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Tristram Jones-Parry

Schooldays at Westminster. [2:05] Memorable teachers. A Maths Master who left Germany just before WWII. Stephen Lushington, English Master. [2:45] Time in Wren’s. House Master, Charles Keeley, a History Master: difficult to get to know, no pastoral care, but great teacher. [3:54] Shooting at the leader of the Combined Cadet Force. [6:29] Involvement in drama at school. [7:13] Closed exhibition to Christ Church, Cambridge, to read Mathematics. Involvement with drama. College life. [9:44] First job, working for Coal Board. Computers still new. [10:38] Unpopularity when visiting mines, since visiting to see if the mine should be closed. Difficult. Resigned after a year. [11:18] Decision to become a teacher. Computing. [12:12] Head of Maths at Westminster at 25 years old. Enjoyed teaching. [14:00] Enjoyed his time at Westminster. Pupils were beginning to think for themselves. [14:49] School had become more academic, partly due to John Rae’s Head Mastership. [16:05] Being House Master of Busby’s. Drugs. [17:46] Called by Scotland Yard when boys climbing Foreign Office. Similar things happened frequently - more relaxed then. Girls began boarding in Busby’s in his last year as House Master. [19:07] Became Under Master. Reputation for being fierce. Governing Body complaints about pupil behaviour. [23:23] Pushing pupils to work hard. Maths is exciting. [25:43] Left Westminster for Emmanuel School in Battersea. Started to take in girls while he was there. [27:53] Importance of co-education. [29:28] Head Mastership of Westminster came up. Asked to apply. [29:50] Giving thought-provoking sermons. [32:28] Talking to pupils but also support staff. [33:03] Advantages of Westminster. Pupils feel part of the life of the country, for example taking part in the Iraq War demonstrations, and yet in tranquil and beautiful surroundings. [43:08] Receiving pupils whose parents wouldn’t be able to afford fees. [36:00] Didn’t get Abbey involved in School as much as wanted. [36:34] Proposal to set up school in China rejected by Governing Body. Proposal to have underground gym in Dean’s Yard. [37:26] Disney payment for rights to Winnie the Pooh. Other donations to the School. [40:27] Giving pupils expelled from other schools a second chance. [41:03] Pupil perceptions of his toughness. [42:52] Retired early at 58. [43:23] Teaching Maths at state schools in his retirement. [44:38] Changing the timings of the school day at Hampton Court School to complement teenagers’ circadian rhythms. [47:46] Pupils at Westminster very varied. Advice to Andrew Lloyd-Webber that musicals aren’t profitable. [49:31] Sense of social responsibility. Could cause discomfort when teaching at Westminster. [50:52] Exciting the difference you can make at a state school. [51:36] Discussing his trips to Communist countries with pupils. [53:29] Advantages of Buddhism. Everyone should attend Abbey. [55:25] School exhibitions to Skye and elsewhere. Pupil mislaid on a mountain. More Health and Safety now. [57:19] Expeditions were run by staff who were following their passions. [59:09] Effects of new technology in schools. Programming. Cyberbullying. Pornography online. [1:01:50] Increasing number of women teachers. [1:04:16] Changes in the value of grades. [1:06:36] The beauty of an elliptical flowerbed.

