Brentwood Preparatory School Magazine

Brentwood School Preparatory 22 Questions for old Brentwood Prep pupils Ian Stronach When did you attend the Prep School? I attended from 1982 to 1983, essentially for what is currently Year 6 before heading over to the Main School where I went all the way through, leaving in 1990 after A Levels. From my time in the Prep school, I recall there were 3 prep classes – JRN, JRS and PR. I believe I was in JRN. Interestingly the current art room used to be split into two and they were the classrooms for JRN and JRS. The current design building used to be our changing rooms. It had a block of showers and one of those enormous communal baths, the type of thing you used to see FA Cup winning teams sitting in at the old Wembley. On games afternoons everyone would pass through that communal bath. As you can imagine, if you were one of the last groups back, it was pretty rancid as it had already had plenty of kids through it. Not one of my favourite memories but one that I am sure will resonate with other ex pupils. Who was your Headmaster? My Headmaster was Mr Marchant. Fortunately, I didn’t have to attend his office for any misdemeanours. I do recall him being a very fair Headmaster who cared for all of his pupils. Very similar to the current Headmaster but a bit taller! What house were you in? I was in Bayman. Nothing has really changed with the house system and the houses are the same today as they were then. We had various house sporting competitions like today – football, swimming, cross country, etc. There appear to be more non sporting house competitions today but that may be because I was never asked to compete in any of the non sporting events. What were school lunches like?! I recall the school lunches being OK. There was still a choice but only a couple of choices and nothing like the choices the children have today. There were good days where you could have picked anything and bad days where all options were not your favourite. In terms of trays, cutlery, queuing and procedure, etc, I recall it feeling somewhat military like. That coupled with the limited choice probably instilled a ‘get on with it’ type of attitude among pupils. Where was the Headmaster’s office and dining room when you attended the school? I don’t recall where the Headmaster’s office was but that is probably a good thing. I recall the dining room being in the same position as it is today. What sport did you play? I played as much sport as possible particularly football and cricket. Cricket was my favourite and you can see me and Neil in the school team photo that you have. Interesting to see that the school caps have not changed much in 35 years. Like today, we also did some swimming in PE. The prep had it’s own outdoor pool which was situated either in the walled garden or where the pre-prep school is now sited. It would be good to look at some old photos to jog my memory of its exact position. Even though this pool existed I don’t remember it being used very much. I think we still used the Main school pool which again, in those days, was still an outdoor pool with outdoor changing facilities as well. Bearing in mind swimming was an all year activity I recall some pretty cold moments standing on the side. What is your happiest memory of Brentwood Prep School? Things have changed dramatically around the school but the facilities were always good so there was plenty of opportunity to have a go at many different things, academically and extra curricular. For me, playing sport provided the happiest memories not only on the pitch but including the away trips in the minibus. I don’t think you can underestimate some of the fun and the conversations between team mates that occur on the travel to and from an away game. Like today, games lessons were split between numbered games, eg Game 1, Game 2, etc. I recall being allocated the game number based upon your age and ability so you were always wanting to reach the pinnacle of Game 1 which was essentially the game for the school teams. General As you can see from the photos, Neil and I are here with our children some 35 years after our departure from the prep school. There are numerous parents that are Old Brentwoods and some who attended the Prep school, which is probably the biggest advert itself for the school. The one thing I notice coming back is that most OBs remember most other OBs regardless of age and, more often than not, they can recall teaming, performing and working together in some capacity whilst at school. It is one big family and the school certainly becomes an important part of your life whilst in attendance and after leaving. They have certainly been doing something right for a long time now. Neil Southgate When did you attend the Prep School? 1979 to 1983 Who was your Headmaster? At first it was John Beresford Davies (nicknamed BD) and then John Marchant. BD was a tall and very imposing man, for some reason I remember that he was 199cm tall and can picture him ducking under the door as came into our classroom. I met John Marchant at the Open Day in June this year for the first time in nearly 35 years and he remembered me! I had a great chat with him, he told me a story about my Dad auctioning some cheeses at fund raiser for the school but by the time it had been sold my Dad and his mates had eaten most of it. It was really great to see him after so long, he was in great form. Old Brentwoods