During the sixties and seventies.

Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else, but that's still CH related.

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TA
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During the sixties and seventies.

Post by TA »

Not being an avid fan of CH ( my years at the school were the worst time of my life and a complete disaster for me ) I wonder what type of person the school was churning out in the sixties and seventies ? Okay we were well mannered polite and able to make our beds in the morning, able to wear a funny uniform and pretend that nobody at Victoria station was looking at us. Apart from that did the school damage in anyway our more social sides ? As I get older I get the feeling that it reduced us in someways to cold people. Any thoughts ?
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Post by Mid A 15 »

As another from the same era you pose what to me is an interesting question.

I certainly experienced some real lows during my time at CH but equally I loved the sport and living in such beautiful countryside. I also made some really good mates who I am still in contact with.

One other negative, which no longer applies, is that girls were creatures from another planet and I found it difficult establishing relations for some time after leaving school. Having said that my day school mates were not noticeably more successful!

The irony of my girl difficulties is that I am now married and the father of 3 daughters.

So I guess my answer to your question would be no I don't think the school did damage me.

Others might say different :!:
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Post by J.R. »

Indeed, an interesting subject.

I think the enforced regime, whilst producing well behaved and respectfull people, also turned out people who distinctly had trouble relating to girls. (Remember - there weren't any at Horsham in 1963).

My wife Jan of 34 years plus, often tells me I can be very cold and un-emotional and I have always put this down to an inner wall of self defence.

Do you remember those lectures by Dr Mathews all about sex and relationships ? The theory was fine, but the practical almost impossible !

In hindsight, I believe single-sex boarding schools to be thorougly wrong.
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Post by TA »

Hi John !

It would appear we went to the same house. My wife also says that I can be emotionally cold at times. Does help at work ! Probably the reason why I moved to a cold country ( Sweden ). Can't remember having any sex education while at CH..at least not by a teacher. Do however remember the pride in having a girlfriend ( now my wife ) come to the retreat. One in the eye for many pupils.
Best thing about being at CH was having Gerald Davies as rugby coach, and the funniest thing was having Gerald Davies as an English teacher. " To pass or not to pass..that is the question boyo " !
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Post by J.R. »

Dr Mathews wasn't a teacher.

If memory serves, he was a practising Harley Street specialist, probably a shrink, who obviously specialised in 'sexual' matters.

We used to get three lectures during our upper school life. They were 'all-day' lectures.

1. On joining house from prep.
2. Halfway through school life
3. On preparing to leave school. (This was the interesting one !)

The lectures were held in the lecture hallin the Science lab.

How the world moves on !

Amber, our ten-year old Grand-Daughter was red and full of the giggles when she came home from primary school yesterday afternoon. After some coaxing, she mumbled that they had just, 'had a class about puberty. Then she went even redder and mummbled that next week, they were going to have a lesson about, IT !!!
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Post by Mid A 15 »

TA,

Gerald Davies was a great bloke and taught me English also. Without elaborating too much one of my CH "lows" concerned rugby and TGRD took the time to assure me that I could play the game. That was a real boost coming from someone of his status.

JR,

Our sex lecture was carried out by PF Matthews, the notoriously heavy smoking science teacher. I think I've got his initials right. I can only recall ever having one when I was in either the second or third form
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Post by Richard Ruck »

Mid A 15 wrote:Our sex lecture was carried out by PF Matthews, the notoriously heavy smoking science teacher. I think I've got his initials right. I can only recall ever having one when I was in either the second or third form
Matthews tried to instil some understanding of chemistry in me as well (3rd. form, I think). Didn't really manage, though.

However, pictures of mis-shapen willies and general warnings about syphilis etc. were reserved for Rev. Godfrey Hall's 'Divinity' (as they were called then) classes. I think it was assumed that we already knew about the mechanics of human naughtiness (at least, I don't remember any classes about it, outside of the usual biology stuff). I'd been given all that info. at my previous school.

That was it - nothing half-way through, and certainly nothing in the latter stages.
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Post by Simon Kerruish »

Mid A 15 wrote:As another from the same era you pose what to me is an interesting question.

I certainly experienced some real lows during my time at CH but equally I loved the sport and living in such beautiful countryside. I also made some really good mates who I am still in contact with.

One other negative, which no longer applies, is that girls were creatures from another planet and I found it difficult establishing relations for some time after leaving school. Having said that my day school mates were not noticeably more successful!

