The following is an extract from the story of Shoreham Grammar School, an independent boys school in West Sussex as remembered by Canon D H Booth.
My introduction to Shoreham was in January 1965, through a visit by Dick Kennedy to my house at Haywards Heath when I was Archdeacon of Lewes. He told me something of the disaster that had hit the school and invited me to meet Mr. Bruder, and discuss the situation to see if I could be of service.
We met and then followed the two memorable meetings of parents and friends at which I was asked to take the chair. The result was the setting up of a charitable trust, which was only made possible by the expenditure of much mid-night oil and other liquids and the generosity of the faithful.
There were days of frantic searching for a suitable building and then the move to Worthing. Suffice for me to say that the School could never have survived but for the faith and dedication of a faithful few. I was told by many outsiders to dissociate myself from such a hopeless cause.
Then came the chance of a move back to Shoreham. To be honest there was no future for the school if it had stayed on the Worthing site - except that of slow death. Nevertheless the second move was not accomplished without much blood, sweat and tears.
For the second time the brilliant administrative qualities of Mr. Wright saved the day. The integration of the two schools, Shoreham Grammar and Caius School, proved more difficult than had been foreseen.
Again there was no money for capital development and Shoreham found itself struggling once more. Mr. Walters, the headmaster who followed Mr. Bruder, felt that the school should move elsewhere and Mr. Wright took over as headmaster at a time of great difficulty.
No one could have applied himself with a greater sense of duty and devotion. His job was made all the more difficult because of the temper of the age. There was not a school in the country, which was not faced with ill discipline and near rebellion at this time.
The Old Shorehamers' Association led an Appeal for the School in the autumn of 1970. This was the third Appeal for the School since 1965. It had as its objective the providing of finance for the acquisition of the freehold of the School at St Julian's Lane. This major milestone was negotiated in the winter of 1971 with the help of a further mortgage from the Steyning Building Society. The School was now secure in its premises.
In 1971 the School Council asked me if I would consider resigning as Chairman and also as Archdeacon and follow Mr. Wright to become the new headmaster. This was no easy decision to make. After forty-eight hours of self-torture (also a lot of prayer), and against the advice of many in high places, I agreed. I felt sick with apprehension lest I should let Shoreham down.
It was impossible for me to take over immediately but the little giant' of Shoreham came to the rescue yet again - Emil Bruder took over as Headmaster for the Christmas Term. There is no one to whom Shoreham can owe more in all its years of history.
The inimitable man and his charming wife saved the day. All of us who have had the privilege of working with him know the twinkling eyes but steel-like efficiency, which have made him the outstanding character that he is. Add to all this a generosity of spirit and unselfish dedication to the school. He came for no salary at a difficult and trying time.
I found a quantity of goodwill mixed with a natural apprehension at the prospect of life with Arch. There were those who did not relish the idea. There was much to be done. Our numbers were down and the property was run down.
I was fortunate enough to persuade an old friend of mine - David Hopkinson - to take over the finances, David being a leading figure in the City of London. There could be no future without expansion and no expansion without capital expenditure. Dick Kennedy and others gave generous gifts and loans and this factor, combined with the courage and business acumen of the treasurer, made this possible.
The drive was resurfaced so that you no longer faced a series of lakes when you arrived, a decent common room was provided for the boarders and the kitchen was ripped out and re-born. New classrooms were added and modern teaching aids provided.
The quadrangle was paved and drained so that it became possible to enter classrooms without wearing waders. The dormitories were redecorated and given new beds and lockers and new quarters were provided for the matrons and housemaster, a changing room with showers was provided and every boy had a lock-up steel locker.
These were a part of the progress made in those few years. We owe so much to the School Council for their wise housekeeping that made all this possible.
As a devoted supporter of cricket, I was delighted to get some good practice nets with matting wickets, sightscreens and a worthy scoring box. We also, with the help of experts from the county ground, managed to provide decent wickets. This, with the inspiration of Richard Langridge and later of Denis Foreman, has made the standard of cricket comparable with most of the leading schools of Sussex.
Mike Smith brought great professional know-how, combined with selfless dedication, to the football eleven. His infectious enthusiasm produced some fine sides. I shall always recall a match against the young professionals of the Albion in which the school more than held its own.
The choir under the ebullient Mr. Curtis continued its peripatetic career around the Cathedrals of England. The privilege of singing in Westminster Abbey was an occasion never to be forgotten.
All this is not to forget the privilege accorded to us in using St. Julian's Church as the School Chapel. Here we find the motivation for our growth and very being. The reader may well wonder if we ever did any work. We did, and we do!
It has to be remembered that there is no such thing as instant education - it is a lengthy and often painful process, as some who read these words might remember! The upsets of the past, combined with the onset in some places of 'trendy education' at the primary level, meant that we had to employ every drop of professional skill and determination that we could.
The improvement year by year in our exam results gives the answer and the number of University candidates is happily growing in number steadily.
In my last year I had the satisfaction of seeing another dream come true. After a series of cliffhanger negotiations, we purchased the large derelict barn, which abutted upon our property. As the result of an appeal, combined with the imaginative skill of the school architect - John Davies - it has been converted into a magnificent sports hall.
It was formally opened by the Marquees of Abergavenny at Speech Day, 1975. It is the pride of us and the envy of others. The two rather sub-standard classrooms at the end of the quadrangle have been pulled down and the area paved.
A new book room and office for the sports master have been provided but, best of all, several very inferior rooms have been restored and joined together to make a really fine library worthy of the school. This was opened by Sir Eric Drake at Speech Day, 1976
Much else needs to be done - and I am confident will be done - a music school, a larger arts and crafts section, bigger and better science rooms and a new junior common room. All necessary and worthy objects only waiting for a donor.
We have a superb main building of great beauty and historical interest, we own our own freehold, and the ancillary buildings are purpose built or adapted with great skill.
I have already mentioned the School Council and no account would be complete without proper tribute being made to that highly competent and unselfish body of men. They give freely their time and considerable talent for the benefit of Shoreham.
We have faced a number of crises during the last ten years and we would never have survived if it had not been for the skill and service of the men who have guided our affairs over this period. It would be invidious to mention names but one I must - Dick Kennedy, who has given so freely of his wealth, his inspiration and his faith.
What of the future? This school is not just a collection of buildings or a business venture. Its an organic growth - it is a living entity woven out of boys' lives, each one adding to or subtracting from the life of the school.
All of us who have had the privilege of being a part of Shoreham will strive that the sacrifices of our past be not squandered for the future. We are not the guardians of an educational museum but the keepers of a trust for those who follow.
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