Aprils Past

During this month …

140 years ago in April 1882

TRURO WESLEYAN MIDDLE-CLASS SCHOOL

‘The Truro Wesleyan Middle-Class School will be opened on May 9^th. It is not the intention of the directors to have any public demonstration on the occasion, but the Mayor of Truro (Mr Amos Jennings) has invited the Corporation to accompany him on the previous Sunday morning to the Wesleyan Chapel, when the ex-president of the conference will preach.’

The Cornish Telegraph, Thursday April 27, 1882

130 years ago in April 1892

‘Mr H.W. Vinter, master of Truro College, met with an accident, about quarter-past twelve on Saturday night, while on his way home to Truro, in descending the hill at Killiganoon Lodge, his bicycle collided with the wheel of a trap driven by Mr R Burrows, of Carnon Downs, who was returning from Truro Market. Mr Vinter was thrown a considerable distance and received several cuts and a severe shaking, but is hoped that nothing serious will be the result.’

Royal Cornwall Gazette, Thursday 29 April 1892

‘The Truro College Season. Mr WH Thomas, captain of the Truro College Football Club writes:- Having noticed that your paper manifests so great an interest in football of the county, I venture to enclose our fixture card for the past season. The College has entirely adopted the Association game for the first time this season; in previous seasons the Club has partly adhered to the Rugby rules, which were formerly played under by most Cornish schools. The success of this change is clearly seen by the result. We have played 20 matches, of which we have won 11, drawn 4, and lost 5. The number of goals scored is 62, against the 21 notched by our opponents. Considering the teams we have played, which include several large town clubs, such as Camborne, Truro, and Redruth, our results will compere favourable with most clubs in the county. The reverses we have met with were of a very slight nature, for our Club has never been beaten by more than two goals, and only once by so heavy a score. Our success we largely attribute to the arrival of Mr Roseveare at the College, prior to his advent here he had played full-back for Gloucester county, and this year had the honour of playing for our own county in its matches against Devon.’

The Cornish Telegraph, Thursday 14 April 1892

TRURO COLLEGE

Head Master: H.W. Vinter, M.A.(Camb)

Classical Master: E.G. Gane, B.A. (Lond)

Assisted by 5 Experienced Resident Masters

SIGNAL SUCCESSES.

                                                1889               1890               1891

College Perceptors:             43                    45                    34

Including First in all England in Geography and in Trigonometry, and many other distinctions

Cambridge Local:                 16                    16                    19

Including 14 in Honours, and many Distinctions, one being sixth in all England in Arithmetic (seniors). The best results in Cornwall.

London Matriculation:         1, First Div. 1. Fst Div.

SUMMER TERM, MAY 4^th.

Cornish Echo and Falmouth & Penryn Times, Saturday 30 April 1892

120 years ago in April 1902

‘I am asked by Mr Tom Wickett of Redruth, to call attention to a worthy suggestion, and as it is proposed to do honour to the memory of an old Penzance boy, it is all the greater pleasure. Under the auspices of the Old Boys’ Association in connection with Truro College, a memorial is to be erected in the College schoolroom in remembrance of three ‘Old Boys’ who have fallen in the South African war – G. Ernest Hosking, W. Lewis Champion, and Martin Magor. Anyone desirous of assisting may communicate with Mr Tom WIckett.’

The Cornish Telegraph, Wednesday 9 April 1902

‘TRURO COLLEGE

Head Master

H.W. VInter, M.A. Cambridge

Second Master: W.O. Williams, M.A. Lond.

Science Master: D.F. Fletcher, BSc

Music Master: A. Lyne (Mus. Bac) F.R.C.O., L.R.A.M. With Four other experienced Assistant Masters, all Resident.

Visiting Art Master: W.A. ROLLASON, Cornwall Central Technical Schools.

Highly Successful School, with London Matriculation, Cambridge Local, and other Public Examinations.

LATEST SUCCESSES:

FOUR LONDON MATRICULATION (First DIv) THIS YEAR

Remarkable Health Record

New Chemical and Physical Laboratories, with the Latest Equipment.

Carpenters’ Shop. Most Complete Gymnasium, Cricket, Football, Tennis, Racquets, Swimming.

FEES EXTREMELY MODERATE.

Illustrated Prospectus, with full particulars of Scholarship offered and Examination Successes.’

