Keeping in touch with OPs wherever they may be

Issue 1 • Autumn 2009

The Magazine for former pupils, former parents and friends of The Portsmouth Grammar School

InsideTying the Knot: A new partnership between the School & OP Club

Arctic Role: OP adventurer sets new polar record

Bumper Crop: 2009 Leavers profiled

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 20092 �Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Contents

The PGS Development Team are always keen to hear from Old Portmuthians, former parents and friends of the School. Do please stay in touch and share your stories and reminiscences with us, or submit content for future editions of Opus, by contacting us at development@pgs.org.uk

High Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2LN Tel: 023 9236 4248

Opus is designed by Simon Udal OP (1977-1987) Simon Udal Design - www.simonudaldesign.co.uk

Alasdair Akass

Development Director

Liz Preece

Development Officer

Sue Merton

Development Office

Administrator

IntroductionFrom Max Lankester, President, OP Club

I am delighted to join with James Priory in launching this

inaugural edition of Opus.

Since 1995 OPs have read The Old Portmuthian as a way of

hearing news of other OPs and of keeping in touch with the OP

Club. Current developments at the School, however, including

the achievements of pupils over an impressively wide range of

activities, is something in which OPs also have a keen interest.

It is clear that many groups of people in addition to OPs – not

least former and present parents and members of staff – have the

School’s wellbeing at heart, and I welcome the erosion of artificial

barriers between such groups and the OP Club.

The Club remains active, and will continue to be the focus of

activity for former pupils. But publication of a single journal, which

will continue to carry material about OPs, reflects the common

interests of the wider School community, and I wish it every

success.

Max Lankester

President, OP Club

I am delighted to be able to introduce this first ever edition of

Opus, the magazine for former pupils and parents, friends and

supporters of The Portsmouth Grammar School.

The word ‘opus’ of course signifies a great work or achievement

and there are many stories contained within these pages of the

extraordinary achievements of Old Portmuthians.

Launching a new magazine is always tricky, especially when your

readership is as diverse as ours. It may be one, ten or possibly fifty

years since you left PGS, but I hope that you find much inside of

interest and that you will be inspired to join with the thousands

of former pupils who still have a strong bond with the School and

the city, and still keep in touch with the Development Office and

friends from their school days.

There is a distinctly global feel to this issue as we focus on alumni

with tales of overseas adventures from record-breaking treks

through arctic Greenland to charity work in Cambodia. PGS has

itself attained the status of an International Baccalaureate World

School this year and is offering IB courses alongside A level

study for the first time. As an Old Portmuthian, you belong to a

world-wide community of many thousands of individuals around

the globe, with active PGS networks in over 30 countries. The

Development Office is always on hand to help you to trace lost

friends and to put you in touch with alumni groups in your area,

wherever in the world that may be.

As with all new magazines, the Development Office relies on your

feedback to make sure Opus covers the subjects and people you

want to read about. If you have any comments about this edition,

or suggestions for future stories, profiles and features, please get

in touch with the team.

We look forward to hearing from you.

James Priory

Headmaster

From James Priory, Headmaster Introduction 3

Good luck messages 4-5

OP is new Chairman of Governors - Brian Larkman OP 6

Letters Home - Lisa Traxler spent several months as artist-in-residence 6

Time Team unearth PGS past - Channel Four descend on Governors Green 7

The View from the Development Office - By Alasdair Akass 8-9

Coming of age? - By Simon Lemieux, Head of History and Politics 10

OP matches - Netball, cricket, tennis and rounders 11

OP makes Polar Expedition history - Alex Hibbert OP 12-13

Class of 2009 - The thoughts about PGS from three Year 13 leavers 14-16

With me every step of the way - Emma Merton OP 17

Lab-Fab! - The building of the new 21st century hub for science 18-19

The school archivist - John Sadden 20

Aero-dynamic - The extraordinary life in the sky of Alan Bristow OP 21

99 Not Out! - Memories of former Art Master Wally Bartle 22

It could be you! - The Weather Lottery 22

Fly the flag with a PGS bag! - The first ever PGS pupil expedition to Africa 22

For OPs going ‘Down Under’ - The Sydney Lunch Table 22

Scaling the heights - A memorial to the late Roger Harris OP 23

In memoriam 24-25

Keeping her hand in - Former parent Sally Gordon 26

Forthcoming events 27

Ties’R’Us!

The cover image shows a selection of PGS ties through the ages.

i) OPClubTie-dateunknown

ii) PrefectsTie

ii) GrantHouseTie

iv) MastersCricketClubTie

v) WhitcombeHouseTie

vi) Hockeyboys’Under14NationalCupFinalTie-designedtocelebratePGSUnder14Teamvictoryinnationalfinals

vii) OPClubTie

vii) SmithHouseTie

ix) Leavers2009Tie

x) OPClubpostwarTie

xi) OPClubTieprewarcirca1930

i

ii

iii

iv

v

vi

vii

viii

ixx

xi

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009� �Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Good luck messages

Ed Richards, Guest of Honour at Prizegiving 2008 with some lucky prize recipients

“Best of luck with the new magazine which will be of great interest to the PGS diaspora - wherever they are and whatever they are doing. ”Ed Richards OP (1974 -1984)

Ed Richards is the Chief Executive of Ofcom, the independent

regulator for the communications industry. He was previously

Senior Policy Advisor to former Prime Minister Tony Blair for

Media, Telecoms and the Internet and was Controller of Corporate

Strategy at the BBC. Ed is also a Director of Donmar Warehouse

and a Director of The Teaching Awards Trust.

Roger Black MBE presenting prizes at Prizegiving 2004

“Good luck and congratulations to everybody involved in this first edition of Opus. I am still in contact with many of my PGS friends but it’s always interesting to find out what other OPs have gone on to do. My friendships were formed on the playing fields at Hilsea, the table tennis tables at lunchtime and the bar football table in the 6th Form common room to the soundtrack of the 80s!- I look forward to reading Opus and reflecting on my PGS days for many more years!” Roger Black OP (Head Boy 1983-1984)

For fourteen years Roger Black represented Great Britain at the

highest level in the world of athletics, both as an individual

400 metre runner and as a member of the 4x400 metre relay

team. He won fifteen major Championship medals including

European, Commonwealth, and World Championship Gold

medals, not to mention of course his Olympic 400 metre Silver

medal in 1996.

“1967. 11 years old. I didn’t feel like part of the 60s revolution. I was walking through the forbidding gates of The Portsmouth Grammar School to sit the entrance exam. Official-looking notices in wooden framed cabinets, announcing this week’s 1st XV. Prefects’ walk. Teachers (sorry, Masters) in academic gowns, boys in blazers and caps with gold braid. Why would I want to come to an intimidating school like this? These memories are etched so deep in my mind that even 40 years later it seems like yesterday.

As a small boy from distant Cosham, this was indeed a world away from what I knew, but it was a day that changed my life. Miraculously I was successful in the exam and so, a few months later, I was one of those boys in a blazer and a cap with gold braid. The strangeness of my new surroundings and my sense of inadequacy was only emphasised by lessons in Latin, rugby on cold Wednesday afternoons and, horror of horrors, interminable lessons (double history) on Saturday mornings. All alien concepts in a new world. For the first few weeks it was a world of trepidation and fear rather than of excitement and opportunity.

Like generations of pupils before me, and generations who have followed since, it was only later that I realised that this really was ‘good for me’! After a term or two, I began to enjoy the structured framework of school life, the constant challenge of moving up the ladder, and the group of friends with whom I was now sharing the journey, and with whom I have had so many great times since. With the benefit of hindsight that many more years bring, I now realise that I was benefiting from traditions built up over centuries; from a talented and committed group of staff who were dedicated to academic excellence; and from an atmosphere in which encouragement to make the most of one’s talents was ever present.

I’m delighted to have been asked to help launch this inaugural issue of Opus. Like countless other former pupils, I owe PGS a huge debt for equipping me for the life that lay ahead. For me, that particularly included the sense of values and fair play that have underpinned my work in the charity and public sectors. Very best wishes to Opus for a successful future. ”

Andrew Hind OP (1967-1973)

Andrew Hind, formerly chief operating

officer of the BBC World Service, joined

the Charity Commission as its first chief

executive in 2004. He has also served as a

trustee of several major charities, including

VSO, the UK Committee for UNICEF, the

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund

and a number of smaller charities in his

local community in North London. Andrew

received the Outstanding Achievement

Award for long-standing commitment

and service to the voluntary sector at the

Charity Awards 2008.

Andrew Hind

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009� �Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

OP is new Chairman of Governors

Mr Larkman read Mathematics at Exeter

University where he met his wife Angela, a

former pupil of the Portsmouth Northern

Grammar School. He joined National

Westminster Bank in 1970 and enjoyed a

distinguished career in the City, moving

to the bank’s International Treasury

Department in 1982 and assuming

responsibility for the Global Money

Markets business for 10 years before his

retirement in 2001. Since then, he has

worked for the Financial Services Authority

and HMRC and he continues to work for

HM Treasury as a Non Executive Director

of the UK Debt Management Office and

a member of the Exchequer Funds Audit

Committee.

A father of four grown-up children, Mr

Larkman has had a life-long interest in

the education and development of young

people. He has chaired the governing

bodies of two Essex primary schools and is

currently a Trustee of Catch-22, a national

charity created recently by the merger

of The Rainer Foundation with Crime

Concern, which supports young people in

difficulty across the country.

As a Governor of PGS since 2002, he helped to oversee the successful development campaign which created a new dining and theatre complex, the Woolas science laboratory, an all weather hockey pitch and enhanced bursary funds.

He continued to chair the School’s

Development Board until he took up

the reins of Chairman of Governors this

year. Mr Larkman said, “I am thrilled to be

Chairman of Governors of a wonderful

school that I have known and loved for

many years. PGS has made fantastic

progress since my schooldays and is now

at an exciting stage in its development

with the introduction of the International

Baccalaureate later this year and plans

for the development of a new Science

Centre in 2010. I am determined to ensure

that the school will continue to provide

wonderful development opportunities for

all its pupils and remain at the forefront of

educational thinking in the future.”

Brian Larkman OP (1958 – 1967) took over in July as Chairman of PGS’ Governing Body following the retirement of David Bawtree after 19 years distinguished service.

During the spring term of 2008 artist Lisa Traxler arrived at Portsmouth Grammar School to spend several months as artist-in-residence producing work that celebrated the history of the school.

