Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I was an LCC pupil, and took what I thought was the regular LCC "scholarship" exam in 1944. I certainly didn't take another one for grammar school entry. Maybe this was a wartime measure, because I was still technically a London pupil although tempoarily licing outside London.

midget wrote:I was an LCC pupil, and took what I thought was the regular LCC "scholarship" exam in 1944. I certainly didn't take another one for grammar school entry. Maybe this was a wartime measure, because I was still technically a London pupil although tempoarily licing outside London.

I'm not too sure who set the papers to be honest.

I was told the LCC had a number of places and that based on the exam results they would choose who got in.

I know I took and passed the 11 plus, possibly as an insurance policy in case I failed the CH exams, I don't know for sure as in those days everyone did the 11 plus at my Primary School. I later took what was described to me as a LCC scholarship for CH and had an interview with the then Headmaster, CME Seaman, all on the same day. The exam took place somewhere in Holborn but that is about all I remember.

At the age of 10 I did what I was told!

Mid A 15 wrote:

midget wrote:I was an LCC pupil, and took what I thought was the regular LCC "scholarship" exam in 1944. I certainly didn't take another one for grammar school entry. Maybe this was a wartime measure, because I was still technically a London pupil although tempoarily licing outside London.

I'm not too sure who set the papers to be honest.

I was told the LCC had a number of places and that based on the exam results they would choose who got in.

I know I took and passed the 11 plus, possibly as an insurance policy in case I failed the CH exams, I don't know for sure as in those days everyone did the 11 plus at my Primary School. I later took what was described to me as a LCC scholarship for CH and had an interview with the then Headmaster, CME Seaman, all on the same day. The exam took place somewhere in Holborn but that is about all I remember.

At the age of 10 I did what I was told!

Pretty much the same for us, 11 plus then CH exams at Gt Tower Street, I presume. 4 of us took it, but had to leave school journey on the IOW to do it. Still got my school journey book and we have a video of it as well.
3 of us got in. We're still trying to work out how our headmistress knew about CH and put so many of us in.
The rest of my class at Junior school all went to grammar schools, Colfes, Askes etc, so those who went to CH felt no different academically from the rest of the class.
Having grown up in classes of about 40, I was amazed to see so few people in my class at CH.

The Arithmetic and English exam papers are headed

CHRIST'S HOSPITAL

ALMONERS' NOMINEES' EXAMINATION (GIRLS), 1965

and are both Part II. They are printed on A5 (if A5 was around back then), and paper of reasonable quality.

The General Paper was duplicated (remember those big drums that you used to turn by hand?) on a piece of poor quality paper whose size eldues me. Not foolscap or A4 - maybe UK legal?.

No copyright or any mention of who actually set the questions.

Caroline

I did this exam and I thought I did it with Caroline, and of course Alex Thrift. Perhaps it was just that there were a certain number of places for LCC pupils (and West Sussex, West Gift etc.) and LCC schools were canvassed.

I bet my Mum has that paper too, I'll have to ask her.

I remember the day, mid March and an absolute scorcher.

englishangel wrote:I did this exam and I thought I did it with Caroline, and of course Alex Thrift. Perhaps it was just that there were a certain number of places for LCC pupils (and West Sussex, West Gift etc.) and LCC schools were canvassed.

I bet my Mum has that paper too, I'll have to ask her.

I remember the day, mid March and an absolute scorcher.

I don't remember much about the day, other than sitting in a largish hall, then exotic coffee at Juliane's home (see different thread) afterwards.

Mervion Hunt and I were there from Richard Atkins. Mary Mc (from Woolwich) would have sat that exam, Juliane, of course. Um, Judith Points (Westminster). Not Liz, 'cos she was, I think, a 617 Squadroner. Oh, Susan Knight, who lived at Herne Hill, but don't know which primary school she attended. Penny Evans? Sue Betteridge was a 617er. Amanda Mc had a Gov's place ......... my brain is starting to hurt.

Miss Morley, our Head Mistress put people forward each year. She stayed in contact with my Mum, partly because my sister is 4 years younger than me and also went to Richard Atkins, and Mum was a dinner lady at the school for a while. I'm sure that she would have asked Mum how I was doing, but wonder whether she ever asked if I was happy? We, of course, were only aware of what we were experiencing, and I assumed that all schools were offered what we were. However, we had a rich music programme, learnt French from age 7, did lots of project work - I remember the class sewing a huge (well, it seemed huge then) collage of pyramids and camels when we were learning about ancient Egypt.

I'm starting to dehydrate, so off for a large glass of water.

