The School - 1924 - 1930

Innumerable biographies have made us aware of the revulsion with which the literary products of English Public Schools usually recall them. As far as one can judge Welsh Grammar School boys have almost uniformly happy recollections of their schooldays. My own have not yet ended although the school is somewhat larger and more adult than when I started at home in Aberdare in 1924.

The headmaster, W. Charlton Cox, M.A., B.Sc., left no-one in doubt that the principal object of the school was amply expressed in its motto: Gorau llyw dysg. He was a fine pattern of the Scotch dominie - tall, humped-back, and somewhat forbiddingly beetle-browed but prepared and capable of teaching Mathematics, Greek, Latin and several other subjects. When he took us for one term in Algebra in Form II, he gave us the examination questions that belonged to Form IV. Tom Barling alone passed - at 42 per cent I believe; I had 28. No-one complained: we had all been treated alike.

The Governors thought of themselves as socialists and perhaps encouraged by the Glamorgan Education Committee - after my first year school prizes were abolished. A sad case of a little theory being too much for weak minds. However, competition and prizes remained in athletics; Tom Barling acquired a personal preserve there from his first year onwards.

School teachers may sometimes be reduced to an uninspired level of dullness by the apparent tedium of their task but rarely do (or did) they fail to engrave impressions on their pupils minds - even the English and Welsh language masters who came as near as possible to sleeping before the class are well remembered. But who could not be tickled by ''Daddy'' Elliot who taught Chemistry and Biology? He belonged - I am tempted to write - to the Faraday era; i.e. he was full of natural enthusiasm for his subjects, often rushing around the lab despite his age and his short-sight. His cat's skin provided a very efficient blackboard duster. ''Bobs'' in History (Mr. Aubrey Roberts) had developed his own syllabus for the Senior (= G.C.E.) level: Europe from 1815 to 1914 and British Commonwealth history. There was no textbook so we had duplicated notes, which left him time, inter alia, to discuss rugby at length and Gabe (his Barry John) in detail. But his appreciation of the relevance of his subject meant that I knew what Durham, Waitangi, Karageorgevitch and Obrenovitch meant in Canada, New Zealand and Yugoslavia. And he had read some Chinese history - which could be of comparable relevance to today's pupils.

Then there was Brin (Mr. Brinley Reynolds, later headmaster) whom modern educationists, psychologists, and other child-care specialists would regard as outrageous. He frightened everyone into passing in French - for twenty years or more no-one failed in Higher French. I do remember having shaky knees in his early classes; but it was excellent to have to cope and accept the possibility of instant damnation. I don't think I've been afraid of anyone since. If Brin would slaughter you with a blunderbuss, ''Billy-two'' (Mr. W.R. Williams, Mr. Cox's successor as headmaster) would do it far more neatly - indeed, as befitted a mathematician, even elegantly - with a rapier. Two boys had been less than bright: "Walker: walk to hell; Hopper, hop there!" And when we were once disturbed in the Physics lab by someone wishing to get through to the woodwork room, who fussed in, rattled the connecting door several times and announced complainingly, "The door is locked; I cannot get through". ''Then'', came the instant solution, "wriggle through the keyhole". Schools inspectors (one of the older forms of concealed unemployment) were more afraid of him than we were; it was said he'd put a problem on the board for them to solve.

In complete contrast was Ogwen Williams, F.R.G.S. "Ogie" supposedly taught Geography and Music - in which context the only reliable comment is that possibly he knew less of Music than of Geography. His lessons were almost continuous buffoonery - or so one's memory pleasantly and doubtless erroneously suggests; everyone, including "Ogie" played the fool.

Unfortunately, I am coming to the end of my allotted space without mentioning another half-dozen I should like to. The steady workers amongst the masters were less colourful and got on with their jobs with a quiet efficiency.

I have said nothing of the boys. Most of us are still pretty exact extensions of what we then were. One of the pleasantest privileges I have had was to be in the same Form as Arwyn Williams, Morien Morgan, Tom Barling and Handel Davies. Again, there are others I should mention. I look forward to seeing most on them there at the centenary.

Necque enim malignior fortuna unquam
Eripiet nobis quod prior hora dedit.