‘My time at Portsmouth Grammar School was a wonderful experience as I was allowed complete access to the thorough archives in the school organised by then archivist Catherine Smith. The excitement of opening and sifting through boxes of photographs holding treasured memories with a dedicated archivist on hand with the appropriate stories was a dream experience. Incorporating collage with stitching, painting and photographic evidence from the unique collection of artifacts available to me was an ideal source for the art-works I later produced.

I was particularly drawn to the images of pupils showing fleeting moments – a winning jump at sports day, under canvas whilst scouting, a moment captured in the school library, deep in thought. With these archival images I combined photographs I took whilst wondering around the school, quiet moments of contemplation. A bicycle left unattended, a journeys end. A stack of books, sentinel, sturdy, as the brick walls surrounding them. Names listed, each a hope and dream and the excitement of life ahead. A flight of stairs tempting the viewer to hear a footstep echo, running to lessons… These thoughts and images I tried to capture and unite with the archival memories retrieved for it is not just the building that makes a school but those who walk its corridors and classrooms that make it so.

Letters Home

Lisa will be exhibiting the art-works from her residency at The Learning Curve Gallery, Quay Arts, Isle of Wight 16 Jan-20 Feb 2010. For more information about this exhibition contact Lisa on www.lisatraxler.com

Several of Lisa’s key pieces of work have been reproduced as greetings cards and a postcard series exclusively for PGS. For the opportunity to purchase these unique images please refer to the order form at the back of this issue.

Time Team unearth PGS past

The site itself is rich in history. In 1212

Peter de Rupibus founded the Domus

Dei, as a combined hospital, poor house

and travellers’ rest. The site continued in

the role of hospice for around 300 years

until the dissolution of the monasteries by

Henry VIII. Beyond this, Governors Green

also welcomed a visit from Elizabeth I

in 1561 which in turn led to a residence

for the governor being built. To this end

Government House and its associated

buildings were constructed on the site of

Governors Green alongside the Domus

Dei. Government House was the focal

point for many significant events including

the marriage of Charles II in 1662. The dig

confirmed much of this, with a series of

walls and floors excavated and matched to

existing records and knowledge by Tony

Robinson and the team.

The School’s initial involvement in the

project came with a group of Year 7 pupils

having the opportunity to spend two days

on site.

Pupils gained a huge amount from the experience, both in terms of the historical and archaeological knowledge, as well as the running of a television set.

Upon arrival the pupils were whisked

straight into the ‘warm’, roofless, door less

garrison church to be filmed for a question

and answer session with Tony Robinson

and a couple of re-enactment pilgrims.

Questions flowed and the session was

enjoyed by all. It was as the pupils left

the site for the day that the Time Team

made a fantastic discovery, which firmly

entrenched PGS with the excavation.

Tantalisingly, pupils were only made aware of the details of the discovery the following day. Pupils worked on through the day, getting closer to the excavation itself, spending time at the main trench of the dig, the very trench where the special discovery had been made.

After washing animal bones and roof tile

fragments ready for analysis off site and

having a fascinating and hands-on lesson

in Geophysics the time had finally come for

their reward.

In The Dolphin pub, a makeshift

archaeology HQ, where they enjoyed a

well deserved sit down and session on

3-D imaging, a group of 23 Year 7 pupils

discovered what the archaeologists had

found the previous day: a PGS cap badge.

Here it was, the moment of discovery, the

passing over of a cold, golden prize.

Still with the distinctive scheme of gold,

red and black, the PGS lion sitting proudly

as pupils speculated on its origins.

‘When could this be from?’ ‘How long

had Governors Green been the site of

PGS rounder’s matches?’ ‘Where on the

dig had it been found?’ Pupils were full

of excitement and questions, delighted

by such a strong link to the dig and the

realisation of the school’s important and

distinctive place within the area’s history

and character.

Jon Cooper

Teacher of History and Politics

As Channel Four’s Time Team descended on Governors Green on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 May, the site’s history would have suggested that onlookers were expecting tales of royalty and pilgrims. Royalty and pilgrims there were indeed but the real excitement of the dig for The Portsmouth Grammar School came with one particular discovery.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 2009� 9Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Take, for example, the plea for us to send

blazer buttons from an OP who lost all

his possessions in a house fire in Thailand

and desperately wanted a memento of

his school days to replace those he had

painstakingly collected. Or perhaps the

request of a former pupil now living in

New Zealand who wanted us to trawl the

School archive to prove from medical

records that he suffered from diabetes.

He required this information to evidence

his bid for the record of being the

longest insulin-dependent diabetic in the

Antipodes! Indeed, we often hear about

record attempts – this year from OPs Dave

Holby who is on track to complete his

Guinness World Record 40,000km row on

a land rowing machine in December 2010

and Alex Hibbert who this year led the Tiso

Trans Greenland Expedition which, at 1374

miles, is the longest fully unsupported

polar expedition in history (For more

information about Alex’s adventure,

please see the article in this issue of Opus).

Nothing seemed beyond the reach of our

former pupils this year, with OP inclusion

in the New Year’s Honours List, a winning

OP in the Outstanding Achievement Award

in the UK Charity Awards and even an OP

appearance on Blue Peter!

Though they may be far-flung around the

world, many OPs make special pilgrimages

back to the School. Possibly the most

humbling and rewarding aspect of the

job is helping to host reunions and events

which aim to reconnect these former

pupils to their school. This year, a year in

which the School has been granted IB

World School status, we have welcomed

back OPs from as far afield as Australia,

Canada and South America and attracted

some vocal support on the touchlines

from resident OPs over the Summer for the

Senior School rugby tour of South Africa.

A recent gathering of PGS pupils who

left in the years 1935–45 was particularly

poignant as it was the first time that some

of them had ever seen the School site in

Old Portsmouth, having been evacuated

to Northwood Park, Winchester when the

Second World War broke out and thereafter

to Bournemouth. Our oldest OP, who lives

in British Columbia, reaches his centenary

in 2010 and is regularly visited by fellow

OPs who read him excerpts from the latest

Portmuthian.

The Development Office does not limit

itself to forging links with former pupils.

Our remit extends across the whole School

community – past and present. As a pre-

Christmas treat last year, we transformed

PGS into a Winter Wonderland and for

two days installed a temporary ice-rink in

the Quad and encouraged current pupils,

parents, staff and OPs to get their skates

on.

Donning a seven foot penguin outfit was most definitely not something that was ever mentioned at my interview!

PGS is fortunate enough to have a

committed and dedicated Development

team, but this would amount to nought

without the alums, parents and pupils who

have great affection and affinity for the

School. The Development Office plays a key

role in the life of PGS and is pivotal to the

overall development plan for the School.

We are looking forward to celebrating

several key anniversaries in 2010 – the

80th anniversary of PGS Scouts, 125 years

of sport at Hilsea, the tenth birthday of

the Junior School and one hundred years

of School prefects – all of which will give

us new opportunities to welcome back

many generations of former pupils and

their families to rekindle memories of

their schooldays. These milestones in

the School’s history are mirrored by the

personal milestones of the former pupils

that we are privileged to hear about

throughout the year. The School Song’s

composer P.J Barrow would no doubt be

extremely humbled and heartened to learn

of the breadth of their achievements and

just how much relations with their alma

mater are flourishing.

Alasdair Akass

Director of Development

A temporary ice rink laid on by the Development Office transformed the School Quad for pupils and their families last Christmas

The View from the Deve lopment Office

These words are taken from the School

Song written by the PGS master and Old

Portmuthian P.J Barrow and published

in the Portmuthian in June 1896. More

than a century later it is the Development

Office, now in its new home in the heart

of the main school with views out onto

the High Street, Spinnaker Tower and Old

Portsmouth, that is charged with following

the fortunes of pupils after they pass under

the School’s historic arch for the last time,

wherever they may be in the world.

Working in Development within the School

is a role almost like no other. Sometimes

the requirement is to be amateur sleuth,

tracking down ‘lost’ boys and girls, while

at others it is akin to being a BBC World

Service broadcaster, providing expatriate

Old Portmuthians with news of the mother

country.

It is impossible to predict what will turn up in the postbag: in recent months we have dealt with a whole host of unusual requests.

“Some have sought and won distinction,

Gained the scholar’s bays of green;

Some are sailing foreign waters

In the service of the Queen;

Soldier, sailor, or civilian,

All a welcome back will find:

In the hearts of younger comrades

Are their worthy deeds enshrined.”

PGS Leavers of ’35 – ’45 reminisce with current Sixth Form pupils

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 200910 11Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Coming of age?

If I had to identify any one constant theme

about my time at the school it is the fact

that rather like Dr Who, I feel as if I have

been re-generated several times, multiple

incarnations of the non religious kind as

it were. My formative years were spent

running some debating and taking a full

(and hopefully useful) part in the Naval

Section of the CCF under the tutelage of

the indomitable and greatly missed Roger

Harris. Newtown Camps and Adventure

Training in the Cairngorms still hold many

happy memories for me.

I also tried my hand at teaching some RE and still contend that the trip by my GCSE class to Portchester Crematorium was one of the most insightful I have ever run as a teacher.

They also let me loose to teach some

History, and even Politics for a couple of

years as Thatcher gave way to Major. Jack

Reger the then Head of History instilled in

me the need to teach in a style that I was

happy with. He quoted Kipling and nine

and ninety tribal ways and every single

one of them was right. That approach to

teaching has never left me. Well that then

can perhaps be ‘The Apprentice’ phase of

my PGS life.

The next stage involved taking on the

History Department and seeing ‘what

could be done’. My main colleague in the

Department quit in the December after I

started in September, although it was just

a coincidence she assured me. Well from

then on, new appointments ensued, the

ever-energetic Tim Hands fed me some

project ideas to keep myself and the

department out of mischief, so research

projects into aspects of the school’s history

and pupils took place. Oral history now

suddenly came to the fore, and so did the

trips. D-Day 60th, Gallipoli, plus annual

history trips to some fairly exotic locations

such as Russia and China. This year it was

the USA, and next Easter Cuba.

So where am I now? Since September

I have also been lucky enough to take

charge of the Politics Department as well,

just in time for the US elections and a mock

presidential election in PGS where the

result turned out to be a pretty convincing

copy of the real result. I’m trying now to

pass myself off as some kind of expert

on US politics, having in previous guises

mugged up on Early Modern history,

19th century British political history, 20th

century Russian history, and so on. That last

bit is genuinely not meant to sound blasé

and cynical. It is a real privilege to read

around, mug up on new topics and make

sure I don’t teach the same material year

in year out. Apologies to any readers out

there who from personal experience might

beg to differ.

