Having fun?
Those of you who followed the link to the obituary of Spen King (B 1939.1) may have noted that it stated that he 'hated' his time at Haileybury. It's sadly not unusual to find those who hated their time at school, and especially boarding school. My parish was the Marlborough Mission (we are to Marlborough what the Stepney Club was to Haileybury) and a few years ago there was a chap who became a key part of the church community, who had hated his time there. A trip we had to Marlborough one bank holiday was part of a process by which he healed those memories and came to look a bit more kindly on the parents who had sent him there. Some people (like me!) loved their time at school. For all that there were horrid moments the overall experience was a good one. Others didn't like it at school but have relished the place and its wider community subsequently. This has been said of one of our more famous OHs who is now a good friend to Haileybury despite bad memories. Some liked school well enough but 'put away childish things'. I was with a friend at Haileybury earlier this year who had not been back more than a couple of times since leaving nearly 25 years ago; it just wasn't part of his life any more. I'm not sure that there are not some who actually had a jolly time but feel it is more acceptable to accentuate the negatives. I wonder where you feel you are on this spectrum? There is such a huge emphasis on pastoral care nowadays at Haileybury and similar institutions that one must hope that fewer people come out the other end feeling that their whole childhood has been ruined. Certainly my spies at modern Haileybury are having a great time. Their father has been known to grunt about 'schools of today being like holiday camps.' But that is surely better than being like prison camps.
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