-45 has seen a well-deserved triumph in the sporting sphere. In both Rugby and Cricket our teams were overwhelmingly successful, winning their matches by sheer determination. Let it be said that the opposing teams were strong and it was a fight to the finish. Credit is due for our successes to B. Russell, the games captain, who led the team with skill and determination. Though the Juniors were, not quite so successful, their eagerness was a good sign for the future. These great matches led to the ultimate return of the Games Shield to Uckfield House.

In the academic field work has reached a high standard. The mere 0.07 of a point by which our dreams of capture of the Work Shield were shattered is proof of this.

The year has been, on the whole, a successful one. During its course the School has seen many changes, but the spirit of the House has remained, as always, undaunted. And so we enter into another year, hoping that it may be as successful as the last.
A. H. R.

[There were no House Notes for Seahaven. ]

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SPEECH DAY 1944

Programme

The annual Speech Day was held on Wednesday, October 25, 1944, in the Town Hall, Lewes. A gratifyingly large number of parents and friends of the School attended, when Brigadier-General J. D. Beale-Brown, D.S.O., distributed the prizes and trophies. Supporting him on the platform were Sir Amherst Selby-Bigge and members of the Governing Body, the Mayor and Mayoress of Lewes and the Director of Education. The list of successes was as follows :

HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
R. R. Charlwood, R. E. Oxley, N. V. Jarvis,
S. T. T. H. Pilbeam (Dist. in Chemistry), G. R. Satchler.

PRE-MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND FIRST M.B.
S. T. H. H. Pilbeam.

SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
R. H. Browning, E. Dadswell, B. T. Green, G. H. Carter, P. C. Eden,
D. E. Harman, P. J. Cornford, R. W. Freeman, R. A. Krebs, P. G. Laker,
M. J. Fillery, J. M. Cornford, G. A. Parris, A. W. Ford, J. M. Cunningham,
R. A. W. Robinson, R. H. Haiselden, S. D. Ellingworth, A. H. Rogers,
D. W. Hazelden, J. J. Elphick, D. S. Rostron, J. F. Lester, R. A. Gallard,
D. H. Thompson, K. J. Pink, M. W. Huggett, M. D. Waldron, A. W. Robbins,
R. W. Larkin, G. A. White, B. P. Russell, E. A. Leggatt, J. A. Wood,
R. A. Russell, J. D. Paul, G. R. Wren, A. F. Stuart, R. J. Reynolds,
P. S. Blythman, Cheale, S. B. Taylor, D. H. Robinson, P. G. Bradbury,
W. A. Traylen, B. R. Saunders, C. A. Cooke, E. J. Vass, J. W: Stait,
R. J. Dale, D. Burden, G. G. Standen, L. H. Dorian, F. S. Cole,
I. F. Walter, M. J. Faulkner, A. P. Constable, M. V. Wells.

UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS
S. T. H. H. Pilbeam . . Exhibition in Natural Science. Trinity College, Cambridge.
S. T. H. H. Pilbeam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Macloghlin Scholarship in Medicine.
G. R. Satchler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exhibition in Engineering. London University.
A. L. Oliver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kitchener Scholarship. London University.

UNIVERSITY SERVICE COURSES FOR POTENTIAL OFFICERS
Royal Navy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E. D. Gordon (Cardiff).
Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K. Perkins (Oxford).
R.A.F. . . D. C. Blunden (Oxford), R. R. Charlwood (Oxford),
F. H. Dusart (Southampton), E. Wilson (Southampton).

AWARDS
The "Edgar Povey" Trophy . . . . . . . . . . S. T. H. H. Pilbeam.
The "Lilian Flemirg" Prize for Biology . . S. T. H. H. Pilbeam.
The "Christie" Prize for Music (Seniors) . . . . . . . C. W. Hill.
The "Glass" Memorial Prize for Music (Juniors) . . . No award.

Proficiency Prizes . . . . R. R. Charlwood, R. Dusart,
K. A. Hills, N. V. Jarvis,
R. W. Thomas, R. W. Short.

Service Prizes . . . . D. C. Blunden, R. R. Charlwood, A. W. Ford,
N. V. Jarvis, R. E. Oxley, K. Perkins, S. T. H. H. Pilbeam,
G. R. Satchler, E. J. Vass, H. J. Warr,
R. L. White, B. N. Amos, N. Parkinson.

LIFE-SAVING AWARDS 1944
1st Class Instructor's Certificate
S. T. H. H. Pilbeam.
Bronze Medallion
S. G. Brown, A. P. Constable, P. D. Griffiths, D. A. Hoad, J. F. McTear,
R. Naisbitt, E. G. Woodall, K. J. Pink, B. P. Russell, A. R. Traylen.
Intermediate Certificate
M. A. Causley, D. I. Eede.