I can honestly say that life at PGS has

never ever been dull. Hectic at times yes,

stimulating certainly, but boring not a

chance. Much has changed since I joined;

colleagues, gender balance, facilities, size

in terms of both buildings and pupil body

and the fact that now I very rarely write

memos or notes to colleagues (emails

uber alles!), but kids are still young people

with great potential, irritating habits and

often sharp minds. I still learn much from

them and that’s not just a platitude. It’s still

good fun most of the time, that’s why I’m

still here trying to juggle and keep all the

balls in the air. Well that and the fact that

I am just about to join the parent body

myself, as my eldest child starts at PGS in

Year 7. Yes, very much a coming of age in

all senses.

Simon Lemieux

Head of History and Politics

You know you’ve been at a school a long time when ……. you turn out to have taught a parent of a pupil (which normally surfaces at Parents’ Evening) or younger colleagues cautiously ask ‘So how long exactly have you been at PGS?’ Well so far only the latter has happened, but as I clock up 21 years at PGS perhaps some reflection is called for. As a historian though I am only too aware of my own subjectivity as a historical source as an eye witness. How many times have I told classes that an eye witness is not necessarily the most reliable source to use!

OP matchesOver the years many OP netball matches

have been played at Hilsea, but this year’s

match was different. This was the last time

Mrs. Di Spencer would be attending as a

member of PGS staff before retiring in July

2009. Rachel Blewett, one of the OP netball

players said: “When thinking of netball at

PGS, Mrs. Spencer springs immediately to

mind. There was nothing quite like tackling

the opposition with Mrs Spencer present

providing inspiration, determination and

dedication.”

OPs from across the years attended and

remarkably, almost the entire 1998 team

was present. Many OPs arrived in their old

school red netball skirts – the current PGS

netball kit was considered to be far more

fashionable!

Emily Copsey, another OP player said:

“The competitive nature of a PGS pupil

lives on forever, so although the event

was billed as a get together as much as a

chance to play some netball, each player

wanted their team to win and all put in a

reasonable individual performance. Mrs.

Spencer was able to tell individuals apart

immediately from their playing style and it

was clear that most had continued to play

netball after leaving PGS.”

The event was a happy gathering with

PGS staff and family members of all ages

providing support from the sidelines. OPs

valued the opportunity to play netball

with former friends and team mates and

to reminisce over past challenges and

achievements. “Getting together with

old team mates was brilliant and I

hope that the Reunion will take

place again,” said Emily.

Netball Matches – 28 March 2009

The annual OP vs School Cricket, Tennis and Rounders matches took place this year on 26

June. A large number of OPs, pupils and staff assembled at Hilsea to participate in their

chosen sport or simply to spectate. Simon Udal, OP, provides a summary of the event from

a tennis player’s perspective.

“Having had sunshine and a week of temperatures of around 32˚C, it was somewhat

disappointing to awake on the morning of the OP Tennis, Rounders and Cricket Matches

to find it was overcast and drizzling. Perhaps the school should consider installing a

retractable roof over the tennis hard courts, as Wimbledon has done, to ensure that these

momentous encounters can take place! Fortunately, no roof was required, as the drizzle

and cloud soon disappeared to be replaced once again by glorious sunshine.

At 2pm, the tennis playing OPs assembled to talk tactics, compare wooden rackets, laugh

at each other’s tennis gear and to reminisce! It was decided that the three OP pairs would

be Simon Udal & Nick Gauntlett, Tim Clark & Richard Cunningham and Stefan Filip & A

Ringer (a PGS year 10 student to make up the numbers!). There were three opposing

School pairs. Each pair played against the other and the total number of games won were

totted up at the end of the match to determine the winners.

The first rubber was a close affair with the OPs ending up slightly ahead. By now the first

innings of the cricket match had just finished, so this was an opportune moment to break

for tea with the cricketers. Everyone talked tactics, reminisced and consumed several

rounds of sandwiches and cream cakes. In hindsight, this may have been the downfall

of the OPs as the School players started the next rubber with a greater spring in their

step and managed to draw level at the end of that round. Unfortunately, the heat, lack of

fitness and the thought of more food at the end of the match caused the OPs to fade in

the final rubber, with the School team eventually winning by a total of 36 games to 29.

The School’s first pair of Andy Furness (Year 13 and captain) and John Melville (Year 10)

won all of their rubbers and helped secure the win for the School.

Afterwards, more food, cakes and ice cream were consumed.... and of course, there was

much more reminiscing!”

Cricket, Tennis and Rounders Matches – 26 June 2009

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 200912 1�Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Ice-cold Is Alex!

When the internationally renowned ‘Born Survivor’ Bear Grylls describes your latest exploit as ‘a hugely ambitious and admirable challenge’, you know that your credentials as a global adventurer are firmly established.

Alex Hibbert OP (1990 – 1996) is not just

a global adventurer, but a world record-

breaking one. Over nearly four months last

year he had to contend with everything

from tent fires to crevasse fields in his

successful bid to ski further than any

previous polar expedition without support

of any kind. His Tiso Trans Greenland

Expedition traversed the Greenland

icecap through a new and uncharted

route from the Nagtivit glacier on the East

coast to Baffin Bay on the West coast and

back during the harsh and unforgiving

Arctic Spring without resupplies and

was completely man powered. One

of the grandees of British exploration,

the adventurer and author Pen Hadow,

remarked at the time that ‘it is as well the

likes of Alex Hibbert stride amongst us

with eyes fixed on the furthest horizons,

because without them we are a spent

force’.

Alex was a pupil at Portsmouth Grammar

School until 1996 when he moved to

school in Dorset before going on to read

Biology at Oxford University.

Of his time at PGS, Alex remarks that ‘the variety and depth of education at PGS, albeit from a young age, gave me a thirst to experience things which were away from the norm.’

Not content with the

challenges of polar

expeditions, Alex is also

something of an extreme

sportsman. He completed the

125 mile Devizes to Westminster

kayak ultra-marathon in 2002,

aged just 15 and is a seasoned

whitewater rafter and London

Marathon competitor.

Nothing however prepared Alex

and team mate George Bullard

for the dangers they were to face

on the polar ice sheets. Living

on emergency rations in the final

10 days of the Expedition with

a very low calorie intake, both

men quickly became dizzy and

hypoglycemic and momentarily

considered abandoning the record

attempt and calling in an early

pick-up. However they persevered,

enduring incredibly long periods

without a break from the whiteout

and the notorious and terrifying

local wind called the Pittaraq, which had

destroyed their first two supply cairns.

Along the way they broke a ski which was

repaired and carried on for the remaining

400 miles and evaded polar bears in order

to complete this incredible feat of human

endeavour.

A CV like no other! Alex Hibbert’s thirst for

adventure has resulted in a succession of

thrills that few could match:

2002: Became on of the youngest people

ever to complete the 125 mile Devizes to

Westminster kayak ultra-marathon at just

15. Aged 16, passed the Royal Marine

Commandos selection procedure for officer

entry – others on the course were at least

20 years old.

2003/4: Twice a finalist in the international

BBC Young Wildlife Photographer of the

Year Competition. Won the coveted Lord

Kitchener’s Scholarship Award.

2005: Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Triathlon.

Signed with first photographic agent and

spent two months photographing Grey

Wolves in USA.

2006: Won his rowing ‘blade’ at University

of Oxford, completed the Flora London

Marathon in 3hrs 19mins. Reached summit

of Mont Blanc.

2007: Elected a Fellow of the Royal

Geographical Society, the home of British

exploration aged 21, the youngest age

possible. Completed Greenland climbing

expedition. Selected for the 2008 Royal

Marines Young Officer Batch.

2008: After 7.5 million ski steps, 195kg

sledges and temperatures in the minus

thirties, Alex and team-mate George Bullard

make expedition history and set a new

distance record for the longest ever fully

unsupported polar journey, the Tiso Trans

Greenland Expedition. He is presently

developing plans for major expeditions in

both the Arctic and Antarctic.

oP mAkes PolAr exPedItIon HIstory

Alex says that his most exciting moment

was undoubtedly the sight and sound of

the approaching helicopter sent to extract

the pair from the edge of the icecap at

the end of the Expedition. Most moving

for him was the spectacular sight of the

mountains of Greenland’s West Coast

following a period of almost total sensory

deprivation throughout the 70 days of the

outward leg of the journey.

His 18 weeks in arctic Greenland have been

comprehensively documented as Alex is

also an accomplished photographer with

a portfolio of work that includes many

shots of the landmarks and landscapes

of his native Portsmouth and a flair for

photographing the natural world which

has twice seen him reach the finals of

the BBC Young Wildlife Photographer of

the Year Competition. He plans to use

many of the photographs taken at various

stages on his epic journey to illustrate

the forthcoming account of his record-

breaking polar quest. The Long Haul is due

to be published at Christmas.

Although he joined the Royal Marines this

year, Alex has every intention to remain

heavily involved in polar expeditions. He

still has major ambitions to undertake

journeys at both North and South Poles,

but is adamant that the manner in which

he involves himself must be right before

he will consider them. ‘ I want to maintain

my back to basics ethos, avoiding the

commercialisation of polar tourism and

expeditions, and keep travelling fully

unsupported on expeditions that aren’t

repeats of previous ones.’

One thing is for sure – more records will be broken in some of the world’s most inhospitable places as long as Alex satisfies his insatiable appetite for adventure.

(Editor’s note: Alex Hibbert is not the only OP making a bid to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. His former classmate Dave Holby, at PGS from 1990 – 1999, is in the midst of his own singlehanded global rowing circumnavigation. The unique difference about Dave’s epic 40,075kms voyage is that is he won’t be getting his feet wet; he is attempting to become the first person to row around the world on a land rowing machine! His imaginary course takes him via West and Eastern Europe, Russia, Western Canada and the US, Central America, the northern region of South America, the Atlantic Ocean and North West Africa before back up through South West Europe, around the UK and home to Basingstoke by 23 December 2010!)

The toll of the toil – some facts from Alex’s record-breaking Tiso Trans Greenland Expedition:Miles hauled without support: 1374 statute miles (2211km)Duration: 113 daysSki paces taken: 7,500,000Total calories consumed: 614,000Body weight lost: 15kg (33lb)Starting sledge weight: 195kg (430lb)Amount of flapjack rations: 44kg (88lb)Tent fires: 2Breakages: Tent anchor loop, stove, one ski, pair of glasses, battery charger

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 20091� 1�Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Class of 2009

It was an event that signified an end to

some of the most stressful months of my

life, as I fought for a place at University,

and revised feverishly before taking my

A level examinations. For several weeks I

looked forward with increasing excitement

to the day when I would hear the words,

“stop writing please” at the end of my final

exam, and to be able to walk that walk out

into the big wide world with my friends,

to enjoy a long summer break before

embarking on the years of partying that

some people call, ‘University’. It therefore

surprised me to realise that when the

time came this excitement had been

replaced by a great sadness, as I realised

an important part of my life had come to

an end.

