N O . 1 2 1 T H E T R U S T Y S E R VA N T
whether they shared the Headmaster ’ s view in 1945 that the war had ‘ helped to break down our isolation , and the complacency that is bred of it …. and given us a conscience of being part of a great working community ; it ’ s imparted to all our activities a deeper sense of relevance and reality ’. Most agreed with the honest confession that this was ‘ somewhat above my head – [ I was ] mostly interested in where the next match was to be played ’. Others commented that the war ‘ made us read the newspapers every morning to see the progress of the war – especially in the latter stages when the Allies were on the offensive . And in reading the papers , inevitably one became more aware of every other aspect of life outside ’ and ‘ during the war we schoolboys necessarily felt the importance of what was going on around us , and this increased the sense that we were part of the wider community , and would be responsible in due course either for defending or improving it ’. Many , however , thought that the School had remained an insular community both during and after the war and that ‘ complacency reasserted itself all too quickly afterwards ’. One commented , ‘ National Service brought us into touch with others from a different background but the School continued to be elitist – strong on authority , weak on humanity ’.
The survey then went on to ask about educational reforms after 1945 and whether Spencer Leeson and Walter Oakeshott were seen as reformist headmasters . One OW felt that Leeson was ‘ just pragmatic ’ but that Oakeshott ‘ seemed to champion change and to be an inspiration for many a boy ’. Another stated his respect for Oakeshott and took ‘ an interest in what he was doing in the School , so far as I was kept aware as an OW . He seemed to be moving the School forward ’.
When asked about whether a new school emerged from the war years , most felt that any changes were minimal but that the softening of the treatment of
junior boys and the introduction of social interaction with girls ’ schools were welcome improvements . Most felt that change was slow and , as one OW who had been at school in the mid-1940s put it , ‘ the School seemed to be a very similar place when my son went to it in the early 70s ’.
A question was also asked about the future of public schools . Some concurred with the respondent who wrote that such schools were ‘ so well established that I did not foresee changes ’ and that schools like Win Coll would continue ‘ for many future generations ’. But others commented on the political context of the immediate post-war years and the threat that ‘ left-wing politicians would abolish public schools ’. Some OWs remembered a visit to the school by a group of Labour MPs in 1943 who arrived ‘ expecting to find ammunition for denouncing the privileged luxury of feepaying schools and went away horrified by the Spartan , inhumane , conditions of living in College ’.
Many OWs commented that they were too young as schoolboys to give much thought to post-war educational reforms and were instead focused on academic and sporting results . One respondent commented that ‘ since 1382 poor boys could get scholarships and DID ’, suggesting that the spirit of the wartime Fleming report wasn ’ t new . The majority of respondents generally approved of reforms requiring public schools to accept pupils from the state system , declaring an awareness ‘ that we were privileged and that there was strong pressure for a more equitable post-war settlement ’, but no one felt that these national reforms led to much change at Win Coll . The Fleming Report ‘ had little impact on us or on the School ….. It wasn ’ t radical enough to survive or make a difference , but it was at least a tentative , very small step in the right direction ’. The boys who did arrive at Win Coll from state schools were ‘ accepted as any other ’. One Collegeman commented , ‘ In College we were unconcerned about social background . Intelligence , and a certain ability in some sports , mattered much more ’.
Clémence would like to express her gratitude to those OWs who took the time to share their memories . ■
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