by Philip Hunt (1960-67)
Encouraging the debate: Lord Philip Hunt sides with Nigel Molden
(Lord) Philip Hunt (1960-67) writes:
I was very interested in Nigel Molden’s piece. Some of my experience chimes with his and I thought you might be interested in some comments.
I went to the school at the same time as Nigel (I lived in Cowley and went to Cowley St James primary school). I was in the 1b/2s etc class through to O levels. It was definitely regarded as the bottom stream. It’s an interesting commentary on the time, that science was not rated so highly as the classics/arts.
I don’t think Nigel is right that we were banished to the old Central School. In fact 1b was in the main block with Mr I Taylor as form teacher. But I do remember going there for art and TD – both of which I was completely hopeless at!! The visits to South Oxford School for wood-work bring similar dreaded memories.
I didn’t really enjoy my school experience and struggled academically until I reached Sixth Form. Nigel has no memory of the B/S people going onto the sixth form, but I was certainly not the only one. There I was very fortunate to be taught by David Walker and Colin Rummings and got really interested in history and economics. I went on to Leeds University to study politics and I am pretty sure that there were others from the B/S stream that went on to university.
It is interesting that comparatively few of the students starting out at the school did go directly into higher education. I do agree there was a lack of ambition for the students by the school. I guess most of us were the first generation in our families to go to university and the school reflected a philosophy pre the expansion of higher education which took place in the 60s.
I didn’t leave school enamoured with the grammar school system. There was a pervading sense of superiority over the secondary modern schools and inferiority to schools like MCS.
Congratulations to Mike Chew on encouraging this debate.