HOUSE TROPHIES
" Povey " Work Shield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lewes.
" Bradshaw " Games Shield . . . . . . . . . . . . Seahaven.
" Thompson " Athletic Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lewes.
" Henderson-Oliver " Cross-Country Cup . . . Lewes.
" Innes " Swimming Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seahaven.
" Sinfield " Swimmiug Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lester.

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DECORATIONS AND HONOURS
(Old Boys)

D.F.C.
Pilot Officer G. W. J. Franklin,
Squadron Leader N. E. Hancock.

M.B.E.
Captain R. B. Page, R.A.

Croix-de-Guerre
Sergeant J. Duchossay (Lorraine Squadron).

Soviet Medal for Valour
Flight Lieutenant B. Chandler, D.F.C.

Mentioned in Despatches
LAC. D. A. Glenister,
Lieut. D. I. Goodchild, Royal Marines

Immediate Commission (for Gallantry) on the Field
Sergeant J. Winton, South Staffordshire Regiment
(Since killed in action).

Freedom of the City of Coventry
K. W. Norris.

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RUGBY FOOTBALL, 1944-5

The Rugby season was rather a lean one if judged by results, but we had some very enjoyable matches, the best being our return games with Worthing High School and Skinners. Worthing had beaten us heavily earlier in the season, aud, although one of their star players had left at Christmas, we were pleasantly surprised to win a very good return match in February by 12 points to 6. Skinner's School gave us the best game of the season, just beating us (12-11), thanks largely to the brilliance of their fly-half. At Christ's Hospital we were outplayed by a much better team, the strongest 2nd XV that they have fielded for many years. Hurst also were unexpectedly strong, but Brighton College 2nd were not up to their usual standard, and we beat them comfortably on both occasions.

Team : from Sherwin, Hills (capt.), Gordon, Galer, Saunders, Robbins, Cornford, Harman, Michell, Walter, Constable, Russell, Pink, Ashdown, Humphery, Funnell P., Siggs.

1ST XV RESULTS
Worthing High School . . . . . . . . Lost 11-27
Brighton College 2nd . . . . . . . . . . Won 39-0
Christ's Hospital 2nd . . . . . . . . . . Lost 5-52
Skinner's School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lost 6-17
Hurstpierpoint 2nd . . . . . . . . . . . . Lost 3-39
Brighton College 2nd . . . . . . . . . . Won 27-3
Worthing High School . . . . . . . . . Won 12-6
Brighton Technical College . . . . Lost 13-27
Skinner's School . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lost 11-12
H.F.T.

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CRICKET 1945

On being asked to write notes on last season my first impulse was to cower away muttering, " The less said about it the better." However, after summoning enough courage to re-examine the results of the fixtures, I realised they might have been worse -- just ! Certainly the members of the team were never depressed by their lack of success and played their games and enjoyed them in a spirit of cheery optimism ; unfortunately, something more is needed to win matches.

One School record was broken by the 1945 XI, the unenviable one of registering the lowest scores ever compiled by a School team in successive games. The School batting, which has been weak for several seasons, reached unexpected depths of pusillanimity. The weakness lies in neglect of the fundamentals of good batting. No batsman can score consistently if he is unable to stop the first straight ball he receives, be he never so great a hitter. Some improvement was noticeable towards the end of the season and with several promising members staying on we shall hope for greater success in 1946. The bowling was again well up to standard. Reynolds achieved the rare distinction of taking five wickets in five balls. Evans, as an off-break bowler, and Beck, as a left-hander, showed distinct promise, whilst good performances were made by Eden and Gordon. The fielding was uniformly good.

It is pleasant to record the success in Senior Cricket of members of last year's team. P. Laker and C. Wood have done extremely well with Lewes Priory C.C. In one representative game for " under 19s ", promoted by the East Sussex Cricket Association, Laker had 63 not out, Wood four wickets for 20 runs and Evans, a member of this year's School side, had four wickets for one run.

FIXTURES 1st XV, 1945
May 12 . . v. Hove C.S 1st XI . . . . . . .A . . . Lost
May 26 . . v. Varndean 1st XI . . . . . . H . . . Lost
June 2 . . . v. Worthing H.S. 1st XI . . H . . . Lost
June 9 . . . v. Worthing H.S. 1st XI . . A . . . Won
June 16 . . v. Bexhill 1st XI . . . . . . . . A . . . Won
June 23 . . v. Hove C. S. 1st XI . . . . . H . . . Lost
June 30 . . v. Varndean 1st XI . . . . . .A . . Draw
July 7 . . . . v. Bexhill 1st XI . . . . . . . .H . . Draw
July 14 . . . v. Brighton G.S 1st XI . . .H . . . Lost

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LIFE SAVING, 1945

On Saturday, July 21, the following boys took the examination for the Bronze Medallion : Ballan, Franklin, Lewis, B. N. Amos and Parkinson. B. W. Carter entered for the Intermediate Certificate. All were successful, though the bleak and chilly weather made it doubly hard. Most of them were blue with cold before they were halfway through, and they are to be congratulated on the way they stuck to it.