These past few weeks have been full of

‘lasts’. I had my last lesson, last lunch time,

my last piece of homework, the last day,

and the last time my whole year group

would all be together in one place.

As I look back on my time at PGS however, I realise that my time here has actually been full of ‘firsts’.

Here was the first time I wrote a sentence,

first time I learnt to multiply, first time I was

given a detention (thank you Mr Roland),

first time I caught a rugby ball, picked up

a hockey stick, picked up a cricket bat,

and subsequently the first time I realised

I was rubbish at most ball sports. Here

at PGS was also the first time I picked up

a trumpet, acted in plays, performed in

concerts, won awards, and found a passion

in medicine and science.

Most importantly however, PGS is the place

that I was first introduced to the people

who are now my closest friends, it’s the first

place I’ve been truly happy, and a place

that has taught me an enormous amount

about life. I have come to appreciate that

PGS is full of opportunities and gives all of

its pupils the chance to do some amazing

things that they wouldn’t ordinarily have

been able to try. My personal example

of this was when at 17, I was the Stage

Manager for a production in the Kings

Theatre, Southsea, responsible for running

a show that over 3000 paying members of

the public came to see. What other school

gives its pupils chances such as this?

The school has also always made it very

clear to its pupils that it doesn’t prioritise

exam results over their happiness; nor is it

focused on achieving impressive statistics

in public exams. Instead, it focuses on

where each pupil wants to be at 25 and

beyond, and all of the staff are dedicated to

getting the pupils to fulfil those ambitions.

It is thanks in part to the huge amount

of support available from the staff at

PGS that I have an offer to start medical

school in September, and have been

given the opportunity to turn my passion

for medicine into an exciting career. At

the age of 25 I hope to be working as a

Doctor within the NHS, and in my spare

time working also for medical aid charities,

flying out and providing healthcare all

around the world to different people, some

of whom have never before seen a Doctor.

This is a dream of mine that hopefully, on

results day in August, will become a reality.

I realise that without the motivation, expertise and support of all my teachers, and all the staff at PGS, this may never have been possible.

PGS has been a very special part of my

life, and has given me so much that I feel

I owe it a great deal. I will always have

fond memories, not only of the bricks and

mortar, or of the timetables, or lessons,

or things that most people associate

with a school; but predominantly of the

people, staff and pupils alike, who come

in each day and bring the school to life. I

am incredibly proud to have been a pupil

there, and am proud to still be able to

call it ‘my school’. I hope that each of you

reading this feel exactly the same way, as it

is a school that not only educates its pupils

but brings them up to have ambitions, to

go out into the world to make a difference,

and to fulfil their dreams. Most of all

however, it brings them up to be happy.

Opus asked a selection of Year 13 leavers, the newest batch of Old Portmuthians, for their thoughts about PGS as they head off to university and how it has helped to support them in achieving their aspirations. Nick Coffin, Jemima Hodkinson and Tim Wiggins are all shown wearing the U6 Leaver’s tie which they were presented with on their final day in school. The tie incorporates the school colours prior to 1903, based on the contrasting shades of blue of the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge. A small black stripe has been added as an elegiac note for the passing of school days….

Nicholas Coffin: Years at PGS 1995-2009This summer after 14 years at the school I walked out through the main arch onto the High Street for the very last time as a pupil of PGS.

Jemima Hodkinson: Years at PGS 1999-2009I have a confession to make – on my bookshelf is a copy of T S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, borrowed from the Lower School library and now 7 years, 4 months and 21 days overdue.

My guilt at depriving the younger

inhabitants of the school of Macavity and

Skimbleshanks is considerable, but I am

rather fond of this relic of my first few

years at PGS. As I staggered out of the

archway on the last day of term, I carried

with me many similar souvenirs of the

school: a grubby labcoat (seven years old,

presumed lost); a plethora of striped ties;

a knowledge of the rules of croquet. None

of these, nor the glossy mementoes of

leavers’ day, can really sum up the ten busy

years I’ve spent at PGS. And for everything

I’ve left with, I’m still missing something – a

clear idea of where I am going.

PGS has taken me far beyond the confines of the quadrangle – from Prague to Paris, from the Kings Theatre to the Pleasance in Edinburgh, in many a yacht and onto the flight deck of aircraft carriers.

This range of experiences meant that come

the sixth form, and the need to think about

a career, I was stumped. Mr Elphick-Smith

used to refer to me as ‘Hodcarrier’ because

he could (for some reason) imagine me

working on a building site, but I thought

this a rather poor basis for a career in

bricklaying. So where to go after passing

out through the archway for the last time?

The regular lunchtime decision, of left

– towards Twigs – or right – towards the

café Parisien – was hard enough; while

school hasn’t provided an answer to this

question, it has shown me that I needn’t

commit to one specific career plan.

I have probably been a bit slower than the

rest of my year in leaving the old place

– co-directing the sixth form production

of Hamlet meant continuing to come in

most days after exams for rehearsals, and

I will be going on my last Navy CCF camp

in a few days’ time. Indeed, years of New

Forest walking camps and two Charlton

Chases haven’t helped with that sense

of direction, but the variety of PGS life

has. I might have applied to do Natural

Sciences at university, but this won’t be

at the expense of my interest in literature

– sixth form involved spending many a free

period at the top of number ten, where Mr

Thorn waited every week to dissect our

latest essays and encourage us on our way

through Anna Karenina or Tristram Shandy.

Through these conversations – which

regularly turned into debates – I learnt

the importance of reading and learning

for enjoyment, rather than as potential

CV-fodder.

I will certainly miss spending time in

number ten, along with many other

peculiarities of the PGS routine – sleeping

in the library, biscuits from Rippers,

“Chaucer Fridays”, cake days – and while

memories of Monday morning double

maths and prefect duties in John Pounds

may not be particularly dear to me, the

good humour of teachers and friends

sustained me through these longer hours.

The sense of humour at PGS was certainly unusual at times – arcane in-jokes remained funny for years, and year four nicknames lasted until the upper sixth – but it was always witty and affectionate.

My decade at PGS has been one of strong

friendships and much laughter. I leave

with just one regret – the measly score

of one hoop I managed in the Croquet

Club’s inaugural match against Winchester

College. Whether or not I end up gracing

the croquet lawns of Cambridge, with

the confidence that PGS has given me

I am sure that I’ll be where I want to

be – wherever that is – by the time I’m

twenty-five. More importantly, I’ll enjoy the

journey there.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 20091� 1�Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Class of 2009Placing my pen on the exam desk for the

final time, I raised my hands in triumph. It

was done, finished: not only the English

exam and the exams as a whole; but so

much more. That moment, walking out

into the sunshine in the main quad, gave

me a sense of freedom that is hard to

express in the written word; a freedom

from examinations and revision; from

classrooms and books; uniform, duties

and regime. It was a feeling of liberty that I

cannot deny was embraced and welcomed

with relief after my months of sleepless

nights and anxieties as my final exams

commenced. At this time I had longed

for nothing more than to be sat on a boat

in the sunshine, rather than at a desk

surrounded by mountains of revision.

Ironically however, it was on a boat the

week after my exams had finished, that

the true extent of my new found freedom

dawned upon me. It was fair to say that I

would not miss the exams, revision or the

books, which The Portsmouth Grammar

School had become associated with in my

mind over the last couple of months. But,

after this stressful facade had been washed

away, the true picture emerged from the

depths; a picture that showed freedom

and detachment from things that I had in

fact grown to love and enjoy. For five years

PGS had come to dominate my life and

its development; from the age of thirteen

when the hour long journey across the

Solent seemed like an insurmountable

undertaking, to the challenges of being

made Senior Prefect and the responsibility,

expectations and enjoyment that it

entailed; PGS had watched me and fuelled

me in an undeniable evolution.

That final day had signalled a detachment

from the PGS fire; and what seemed like a

loss of the support and security that it had

incorporated. However, I came to realise

that I was not an ember, cast out of the

grate or onto Portsmouth High Street.

My time at PGS had developed me into someone who could cope with and enjoy the challenges that the wider world could now throw at me.

Looking back on the alterations of my

academic life now, I realise how much has

changed since joining the school; from

bottom sets in year nine, to nine A*s at

GCSE; no one could deny that the change

was dramatically positive. However, PGS

had done more for me than just boosting

my grades; what was more significant to

me as a person was the enhancement

of character and self esteem that had

occurred over the five years. On joining

the school I admit that I was a quiet, shy

and largely unnoticed pupil; moving

from a small church school to one such

as “The Grammar” was a significant social

shock. Nevertheless, it was the belief of

the teachers, the growing expectations

of achievement and the development of

many treasured friendships that enabled

me to gain positions of leadership, respect

and the self-belief that I could now face

oncoming challenges.

It was this now growing self-belief and

desire to achieve greatness that PGS

had instilled in me, which prompted my

aspiration to continue in positions of

leadership on leaving school. In August I

embark on an exciting Gap Year; working

with IBM in their European management

sector in London for nine months, before

heading across the world to Vietnam and

Cambodia with two other PGS leavers,

to undertake two months of travelling,

exploring and charity work. On returning

from Indochina, I start my degree in

Economics and Economic History at

Warwick University; which I hope to build

upon by completing a Masters at an

American University. My ultimate ambition

however, is to work in global management

and consulting; allowing companies to

reach their full potential and enjoying the

evolution and success, just as PGS helped

me to do.

The 18th of June therefore was indeed a

release; a breakaway from some things

that I will miss and others that I will not.

However, it is not this breakaway that I will

think about when I look back on PGS; it is

the starting blocks that the school has built

for me; as I head out on the race of life.

cont.

Tim Wiggins: Years at PGS 2004-2009On June the 18th at four o’clock, what I can only describe as a symbolic moment occurred.

Following successful ‘A’ level results we are delighted to add that Tim will be heading off to Warwick University, Nick to Birmingham and Jemima to Cambridge to continue their studies with every good wish from all at PGS.

With me every step of the wayI’ve been thinking about inspirational teachers recently. At my PGCE interview I was asked what makes an inspirational teacher and it was names, rather than qualities, that were the first thing I thought of. ‘Pippa Foster, Martin Cawte, Julian Elphick-Smith, Paul Dean, Eimer Page and John Thorn’. A combination of the qualities possessed by so many of my teachers, particularly in the English Department, added up to my idea of inspirational.

