The School Crest
When kept from prying eyes, even the seemingly mundane becomes mysterious. After years
of secrecy, the origin and heritage of the school crest is revealed, by Ben Butterfield.
“Non sapentia sine scientia”
goes the old school motto.
Translated it reads “No wisdom
without knowledge”: fitting for a
school such as ours, where
students’ life experience is
expanded alongside their minds.
The activities found as you turn
these pages are testament to a
6th form with a growing, thriving,
booming culture of excellence. Is
the expansion in breadth of
interest due to the rising A-level
grades? The school motto might
suggest so!
I was unsure what the bat-like
shape scrawled across the top
was, but King Henry VIII could
have told me instantly, as he
once owned Sutton Park, where
he hunted stag, deer and other
wild animals. The proximity of
the school to the once royal
hunting grounds has led to the
inclusion of antlers on the school
badge. Bats aren’t known for
their nobility, yet a stag’s majesty
and nobility leave a lot for
student’s to live up to.
Gryphons, featured in gold either
side of the shield, are terribly
powerful mythical creatures.
Traditionally they guard treasure,
and are well equipped to do so:
ferociously loyal, with mystic
powers, they have the body of a
giant lion, but the head and
wings of an eagle. (Potter fans
take note, hippogriffs like
Buckbeak are the offspring of a
horse and a gryphon). Why they
are found on The Streetly
Academy crest is somewhat
mystifying.
Perhaps
some
members of staff keep them as
pets…
An insightful observer might infer
that these gryphons may be
chosen to protect the tree in the
centre of the badge. A more
intimidating pair of guardians
would be hard to find: surely this
tree is worth more than its
component parts*. Trees found
in literature are often revered
due to their symbolic value, such
as Tolkien’s White Tree of
Gondor which only blossoms
upon the return of the line of
Kings to the city. Symbolic too, is
the literary tree in the centre of
the Streetly Crest: it is, I am
reliably informed, the Tree of
Knowledge (as found in the book
of Genesis).
How apt that the iconic emblem
of the school has, at its heart, the
symbolic representation of all
wisdom,
knowledge
and
learning!
*Wood from the Mpingo tree costs $25,000 per cubic metre!