Visit by P. Guthrie to Exchange Schools

Introduction
The purpose of my visit to our exchange schools in the UK and Germany was:

• to strengthen our links with them

• to visit them during term time in order to see our boys in “action”

• to meet with the relevant staff: Headmasters, Directors of Studies, Housemasters and my colleagues who are in charge of exchanges.

The schools I visited were Eton College, Harrow, King’s School Canterbury, Gordonstoun and Salem Schule.

This report will reflect on the people I met and the discussions which took place. I was also able to take many photographs which are included.

Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun is situated in Northern Scotland. It is adjacent to the town of Lossiemouth as well as the British Airforce base RAF Lossiemouth. The closest main centre is Elgin which is 3 miles away.

Gordonstoun is a co-educational boarding school which was started by Kurt Hahn when he fled from Germany after Hitler had ordered his arrest. It has about 520 pupils. There are several international students who attend the school. It is a school which has quite an emphasis on the outdoors. Seamanship, mountain climbing and ski patrol are some of the activities which take place. The school has its own 200 foot yacht on which boys go sailing in the North Sea and as far away as the Mediterranean.

Stephen van der Heijden attended the school during the first term of Hilton’s academic year. Interestingly, the last three Heads of School (Hilton College) have all attended Gordonstoun on exchange. Stephen’s mother and father were at the school at the same time as I was because they were fetching him at the end of the term.

Stephen vd Heijden & family

I attended the final assembly and it is traditional on this occasion for the colour bearers (Head Prefects) of the term to hand over the flag to the minister for safe keeping at the end of the term. I am not sure whether it was orchestrated (I am told it was not the case) but the Head of School in his closing address read a passage from Nelson Mandela’s inauguration speech.

I met the Headmaster, Mr Mark Pyper, who spoke highly of our boys and said they fitted in very well. I also spoke to him about the League Tables in the UK. This is a system of ranking schools according to their final external examination results. Gordonstoun has withdrawn from this. He pointed out that the school looked at a holistic view of education and that it was a balanced and overall educational experience which they were providing which is not always reflected in such a ranking system.

I also met the Director of Studies, Mr John Hall. We discussed Outcomes Based Education (OBE) and course work. It was interesting to hear that they had some reservations about course work because the work done was not always solely the pupil’s endeavour. Those at boarding schools were probably at a disadvantage if parents and sources outside of the school were assisting in the collation of course work material. He also commented that the British government were wanting more pupils to attend university and there was the irony of course work with an increased number of examinations being written. Over the past few years the British government has introduced AS level examinations which is an examination half-way through the A-level course. This has increased the load on teachers as well as pupils. He had grave reservations about OBE.

I also met with the Director of Admissions, Mr Chris Barton, and we had some fruitful discussion about our boys and the kind of pupils they are targeting.

I also met one of the Housemasters, Mr Peter Trythall. It was apparent that they are experiencing some similar trends to Hilton with regard to boarding.

Stephen vd Heijden at Gordonstoun

The above photograph is the main school building. The main cricket oval is situated on the opposite side. If someone hits a cricket ball, during a match, over this building, then the whole school is allowed a day off. I am sure there will be many a Gordonstoun pupil encouraging one of the Hilton batsmen to fulfil this feat in the summer when the 1st XI will play there while on tour in the UK.

My counterpart, Mr John Hamilton, was very kind in hosting me and arranging all the appointments. Our exchange with Gordonstoun is going well.

King’s School Canterbury

Chris, Mike, Mr Phillis, Will and PG

There can be no doubt that this is one of the most beautiful schools in the world (besides Hilton!). Having the cathedral on the school property is special although it does have its pit falls in that there always so many visitors around.

King’s is about one and a half hours east of London. It is situated in the beautiful town of Canterbury. It is a co-educational boarding school with about 750 pupils.

