CCHS

size and shape.  So, too, in the garden, with its big shaded lawn and curving shrubberies.  The asphalt playground seemed enormous, but along the whole length ran a raised walk well enclosed with fruit trees and herbaceous plants; in the border falling to the playground were big red peonies.

North Hill was bare and graceless by comparison, but it was the scene of a fuller and more complex life.  In the dark dank lab I learnt enough botany to systematize a long-established interest in wild flowers.  There were Sixth-Form coaching sessions with Miss Phillips or Miss Reynolds behind a screen at the end of the corridor.  There were discussions round the gas fire in the Upper Sixth room, which was both ugly and awkwardly furnished, but had a fine view.  Hockey had its own associations, for the field at North Hill was too rough for any game but rounders.  Games lessons or Saturday practices were held on the swampy field behind East Hill   There was a familiar charm about this rough pasture at the end of a stony lane.  We got good training, all the same (here or on the military ground) for Miss Holmes insisted on high standards. 

For many years there was a special source of fun and interest in Hark - the Historical and Archaeological Society - driven by the furious enthusiasm of Miss Winters and fed by the varied talents of other members of the Staff.  We met in Grey Friars hall to sing folk songs and sea shanties and to learn intricate country dances.  The Saturday expeditions were equally delightful to the grave students of architecture and to those who liked picnicking and climbing church towers.  Hark had something for most ages and was a truly liberating experience.  (I learnt more about music here than from any formal instruction).  These activities remain a fair sample of the quality of life at North Hill.  Of course, there was good teaching - one took that for granted at the time without much understanding of the skill and wisdom of the various practitioners.  School societies, plays and concerts gave the fledglings space to flap their wings and try their strength.  The absorbing interest of these extras is proof that the school was run by people who had the art of teaching you to teach yourself.  Both Miss Crosthwaite and Miss King evidently understood this aspect of education.  Although they were very different in character, both the headmistresses I knew were broad-minded as well as high-minded.”