I was getting towards the end of my

second year studying English Literature

and Theatre at the University of Glasgow

when I decided that I wanted to apply

to do a PGCE. I looked at the application

process and possible courses but the first

thing I needed to do was to get some work

experience. Where better to start than your

old school? Tim Hands was kind enough

to offer me four weeks work experience in

the English and Drama departments of the

Senior School and by the time I had arrived

in June 2008, James Priory had taken

up the mantle. Those four weeks were

invaluable, and with Bryony Hart and Mark

Smith guiding me through the English

and Drama departments respectively, I

saw a whole new school. During that time

I became more committed than ever to

becoming a teacher.

I also had to undertake five days work

experience in a state school which I did

in Glasgow. But five days was nothing in

comparison to the 20 I had spent at PGS,

I’m sure I would not have felt so prepared

or certain if I’d had any less time. With

Bryony as my referee, I was ready for the

application process.

Applications and interviews over and I had

a place. One of the requirements was that I

must spend five days in a local state school

observing years 5 and 6. Well, PGS was out

and I didn’t really know where to begin.

There are hundreds of primary schools in

the area, and I had no contacts. But then I

realised, whilst I couldn’t do the placement

at PGS, that didn’t mean they couldn’t help.

I contacted the Development Office who

put me in touch with OP Peter Sykes

(1960-1970), the Headmaster of Saxon

Shore Infant School and Westfield Junior

School. He was happy to help and invited

me up to the junior school to have a look

around.

A few months later and I’d had a brilliant time at a lovely school. With charming children and friendly staff, it was the perfect place to start my teacher training.

A week at Westfield made me reflect upon

my own happy memories of the Pre-

prep and Lower School. It only feels like

yesterday that I first put on that tiny red

kilt for my first day of school, or sang “Livin’

on a Prayer” at the top of my voice along

with the whole of the upper sixth on my

last day.

I left school four years ago now, and

whether it is a quick hello and catch up

with a teacher in Waitrose, drinks with OP

friends in a pub near school or helping me

with my career in teaching, I know PGS isn’t

far away.

Emma Merton OP (1992 – 2005)

Peter Sykes was delighted to host Emma’s work experience prior to her starting her PGCE and was very pleased that she got so much out of it. If any other students are thinking of a teaching career they are welcome to make contact with the school so that a placement could be arranged.

Contact head@westfield.portsmouth.sch.uk for further details.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 20091� 19Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Lab-Fab!The building of the new 21st century hub for science at PGS gets underway.

Two hundred years after the birth of Brunel, Portsmouth can proudly boast its achievement as a world-class centre for science and engineering with thriving aeronautical and shipbuilding traditions and a rapidly developing reputation as the nerve centre of the UK Space Industry.

PGS itself is regarded as one of the foremost schools for science in the South and a leading light for science, technology and engineering education. Examination Board Prizes have been routinely awarded to PGS pupils over the past few years for outstanding individual performances and each of the science subject departments has earned the accolade of ‘top school’ in the UK Science Olympiads as well as being the top performing school for the past three years in Electronics ‘A’ level. The list below of Old Portmuthians who have excelled in a whole range of scientific fields demonstrates the School’s commitment to science teaching But progress lies at the heart of all scientific endeavour and achievement and, though the existing Science Block has served PGS well for over half a century, the new building with its open atrium, exhibition space, science auditorium and additional laboratories will accommodate all the anticipated needs of science at PGS in one space at a time when more pupils than ever before are opting to study science subjects at ‘A’ level and for the International Baccalaureate.

As former pupil Mark Birkinshaw, who holds the William P Coldrick Professorship in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Bristol University explains, “Since the construction of the Science Block at School there have been vast changes in the methods of scientific research and the tools used for scientific investigation. An improvement in the science teaching facilities at school level is just as important as the improvements that are currently being made at university level and in industrial laboratories. No science building has a lifetime of fifty years without major modification, and the science block at the School is no exception.” Mark, along with a number of other eminent scientists, including the astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Moore, have provided written testimonials in support of the project.

Constructed in 1957 by the architect Lillian Stephenson, the old science block was,

when first built, something of a sensation.

It was the first public building in the country to use plastic drainpiping!

Mrs Stevenson approves of the new design which has excellent environmental features in the form of photo-voltaic cells and rainwater capture devices as well as a rooftop greenhouse which pupils studying architecture are helping to design.

The works commenced with demolition of the current science block on 27th July this year and the state of the art science block will be completed in Summer 2010.

All former pupils are friends of PGS are warmly encouraged to have themselves permanently associated with the fantastic new building as well as having the opportunity to join us for the launch event by sponsoring an ‘element’ from the Periodic Table of Elements installation to be housed within it. Please refer to the ‘In our Element’ feature for further details.

A selection of former pupils who have gone to achieve renown in

their chosen scientific fields:

Professor Mark Birkinshaw OP (1966 – 1972) is William P.

Coldrick Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at Bristol

University.

Ian Osterloh OP (1965 – 1971) is a clinical researcher for Pfizer,

Inc. who led the development of sildenafil citrate (Viagra), as well

as a number of drugs relating to cardiovascular disease.

Dr Ben Boyes OP (1992 – 1999) is a Senior Project Engineer for

EADS Astrium on the latest Mars rover project. The rover called

Bradley – the most sophisticated ever built – will explore Mars in

2015 as part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission.

Ben was even seen on BBC TV’s Blue Peter earlier this year

demonstrating Bradley’s capabilities!

Professor Andrew G Lyne FRS OP (1950 – 1960) is Langworthy

Professor of Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy,

University of Manchester, as well as an ex-director of the Jodrell

Bank Observatory.

Professor John Andre Lee OP (1953 -1961) is a consultant

histopathologist at Rotherham General Hospital and clinical

professor of pathology at Hull York Medical School. He is most

notable to the wider public as co-presenter (with Gunther von

Hagens) of Anatomy for Beginners, Autopsy: Life and Death and

Autopsy: Emergency Room for Channel 4 television.

Professor David A Warrell DM DSc FRCP OP (1948 -1958) is the

world’s leading clinical toxinologist, principally famous for his

work on prospective studies of snakebite in tropical developing

countries. He also holds an appointment as Professor Emeritus of

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Oxford University.

The Appliance of Science

i) Linear Potentiometers: hardwood Constantan wire stretched along a calibrated metre scale and clamped to stout, plated brass end

plates. Makers mark on reverse. Made by Philip Harris Limited of Birmingham (45” x 3” approx) £25 each + postage

ii) Resistance Boxes: beautifully crafted dovetailed hardwood with brass fittings. Made by W.G Pye and Co of Cambridge

(Large size 8½” x 4”, small 6” x 3” approx) Small £15, Large £30 + postage

iii) Tangent Galvanometers: large 4” diameter horizontally orientated compass indicator located in the centre of a 7” vertically

orientated coil of wire all mounted on a metal stand with brass leveling screws and fixings. Made by Philip Harris Limited of Birmingham.

Individually numbered. £25 each + postage

iv) In addition, we are thrilled to be able to make available the original laboratory signage from the 1957 Science Block. Choose from

individual named laboratory door plaques on varnished wood or wall-mounted double-sided plastic laboratory name signs. Given that

each of these signs is a unique keepsake of PGS, we are inviting ‘sealed bid’ emails from interested parties. Those pledging the highest

donation for each sign will be contacted when bids close at 9am on Friday 27 November.

For all enquiries, please get in touch with us at development@pgs.org.uk

or by telephoning 023 9236 4248.

You’re already a part of PGS. We’d like to invite you to be part of it forever.Over the years, PGS has been very fortunate to have the support and involvement of some very special people. People who share the values of the School and who have helped to shape the happy and successful place it is today.The building of the new Science Centre offers an exciting opportunity for you to make your personal mark on PGS for years to come and to, literally, become part of the fabric!

We are busy putting together a visual depiction of the Periodic Table of Elements, with each element being drawn, painted, sketched or sewn on 12” x 12” square panels by pupils, teachers and parents which will be installed in the new building (see completed examples left) From just £100, you can be permanently associated with the biggest building venture in the School’s 2�� year history and a flagship project for science education. Simply choose the element you wish to sponsor. You will even have a personal invitation to come and join us at the exclusive Science Centre launch event and get to see your personally-designed element in its new location. For more information or to reserve your chosen element, please get in touch with us at development@pgs.org.uk or by telephoning 02� 92�� �2��.

IN OUR ELEMENT

Krypton

Iron

‘A Chip off the Old Block’Your unique opportunity to own a piece of PGS history!

The School’s new state of the art Science Centre is the biggest capital project in its history. In order to help offset

some of these costs and bolster the fundraising effort, Opus is offering readers the chance of acquiring items

salvaged from the old Science Block, dating from the 1950s, which make wonderful presents, conversation pieces

and unique mementoes of PGS schooldays! Quantities available are limited, so don’t delay and please remember that

all the proceeds from the sale of these items will help equip the new laboratories to the very highest specification:

i) ii) iv)iii)

Headmaster James Priory and OP Club President Max Lankester monitor progress on the building of the new Science Centre

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 200920 21Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

“Alan and I were quite friendly - and I am sure we shared some escapades - but we were not bosom pals. Apart from his war service, I really feel great admiration for Alan for his courage and expertise when he undertook his whaling flying in the Antarctic.”Bruce Wright OP 1932-1939

“In spite of our age difference I always considered Alan a friend. In 1939 as an eight year old at Northwood Park I double sprained an ankle and needed to have it bound up at the sanatorium. It was Alan, as a senior, who was given the job to transport me the quarter mile, on his back, twice a day for about a week.”Cameron Craig OP 1939 -1946

“Bristow’s adventures read like exotic fiction about a life which could not have been experienced by one man.... but they were!”Ron Holley OP 1947-1949

Aero-dynamicThe extraordinary life in the sky of Alan Bristow OP.

Alan Bristow (PGS 1933-1939) is a name that will be forever synonymous with aviation, particularly helicopters. Bristow died aged 85 in April this year, just a decade after licensing for production a patent “water bed” for cows (profitably licensed to Dunlop) which was developed on his 2,000-acre estate at Cranleigh, Surrey. The invention won him the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for Agricultural Innovation which was especially apt as he had been firm friends with Prince Philip for many years after they both represented Great Britain at four-in-hand carriage driving. Amongst his other notable associates were Aristotle Onassis, the Shah of Iran, Douglas Bader, Freddie Laker and the late novelist James Clavell, who he met at PGS.

He also held a little-know record for an aviation first: Lieutenant Bristow carried out the first landing by a helicopter on a naval escort vessel at sea when he landed a Sikorsky R4B Hoverfly on the deck of the frigate HMS Helmsdale, K253, in Weymouth Bay. Bristow survived countless helicopter crashes and flying stunts of his own devising that were, in his own words, “bloody insane”.