Michael Hunt was on exchange and I arrived at the end of the term. The Headmaster was a most charming man, Mr Keith Wilkinson. King’s is going through a very good time and they are very full. He spoke very highly of our boys and said that they were great ambassadors for Hilton and South Africa. He also mentioned that the boys from Kings were very well received at Hilton. Two previous exchange students from King’s had flown out last year just for the Hilton-Michaelhouse rugby match! Unfortunately I arrived on Friday, the day that school was closing but I was still able to meet a few staff as well as the Headmaster.

I was also able to meet the boys who are coming to Hilton in the third term. They were kind enough to take me on a tour of the school.

Eton College

Eton: Graham in the main school yard

Eton College is an all boarding school of 1350 boys. There are 24 boarding houses. Some of the boarding houses have their own dining-rooms while other houses use the school central dining-room. Those which have their own eating facilities have their own kitchen staff who fall under the Housemaster. The house I stayed in was ITB’s. Their houses are named after the initials of the current Housemaster. In this case my host was Mr Tom Batty. I am not sure if McKenzie House would like to be called PG’s!

On arrival I was whisked off to Reading Stadium to watch London Irish play Bath in the Zurich Premier Rugby League. For all outings the staff member in charge has to do a risk analysis. On boarding the bus he instructed all boys to fasten their seat belts and throughout the match he was constantly checking that all boys were accounted for. I could see that this exercise was quite a strain for him. Whilst chatting I spoke to him of how we transport boys to the valley for braai’s etc in our school bakkie. He said this practice would definitely not be allowed because of certain regulations. He even had to include in his risk analysis at what exact point the buses would stop and where boys would cross over the road. It makes one wonder whether the British have not taken things too far.

Only recently have Eton introduced Assistant Housemasters! They do have a tutor system where the main focus is pastoral.

Eton: Scholars House

Eton has a separate house for all its scholarship pupils. This house has its own dining-room and functions on its own. The school has a few chapels which are all very beautiful, each with a tremendous amount of history. The seating in their chapels is the same as ours at Hilton but, owing to historical factors, they are much grander. I attended a chapel service where some of their music scholars took part; it was very impressive.

The Headmaster, Mr Tony Little, was interesting to talk to. He commented that Eton is trying to widen the net from whence their pupils come. I went to “Chambers”, a staff assembly. Each day, the staff of over one hundred strong go to the school hall at tea time. The Headmaster and Second Master have some general announcements. During the course of this meeting, Mr Little welcomed me which was followed by a stamping of feet – this is their equivalent to clapping! I thought I was on the streets of Pamplona for a moment! At the conclusion of “Chambers” the boys all assemble outside the school hall so they can see any staff that they need to. Being such a large school, this is the time where a boy can get hold of a master (beak) or vice versa.

Eton: Art Centre

The Head of House of ITB’s is a young man from Swaziland who knew Rodney Spencer who was a pupil at Hilton last year; what a small world! Graham Egan attended Eton last term and he has experienced all the pomp and ceremony of this great school. He played Eton Fives which is a kind of hand tennis in a squash-like court, played in pairs. He also played rackets which is a kind of tennis with inclined walls played with a golf-like type of ball! The exposure that our boys have by going to such places is amazing. Eton has 21 cricket ovals and some of the facilities are fantastic. At ₤ 22,000 p.a it is understandable. Each boy has his own study which is great for privacy but one feels that at a junior level a dormitory is fun as well as an important part of social integration.

Eton: Fives Court

I visited a Mathematics class and was amazed to see that Form I boys were learning about the “sum to infinity” which is something which we cover in our matric syallbus. It emphasized the academic atmosphere at Eton.

Chatting to Graham, he remarked that one of the differences between Hilton College and Eton was that there was no apparent hierarchy amongst the boys which led to better relationships between pupils. Respect worked both ways rather than enforced because of seniority. This is point which all the boys who have been on exchange have commented on when they return.

Salem Schule

Salem Schule

This is the only school I have not visited before and thus I found it fascinating for more than one reason.

