Favourite teacher

Share your memories and stories from your days at school, and find out the truth behind the rumours....Remember the teachers and pupils, tell us who you remember and why...

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michael scuffil
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by michael scuffil »

Ah, Reggie.... He of the very flamboyant handwriting.

He played less part in CH life than any other master I knew. Lived in Horsham, cycled in and out, and apart from lessons, was invisible. (Though before my time I believe he'd been in the air section of the CCF.)
He had some eccentric ideas, one being that Shakespeare was not much good. This opinion was based on his strict interpretation of the "three unities" theory of drama. He once said that we knew Gloster wasn't having his eyes put out on stage, so it was silly to write a play where this had to be pretended.

He was a chain-smoker, so a double lesson of his was always two single lessons, for this reason.

He was a French specialist (and very good), but he was also my first German teacher, and actually very good at that too.

And he was very funny.
Th.B. 27 1955-63
fra828
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by fra828 »

Wouldn't say that he was my favourite teacher (fave was the lovely Mrs Oliver) but I DID like Mr Watson, languages teacher at Hertford in the 70's. He was caring , and interested in even the less academic amongst us. If only HE'D taught us Alevel German instead of the spiteful Miss Rid/ford , not to be confused with Rutherford , another rather dragonian spinster of the same era; but I got on with the latter ok, as I liked French which she taught. I'm sure I'd have had more chance of actually learning something with Mr.W and progressed in German Alevel course instead of giving it all up in LV1. If by chance you are reading this, Ridders, I'm sorry for 'slagging you off', actually I'm not sorry really, YOU should be saying sorry to ME! :(
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LongGone
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by LongGone »

A very belated follow-up Richard Fry's wartime career. http://www.paradata.org.uk/people/richard-n-fry
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donfay
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by donfay »

My first encounters with Nell Todd were after I moved up from the Prep, perhaps in L.E. in 1954. She was always so kind.
I was never any good at painting, but always enjoyed it even up to doing Art as my option in Grecians. Just recently, I have a revived interest in painting and most recently have tried to remember some of the images that Nell Todd liked. I probably have them totally wrong, but a link to recent images is http://www.flickr.com/photos/don_fay/se ... 028534936/
rockfreak
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Re: Corks

Post by rockfreak »

DavebytheSea wrote:OK - Cecil Cochrane! He never actually taught me, but he gave me a lifelong love of music and an appreciation of its significant role in worship. His reputation may have become somewhat tarnished in his latter years, but he was a truly gifted and dedicated master. Thank you Corks! RIP
He had a voice as well. I remember him at a school concert giving a spirited rendition of Handel's "O ruddier than the cherry", given added piquancy by the fact that he himself had a somewhat cherry-ish complexion - perhaps as a result of the alcohol consumption mentioned elsewhere.
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LongGone
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by LongGone »

donfay wrote:My first encounters with Nell Todd were after I moved up from the Prep, perhaps in L.E. in 1954. She was always so kind.
I was never any good at painting, but always enjoyed it even up to doing Art as my option in Grecians. Just recently, I have a revived interest in painting and most recently have tried to remember some of the images that Nell Todd liked. I probably have them totally wrong, but a link to recent images is http://www.flickr.com/photos/don_fay/se ... 028534936/
Art classes were certainly a break from the usual routine: one of my clearest memories is a student (name forgotten) who did the most amazing landscape pictures and then, at the last minute, filled them with bombers and tanks that were completely destroying everything in sight.
If a stone falls on an egg: alas for the egg
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J.R.
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by J.R. »

LongGone wrote:
donfay wrote:My first encounters with Nell Todd were after I moved up from the Prep, perhaps in L.E. in 1954. She was always so kind.
I was never any good at painting, but always enjoyed it even up to doing Art as my option in Grecians. Just recently, I have a revived interest in painting and most recently have tried to remember some of the images that Nell Todd liked. I probably have them totally wrong, but a link to recent images is http://www.flickr.com/photos/don_fay/se ... 028534936/
Art classes were certainly a break from the usual routine: one of my clearest memories is a student (name forgotten) who did the most amazing landscape pictures and then, at the last minute, filled them with bombers and tanks that were completely destroying everything in sight.

That rings a very distant bell in the back of my mind.

What were your years Mike ?
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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LongGone
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by LongGone »

J.R. wrote:
LongGone wrote:
donfay wrote:My first encounters with Nell Todd were after I moved up from the Prep, perhaps in L.E. in 1954. She was always so kind.
I was never any good at painting, but always enjoyed it even up to doing Art as my option in Grecians. Just recently, I have a revived interest in painting and most recently have tried to remember some of the images that Nell Todd liked. I probably have them totally wrong, but a link to recent images is http://www.flickr.com/photos/don_fay/se ... 028534936/
Art classes were certainly a break from the usual routine: one of my clearest memories is a student (name forgotten) who did the most amazing landscape pictures and then, at the last minute, filled them with bombers and tanks that were completely destroying everything in sight.