David Summerscale

Went to Sherbourne School. Parents lived in France. Read English at Cambridge. [2.50] Taught at University of Delhi. Unhappy at first but then loved it. [5.34] In 1939, Parents moved to Paris, then back to England in 1940. France as a long-standing interest for him. [6.54] Beginning to teach English at Charterhouse in 1962/63. Oliver van Oss, the Headmaster at Charterhouse. Very talented pupils from very different homes. Often very anxious pupils. [13.25] Less academic pressure then. More time to learn and enjoy. [16.10] Left Charterhouse to be Headmaster of Haileybury School, just after he got married. [19.05] Haileybury was still in the dark ages. Boarding only. 60-bed dormitories. Quite claustrophobic. [20.23] Not very stimulating academically. Spent 10 years there trying to modernise it. [23.43] Didn’t want to be a Headmaster. Loss of freedom, even then. The last generation of the amateur headmasters. Didn’t think too much about the next career step. [25.52] Had begun to start thinking that he couldn’t do much more as Headmaster there. [27.22] Distinct dislike between Charterhouse boys and Westminsters. [28.29] Contacted by Burke Trend, a Governor at Westminster, about the position of Head Master. The interview. A difficult interview question. [31.24] Call from Edward Carpenter to offer him the post. [32.10] Westminster wasn’t as academically successful as it thought it was. [33.04] Arrival at Westminster. John Rae. [35.29] Westminster needed Head Master who spent time in the Common Room, who was available to talk to. [36.18] Challenges of a school in London - like the IRA. The difference in tempo between Haileybury and Westminster. [38.21] His predecessor at Haileybury completely dominated the school. Westminster too had been dominated by Rae, his predecessor. Common Room and pupils were all doing as they liked. [40.12] He tried to encourage teachers to do what they enjoyed doing. [40.49] New staff needed to be robust. Interviews and practice classes were less rigorous then. No hierarchy or Senior Management Team. Would rely on the Head of Department. Appointments often relied on hunches. [44.13] House Masters were more difficult to appoint. [47.19] Left Westminster just before it became more professional. The first Ofsted inspection. Creating policies for Ofsted. [50.44] Jim Cogan, the Master of the Queen’s Scholars. The role of Under Master. [54.43] Living in 17, Dean’s Yard with his family. Uncomfortable but loved their home. Some privacy. [57.30] Very good atmosphere in the Common Room. [58.01] No facilities for music or science when he began. The Robert Hooke Centre Appeal. [1.1.38] A community spirit among the teachers, since all in close quarters. Accommodation for staff a growing problem. [1.02.53] The challenges of establishing new houses with very little space. Problem of growing pupil numbers. Existing houses were overcrowded. The creation of Hackluyt’s and Milne’s, and the Masters involved. [1.06.50] His participation in sport. A way of meeting other teachers and pupils on common ground. Refreshing that sport wasn’t extremely competitive. [1.10.01] Dramatic productions. [1.11.10] Relations between the Abbey and the school. 1.15.10] Wesley Carr, Dean of Westminster. Undervalued by some within the Abbey. Respected by some in the School. [1.17.53] Receiver Generals and their relations with the school. [1.18.30] His experience as a parent of a Westminster pupil. Relationship with Tristram Jones-Parry, the Head Master who succeeded him. The effect of Westminster on his daughter and son. [1.22.55] Age differences didn’t seem to matter as much at Westminster as at some other schools. Less of a hierarchy among pupils. [1.24.12] Changes to headmasters’ roles. Felt the right time to leave.

