A FORMER HOUSEMASTER REFLECTS
The International Centre fifty years ago
In many ways , the IC in the seventies was a very different place from today , but in others so similar : fifty-plus students from all over the world , all religions , all cultures , a few barely speaking English (‘ Sir , I suddenly realised I understood English while watching Kojak ’); as many as seven or eight each year on 100 per cent scholarships provided by the Schilizzi and Hugh Goffe Foundations and the Office for Placing Overseas Schoolboys and girls in British Schools ( OPOS ).
What do I remember ? Casey McCann wandering around on Sunday morning in a tartan dressing gown , the Eid dinner the Muslims organised and cooked for us , the Hugh Goffe fundraising lunches in June with the magnificent rhododendron in full bloom , the student phone box under the stairs in an age before mobiles , Pink Floyd at ear-splitting levels .
The Yom Kippur War of 1973 and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 , like today ’ s Russian Ukrainian conflict , were potentially divisive but showed the IC at its best : Palestinians and Jews , Turkish and Greek Cypriots , all remained friends . And still remain so .
Above : The IC in 1976 with John Guyatt
There were fewer Europeans – no Germans until 1980 – and very few from Eastern Europe ; Ethiopians , Lebanese , Cypriots both Turkish and Greek , Iranians and Argentinians , yes ; and , as now , Indians , Malay and Hong Kong Chinese . And because many still then came to the school on Kent County places , a significant number of students from local families chose to board at the IC for the Sixth Form .
A few years back I was having dinner in Delhi with a former IC student . ‘ Wouldn ’ t it be great to get the Class of 1976 together ?’ he observed . ‘ Yes , but where ?’ I asked . ‘ What about your place ?’ And so , in 2016 we met – and they came from all over the world . If anything testifies to the deep impact that the IC had on all our lives , it was that immensely enjoyable lunch .
John Guyatt IC Housemaster 1973-80
122 BOARDING