After the war he became Westland Helicopters’ first test pilot at a time when 25 per cent of the UK test pilot population was being killed every year, and survived many close calls. His record was six engine

failures in different helicopters in one day. But after only three years his employment ended abruptly when he punched the sales director on the nose.

Shortly after he married he moved to Paris to run an ad hoc helicopter operation where his duties included flying up and down the Seine with a pair of circus trapeze artists slung beneath his machine. He survived one crash when the ladder got wrapped around his tail boom and tore it off, and another when he was overcome by DDT fumes while spraying oranges in Algeria. He also decamped to Indochina to try to sell helicopters to the French air force. In 1949 he rescued four men, under mortar fire, from the Viet Minh, for which he later collected the Croix de Guerre for his bravery. He also sold eight aircraft, setting out on the entrepreneurial path that would make him a multimillionaire.

In 1951, on his return from Indochina, he formed Air Whaling, a company that used helicopters to spot whales in the Antarctic. From that he went on to develop a humane harpoon, the patents for which he managed to sell to the Netherlands Whaling Company. It was from this venture that his most successful enterprise, Bristow Helicopters, was spawned. He met up with the war hero Douglas Bader, who was responsible for Shell oil’s aviation needs, and Bristow Helicopters was soon

supporting the North Sea oil business. Despite once throwing Bader into a swimming pool and referring to him as a “tin-legged git”, Bristow and his business thrived, serving the oil industry worldwide.

By 1959 Bristow was a tax exile living in Bermuda. There he was tracked down by Freddie Laker, who wanted to buy Bristow Helicopters on behalf of Air Holdings. Bristow was happy to sell a stake in order to get access to friendly capital, but their valuations of the company were £67,000 apart. Both gambling men, they settled the issue by tossing a coin at a lunch after which Bristow’s accountant George Fry needed medical treatment.

Bristow Helicopters passed through several hands before being bought out by the American giant Offshore Logistics Inc. Bristow was gratified when the American multinational changed its own name to Bristow Group because, according to its president, the name was “solid gold” in the oil industry worldwide.

“The first time that I met him after schooldays was when we bumped

into each other at meetings of the British Friesian Society as we were

both in the milk business with the same breed of cattle. I visited his

farm on a few occasions and remember once when he had an open day for

a herd visit. It was characteristic of him that we were told by one of his

employees that he had been delayed - he then landed beside us in one of

his helicopters! He was always a great showman!”

Derek Worrall OP 1933-1939

The school archivistMention the word archives and, immediately, an image of dusty scrolls, pince nez and an air of other-worldliness is conjured up. But while there may be some truth in that stereotype, the immediacy, vitality and potential of digitisation makes archival material in the 21st century exciting.

I very much welcome the opportunity – in

this, the first edition of Opus magazine

- to introduce myself as the new School

Archivist. My initial impression of the

school is of a vibrant, thriving and friendly

community with educational excellence

at the heart of its mission, and I am very

pleased to be a part of it.

Caring for, developing and promoting the

archive presents a great new challenge.

As the oldest school in the City, it is a

tremendous honour and responsibility, and

I look forward to working with staff, pupils

and Old Portmuthians to build on all the

good work carried out by my predecessor.

It is great to see a thriving alumni

association and I look forward to putting

together displays of archival material for

reunions and special occasions.

As a chartered librarian, I have had

responsibility for local history collections in

public libraries across Southern Hampshire,

and the Hampshire Naval Collection at

Gosport Discovery Centre, but working

with a prestigious school archive brings

possibilities and opportunities that are

unique to a school community. I am also

a qualified teacher, and look forward to

working with my teaching colleagues

to enable the archive to be used as an

accessible and vital resource in helping to

bring history alive in the classroom.

Fascinating primary sources have the potential to engage and grip the imagination because they tell real and personal stories of those who came to PGS before us.

They inspire and help equip our pupils

to understand and appreciate issues of

identity, belonging and shared heritage.

Learning is at the very heart of what

archives are about and so, rather than just

being about the past, archives are also

about the present and future.

Bringing history alive has been at the heart

of my professional practice for many years,

but it also dominates my spare time. I have

written and compiled many local history

books on the history of Portsmouth and

Gosport, and look forward to restarting the

lunchtime local history club in the future.

My last book, Mudlark, (written under a

nom de plume) was a bit of a departure,

being a novel published by Puffin. It is a

mystery/thriller set during the First World

War and is based on the true-life mudlarks,

who, some older OPs may remember,

begged, scavenged and entertained a

few hundred yards from the school at

Portsmouth Harbour. They became a

colourful part of the City’s rich tradition

and folklore but their history exists, not in

an archive, but in the stories that are told

and passed down the generations.

The PGS archives are far from complete

– many records were lost during World

War II and there are other gaps from times

when the school’s records were not as

valued as they have been in recent years.

So if you have any photographs, films,

reports, diaries, letters, exercise books or

any other material that sheds light on what

life was like in your schooldays, they would

find a safe and valued place in the archives.

If you prefer, original material can easily

be copied and returned to you swiftly

and safely. Also, if you have memories of

your time at PGS (good or bad, unusual

or ordinary, detailed or impressionistic)

please get in touch. Your experiences are

unique and will contribute to our collective

understanding of the diverse and ever-

changing PGS experience.

Thankfully, the archive houses a complete

set of The Portmuthian, a rich source of

information about the cultural life and

sporting record of the school, and the

Old Portmuthian has kept us in touch, in

many cases, with lives after school. Many

of the enquiries I have received in the

brief time I have been in post have been

family history related, and considering

the hundreds of thousands of pupils that

have attended PGS – and the number

of descendents there must be – there is

potential for The Portmuthian to be made

accessible as a genealogical resource.

There is also the prospect of showcasing

other carefully selected archival material

on the PGS website for the wider world to

understand and appreciate the history and

achievements of the school.

I hope I’ve convinced you that archives

are exciting, I can at least assure you that

they are not dusty or covered in cobwebs.

They are used everyday to inform,

enrich and inspire through use in the

classroom, in assemblies, displays and in

communications with OPs, their families

and descendents. I am informed, enriched

and inspired every working day, and it is a

privilege to act as custodian and advocate

for the school’s three hundred year old

history.

I’m ending with a unusual request - if

anyone knows the whereabouts of an

old PGS lift-top desk (especially one old

enough to have a recess for an ink-well,

ideally with antique carved graffiti and

encrusted chewing gum), please get in

touch. I can be contacted in term-time at

the school on 02392 681391 or by email

j.sadden@pgs.org.uk

John Sadden

James Clavell, who remained a lifelong friend from Bristow’s schooldays at PGS, wrote the book Whirlwind in 1986 which was a fictionalised account of one of Bristow’s adventures. This occurred in 1979 when he extracted all his staff from Iran in a dawn operation under the guns of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s Revolutionary Guard.

“Bristow was probably three to four years younger than I

and the only specific thought that comes to mind is when

I was a prefect and he was called to E4, the prefects

‘court’ on some misdemeanour, possibly not a solo occasion!”

Tom Dethridge OP 1931-1939

“He was just “Bristow” to me because first names were not used in School. I was two years ahead of him; I had joined the OTC and, on passing Certificate 2A”, was put in charge of a batch of new recruits. In my section were three that gave me a hard time; their names were Besent, Bristow and Clarke, and Bristow was the ringleader. We sized each other up and after a few weeks I grew to respect him for the experience that I was gaining in man management. It brought us good marks at Annual Inspection and it certainly helped me in my later career.I left PGS in the summer of 1939 and was out of touch with the OP club until after the war, but I do remember hearing of a helicopter flight that Alan piloted to rescue a sick keeper from a lighthouse when the weather was too rough for a boat to get to him. In later years the name of Bristow Helicopters became well known in the aviation world, as I live near Kent Air Ambulance base at Marden I think of him when I hear them flying over.”John Pearson OP 1930-1939

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 200922 2�Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

He awoke to the sound of an aircraft. When he looked outside he saw a Zeppelin trapped in the glow of searchlights. High above the Zeppelin, another aircraft was in a battle against the German attacker. Soon the Zeppelin was hit and going down.

“The Zeppelin caught fire in the middle, which melted the aluminum framework and it gradually sank in the middle, but somehow after the aluminum frame survived, it went down in the V-shape and hit the ground,” said Bartle.

Bartle was born in 1910 and will celebrate his 100th birthday in February next year, making him the oldest surviving Old Portmuthian. He lives in British Colombia and, largely through the detective work of former PGS archivist Catherine Smith who put him in touch with many of his former students who now live in North America, frequently receives OP visitors to reminisce about school days. “His photographic memory is incredible”, remarks Alastair Stevens OP (1930-1937). “Being a World War Two veteran now living in Canada, I am a keen supporter of British Columbia’s Military Museum in Nanaimo and visit it often. About 2 years ago during a visit I noticed this elderly gentleman on volunteer duty wearing many pins on his jacket, one of which seemed familiar.

I remarked that it reminded me of my old school. ‘Where did you go to school ?’ he asked. I replied that I was a pupil of the Portsmouth Grammar School in the UK. ‘So you were!’, he exclaimed, ‘ What’s more you were one of my students!’ Upon hearing his name I recalled that Wally Bartle was one of our teachers!”

His razor-sharp memory and renowned straight-talking served Bartle well; amongst others things he held the position as Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery’s aide-de-camp. During a military planning conference, Montgomery proposed changes to military training. Bartle said everyone in the room agreed with Montgomery but him. “I got up and said it wouldn’t work and you could have heard a bomb drop as I said it at the time,” he said. Later Bartle was called over to talk to Montgomery to discuss the troop training and impressed Montgomery with his insights.

Now Bartle’s life and experiences are the focus of a documentary called Bloody Proud, being produced by Jib Entertainment, an independent film company based on Vancouver Island. Jim Dickinson, an associate producer with Jib, volunteers at the Vancouver Island Military Museum, where he met

Bartle. The film is a project by writer Ian Ferguson and director David Bercovici-Artieda, who worked on a documentary about Holocaust survivors with Steven Spielberg after Schindler’s List.

The three – Dickinson, Ferguson and Bercovici-Artieda – decided Bartle would be a great person for a documentary after meeting him last winter. “Ian’s initial comment when we got together was, ‘Do you realise what an incredible man we have here?’” said Dickinson. “He said what an incredible man with an incredible amount of experience.” Filming is already underway and there are even tentative plans to fly Wally back to the UK to once more walk the corridors of PGS and the streets of Portsmouth, where son John Bartle OP (1947 – 1957), has headed-up a highly successful architects’ practice for many years.