The Cornish Telegraph, Wednesday 16 April 1902

Cornish Guardian, Friday 18 April 1902

110 years ago in April 1912

‘Truro College Paper Chase’

‘Truro College boys had a paper chase yesterday week, the hares (Mr W.C.T. Smith, G. Gilpin, and W.J. Delbridge) setting a course up Mitchell Hill to Rosedale, back to the city, and via Pydar Street to Idless, through Shortlanesend, Little Canaan, to Treliske, and thence back to the College. The first home were Mr W.P. Davies, T.G. Rowe, F.J. Yeo, W.A. Jennings, P. Rowe, Straford and Peel.’

Royal Cornwall Gazette, Thursday 4 April 1912

80 years ago in April 1942

Truro School

‘An Examination for Entrance Scholarships on Friday 15^th May, 1942.

The Scholarships provide exemption from tuition fees. Candidates must be under 12 years of age on 31^st July, 1942. Some of these scholarships will be reserved for boys entering as boarders.

The Scholarships will be awarded to the successful candidates without reference to the income of their parents.

Entry form and further particulars may be obtained from the Headmaster, Dr EH Magson.

Last day of entry – Saturday, 9^th May.’

Cornish Guardian, Thursday 9 April 1942

70 years ago in April 1952

The Summer term commenced on Friday, April 25^th, and ended on Friday, July 25^th.

The Agriculture Society

‘On returning to School at the beginning of the term we found our stock had survived the holidays well. All the goats were well and we had about 50 chickens left…’

Rugger – The International Game

‘Our trip in Germany last Easter started as a rugger tour, but ended in becoming the most moving expression of international goodwill that anyone could experience. Its incidental excitements came, went and have now faded into the past; many details are forgotten, but the mere mention of Easter or Hanover is enough to evoke a warm glow of memory in our hearts.

‘On the evening of Monday, April 7^th, we met at Liverpool Street Station to catch the boat train to Harwich. Although everyone did not know everyone else, we soon became one happy crowd, because we were all Cornish and all rugger players, selected to represent the youth of our county. We looked forward to an almost unknown world; only one of us had ever been to Germany before and only two laid any claim to being scholars of the language… The train journey through Rotterdam, Utrecht, Bentheim and so to Hanover took eight hours and left rather an impression – mainly physical because of the wooden seats…Our arrival at Hanover in the afternoon provided rather a shock, for one of our friends from Redruth was nowhere to be found. He had, unfortunately, dozed in one of the rear coaches which was shunted off to go to Sweden, but he discovered his mistake and arrived on a later train…

‘Far too much happened during the next eight days for me to attempt to describe it in the space available. Everyone was happily accommodated with a family and barriers of language …disappeared in mutual goodwill within twenty-four hours of our arrival…

‘We had four rousing games of rugger, each against a combination of three of the twelve youth teams in Hanover… Our thirty players split into an ‘A’ team and a ‘B’ team, each with two matches. The margin of our success was usually no more than that of our team-work or the consistently splendid place-kicking of Jim Matthews…

‘On the intervening days between the matches many fine coach tours were arranged for us… Our first trip was a tour of Hanover. This town of 500,000 inhabitants was almost entirely destroyed in the war. Now it is a new, almost ideal, town with many fine buildings and wonderful artificial lake two miles in length…We felt rather at home to see the old palace of the House of Hanover, bearing the same coat-of-arms as our own Royal Family. We spent a pleasant half-day enjoying the pastoral beauty of the Deister Hills…We were shown over two factories during our visit. The immense ‘Continental’ Rubber Works…We were all given souvenirs here and at the fountain-pen factory we visited later, but everyone’s brightest memory of this visit was the magnificent lunch we had at the end…Our first long trip was Hameln and the River Weser. Here we … discovered that the Pied Piper really did live, because we saw his house and the place in the hill into which he led the children. The visit reached a glorious culmination on the last day with our trip to the Harz Mountains.

‘…As we travelled home we cursed politics and wondered why wars need ever be fought at all. ‘

M.A.B.