Virginia Lindley

Family background. Parents were writers: editor for the BBC and poets. Older brother who was praefectus at Westminster. [1,00] Earliest memory of the school - being taken to plays, concerts, Little Commem. Enamoured by the buildings and the place – lots of activity. Had private English coaching with John Field. [2,30] Schooling before Westminster – Rye grammar school. When it was turned into a comprehensive her teaching suffered. Quality of the teaching at Westminster was amazing. [4,10] How she came to go to Westminster. Connected through her brother. Played violin in the College concert when there was a shortage of players. Spoke to Martin Rogers who informally invited her to come to the school, because hers didn’t offer university entrance. [5,30] Heard that she was going to Westminster via telegram whilst on holiday. [6,25] Logistics of being a girl in a boys’ school. Treated like a personal guest, stayed in the spare room. Abbey and Latin Prayers. Steep learning curve. Wasn’t told anything about where to go and what to do. Had to dine at the top table with College. Worked in her room. Stayed in the Master of the Queen’s Scholars house. [9,40] Lessons. First lesson was with John Field, whom she knew. Kept herself to herself. Intellectual side was very stimulating and hard work. [10,50] Browning with John Christie. Called her Miss Dickinson. [12,00] Janet Carleton – very fierce but a delight. Knew her and John Carleton. Taught Scott. [12,52] Music side with Mr Burt. College competition. Won as a soprano. [13,40] Thames rowing. Coxed the boat and won. [14,10] Martin Rogers. Oblivious to any of the school rules as she wasn’t properly introduced to them. Caught with Grant’s boys in her room at 11:30pm discussing Yeats. Able to use her familial connections with many of the teachers to get away with restrictions. [16,50] Did she feel she was a trailblazer for the beginning of a co-educational Sixth Form at WS? No, done by personal arrangement with Martin Rogers, father didn’t pay any fees. Had to overrule a statute of Elizabeth I to allow women to be educated. Yet not properly a pupil. Occasional girls came in from St Paul’s to do sciences because Westminster’s labs were better. Helped that she had an older brother and that she knew his friends. Never struck her that she was an only girl among boys. [18,50] Bizarre marking system. Generally treated as any other pupil. [20,05] Uniform. Nothing outlandish. No requirements dictated at all. [21,13] Station afternoons. Catching up on work, helping Jane Rogers, watching football at Vincent Square. [23,11] School services, the Abbey. Awe inspiring, beautiful, privileged. Loved compline, candlelit, special service. Appreciated it enormously. Felt part of Latin prayers eventually. [24,39] John Carleton. Incredibly easy, tolerant, smiley, trusting. Total competence and a big sense of humour. Unshakeable and liberal with rules. Good couple with Janet. [26,10] Little contact with rest of school apart from at whole school gatherings and at meals. Little time. Sometimes went to the theatre or the pub. [27,40] London in the 60s. Connections between bits of London she knew, having not grown up there. Went to Peabody estate. Never threatened. [30,00] Range of reading. Shakespeare, Chaucer, Browning, Tennyson, George Eliot, T.S. Eliot, Wordsworth. Teachers had their areas of expertise. Like Oxford learning. [32,10] Taking the Oxford entrance exams. Unseens and essays. [34,14] Oxford interview. Had many family connections. [35,11] Discrepancies between male and female colleges. No overlap, yet they mixed a lot with boys in male colleges. [37,37] retained some connections with OW boys and friends from Somerville. [40,12] Musical activity at Oxford. Egalitarian setting met many people from varied backgrounds and subjects. [41,00] enjoyment of studying English as a degree. [42,30] English ran in the family, part of discussion. [44,00] Westminster Greek trip. Joined her brother on it when he was at the school. Went with 2 Paulinas. Theo Zinn: charismatic, eccentric, reading Agatha Christie. Loved all the ruins. Fan of botany. [46,10] Rome. Taken to see the Sistine Chapel. Wasn’t wearing the right outfit for a lady so posed dressed as a boy with short hair. [49,00] Educational quality of the trip? Instilled a feeling for the classics in pupils, more like a holiday. Appreciate the environment. [49,50] Ted Craven. Archetypal classics master, reserved. Not as characterful as Theo. [50,49] Felt a part of College. Even the staff living there overlapped with the staff who taught her. Not a real part of the school despite this. Lived separated in number 3. [54,21] Classrooms. Taught in mainly Ashburnham house, the library, Liddell's – very nice setting. Fewer pupils, intimate family atmosphere. Compelled to learn. [57,30] Teachers losing their temper. Jim never did so at her. John Field – a dramatist. Took the class to a performance of Hamlet with Ian McKellen. Was furious because not one of them had thanked him. Then carried on as if nothing had happened. A useful lesson. [59,50] Not much of a sense of rivalry between subjects. Healthy rivalry within the English Seventh. Tradition of having to read your marks out. From the arts perspective, the sciences were somewhat looked down upon. [01,01,00] 10 years earlier, superiority of the Classics dept. Classics was second nature in her family. [01,01,47] Didn’t do much theatre. [01,02,16] Carol Service. Held at St. Margaret’s. Asked to read a lesson by Field. Burt had asked her to sing soprano recitatives and be in control of descants. Challenge, wanted to make it audible. Heard people saying that it was an extraordinary voice for a boy. [01,04,45] Champagne parties and social events, centred around Martin. His Aunt. [01,05,59] Carletons as hosts. John and Janet were very sociable and well connected. Because of her own background, she never thought much of where people were from, encountered famous people everywhere. Daniel Day-Lewis. Made more lasting relationships with people who were interesting. [01,08,48] This attitude towards people helped her to thrive at Westminster. [01,09,17] Field and Carleton were very much a part of Westminster’s history. Field invited her and her mother on a private Abbey tour. Huge benefits. [01,10,43] Life after university. Obtained degree, could have gone to RCM. Ended up taking on a summer job housekeeping and looking after 6 children on a Scottish Island in the Hebrides. Full charge of a 24-bedroom house. Connection to the mother from Oxford choir. Household returned to London and Bath, the permanent housekeeper retired, and she returned to live on the island permanently. [01,14,00] Difficulties of old-fashioned homes and old telephoning. Telephone number was Colonsay 1. Still had to wind a handle to get the exchange on the island. Stayed there for nearly a year. [01,17,11] House cow. Not allowed to look after it herself. Given the produce of the cow daily: a huge excess of milk for one person. [01,18,37] Spent a few years doing antique restoration and china handling. Then got married. Helped with her children’s work.

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