Schooldays

Some notes on public schools to help reading P. G. Wodehouse.

Introduction

The term 'public' means open to any member of the paying public in contrast to single religion* or faith schools, state-financed schools or private (but paid for) tutoring at home. The term is used by a relatively small number of schools today, mainly those long established, with newer schools calling themselves 'Independent Schools'. Regardless of name, they are usually boarding schools with some also admitting day pupils. Some are co-educational.

At one time public schools offered excellent education albeit centred on the Classics, Greek and Latin, plus physical education. Today, the curriculum is as wide as any state school but they do not feature especially high in the league tables and some do quite poorly. That said, they are undoubtedly good for some pupils; it is, as they say, horses for courses. Fees can be enormous, up to Ł10,000 per term including boarding. It is perhaps the boarding element that is their greatest selling point, at least for parents who live overseas or travel frequently.

For an 'official' view, see www.publicschools.co.uk. The remainder of this page is entirely my view.

House system

Boarding pupils would be allocated to one of a number of 'houses'. In many schools these were literally dwelling houses, converted for use by the school. One of the masters would be put in charge and live in house; at some schools it would then take his name. The system facilitated internal competitions of the sort described by Wodehouse. State schools picked up on this with artificial houses and pupils allocated at random. (At my primary school, the houses were Danes, Normans, Romans and Saxons; I was a Roman. At Grammar School, the houses were Abbot's, Bec, Kevere and King's, named for historical connections; Abbot's, in case you wondered.)

Prefects were appointed from the ranks of the senior pupils to maintain order. House prefects held authority within their house only while school prefects held sway over the entire school. In theory, this was to prepare the boys for their future roles in the then British Empire. It also allowed the school to be run with less masters. (PG was a school prefect at Dulwich College.)

Corporal punishment was the order of the day and is reputed to have led to much cruelty and bullying. It is outlawed in the UK today. Because of the physical requirements, prefects tended to be chosen from the ranks of the sporting boys, not the academically inclined. (At my school, for example, the captain of the rugby team was automatically Head Prefect.)

Other thoughts

Colours
As I understand it, 'colours' are awarded to mark a full or permanent place in a school team, as opposed to occasional appearances as a substitute. In physical terms, these would be a special cap, tie or possibly even a blazer, with a different pattern or set of colours to the standard variety, hence the name. There are also second and third colours for second and third teams. I have heard rumours of half-colours ...

Curriculum
Wodehouse concentrates on that part of the schools that taught the classics, Greek and Latin, undoubtedly as that is the part he knew. At the end of the nineteenth century a Classics degree, especially from Oxford or Cambridge Universities, was still a passport to the higher reaches of the Civil Service, the Foreign, Indian and Colonial Services (as they were at the time) and possibly the Army. Banking, the law and the clergy would also be open, but even then many schools had more modern sections covering science, engineering etc. All that has changed with open exams into the Civil Service, acceptance of modern subjects for degrees and better state education for all creating a more level playing field (excuse the pun).

Fags
Fags were junior boys that were assigned to seniors to run errands for them. Quite what this was supposed to achieve educationally, I haven't a clue. One hopes it engendered a respect for servants but that can't explain its continuation in a few schools today.

Remove
The 'remove' year varies between schools. At Dulwich (PG's old school) for example, it is currently the equivalent of year 12, i.e. between the fifth and sixth years, but at Charterhouse it is between the fourth and fifth years. Note that some schools today use the term for a room where disruptive pupils are given work, i.e. 'removed' from the general school population as a punishment or for special help.

Names
In Wodehouse's day, and for many years later, it was the custom for boys at Public schools to refer to each other by surname. Only close friends would use first names, although nicknames would be used more freely. Masters, of course, called boys by surname.

Sports
Public schools went in for rugby football (not Association), cricket, fives and boxing. For notes on the first three see This Sporting Life. The choice of rugby over soccer was not just snobbery: rugby is suitable for boys of almost any body shape, as long as they are reasonably fit; soccer is not suitable for the heavier built boy. Wodehouse played rugby, cricket as a fast bowler and boxed until forced to give it up for the sake of his eyesight. As far as I know, boxing is not taught in any English school now, due to the risk of permanent injury, although there are moves to bring it back. Fives is limited due to the requirement for special courts.

Status
I understand today that it's not heredity that counts but money. Public and independent schools are expensive and a title does not necessarily equal cash. It can't be easy when you arrive at school in the back of a battered 4x4 (SUV) and your best friend arrives in his father's helicopter (although I strongly suspect the kids don't care and it's just the parents that worry about such things).

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* Attendance at religious services is often compulsory even when not single faith. While members of some religions can ask to be excused, this does not extend to agnostics or atheists. A clear case of discrimination posing as inclusion.