The Truronian, July 1952

60 years ago in April 1962

The Chapel

During the past few weeks various people have asked me what has been happening about the School Chapel. Clearly major decisions are in the hands of the Governing Body, but I think I am in order in reporting that a well-known firm, who specialise in strengthening shaky buildings, has been asked to survey the Chapel to suggest remedial measures and to tell us how much it will cost for this remedial work to be done. This report is expected at the end of term. This preliminary report is costing us a lot of money, and, I am afraid that the work which is suggested will be correspondingly costly. We are waiting for this report before deciding on the form and the size of the appeal which must almost inevitably be made. Meanwhile, I must commend the staff for the way in which they are carrying on under present difficulties, and in particular Mr Lang, who has no gym and Mr Weeks who has no stage.

D.W.B.

Spring

Oh, withering beauty of spring,

Open thyself and look upon the world;

In all its coming colour and sound, sing,

Yea! Even as the birds times ten-fold

Do try their voices on the morning air:

Even as the late born lambs do bleat:

And scenting nose of fox out of his lair

Does notice the odour, so fragrant a treat.

Each bud become a flower fresh and young

In sweet smelling fragrance of enchanting nectar:

Each chick becomes a bird so well sung,

And flits in the mist like a ghostly spectre.

Degree by degree, the spring creeps in,

And little by little the winter slips past.

Spring is in full bloom with plenteous chin,

And the flowers, the birds strong at last

Draw from the earth their daily feed,

And on into the summer their life do lead.

B.J.S-S

The Truronian, April 1962

50 years ago in April 1972

£30 Cut In School Fees

‘Increased capitation grants of £30 a year to direct grant schools have led to Truro School and Truro High School reducing their tuition fees from £204 to £174 and from £224 to £194 a year respectively. Cornwall Education Committee were told at Truro on Thursday.’

West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, Thursday 13 April 1972

40 years ago in April 1982

Wick And Back

‘Three Truro boys have completed the longest single railway journey in Britain – from Penzance to Wick – at no cost to themselves.

‘All pupils at Truro School, Nigel Meaby, Simon Hoadley and Brian Matthews took advantage of a British Rail offer which let them make a return journey to anywhere in the country without charge when they bought student rail cards.

‘Recounting their exploits, Nigel, of Crescent-rise, Truro, said that they found Inverness station closed when they arrived. They had to spend the night in a multi-storey car park.

‘The lads are keen train spotters and saw ‘hundreds of new trains’ en route.’

West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, Monday 5 April 1982

30 years ago in April 1992

Treliske School Holiday – Easter 1992

Brittany, France

‘We all drove up to Plymouth on buses, for the start of our holiday. We boarded our ferry, ‘The Bretagne’ at about 10.30pm and arrived in Roscoff, France at about 6.30am.

‘We reached our destination, Trefumel by 10.30 and had our breakfast. After this we walked to our accommodation; my friends and I were all pleasantly surprised at the lovely house. We were to sleep in the dormitories but the boys had to camp outside in the orchard! We visited a lot of places whilst we were there including: famous Dinan, Le Mont Saint-Michel, the walled city of St Malo, a tour of the Emerald Coast and Morlaix. We enjoyed the French food which was mostly nice!

‘Some of the best things about the holiday were the trip to Mont Saint-Michel, the marches (markets), the accommodation and Tom and Colin our really funny, kind and friendly drivers.

‘We really enjoyed our stay and thank all the staff who organised the trip.’

Jennifer Hendra 1H (T.6H)

Terraces 1993

20 years ago in April 2002

Valencia

‘Who would not like to swap the misty dull shores of the White Albion for the sun and beaches of Spain? That’s exactly what a group of 10 students and two staff did last Easter, when they went on the annual Spanish Trip to Valencia on the Western Mediterranean coast of the country of paella, bullfighting and oranges. We stayed with host families for the week that we spent there, perfecting our Spanish and enjoying the wonderfully warm weather of early March, as well as going on numerous trips and excursions, including to the ancient castle of Sagunto, Valencia’s famous bullfighting ring, numerous voyages to the beaches and tours of the historic city centre.

‘But it was not all fun and excitement, as the weekdays were spent indoors, at the language school, La Casa de Idiomas, where the tutors made every possible attempt to improve our confidence in using and our knowledge of the Spanish language. Geared to various experience levels, the course proved very valuable and worthwhile, and I would like to thank all the staff … who made the trip possible. And, of course, all the students who made our time together so enjoyable.’

Nikita Alatortsev