Societies & Clubs 06 (1960-61)

POETRY SOCIETY

DESPITE its relatively small membership, this society has been most active since its formation in 1961 by Mr. Roe, to whose enthusiasm and capability it certainly owes its present existence. Meetings have been fairly regular, and discussions have been lively-often, indeed, heated covering a very wide range of literary topics. In addition to meetings at school, many visits have been made to theatres, concentrating on the modern period, and including Pinter's The Caretaker and Wesker's The Kitchen. These, apart from the enjoyment they have given, also acted as stimuli for discussion in later meetings.

Recently, we were delighted to welcome a substantial number of Lower Sixth students into the society, attracting large audiences has never been our concern, but it is most encouraging to attend meetings at which ten or more members are carrying on an active. and usually very penetrating discussion. The society is also most grateful to Mr. Dixon, its first guest speaker, who presented an informative and valuable paper on the Hebrew poetry of the Old Testament.

The society does not foresee vastly increased membership in the future, but, if those who attend its discussions are no less enthusiastic than its present members, it will have achieved a variety and activity which can rival those of even the largest school societies. 

D. R. LLOYD, M.VI

CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

THE programme of the Christian Fellowship was divided into bible studies, talks by outside speakers or members of staff, and discussions.

Our discussions have been many and varied. Mr. L. W. Baker, our vice-president, has led lively discussions on the Trinity and on the problem of suffering. We have also discussed gambling, smoking, and drinking, and Mr. Dixon has led on two occasions, discussions on self denial and the New English Bible.

Our speakers have chosen a variety of topics. Mr. E. Charlton outlined the aims of the Salvation Army, to which he belongs, and the late Mr. D. Owen spoke on Christian Witness'. The Rev. John Moore, curate of Emmanuel Church, Northwood, has spoken on two occasions, the first talk being entitled Why Attend Church? and the second My Work as a Curate; both were excellent meetings. Rev. G. Mortlew, a Methodist minister and former missionary in Kenya, spoke to us on the problems that missionaries face in the field. During the London Scripture Union Week their travelling secretary visited us and illustrated his talk with a tape recording by the Rev. David Shephard.

Each term ended with a Fact and Faith film.

JUNIOR HISTORY SOCIETY

DURING the past year, and notably during the autumn term 1961, attendances have steadily risen. It appears that the idea of holding the meetings at 1.30 p.m. instead of at 3.45 p.m. was excellent since so many other societies meet at 3.45 p.m. At most of the meetings there have been well over forty people present; the only notable exception being the Annual General Meeting. Even the film Early Man, which was held after school, managed to gather thirty-eight people.

Activities held over the past year have included talks, illustrated by diagrams, on "The History of Guns" and "Cave Paintings" by Mr. Plenderleith, "Christmas Fare" by Mr. Williams, "The History of Astronomy" by M. Paul of Form IIA. (It is hoped to follow this talk up by another entitled "Modern Astronomy" later this year.)  Many other interesting subjects were discussed. It is pleasing to note that several boys have been willing to speak and we are very grateful to them. However, more speakers from Forms I, II and III are urgently needed.

Other activities have included films entitled Castles and Early Man, and visits by individual years to places such as Bodiam Castle and Hastings, St. Albans and Hatfield House, and to Bath. During 1961-2, as well as the activities already mentioned, it is hoped to have a debate, a quiz and to undertake a visit to Cambridge at the end of March.

The wish of the society to have a small exhibition of models in show cases in the History Room has now been realised and some excellent models have been exhibited.

During the following terms it is anticipated that the meetings will be as interesting as they have been and that the society will continue to stimulate interest in history in the lower school. It is also hoped that the meetings will be supported as well as they have been in the past.

G. WYNN

SENIOR HISTORY SOCIETY

THE Senior History Society was formed at the end of the Summer Term of 1960, with the intention of furthering the study of history in the Senior School..

Throughout the year meetings were held in which members presented papers on subjects of their own choosing. Discussion always followed the presentation of the papers giving other members of the society a chance to air their views on particular subjects. Subjects to be discussed were varied. Examples of papers include those on "The Mystery of the Princes in the Tower", "Hitler ", "The American Civil War ", and "Palmerston".

On behalf of the members of the society I should like to thank the history staff for the help they have given to the society in its first year, especially Mr. Owen who was largely instrumental in bringing the society into being.

S. J. GLEN, M.VI

CURRENT AFFAIRS DISCUSSION GROUP

WHEN the Current Affairs Discussion Group was founded by Messrs. Ricketts and Goodman its aims were defined as being "to provide opportunities for the discussion of matters of topical interest". With a small but devoted group of sixth formers supporting the venture, a varied programme was arranged. Mr. Williams led a discussion of the European Common Market. A guest speaker from the Eire Embassy spoke on "Eire Today". The future of the United Nations, the Congo, and the Geneva disarmament talks were discussed at other meetings.

We have found that our membership has been restricted by the difficulty of finding days for our meetings when we should not be competing with another society or sports activity. In particular we should welcome new members from the Science and Economics Sixths. We hope that future meetings will be attended by a more representative group.

D. A. CUMMING, M.VI.

DEBATING SOCIETY

I BELIEVE it was Mr. Clarke who first used the phrase audience participation with regard to the Debating Society. In the past it has always been something we lacked. Speakers were often reluctant to come forward, whilst audiences, with an almost uncanny regularity, seemed to avoid our meetings.

This year, however, everything has changed. The society started, modestly enough. The first motion, that " This House Hates Jazz ". attracted a fair number of people. The second debate, on the motion that "This House Believes in Father Christmas", was extremely well attended, for, besides a large number from our own school, we were pleased to welcome forty of the girls from St. Mary's. In the same term Bishopshalt Grammar School challenged a team from St. Nicholas to debate on the motion that " This House Deplores Modern Civilisation". St. Nicholas lost, but I am sure that both the main speakers, and those from the floor, welcomed the opportunity to see how other societies worked and how other debates were conducted.

In the Spring term there were two more inter-school debates; one, with St. Mary's Grammar School, was again extremely well. attended. Fewer people, though, were present at a return debate with Bishopshalt School, although the lure of tea and chocolate biscuits was thought to be as great an incentive as we could offer. Again we lost.

I sincerely hope that in the future many more people will begin to realise the importance of a sixth form debating society. Debating plays an important part in modern life. Through the Debating Society people can learn to speak clearly and eloquently, and, perhaps more important still, to put forward original ideas and to tolerate the opinions of others.

D. ROOKE, M.VI.