The school consists of four campuses each about ten kilometers apart. The school which our boys attend is the middle school. It is situated in the Baden –Württemberg region in the most beautiful old castle. The castle is owned by Baron von Maarkgraaf who has many vineyards in the vicinity. Thus when entering the girls’ boarding house it smells like a brewery since it is located in the same building as the distillery. They actually have their own little shop and office so you can actually buy wine there on the spot!

Kurt Hahn was the first Headmaster who, incidentally, founded Gordonstoun. The school is co-educational. Being a castle, the buildings inside and outside are exquisite and one of the features inside is the large wide passages as well as the beautiful painted ceiling.

In 1985 Baron von Maarkgraaf decided that he wanted Salem to move from the school as he was not happy with the direction it was taking. Thus they built another campus in anticipation of this move. However after much negotiation with the Baron’s son , who is now in charge of the estate, they came to a solution whereby they have a ninety-nine year lease. The Headmaster tells me it was a very traumatic time.

Salem: Solar Panels at 6th Form College

Recently they have also built a very impressive Sixth Form College. I was fascinated by this campus. Everything is environmentally friendly. Four students live in a small townhouse with all amenities which you would have in a normal home. They only use wooden stoves, heating is provided by solar panels, the roofs are covered in grass which insulates the building. What looked like Chinese lantern on the outer wall of each building was a drying area! The school has received an award for the environmentally sensitive design.

Salem:6th Form College Flats

The Headmaster of the entire school Dr Beuer was a delightful man who was easy to talk to. He has been Headmaster for thirty years! He will be retiring next year at the age of sixty-six. He told me that the German education system was in a mini-crisis after the release of the PISA results where the country did not fare well. Boarding in Germany was quite small but numbers at Salem were good and parents sent their children to Salem because of the quality of teachers and the education they would receive as well as the extra-mural programme. He said that in most state run schools there was very little if any extra-mural activity taking place. The school received four thousand euros a year per child. They had a large bursary fund and 25% of the students were on some form of assistance. This is something which is in the constitution and was put in place after the war. The fees are twenty-five thousand euros per year. There were quite a few international students and the school had a bridging school for Chinese students who were taught German for a year then assimilated into the system and taught all their subjects in German.

Salem: Grass on roof of flats

They have two streams in the academic system. A pupil can be taught in German and write the German Matric or he could do the International Baccalaureate(IB) and be taught in English. All German speaking pupils who took the first option had English as their second language.

Salem: Spetzgartz

Dr Beuer knew about Hilton College and spoke very highly of our boys. I did pass on to him that it was awkward sending boys to us in our fourth term as it was an examination term. There were no outings and the last three weeks were taken up with examinations. He agreed that we would look at the possibility of them coming at a better time in the year.

Salem Schule: Oliver and Carl

I was shown around the school by two former exchange students who came to Hilton, Carl Pioch and Oliver Kanders. The drinking age in Germany is sixteen and you can imagine the problems which are associated with this. At one stage on my tour the boys told me not to be shocked as we turned a corner as we descended on their “smoking area”. Here I saw young boys and girls gleefully puffing away. I could see from their experience of South Africa that they had matured and were more confident. It was very interesting to be taken around the boarding sections of the school. Our boarding facilities at Hilton are much better.

A tradition at Salem is that each morning they run around “their” circular drive. The girls run at 6.10 am and the boys at 6.20 am. Why not together? I was told that the young ladies were not “made up” at that time of the morning and it was thus inappropriate for them to run together with the boys!

The school has a strong community service ethos with pupils going to assist the elderly, the disabled, visit crèches as well as having their fire brigade which assists locally in times of need.

I also met members of the Mathematics department (attended an IB lesson) as well as the Headmaster of the Middle school. A Sixth Form Tutor took me to the College as well as the senior school – Spetzgartz. Dr Niederhofe, the exchange coordinator was very helpful and made it a worthwhile visit.