That rings a very distant bell in the back of my mind.

What were your years Mike ?
54-61
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jhopgood
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by jhopgood »

There was a large Black and White ink drawing just inside the door of the Art School, with all kinds of devils etc done by one Joe Curtis, Ba B 25, and my predecessor with the House number.
His brother, Robin, was also in Barnes B.
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rockfreak
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Re: AH Buck

Post by rockfreak »

J.R. wrote:I seem to remember 'Killer' Fry had quite a glowing military record. Could that have had anything to do with it ? I seemed to remember he held quite a high decoration.

N.T. Fryer was my housemaster, (see other posts), and stories of Mr Buck still resounded around Coleridge in the early 60's. I wasn't aware he was dismissed. Would anyone care to elaborate on this matter ?
What do you think masters get sacked for at boys' boarding schools? A pity because he was well enough liked otherwise and was a dedicated teacher. Also, he hated the Americans. "The Americans are swine!" he would say. I think he had more knowledge of the antics of the CIA in the third world then than the rest of us. Kirby was brought in to run the house for the rest of the summer term in (I think) 1956 and ran it in the same loose but effective way as his lab.
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J.R.
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Re: AH Buck

Post by J.R. »

rockfreak wrote:
J.R. wrote:I seem to remember 'Killer' Fry had quite a glowing military record. Could that have had anything to do with it ? I seemed to remember he held quite a high decoration.

N.T. Fryer was my housemaster, (see other posts), and stories of Mr Buck still resounded around Coleridge in the early 60's. I wasn't aware he was dismissed. Would anyone care to elaborate on this matter ?

What do you think masters get sacked for at boys' boarding schools? A pity because he was well enough liked otherwise and was a dedicated teacher. Also, he hated the Americans. "The Americans are swine!" he would say. I think he had more knowledge of the antics of the CIA in the third world then than the rest of us. Kirby was brought in to run the house for the rest of the summer term in (I think) 1956 and ran it in the same loose but effective way as his lab.

That speaks volumes !!
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
menace2
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by menace2 »

Based on achievement Macnutt must rank in the top few. He saw an average of 4 students taking scholarships to Oxbridge over a 25 year period. I doubt if he had more than 8 students in 3rd year Grecians at any time. Quite a character in his plus fours and his many years as Ximenes the crossword author for the Times. Terrifying, but fair and a slave driver.
Kit Bartlett
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by Kit Bartlett »

D.S. Macnutt was certainly a fearsome teacher and one remembers that when he made some jocular remark ( not very often it must be said ) there was always a burst of extremely nervous laughter from the class.
If a boy was clearly out of his depth, as some were, he surprisingly showed a great deal of sympathy towards them and made allowances.
His grammatical tests were legendary in that anyone failing to score seven out of ten had to report to him in Peele B, after classes, for a beating.
Strangely very few seemed not to reach this mark.
I recall that he grabbed the hair of one boy who had made some glaring verbal error in grammar to make the correction. The boy had very curly hair
and he made the point to the class of how nice this felt in his hand. I suppose that in today's climate this incident would count as assault, not to mention the corporal punishment which of course was quite frequent in many areas of the school.
michael scuffil
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by michael scuffil »

I fear you are too kind to Macnutt. In class he was a pedant, his teaching consisted of cramming rules, and your story of the hair-pulling incident ties in with Bryan Magee's published (and horrific) account of his corporal punishment activities, of which pretty boys were the principal victims.
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menace2
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Re: Favourite teacher

Post by menace2 »

Michael, I am afraid I must disagree with your assessment of Macnutt. I had the good fortune of only seeing him in the classroom - I was in MaA. After 4 years of his tutelage - and being referred to as "an animated waste paper basket" - I can assure you that his classes were rigorously analytical and stylistic. No rote with "Fat" Macnutt. His infamous composition pieces (beautifully printed) demanded a lot more than rote and he marked on far more than "rules". Of course it does not mitigate his faults in other areas of conduct, and I am grateful I did not have to deal with those.

A propos of nothing - I do remember other greatly influential teachers of my time such as Jesson-Dibley, Tim Law, and several others from that era already mentioned in this thread. It was a very difficult transitional period for CH, I saw the end of HLOFlecker and the start of CME Seaman. The latter I got to know quite well, and developed a late respect for him. It is reassuring for such as I to see how far the place has come.

Who remembers the article in the Blue written by the Griffin twins in PeA, then run by the notorious Beavan? Ending in the mythical quote "Brightest lamp of our declining years, burgeoning ever verdant" - still cannot fathom how they got that past the editorial board.
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