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Date Posted... May 24th 2021

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The first school magazine

The first issue of the school magazine was published in July 1891, as a means ‘of making our doings public [and] preserving a permanent record of our School news’.

When Mr H.W. Vinter (TS 1883-1921) was Second Master he was anxious to begin a magazine, and when he became Headmaster in 1890 he was able to do so, leading to the first copy of the Truro College Magazine. The way for this was paved by the enthusiastic reception of a fortnightly magazine published the term before under the editorship of Mr G.H. Hunter (TS 1887-97) called the E.Q.V. Its successor aimed to be more permanent and less trivial.

‘… We may mention that in its last days it [EQV]] reached a condition bordering on scurrility, owing to an animated discussion on Cornish nature. Still we desist from more severe criticism of its methods, as it really supplied a felt want and led to a real good, and it were the ungenerous to make reflections upon the dead –RIP’[1].

The EQV was resurrected in 1916 and perhaps gives an insight into the nature of the original.

The second objective of the new magazine was to maintain a link with past pupils.

‘Although the College is as yet little more than in its infancy, it can reckon a very considerable number of Old Boys. These have for the most part drifted away without any link of interest or affection being established between them and the School. We think that the publication of a Magazine would go far towards remedying this defect’[2].

The magazine was also meant to ‘foster the feeling of esprit de corps’ and the editor in the 100^th issue in July 1924, noted ‘we are proud to note that the Magazine has done much to strengthen the patriotism of the School’.

Here is a transcription of the first magazine if you would like a closer look.

July 1891 School Magazine

The article in July 1924 also listed all the editors since 1891:

Mr G.H. Hunter Mr A.W. Anscombe

Mr H. Wilkinson Mr Schofield

Mr W.O. Williams Mr S.B. Wilson

Mr W.J. Stead Mr A.G. Essery

Mr H.B. Mills L.F. Fairchild

Until 1921, when Dr Magson became Headmaster, all the editors were members of staff. Magson felt that ‘a school magazine should be run entirely by the boys’, and so L.F. Fairchild (TS 1916-22) was appointed the first student editor. Over the years the editorship has moved between staff and students, depending on circumstance and enthusiasm.

The magazine generally covered school news, sports reports and articles of interest, as well as news of former pupils. Poems and stories were often included, leading to the separate Terraces literary supplement in the 1950s, which later became a section within the magazine. By the 1960s technology had improved to allow the use of more images; where before it had been mostly limited to a few team photos or marking special occasions, by the end of that decade it was possible to include students’ art work in the magazine, as well as adverts.

There have been some comic articles in the magazines (such as the report from the Salad Cream With Everything Society, Terraces 1978), but generally it has stuck to the idea of ‘avoiding striking headlines, which seem so necessary to the modern newspaper. We prefer ‘Esse Quam Videri’ and disdain any tinsel and trappings, so long as the Magazine shall contain a wealth of Truro College news’[3].

The 1990 Terraces playfully featured the ‘Editor’s Backword’ on the same page as the ‘Headmaster’s Forward’, while in 1992 the editorial had quite an eye-grabbing headline.

The name of the magazine was changed in the late 1920s to The Truronian. In 1970 the school magazine stopped being a termly publication and became the annual Terraces, taking its name from the early 1950s literary supplement to the main magazine.

In 1924 it was proudly reported that the cover of the school magazine had

‘received special commendation in The Captain some years ago, and was described as ‘a refined cover,’ while the Magazine itself was spoken of as reflecting credit on all concerned in its production’[4].

Over the years the content for the school magazine has grown so much that it has been split into several different titles. Today we now have Terraces (the annual school magazine), The Truronian (for Old Truronians) and Steps, a newly published student edited magazine. In addition to these there are various frequent newsletters and bulletins keeping the school community informed and up-to-date about what is going on.

[1] G.H. Hunter, ‘The History of the School, article V’, Truro College Magazine, April 1894, 12

[2] C.D. Webb (TS 1918-24), ‘The History of the Magazine, Truro College Magazine, July 1924, 21

[3] Ibid, 22

[4] Ibid, 23

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