Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I reckon Mathews must have been on the point of retiring when he taught me and wasn't very interested (maybe he never was!). I seem to remember people lighting fires in the lab desk drawers, he didn't even flinch.

Since we are now talking of Phal Matthews, I can add that the fire-in-a-lab-desk-drawer episode, mentioned by dsm, which occurred at the end of Phal’s teaching career, could very well have also happened anytime in the 1950s. In spite of all his clear failings his teaching had one excellent characteristic. If one was serious about learning chemistry there was a simple method with him to ensure success. His teaching in effect was solely the dictation of notes covering the syllabus, nothing much else. If one copied his words carefully and learned them that was more than enough to pass. This method was very efficacious and about as far removed as imaginable from the heuristic method, so beloved and publicised by Van Praagh.

Pongo (Eric Littlefield) never flew. He interrogated senior German prisoners of war , which made getting information out of frightened 11 and 12 year olds child’s play. . He would smoke untipped Senior Service, in silence, for extended periods whilst interrogating and this always did the trick. He caned viciously, sometimes drawing blood.

In truth Matthews was an absolutely terrible teacher who had long since lost any enthusiasm for chemistry. When I took 3 science A levels 1953, I was taught’ by the frequently absent WPC Davies for Biology, Matthews for Chemistry and several itinerant Physics teachers whose names I’ve forgotten. Luckier boys were earning from Van Praagh, Archbold and a proper Physics teacher. There was a parallel pot luck dilemma with French. A stone deaf pensioner, an Australian Rules footballer with a Melbourne accent...or Jem Massen, who was first class if a little too fond of knuckling heads as he passed.

robertfinch wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:01 pm In truth Matthews was an absolutely terrible teacher who had long since lost any enthusiasm for chemistry. When I took 3 science A levels 1953, I was taught’ by the frequently absent WPC Davies for Biology, Matthews for Chemistry and several itinerant Physics teachers whose names I’ve forgotten. Luckier boys were earning from Van Praagh, Archbold and a proper Physics teacher. There was a parallel pot luck dilemma with French. A stone deaf pensioner, an Australian Rules footballer with a Melbourne accent...or Jem Massen, who was first class if a little too fond of knuckling heads as he passed.

I had Crosland for A level physics, two teachers for Chemistry (cannot remember names) but the first year was long established and very good and the second year some galoot from a Scottish school who had no control. As for my French teacher, he was interviewed by an S.O.E instructor brought up in France and found worse than wanting.