The St. Nicholas Parents' Association 07 (1963-64)

SAINT NICHOLAS GRAMMAR SCHOOL

PARENTS' ASSOCIATION

President: The Headmaster

Chairman 1962-63: R. W. Deacon, Esq.

Chairman 1963-64: D. M. Gordon, Esq.

The Association which has now been in existence for seven years has made available to the School, through the generosity of the parents, the magnificent sum of over £7,500.

The greatest achievement, which reflects the earnest hard work. of previous committees and parents, was the provision of the Junior Common Room, officially opened on July 6th, 1963 by Mr. Richard Sharp the Rugby International and Captain of England. Although it was one of the most inclement days of the year, the opening was so well attended that some of the parents had to remain standing. during the ceremony.

A permanent feature of the Junior Common Room in the form of a mural and cine screen reminded us of Mr. Brian Tilbrook. He worked untiringly to raise funds for the J.C.R. before leaving for Malaya, and has been greatly missed. We wish him every success and extend our best wishes on his marriage.

The debt for this building has been considerably reduced but continued enthusiasm on the part of the Parents is necessary to liquidate the deficit completely.

The social activities have always been extremely well attended and so encouraging for the organisers despite the bad weather on nearly every occasion. The year's activities commenced in November with the Padram's production of "Keep in a Cool Place"; our thanks are due to Mr. Winter for the excellent production. A new venture was successful in the form of a Christmas Market in December, and again we are indebted to all of those who worked so hard, so near Christmas.

May we, the parents, thank all the Masters and Boys for the now traditional Carol Service at Emmanuel Church in December? The New Year gave us the Annual Dance at the Headstone Hotel, which proved to be a very enjoyable and successful social gathering with a larger attendance than in previous years. We hope the new parents will join in this annual event. An unusually large audience at the Film Evening in February organised by Mr. Jefford enjoyed many scenes of the school visits to Rome, the Canals, the Broads, Camp, and Stratford, together with a coloured and sound film of the St. Nicholas Fair, 1961.

In March over 150 people attended the Chamber Concert given by Staff, parents, and boys, together with visiting artists. We are most grateful to all the artists concerned, including Janet Eggleden, whose clarinet solo was a particularly delightful feature of the evening's entertainment. The Car Rally organised by Mr. Freeman in May, with 43 entries, was another very enjoyable and pleasant social gathering.

The St. Nicholas Fair was the climax to a very full year's activities. We very much appreciated the help of Mr. Plenderleith, who had the challenging task of maintaining the high artistic standard already set in previous years. Invaluable assistance in erecting and organising the side-shows was given by Mr. Freeman. The fine weather and a large attendance of parents and visitors ensured a handsome profit, this further reducing the debt on the J.C.R.

Once again, our sincere thanks go to the ladies, whose commitments seem to grow each year. The Catering Committee, under the chairmanship of Mrs. B. Browning, organised the refreshments at all the Parents' functions, the Games Committee, under the chairmanship of Mrs. R. Henderson, provided the boys with their well-earned refreshments, and the Ladies' Handicraft group, under the direction of Mrs. S. Powell, have performed miracles with wood, metal and cloth. The Executive Committee will greatly miss the services of Mrs. Millier, Mrs. Browning and Mr. Freeman, who retire at the end of this year.

Finally, I should like to thank the Executive Committee and all those parents who have given me such loyal support during my term of office and enabled my wife and myself to make many new friends.

R.W.D.