The irony of my girl difficulties is that I am now married and the father of 3 daughters.
Agree with everything you wrote, and I also have 3 daughters!
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Post by sport! »

Richard Ruck wrote:
Mid A 15 wrote:Our sex lecture was carried out by PF Matthews, the notoriously heavy smoking science teacher. I think I've got his initials right. I can only recall ever having one when I was in either the second or third form
Matthews tried to instil some understanding of chemistry in me as well (3rd. form, I think). Didn't really manage, though.

However, pictures of mis-shapen willies and general warnings about syphilis etc. were reserved for Rev. Godfrey Hall's 'Divinity' (as they were called then) classes. I think it was assumed that we already knew about the mechanics of human naughtiness (at least, I don't remember any classes about it, outside of the usual biology stuff). I'd been given all that info. at my previous school.

That was it - nothing half-way through, and certainly nothing in the latter stages.
Reviving an old post......

Cold? Possibly
Reserved? Probably

and picking up on Richard's reply above:

1. My only official sex lecture was from Bob Sillett in 2nd Form Biology - I remember it was like a military manoeuvres briefing......(rather Capt. Mainwaring-esque I thought)

2. The Rev. Godfrey Hall has just retired after some 20 years as the Headmaster of the Prebendal School in Chichester (the Cathedral School).
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Post by AKAP »

I do remember the Dr Matthews lecture in 65. Probably the best part was the Q & A session ( apart from the daring magic lantern show with a picture of a naked woman.)
The Q & A session was after break and we were allowed to write the questions down. As we were only 12 the senior monitors (any Barnes B monitors from 65 hands up please) helped us out with some definatley dodgey questions.
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Post by englishangel »

I was at the Hertford 66-72 and things were much the same there. fortunately my mother is/was a nurse/midwife/health visitor so I knew all about IT (as JR so sweetly put it) from the moment I could talk, as do my own kids.

People had some very funny ideas though. I remember the cleaner stating categorically that withdrawal was an acceptable method of birth control. She also answered the question for someone who was reading something about French kissing. Everyone went 'Yeeuch' except me for whom it was too late :oops: We must have been about 14.

The girl who asked the questions is married so I suppose she wasn't irreversibly scarred.

I cannot remember having sex education lessons as such. We were shown an x-ray of a smoker with lung cancer by the Infirmary sister, that was a goody.
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Post by J.R. »

Very interesting, Angel. Glad you didn't lead a sheltered life.

There is some confusion on the posts above regarding CH in the 60's

P. Matthews, (Phallic) was a science teacher, and NEVER taught sex education as far as I can remember.

DR. MATTHEWS visited the school each term, to give a series of 3 lectures, (with slides). The lecture depended on which year you were in.

He also held a private 'surgery' in C.M.E. Seaman's study, (I'd have changed MY surname, personally), to answers boys 'questions' on a 'one-to-one' basis.

These MATTHEWS were two completely different people.
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Post by Rory »

I can't remember any sex education at all - maybe I wasnt concentrating - but I remember the chemistry smoking guy - he had ink splashes all down the back of his jacket. Maybe he did talk about sex once and that's how he got his name. As for long term effects of CH - I think it created a bunch of individuals - there is certainly a CH type - but I'm not sure how I would define it. School - as life - has good and bad stuff - as long as you learn from experience you can keep the good and ditch the bad.
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Post by englishangel »

Rory wrote:I can't remember any sex education at all - maybe I wasnt concentrating - but I remember the chemistry smoking guy - he had ink splashes all down the back of his jacket. Maybe he did talk about sex once and that's how he got his name. As for long term effects of CH - I think it created a bunch of individuals - there is certainly a CH type - but I'm not sure how I would define it. School - as life - has good and bad stuff - as long as you learn from experience you can keep the good and ditch the bad.

Hear Hear.
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Post by sejintenej »

J.R. wrote:Indeed, an interesting subject.

I think the enforced regime, whilst producing well behaved and respectfull people, also turned out people who distinctly had trouble relating to girls. (Remember - there weren't any at Horsham in 1963).

My wife Jan of 34 years plus, often tells me I can be very cold and un-emotional and I have always put this down to an inner wall of self defence.

Do you remember those lectures by Dr Mathews all about sex and relationships ? The theory was fine, but the practical almost impossible !
Certainly one simply had to be cold and uncaring to even survive there. It has stood me in good stead since.

As for Dr. Matthews, I was at CH when his lectures started; the first one was for teachers' pets so I missed out. As for the second one I couldn't understand what on earth he was talking about (having missed the first one) and didn't find out until perhaps 10 years later
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