Salem Schule : Inside the castle

Harrow School
It is reported that Winston Churchill, an Old Harrow Boy, once guest speaker at a Speech Day. His speech, after a liquid lunch, was the following: “Never, never, never give up”.

There is a great atmosphere at Harrow and one can sense a feeling of real academic commitment. The Master-in-charge of Exchanges is Mr David Elleray. David is a well known personality. He is a Senior Master at Harrow as well as being an international referee. Some of you may have seen him in charge of Premier League football when watching SKY.

There seemed to be South Africans everywhere and on my first evening there, after having been shown around by Andrew Heald who was on exchange from Hilton, I had supper with four South African boys and two masters from our shores.

Harrow: Andrew outside Druries House

I met the Headmaster Mr Barnaby Lennon. We had discussions about course work as well as the current state of boarding. He told me that his SA teachers were some of the best at Harrow. Recently Ramsay Daly had attended Harrow as a gap student. He said that they enjoyed our boys as they got thoroughly involved.

Mr Elleray, an old friend of Hilton College, is also the Senior master in charge of boarding and it was good to talk to him about current trends in UK boarding schools. I also met Mr Peter Bieneman who is a regular visitor to SA and who has also been to Hilton. On my arrival at The Grove, which is where Peter is the Housemaster, I was met by a troop of guinea fowl which seemed strange for this part of the world. Peter informed me that they had been a present from a South African friend

Harrow: The Chapel

The buildings at Harrow are impressive and this is something which strikes our boys. Harrow is currently developing a tartan athletics track with a rugby field in the centre, at the cost of several millions of pounds.

Harrow: Indoor pool

Harrow : Library

I also met Mr Simon Halliday – the 1st XI Cricket Coach. Simon kindly hosted us on the 1999 tour and he will do so again when the 1st XI tour later this year. Once again we will be up against stiff competition as they probably will have two very competent South Africans in their team. The last time we played them they had Nic Compton (ex Hilton boy and grandson of Dennis Compton) and Kaiser Motaung (son of the owner and founder of Kaiser Chiefs). Simon invited me to a 1st XI indoor net session to see their current talent. I am sure our team will be in for a good match. Interesting news is that Mr Stephen Jones (UCB and Border Cricket) will be joining Harrow as their resident professional.

Harrow: Entrance to the school hall

Andrew Heald who was on exchange told me that he was staying with the Prince of Malaysia (who was a pupil at Harrow) for the weekend. He found it disconcerting that, when on leave, they had to be followed the whole time by two of the prince’s bodyguards!

Conclusion
Having completed my journey to all these wonderful schools I have returned with a few thoughts which I am more convinced of than ever about Hilton College:

• We are definitely a world player.

• We can be very proud of what we have and what we achieve in all areas (for a school to be recognized it needs to be competent in many areas across the board). Musically we are still behind but this is an area which is being addressed.

• Our boys are fantastic ambassadors for Hilton College and South Africa, we can be proud of them. This is a reflection of the holistic education which the school is providing.

• We need to work hard at breaking down the hierarchy amongst the boys and to get them to realize that developing relationships and showing respect for each other is important regardless of their seniority in the school.

• The atmosphere at Hilton is very special and even amongst these great schools few could match the majestic surroundings in which our school campus is located.

• Our integration programme which we have in place for boys on their return is important, and we need to ensure that we assist them to settle back into Hilton life.

• Our exchange programme is working and our ties with the respective schools are healthy. The opportunity afforded by Hilton to our exchange candidates is valuable. Hilton College gains from the experience as well as the boys.

I take this opportunity to thank

• the Headmaster and the Board of Governors for allowing me to go on this visit

• the Mathematics Department for looking after my classes

• Dr van Zuilenburg and the McKenzie Tutors for keeping an eye on the House while I was away.

P GUTHRIE
Master-in-charge: Exchange Programme
May 2004