Rhubarb

St Edward’s r h u b a r b

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Book Review A New History Of St Edward’s School, Oxford 1863-2013, Malcolm Oxley When Malcolm Oxley retired from St Edward’s in 1999, the Warden David Christie wrote in the Chronicle : ‘Malcolm inspired affection, respect and loyalty in a wide range of people of all ages, genders and conditions. When a new history of the school comes to be written he will bulk large in its pages. Unless, of course, he writes it.’ Now, almost 16 years later, he has written it, in celebration of the school’s 150th anniversary. In his opening paragraph Malcolm acknowledges his debt to Desmond Hill, whose earlier History was published in 1962 for the school’s centenary, but he makes it clear that he is ‘approaching the subject with aims and perspectives different from Hill’s.’ In addition to having access to the Governors’ Papers for the 20th century and a mountain of other archival material, he draws extensively on the recollections of OSE (and not - some may feel - without courting controversy in doing so), he identifies significant periods of change in the School’s ethos while also recognising patterns of continuity, he lauds the ‘giants’ in the school’s history without being uncritical of them, and he gives due appreciation to the ‘unsung heroes’. Indeed it is a major strength of the book that the author has viewed the school both from the bridge and from the engine room: the correspondence between parents, boys and wardens in the early days is especially enlightening. He presents a vivid picture of the Tractarian years under the first Warden, Algernon Simeon, and details many other equally important landmarks such as the school’s expansion in numbers and buildings, the impact of two World Wars, the ‘winds of change’ in the sixties, the introduction of co-education in the eighties, the development of pastoral care (so different from the earlier rougher days of ‘prefects and fags’), and the steady increase of state interference in independent schools throughout the 20th century.

There have of course been enormous changes to the School since its foundation. Is it possible, though, to identify any thread of continuity in the past 150 years? From its foundation and throughout my time at St Edward’s, there was an informal quality to relationships. The School was in no way ‘snobbish’ – it was in fact grounded and unpretentious. Having spent some time in other schools over the years, I would say that St Edward’s was pleasantly informal compared to many other similar schools – and I would like to think this is still the case. Size matters of course, and it is easier to maintain the ‘cosy’ atmosphere in a smaller school. Having spent so much time considering the School’s history, what is your view of modern-day St Edward’s? I would say – treading carefully! – that it is different: neither better, nor worse. I have always believed that no contemporary school could survive if its pupils were not happy. The pupils of St Edward’s have always been at the heart of its success. They love the opportunities, the location, and – of course! – the fact that they live in a semi- autonomous, vibrant teenage community. Whatever the management, whatever the strategies, whatever the marketing – it is the happiness and success of the pupils that will give the School strength and secure its future.

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OSE of every generation will recognise personalities, practices and attitudes from their own time at the School, but more than that, they will find that they are explained in the larger scheme of things. As Malcolm says, the school was almost ‘monastic’ in its early days, and the combination of changing public attitudes and wise governance from within ensured that it moved with the times. Although never a rich school, it has been blessed with generous benefactors whose names are to be found in buildings, scholarships and academic prizes. But there were dangers too: how close St Edward’s came to foundering in its infancy, the ‘Battle of Wiblin’s Wall’, the hostile press that attacked the school for the ‘papist’ rituals enacted in its new Chapel, and the crucial, even desperate negotiations that took place before the school was able to purchase, in 1910, the playing fields without which it is hard to imagine that it could have survived. Malcolm Oxley’s fascinating ‘History’, so meticulously researched and so clear in its account of the generational changes that have occurred in a St Edward’s education over the past 150 years, is a distinguished addition to the list of public school histories, but more importantly a revelation about the school that we may have thought we knew so well. Read it and be edified!

The book is priced at £25.00 + £4.95 for postage and packing within the UK. If you would like a price for international postage, or to arrange collection from the school, please contact the OSE Office on ose@stedwardsoxford.org or 01865 319362.

Nick Quartley, Former English Teacher at St Edward’s