Wally Bartle’s extraordinary life is the focus of a new documentary by acclaimed director David Bercovici-Artieda.

Our new Lottery Draw is fun, easy to play and provides much-need project and bursary income directly to PGS.

For just £1 per week players have a very real chance of winning a monthly jackpot of £10,000 as well as other cash prizes. Winners are automatically notified and it’s easy to set-up – just follow the instructions provided on www.pgs.org.uk (in the ‘Development’ section select ‘The Weather Lottery’) or contact the Development Office. Thanks to all those OPs who have already signed up and many congratulations to

our recent lucky winners!

99 Not Out! Former Art Master Wally Bartle remembers the vivid details of watching the first German Zeppelin shot down over his home in England when he was young.

It could be you! Fly the flag with a PGS bag!2010 will see the first ever PGS pupil expedition depart for Africa. Pupils will spend a month trekking in the Rwenzori Mountain range in Uganda and have set themselves the task of rebuilding a class room at Kinyerere Primary School. This enterprising small group of Year 10, 11 & 12 pupils are paying all their own expenses but have to raise the money for building materials and classroom resources. They have specially designed these exclusive extra large jute shopping bags, priced at just £5, to raise money for the trip. OPs who wish to support the Uganda 2010 team by buying a bag should contact Karen Sparkes at k.sparkes@pgs.org.uk

Scaling the heightsNews of how a permanent memorial to the late Roger Harris OP, former pupil, teacher and President of the OP Club will help give opportunities to pupils of all ages and allow their talents to develop.

Following the very sad news last November

of the death of Roger Harris, reported in

The Old Portmuthian Magazine, in a letter

to all OPs and on the School website, we

have been deluged with condolence letters

and fond recollections of a man who gave

a life of service to PGS. Joining the School

as an 11 year old boy during the Second

World War in 1943, with a break of seven

years from 1951 for Oxford and then the

Royal Navy, then joining the teaching staff

in 1958 and concluding as President of the

OP Club up until last year, Roger spent a

staggering total of 58 years connected in

some way or another to PGS.

The School has worked very closely with

the Old Portmuthian Club, Common Room

colleagues and with Roger’s friends and

family to devise a fitting memorial to

someone who inspired many generations

of pupils throughout his 35 year teaching

career across the whole spectrum of school

life.

Arguably, it was Roger’s encouragement to pupils to develop their sense of adventure that was most legendary.

He thrived on the opportunity to spend

time with pupils in different environments,

introduce them to new experiences and

to set the highest standards. He launched

School Sailing in 1959, established the first

Newtown Camp in 1969, set up the first Fell

and Bottle trip to the Lake District in 1971,

oversaw the first of many successful PGS

Ten Tors teams in 1974 and in 1979, led a

group of boys up Mont Blanc to mark the

first expedition of the newly-formed PGS

Mountaineering Society.

It seems highly appropriate therefore

that agreement has been reached to

erect the School’s first-ever Rock Wall as

the memorial that will bear his name.

The construction is modular allowing it

to be extended according to the level of

donations. It is hoped that as many of

Roger’s former classmates and pupils as

possible will feel able to contribute to the

project so that installation can begin right

away.

Major Sue Sheldrick, Contingent

Commander of the CCF, who is

spearheading the campaign for a

permanent Rock Wall facility to be erected

in Roger’s memory said: “The Rock Wall

will be a fitting tribute to a well loved

member of the PGS staff who devoted his

teaching career to ensuring that cadets

were engaged and challenged in outward

bound pursuits. The installation of a Rock

Wall will not only be of benefit to cadets,

but will also foster a desire in younger

pupils from Year 2 upwards to climb and

enjoy a different physical activity.”

Temporary Climbing Wall brought in as part of the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the CCF at PGS in 2008. It is hoped that funds raised in Roger’s memory will help towards the construction costs of a permanent facility.

Please join us to celebrate Roger’s contribution to PGS by helping in the

following ways:

• Contribute to the Roger Harris Climbing Wall Appeal by visiting

www.justgiving.com/oldportmuthian. Alternatively please send your

donation, made payable to The Old Portmuthian Charity, to: Barry Easton,

8 Spindrift Mews, Bosham, West Sussex, PO18 8LW

• Pledge your offer of an object, opportunity or offer of service for the CCF

Climbing Wall Auction which the cadets are staging on Friday 6 November

at 7.30pm in order to raise funds for the Climbing Wall in memory of Roger.

Auction lots already generously donated by Old Portmuthians include a flight

for 5 people in the world’s oldest flying de Havilland Rapide bi-plane and a

signed England rugby shirt. To pledge your own special lot in memory of an

extraordinary man, or for details of the event, please contact Alasdair Akass

on 023 9236 4248 or at a.akass@pgs.org.uk

• Attend the Old Portmuthian Club Annual Dinner on 12 December at the School

which will be dedicated to the celebration of Roger’s life of service to PGS.

Please refer to the Forthcoming Events page within this magazine for further

details.

For OPs going ‘Down Under’Opus would like to draw the attention of OPs living near Sydney, or just passing through, to the existence of the Sydney Lunch Table. This is a group of OPs, who meet quarterly at the RAC Club, Macquarie Street, Sydney. Their next four meetings are on November 10th 2009, February 16th, May 11th and August 10th 2010. They assemble in the bar on the Macquarie Street level at 12.30, where guests will find a very warm welcome. Please contact Tony Walker-Powell (ajwp@bigpond.net.au) in advance for further details.

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 20092� 2�Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

In memoriamOpus is saddened to report the deaths of the following Old Portmuthians:

Sir Malcolm Rowland Bates (23.09.34 – 30.05.09)

Malcolm Rowland Bates was born

in Portsmouth in 1934. He attended

Portsmouth Grammar School from 1946

-1950 and then went on to the University

of Warwick. He served in the RAF from

1956 to 1958, and went to Harvard

Business School in 1963, halfway through

a ten-year career at Delta Metals, where

he was employed from 1959 to 1968. After

a spell at Wm Brandt, a merchant bank,

he joined GEC as commercial director

in 1976, becoming deputy-managing

director in 1985. Bates also served on the

board of Pearl Assurance, the pensions and

insurance firm, Enterprise Oil, and BICC, the

cable maker.

For twelve years Sir Malcolm Bates was

second-in-command at GEC, one of the

great postwar industrial enterprises. Bates

played a leading role negotiating takeover

deals and ensuring that newly acquired

companies were integrated effectively

into the parent. His connections with the

US — buying and managing companies

such as AB Dick, the printing and copying

machinery manufacturer, and Picker

International, the medical devices concern

— won him particular admiration.

In May 1997, only hours after the Tony

Blair-led new Labour election victory,

Geoffrey Robinson, Paymaster General at

the Treasury, asked Bates to look into the

Private Finance Initiative. Robinson said

he wanted Bates to look at obstacles in

the way PFI projects and how the process

could be streamlined. Later, in 1998, Bates

returned to lead a taskforce charged with

trying to improve the schemes. While

they have struggled to shed a slightly

unfortunate image, PFIs survive, at least in

part, thanks to the work of Bates.

He was knighted in 1998 and is survived by

his wife, Lynda, and their three daughters.

Courtenay Corner (16.11.14 – 04.08.09)

Courtenay was one of the oldest surviving

OPs having attended PGS from 1927-1933.

He passed the School Certificate with

honours in 1931 and the Higher School

Certificate two years later. He then went

to take up the occupation of ”municipal

clerkship” and a career in banking.

Mervyn Bennicke Lanyon (18.05.21 – 22.02.09)

We are indebted to Mervyn’s daughter, Susan Palmer (nee Lanyon), for this appreciation of Mervyn’s life.

Mervyn Bennicke Lanyon was born on the

18th May 1921, at Number 4 Ordnance

Row in Portsmouth. He was the younger

son of Maurice and Lilian and brother to

Trevor. His father was a Naval jeweller and

Mervyn’s connections with the Royal Navy

began in his earliest years.

In 1927, Mervyn followed his brother to

The Portsmouth Grammar School and

retained his connection with the school

all his life. His grandson William was later

a pupil at the School. Whilst at school, he

enjoyed the Scouts, the Officer Training

Corps, and learned seamanship. He was

selected to join the Royal Navy as a cadet

in 1938 and gained a place at RN College,

Keyham as an officer cadet.

Mervyn’s Naval

career was varied

and interesting.

He served in HMS

Birmingham for

most of the War. In one

incident, the ship was torpedoed

in the Mediterranean whilst bound for

Alexandria, carrying £3,000,000 of gold

bullion, unbeknown to the ship’s company.

This torpedo caused enormous structural

damage and the death of 28 sailors.

“Birmingham” limped across to Norfolk on

the East coast of America, where she was

cut in half and rebuilt with gangs of men

working day and night so she could rejoin

the fleet. She took part in the liberation of

Copenhagen.

After the War, Mervyn served in HMS

Surprise, the C-in-C Mediterranean’s

Despatch ship in Malta, known locally as

‘The Yacht’. Other appointments included

HMS Implacable, The RN Dockyard,

Singapore, HMS Duchess and Assistant

Naval Attaché in Bonn, Brussels and The

Hague. Later, he served in the Royal Corps

of Engineers and had the privilege of

escorting the Queen around the facilities in

Portsmouth Dockyard. He was awarded the

OBE by the Queen on 26th October 1965.

Mervyn combined his Naval career with a

happy family life. He married Joan Cruddas

in March 1947 and they had three children.

He was a devoted husband and a gentle,

loving father, grandfather and great

grandfather. He had great wisdom, but

wore it lightly and to his family he was a

rock. He was a liberal thinker who evolved

with the challenges of new ideas and

generations. He always retained a huge

sense of fun.

Mervyn was a dear, kind friend to many

people and all his life a true gentleman. He

was actively involved in the Hayling Island

community and with St Mary’s Church,

Hayling Island. He epitomised that quietly

brave and modest Wartime generation.

Ivor Graham Marsh (1923 - 2008)

Ivor died in October last year after a long struggle with Lewy Body Disease. He was 85. He was a keen teacher of medicine, a pilot and highly skilled with his hands.

On leaving PGS in 1941, Ivor joined the Royal Air Force and was posted to 299 Squadron 38 Group for the duration of the war. In 1946 he attended King’s College, London where he gained an MB and a BS. During this time he met and married Betty, who was a nurse there.