The examination was conducted in the School Bath by Mr. E. C. Jones, Secretary of the Sussex Amateur Swimming Association.
H. F. T.

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ARMY CADET FORCE

The past year has been one of the most successful in the history of the School Platoon. Training has been progressively successful, and in June all the candidates entered were successful in their War Certificate " A " examination, eight passing Part II and sixteen Part I, five candidates taking both parts at the same time. Lance-Corporal Carter (G. H.), Lance-Corporal Baker, Cadets Winter, Elliott, Gallard, Lewis, Ravani and Brickell (R. D.) gained Part II, while the five latter Cadets, with Beck, Brooks, Carter (E.), Coward, Funnell, Hill, Sargent, Self, Sexton, Troy and Vinall passed Part I.

This year the Annual Camp was held at Stanmer Park, where a party from the School had a most enjoyable and instructive week. During the year several members have attended P.T. Courses : Baker, Brickell (R. D.), Laker and Ravani at Shorncliffe, and Funnell and Gallard at Brighton. Reports on their performance and the qualities of leadership shown were excellent. In spite of bad weather, a number of Cadets have also visited the Bishopstone Camp and taken advantage of the opportunity for a real camping week-end by the sea.

It was with great regret that we learnt of the departure of Mr. Worman, who, as our Commanding Officer, has been responsible for the success of the School Platoon from its very inception. We wish him the best of good luck in his new post. At the same time we are very fortunate in having Mr. Davies, who was. recently invalided out of the Army after holding a commission in the R.A. to help us with his first-hand knowledge and experience.

Now that actual hostilities are over, we look forward to a more plentiful supply of training equipment and .22 ammunition for use on the range.
J.A.N.

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A.T.C.

The past year has seen a nation-wide decline in the strength of the Air Training Corps. Suspension of enlistment as aircrew was a severe blow to the enthusiasm which marked the early years of the movement. Transfer from the R.A.F. to the other Services of many already accepted discouraged still further those who had hoped to fly. Lewes Squadron fell into decline and the School Flight alone remains as the representative of former greatness.

Much of both praise and thanks is due to Flight-Sergeant Thomas and his co-enthusiasts, who have worked so well to maintain interest within the School. Congratulations, also, are due to him for his success in the Advanced examinations, to Corporals Lavender, Rogers and White on their success in Halton courses (White was placed first in his navigation class), and to those others who have gained stars or propellers.

Biggin Hill was the scene of this year's Annual Training Camp. Despite adverse weather conditions, and a possible surfeit of squad and arms drill during the first half of the week, the visit to such a well-known station gave a valuable introduction to Service life. Trips over Lewes added interest to the flying, a field exercise and the range rounded off the musketry course, and physical training under a leading professional boxer was enjoyed by all. Disappointment may have been felt that flights in Dakotas of Transport Command did not materialise, but the friendliness of their American and Canadian crews, as, indeed, of all at Biggin Hill, is one of the memories that must always remain and be appreciated.

Week-end glidirig courses continue. Several of our number have qualified for the " A " Certificate, and at the moment of going to press recent pronouncements encourage the belief that facilities will increase in the coming year.

The present appears to be a period of uncertainty. Future prospects may be brighter and the A.T.C. again become a valuable recruiting ground for the R.A.F. and the R.A.F.V.R. The Royal Air Force must remain and civilian flying must develop. Denial of opportunity and discouragement of youth do not conform to modern trends of thought. Who knows ? The phoenix of to-day may well be the eagle of to-morrow !
D. J.

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SCOUT TROOP

At the close of the summer term there were 45 boys in the Scout Troop, and during the term a large number of badges was earned.

Among these badge winners we congratulate particularly Cardy and Hersee on winning their First Class Badges and qualifying for the King's Scout Badge. These awards are not lightly come bv and during the last five years at least only once befofe have these badges been won by a member of this Troop. Cardy has also qualified to wear the red and white cords, and Hersee the green and white.

Four separate camps were held during the summer holidays three patrol camps at Broadstone Warren and one at Lepe in Hampshire. This last camp was organised and run by Miss Wilson the District Commissioner for Uckfield, and she invited to join her as many of the County School Troop as were able to attend. The 12 boys who accepted this invitation had a most enjoyable time, and our best thanks are due to Miss Wilson for her generous offer.
W. M. G.

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NATIONAL SAVINGS

With the end of the war in Europe the unfortunate but general decline in the level of savings was reflected in the School Group. The total for the school year 1944-45 was £140 or about a third of the previous year's record total. However, the members who remained staunch contributed a higher individual average than ever before.

