Welcome to the unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum - for discussing everything CH/Old Blue related. All pupils, parents, families, staff, Old Blues and anyone else related to CH are welcome to browse the boards, register and contribute.
Share your memories and stories from the Hertford Christ's Hospital School, which closed in 1985, when the two schools integrated to the Horsham site....
Euterpe13 wrote:As to benefits - well, apart from the excellent wide general knowledge and love of reading, which makes me almost unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit, I would now say that CH gave me a resiliance and indeed "backbone" to make it through the several crap-against-fan times in my life - DR and particularly Mrs. Winstone taught me that after minimal self-indulgent weeping, I should then get back on my feet, kick myself up the rear and get on with the situation!
People have commented, both in private and professional life, on my capacity to adapt - I have even been called brave! - and I give credit each time to CH.
I'm never sure whether I should credit those abilities to my time at CH, or to my Grandmother, whose voice I can still hear, saying 'Come on Caroline. There's no such word as can't.'
Euterpe13 wrote:As to benefits - well, apart from the excellent wide general knowledge and love of reading, which makes me almost unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit, I would now say that CH gave me a resiliance and indeed "backbone" to make it through the several crap-against-fan times in my life - DR and particularly Mrs. Winstone taught me that after minimal self-indulgent weeping, I should then get back on my feet, kick myself up the rear and get on with the situation!
People have commented, both in private and professional life, on my capacity to adapt - I have even been called brave! - and I give credit each time to CH.
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As I asked the question in the first place and am glad that you are all thinking about it, perhaps I should give an answer myself.
1) endurance
2) - after a long discussion with one of my brothers (also an Old Blue) - the ability to be oneself in any sort of society and yet still get on with them!
For many years I thought the charge was a pretentious, up-itself piece of nonsense that basically meant you should expect to waltz into any job just because you had "the good name of Christ's Hospital" associated with you. However, I read it again a year or so ago, and that's what made me sign up to a monthly donation to CH. Whatever handicaps I might have accumulated in the form of social awkwardness and so on, there is no doubt CH gave me a very good education (though possibly not a good preparation for life), and it was all due to the kindness and benevolence of people who owed me nothing but gave out of the goodness of their hearts. I'd been talked into donating to my university some years ago - rather reluctantly - so I stopped that DD and switched it to CH instead as I thought it was about time I gave something back.
Jo, I think you have it in a nutshell - 'it was all due to the kindness and benevolence of people who owed me nothing but gave out of the kindness and benevolence of their own hearts'. Often they gave in thanks for what they themselves had received, and the Charge is clearly intended to encourage us to do likewise. In spite of some of the unfortunate legacies that Hertford left with many of us in the form of 'social awkwardness', lack of self-esteem etc, in general we all got a good all-round education and it was up to us what we then went on to do with it. I think my daughters have made better use than I ever did of the 'benefits received'. Even while they were still at Hertford it was quite evident that they were both far more independent and self-reliant than their contemporaries. None of us usually wait for an available man to do practical things - we have a go first ourselves before declaring as a last resort 'What we need is a man about the house'! It was particularly noticeable when we were setting up the back garden for Maria's wedding - myself, two daughters, two bridesmaids (both Old Girls) were 'doing' things, whilst trying to find spurious jobs to keep the menfolk occupied and out of our way!
Unfortunately I am not in a position to make financial recompense for the benefit of future potential pupils, but I am well aware that as a family we owe a lot to those unknown benefactors of old. In fact, I wonder if I could persuade my husband to make a regular contribution? I think it is unlikely - he being the product of the local comprehensive is really not aware of the finer points of a CH education - but it is worth a try!
There are in fact, many ways to give, money being only one of them. As everyone knows, Jo is on the Editorial Board of the Old Blue, so is more than giving back.
True! I typed the CHOGA Newsletter for a few years. A lot of the 'ways to give' however involve being able to travel reasonably easily to Horsham, and I don't drive; nor can I afford the exhorbitant train fares, so I'm afraid I have retired! Any practical suggestions gratefully received.
Fjgrogan wrote:True! I typed the CHOGA Newsletter for a few years. A lot of the 'ways to give' however involve being able to travel reasonably easily to Horsham, and I don't drive; nor can I afford the exorbitant train fares, so I'm afraid I have retired! Any practical suggestions gratefully received.
Not entirely true as I live in Valencia and coordinate the magazine from here.
DavebytheSea lives in far off Cornwall, which I have visited and seems further away than Valencia, certainly in time.
Julian did a very good spider diagram or similar of ways to help, which we must persuade him to resurrect and publish.
Taken from a letter to be included in the next OBM
"What really makes CH compelling is its pupil-body, with those teaching the young coming a close second. A feisty character, pluck and a cheerful determination to take on all comers seem to be hallmarks of a good many Blues."
I'm sure many on this forum would identify with that description, and it seems a pretty good legacy.
Patience, the whole letter makes pretty good reading, IMHO.