In 1953 Ivor went to New Zealand as a medical officer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and this involved some flying duties. He left the Air Force in 1957 and began work and study at the National Women’s Hospital in Auckland before gaining his Diploma in Obstetrics. This was followed by a post as Registrar at Kawakawa Hospital in Northland, including obstetric and anaesthetic duties. At the same time he established himself as a General Practitioner in the town. His colleague recalls Ivor as a somewhat formidable but modest and highly compassionate person. He would think nothing of two-hour drives in the night to his mainly Maori practice who treasured him. Ivor’s next post involved flying to many of his patients. In 1967, in order to educate his five daughters, he moved back to Auckland. When the medical school opened there he became very involved in undergraduate medical training. Ivor was one of the few General Practitioners who began to teach medical students the art of General Practice. He was also active in postgraduate training. In 1982/3 he worked as Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health in King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia before retiring from full time practice in 1985. Ivor and Betty then moved to a small farm in Waimauku where they bred Angora goats. Ivor continued some locum work for a further ten years.

Ivor was humane. His meticulous approach led to his frustration with imperfection. Betty was an extremely caring nurse, a lifelong support and his partner in medical practice. In the last year of Ivor’s life they moved back North to the coastal paradise where he loved sailing and where he had been happiest. Ivor is survived by Betty and his five daughters to whom we send

our sincere condolences.

John Hedley Sterndale Packman (1934 - 2009)

John Packman died on 10 March 2009. He

attended PGS from 1945 to 1951 when

he won the McNicol Memorial Prize for

Art and Portsmouth Major Scholarship.

After completing studies at the Southern

College of Art, John pursued a successful

career as an artist. He was a wonderful

husband, father, grandfather and friend.

Ivor Robert Simpson B.A. T.D. (16.01.32 – 04.11.08)

We are indebted to H.T. (‘Johnnie’) Walker, OP, for this appreciation of Ivor’s life.

Ivor Simpson attended PGS from 1948-

1951 to study Modern Languages and

History in the Sixth Form. He read History

at Bristol University as did his lifelong

friend and fellow OP, Len Wilson. He spent

several years as a teacher before pursuing

a career in education administration

where he became Area Education Officer

for Guildford and its surrounds. He was a

lifelong member of the Territorial Army

and attained the rank of Major. He held

important committee posts within his

local NHS Trust and with the Prison Welfare

and Reform organisation and was also a

staunch Rotarian.

His friendship with Rosemary Walker

(whom he married) was one of those PGS-

PHS romances typical of the 1940s/early

1950s. He is survived by Rosemary, their

two children (Julian and Sarah) and six

grandchildren.

A.T.G. Svensson (1930 – 29.06.09)

We are indebted to John Roberts, OP, for this appreciation of Tony’s life.

A.T.G. (Tony) Svensson died on 29 June

2009 aged 78. From an early age Tony’s

interest in aircraft was evident. He

attended PGS from 1943-1949 and was a

keen member of the school’s Air Training

Corps. On leaving PGS Tony joined the

R.A.F. at Cranwell College as an officer

cadet.

His piloting skills were exceptional and he

soon became a test pilot and ultimately a

world record holder. Tony was seconded

to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1964

and was carrying out manoeuvres in a

Mirage III supersonic fighter at near the

speed of sound when the plane spun out

of control and went into a nose dive hitting

the ground with great force and creating

a hole 45 feet wide and 25 feet deep. Tony

triggered the ejector seat 90 seconds

before the impact and survived the crash

but sustained multiple breakages to his

legs and arms. After hospital treatment

lasting two and a half years, Tony was told

he could go back to flying. Not merely to

flying – but to test flying.

Tony retired from the R.A.F in 1969 and

moved to Devon. He is survived by his wife,

Pam, and his son, Mark, and family.

John Michael Walters (02.04.55 – 03.12.08)

We are indebted to Debbie Morgan, John’s sister, for this information in appreciation of John’s life.

John Walters died in December 2008 at the

age of 53 following a long and courageous

battle against Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

John attended Portsmouth Grammar

School from 1963–1973 and was a member

of the OP Club. At his last visit to the school

he thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the ‘new’

building– the former Cambridge Barracks.

He also enjoyed receiving publications

from the school, invariably looking out for

news of his nieces and nephews (Matthew,

Ben, Charlotte, Samantha and Christopher

Morgan) who all attended PGS.

From 1999 to 2003 Sir Malcolm Bates served as chairman of London Regional Transport

OPUS • Issue 1 • Autumn 20092� 2�Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Forthcoming eventsFriday � November 2009 CCF Auction Evening, David Bawtree Building, PGS

Being staged by cadets in order to raise

funds for a Rock Wall in memory of Roger

Harris OP. To pledge your special lot in

memory of an extraordinary man, or to

attend the event, please contact Alasdair

Akass at a.akass@pgs.org.uk or telephone

023 9236 4248. (See also ‘Scaling the

Heights’ feature in this issue)

Sunday � November 2009 Annual Remembrance Day Concert, St Thomas’ Cathedral

Featuring the premiere of a new

commission to mark the 65th anniversary

of the D-Day landings for Remembrance

Sunday by composer Stephen Montague,

who will also give a pre-concert talk at

PGS. Tickets and information from PGS

Reception on 023 9236 0036.

Thursday 2� November – Saturday 2� November Fiddler on the Roof, King’s Theatre, Southsea

Come and be transported to pre-

revolutionary Russia with a rousing

soundtrack of unforgettable songs

including, ‘If I were a Rich Man’, ‘Tradition’

and ‘Sunrise, Sunset’. Please come and

show your support in this, the most

ambitious School production of the year.

Tickets from the King’s Theatre Box Office

on 023 9282 8282.

Thursday 2� November 2009 Annual OP Lunch at the Royal Beach Hotel, Southsea

The annual lunch for OPs who live in or

are visiting the Portsmouth area will take

place on 26 November at 12.30pm in

the Royal Beach Hotel, Southsea. If you

haven’t already booked a place and would

like to attend please contact Liz Preece at

l.preece@pgs.org.uk or telephone

023 9268 1392.

Saturday 12 December 2009 OP Club Annual Dinner

The OP Club Annual Dinner on the 12

December will act as a tribute to the late

Roger Harris and will be a fitting occasion

to celebrate his unparalleled contribution

to PGS. Please contact Gareth Perry, OP

Club Social Secretary on 023 9273 4606 or

gareth.perry1@ntlworld.com to secure a

place at this extremely popular event in the

OP calendar.

Saturday 12 December 2009 Annual OP vs PGS Rugby and Hockey Matches

We shall be hosting the OP vs PGS 1st

XV rugby match and OP vs PGS 1st XI

Hockey (men and women) matches on 12

December this year at Hilsea from 11.30am.

If you are interested in playing for the OP

teams (or spectating!) please contact Liz

Preece at l.preece@pgs.org.uk or telephone

023 9268 1392.

12� Years of Sport at Hilsea - 2010

A number of events will be held at the

School to celebrate 125 years of Sport at

Hilsea in 2010. Details will be provided in

the next issue of Opus and will be posted

on the school website www.pgs.org.uk

Saturday � February 2010 OP Scout Reunion

The 80th Anniversary of the 42nd

Portsmouth Grammar School Scout

Troop will be celebrated with a Reunion

for OPs who were Scouts or Cubs at PGS.

For further information please contact

Sue Merton at s.merton@pgs.org.uk or

telephone 023 9268 1385.

Friday 2� February 2010 OP Club Evening Lecture, David Bawtree Building, PGS

Guest Speaker, Ed Richards OP, Chief

Executive of Ofcom. For further details and

to reserve your place, please call Gareth

Perry, Social Secretary, OP Club on 023

9273 4606 or gareth.perry1@ntlworld.com

“BE PREPARED”Saturday � February 2010 OP Scout Reunion

This picture was sent to us by Alan

Scaife OP (1947 – 1953). Although we

can’t award a badge for correct entries,

Alan would dearly like to identify some

of his fellow scouts from the 42nd

Portsmouth Grammar School Troop!

If you were at this camp, or can help

to put names to the unknown faces,

please contact the Development Office.

(top row) Alan Scaife, Max ?, David

Parker, (bottom row) ? Wilson, Peter

Miles, ?

CALLING ALL Former PreFeCTS!

2010 marks the centenary year of School Prefects at PGS and plans are

underway to celebrate this important milestone with our first ever

Prefect Reunion. If you were a prefect and would like us to keep

you updated with proposals for next year, please email

your details to development@pgs.org.uk or

telephone 023 9236 4248.

My relationship with Portsmouth

Grammar School started back in

1992 when I was persuaded by Julia

Oakley, then head of the Pre Prep and a

neighbour of mine that PGS was really

the right school to educate my children.

At the time I didn’t even realise PGS took

children from as far away as Emsworth!

There certainly weren’t the numbers

from outside the city that exist now but

the school has grown from strength to

strength since I’ve been involved, first

as a parent and later as a member of the

Development Board.

When my son Alex started in 1992,

reception classes and the nursery didn’t

exist so everyone started age five. Girls

had only been admitted at this age for

a few years. Later he was joined by my

other three children with the last one

leaving in 2008 having completed his A

Levels. During this time I’ve witnessed

a lot of changes and whilst my children

have moved on, my contact with the

school continues.

In 2003 I was approached by the then

Headmaster, Tim Hands, to sit on the

School’s new Development Board. PGS

was about to embark on a fundraising

campaign for a new library, all-weather

pitch at Hilsea and science laboratory. I

accepted the offer and joined the Board.

With my marketing background it was my

job to write and produce the Campaign

brochure and through the hard work

of the Development Office the school

successfully raised the £1.25m target in

just over a year. Since then I’ve remained

on the Board and helped with a number

of smaller projects including participating

in the board of judges for the school’s

own Dragon’s Den involving the Business

Studies Department and Year 9 pupils.

As an economist and coming from a

business background, this is exactly the

type of venture I like to see in a school.

It was really rewarding seeing how hard

the pupils had worked on money raising

projects learning to bring important

elements of business together. I was

really impressed with them all – I’m pretty

sure, along with the more traditional

careers, PGS will be turning out a future

Richard Branson!

My children have all left Portsmouth

Grammar now. It’s provided an excellent

all round education for them and they’ve

now gone on to university and various

careers. Already they look back and see

the value they’ve received from the

school. As for me, I’ve really enjoyed the

ongoing relationship!

Keeping her hand inFormer Parent Sally Gordon tells Opus how she has continued to maintain strong links with the School even after her children have left PGS.

Former Parent Sally Gordon puts a budding Year 9 entrepreneur through his paces as a panelist for PGS Dragon’s Den alongside the new Chairman of Governors Brian Larkman OP and Andy Law OP (1968 -1975), a fellow member of the School’s Development Board.

Portsmouth Grammar Schoolwww.pgs.org.uk