Love

Caroline

icomefromalanddownunder wrote:Mervion Hunt and I were there from Richard Atkins. Mary Mc (from Woolwich) would have sat that exam, Juliane, of course. Um, Judith Points (Westminster). Not Liz, 'cos she was, I think, a 617 Squadroner. Oh, Susan Knight, who lived at Herne Hill, but don't know which primary school she attended. Penny Evans? Sue Betteridge was a 617er. Amanda Mc had a Gov's place ......... my brain is starting to hurt.

They may have tried both ways of getting in, can't remember her name from 2s, sat next to me at Great Tower Street but got in as RAF Foundationer.

I think Penny took her exam out of the country. Her Dad was in the RAF and she was late coming toschool when we started. Perhaps the LCC folks took the exam on a different day to the rest of us.

The only ones I can remember were Alex, Jane Erskine and Pauline Arnold.

icomefromalanddownunder wrote:Question 2a
Describe how any two of the following work:-
a roundabout
a level crossing
a zebra crossing

I remember that one. I didn't read the whole question before answering it, so the first thing I described was a playground roundabout. Then I looked at the next one and realised I'd got it wrong.

Was there also one about areas, where you had to calculate the area of a border to a rectangle. I did it as 4 strips, remembering not to count the corners twice. Or was it something to do with fence posts.

We sat in a big room, at an enormous U-shaped table. I wrote with a rather blotchy biro.

At lunchtime we went out in a crocodile, and walked past the Tower of London. Was lunch supplied or did we bring our own? I remember eating sandwiches out of a paper bag.

We had individual interviews with DR. She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said I didn't know (truthful). She suggested I might like to be a teacher, and we talked about that.

Before sitting the test in London I did a preliminary test at my primary school. I sat on my own in the ante room to the headmistresses office. Nobody remembered to come and stop me when the time was up, so I had much more time that I should have done, and so may have got in to CH on false pretences.

MKM wrote:

icomefromalanddownunder wrote:Question 2a
Describe how any two of the following work:-
a roundabout
a level crossing
a zebra crossing

I remember that one. I didn't read the whole question before answering it, so the first thing I described was a playground roundabout. Then I looked at the next one and realised I'd got it wrong.

Was there also one about areas, where you had to calculate the area of a border to a rectangle. I did it as 4 strips, remembering not to count the corners twice. Or was it something to do with fence posts.

Question 3: a table top is 4ft long and 3ft 3in wide. When a tablecloth is put on, it is found that 9in hangs down on all sides. find the area of the cloth, in square feet.

We sat in a big room, at an enormous U-shaped table. I wrote with a rather blotchy biro.

At lunchtime we went out in a crocodile, and walked past the Tower of London. Was lunch supplied or did we bring our own? I remember eating sandwiches out of a paper bag.

We had individual interviews with DR. She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said I didn't know (truthful). She suggested I might like to be a teacher, and we talked about that.

Don't know if it was then, or at a later date, that I told her that I wanted to be a Vet, and was told that I couldn't because I was a girl. She was right, but for the wrong reason. Um, no, I was a girl, and I couldn't be a Vet because I would never be able to euthanase an animal that was not terminally ill or in pain.

Before sitting the test in London I did a preliminary test at my primary school. I sat on my own in the ante room to the headmistresses office. Nobody remembered to come and stop me when the time was up, so I had much more time that I should have done, and so may have got in to CH on false pretences.

Don't think so Mary We only made it through O Level Maths thanks to your help.

Love

Caroline

I think that lunch was supplied. I don't remember carrying anything when I left home.

Ok... here's a big confession.
I entered CH in 1957, having been to Great Tower Street in the March that year (within days of my ninth birthday). I remember a big room, a horseshoe shaped table, red pencils, sitting on highly polished stairs talking to other girls - many of whom I then got to know in the First Form, with Miss King, that September. I also remember DRW giving us 'dictation' - I think it was from Alice in Wonderland. I was scared stiff.....
And I don't remember anything about lunch!
Cut to two years later, when I was at CH, Hertford. The Government had some sort of project to test the 11plus. We were guineapigs. Our year was wheeled into the Art School, and sat down to take these examination papers. It was clear that whatever we put would not affect our place at CH, but we had to do the best we could.
One of the questions was 'Who lives in the White House?'
Simmonds - to this day - remembers writing 'Miss ... whoever.. and Miss whoever'.
For you Horsham Old Blues, 'The White House' was a white building opposite the Hertford School gates, in which lived a number of our teaching staff.
AAARRGGHH!!