Schooldays – COSA Oxford

‘Working Class’ Boys

by Alan Smith (1942-48) I was one of the few ‘ working class’ boys, entering the school in 1942, and streamed into the ‘1B’ class. I was the son of a carpenter. Others included David Cripps, whose father was a postman and Gerald Webb. The three of us were moved into the ‘A’ class in… Continue reading ‘Working Class’ Boys

Nostalgia Tempered by Realism

by Nigel Molden (1960-66) I found the article on COHS in the fifties by Mike Brogden of particular interest. It was also of the greatest credit to the Editor that he should print an article in which the nostalgia was tempered by realism. As a result it has prompted me to add some comments in… Continue reading Nostalgia Tempered by Realism

COHS in the 1950s

by Mike Brogden (1952 – 1959) A Polemical View This post caused a real stir when Mike Chew published it on the old website, and you will find several responses from other boys linked to it in later posts. The New Boy There’s a photo of me, taken just before my first day at the… Continue reading COHS in the 1950s

COHS in the early 1940s

by Ernest (Em) Ames (1941-46) Reminiscences of Wartime COHS Schooldays and Beyond by Ernest (Em) Ames (1941-46) Firstly I was not an outstanding student academically but the “Oxford Education” has stood me in good stead through the years opening doors that would have been otherwise closed to me. Not only was academic prowess a main… Continue reading COHS in the early 1940s

COHS in the early 1960s

by John Geach (1960s) Memories of the Early Sixties by John Geach:I was not happy at school and in general an unsatisfactory pupil. Living in St John Street I was the nearest resident to the school that I was aware of – and always late. As a Catholic I did not attend Assembly and in… Continue reading COHS in the early 1960s

The Early 1940s

by Ivan Mazonowicz (1940-46) Ivan Mazonowicz (Mason since 1957) 1940-46 writes: There were some fine teachers, eg Harry Jacques (Chemistry), ‘Pongo’ Bodey (Physics, who was my role model when I became a teacher, and ‘Tich’ Wright, among others. Some were not so fine. I vividly recall one pupil crying, on his hands and knees, being… Continue reading The Early 1940s

COHS in the early 1950s

by Colin Tustin (1951-56) Colin Tustin (1951-56) reminisces: – Tumbling Bay. In summer the whole form walked down the canal towpath at Hythe Bridge Street and then under the railway bridge to the area where we were taken across the river by a rather disgruntled boatman in his punt.On getting across, the first thing to… Continue reading COHS in the early 1950s

COHS in the 1930s

from An Oxford Childhood by Tony Phelps (1933-41) Note from Mike Chew at the time: Tony’s story runs into 54 pages. If anyone would like to read them all, please contact me. We shall “serialise” the most relevant passages. Herewith Part 1. (Ed. The other parts do not appear to have been published however)In the… Continue reading COHS in the 1930s

The Remove

by John Nettell (1941) In 1941, as far as I remember, fee-payers all started in 2A and scholarship boys in Remove. Why it was called Remove I do not know. I only remember being told “it is traditional” which was no answer. Both classes numbered about 30 boys so there must have been about as… Continue reading The Remove

It could have been written by me

by George Pulley (1944-49) “I have to respond to the article in the July Newsletter No 8 by Mike Brogden This could have been written by me of my experiences and feelings when at school in the forties (1944-9). I went, as I failed the 11 plus, as a paying scholar!, and my parents paid… Continue reading It could have been written by me