During the Summer Term the National Savings cinema van paid us a flying visit and gave an open-air show that included a film of fighting conditions in Burma, as well as one starring the ubiquitous Donald Duck.

Our two Assistant Secretaries, J. H. Bayley and R. D. Brickell, retired in February after a hard and efficient year's work in which they successfully coped with the difficulties of collection caused by the double-shift lunch hour. K. J. Nicholls and R. Stepney are now carrying on their good work with enthusiasm and skill.

The grand total of savings stands at £4387, and with the need for continued. hard saving even more imperative though less apparent, in the difficult days of reconstruction ahead, we hope to pass the £5000 mark before the end of Thanksgiving Week.
J. A. N.

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THE SIXTH FORM SOCIETY

OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR

AUTUMN TERM
Chairman : Mr. Auld.
Secretary : K. J. Payne.
Treasurer : E. Lavender:
Committee Members : A. W. Robbins, P. Eden.

SPRING TERM
Chairman : Miss Thorpe.
Secretary : A. W. Robbins.
Treasurer : R. A. Krebs.
Committee Members : R. W. Thomas, K. J. Payne.

Throughout the Michaelmas and Spring Terms there was a persistent and utterly unaccountable lack of enthusiasm shown by the majority of the Form. Otherwise we had a very fine run this season, and members who attended Mr. Davies's talk on " The History and Peoples of West Africa ", the Short Story readings, the Anthology Evening with its subject "The Sea", the Morbid Literature Evening and the Balloon Debates will remember them long after their school careers are ended. Mrs. Parkinson again made the meetings possible by providing excellent teas.

We look forward now to a new season for which new programmes must be devised. We must have more anthology evenings, a scientific and literary review perhaps, more lectures, more formality and, above all, more more attendance.
A. W. R.
K. J. P.

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GARDENING NOTES 1945

Horticulturally speaking, it was good to leave 1944 behind. Contrary to expectations, we did close the year with a small financial profit, but from every other point of view it was a year to be forgotten as expeditiously as possible -- one of droughts, cold winds, unkind seed beds, rain at harvest, and legions of pests and diseases. When we dug over the garden in late autumn we turned in the top spit almost with a sense of its being unclean -- something to be buried out of the light of day.

The winter of 1944-45 promised better things. Unlike its predecessor, it provided copious rain -- at the right time -- so that we were certain of starting our spring sowing with a good supply of subsoil water.

Spring came early, lighting the almond and prunus with blossom in late February. By the end of that month we had an excellent tilth on the two onion plots, one fully dressed with compost, superphosphate and potash, the other just dug over without manuring for use as a control plot. The seed went in during the first week of March, and before we closed for the Easter holiday the tiny light green " hairpins " were already visible in neat lines -- a good plant. The last few days of the Spring Term, too, saw a grand setting of early potatoes : four hundredweight in the garden proper and half a ton in the ploughed-up portion of the second playing field.

We returned to School on April 26 to find the usual sea of weeds flooding over field and garden, but assiduous hoeing, soon brought some semblance of order and neatness. The field potatoes came up well, sufrered negligibly from frost and promised a good crop from the start. We began lifting in the last week of June and by the ehd of the term (July 25) we had sold a little under two tons to the kitchen at the handsome figure of £29 6s. 3d. In the garden the earlies did less well, but, in any case, most of them have yet to be dug. Spring cabbage did reasonably well in view of the fact that most of them were eaten off during the winter and had to make fresh heads. Early carrots were excellent until the fly got them, but the two outstanding crops of the year were broad beans and onions. Eight double rows of the former gave the record yield of over 5 cwts. of pods. The onions are just being lifted for harvesting and the two plots together look like giving not far short of 16 cwts. of good bulbs. Where the main plot was thinned, we pulled dozens of onions weighing well over 1 lb. each.

We have started the new term and school year with Rural Science periods cut out of the time-table. It is probably that the garden, as such, will cease to exist under its own identity and be merged with the rest of the field for general cultivation. The change is regrettable, but difficulties of staffing and time-table have made it inevitable this year. The writer hopes that before long the garden will be reborn -- not to grow vegetables, a war-time necessity, but as a School fruit garden and orchard. May the time not be far distant when our Jefferson's gages, Cox's Orange Pippins and Comice pears are the talk and envy of the town !
W. H. E.

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THE YOUNG FARMERS' CLUB

A branch of the Young Farmers' Club was started at the School in February by Miss Smith. At first membership was very high, but enthusiasm has since waned. However, we are hoping for new members from the Second Forms.

Our activities have included a visit to Plumpton Agricultural College, where we gained an abundance of first-hand knowiedge. Members of the Club, with the invaluable assistance of the Second Forms, built the School haystack. It is still standing !

At the beginning of this term we were offered a goat, but, unfortunately, the offer had to be refused owing to the difficulties of looking after it during the holidays.
P. L. S.
K. J. N.

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