St Edward's 150 Years - by Nicola Hunter

Chapter 3 / Houses

Far left: Field entrance. Left: Richard Murray, Housemaster. Below: The Royal Wedding – patriotic fervour reigns supreme. Bottom: Dinner with Corfe – happy revellers.

Far left: Lobby cricket rules. Left: Will Fish, Alex Holding and Angus Atkinson play Lobby cricket. Below left: The Shell year group with the Lobby Rock and other Field House impedimenta.

Field House (C) My precious sleep is rudely interrupted by the penetrating sound of my iPhone, its nauseating jingle heralding the beginning of another day. As consciousness slowly returns I am suffused with a sense of ecstasy as I remember that I am the Housemaster of Field House and that in 20 minutes’ time I will be beginning my daily routine of waking the inhabitants up. I pass from silent room to silent room, my presence provoking sounds redolent of the farmyard. The grunting presences appear 45 minutes later, now clothed, more or less, in School uniform. Having called out their names (more monosyllabic responses) I remind them of the race later in the day. The pride of Field House then return to their rooms to collect their books and files for the morning’s lessons. Throughout the School can now be heard the inspiring sound of the Field House pupil at work – quadratic equations are cracked, battles explained and poems recited. After a light lunch, we assemble again in the dayroom, all pupils now dressed in the light-blue colours of Field House. The Sports prefect ensures that all are present and I recite some moving phrases reminiscent of elements of Churchill’s 1940 speeches; the Assistant Housemaster parades last year’s cups, which we have, naturally, in our possession, and everyone takes an oath to ensure that they will return again to their natural home by the close of day. I put on my boots and walk down to the starting line on the lower pitches, to see a crowd of light-blue shirts bunched in front of the massed ranks, and when the retort of the Warden’s

pistol is heard, a stream of turquoise is seen rushing on before. An anxious wait of about half an hour ensues, as the pride of St Edward’s does battle with the watery environs of Port Meadow, a monster which can claim running shoes and careless limbs. Eventually an athlete is spotted on the horizon; I peer into the distance and pray that the front runner is wearing the right colour. My breath catches and then I see it for sure – light

door bursts open and a hapless individual rushes out laughing, only to meet the gimlet gaze of his Housemaster. A few minutes before the end of normal prep, the bell sounds and all the pupils rush up to the games room, where a mountain of meat has been laid out. Within seconds, the sausages are consumed and the drinks glugged down. All celebrate the combined efforts of the glorious team and the cups are ceremonially placed back in the cabinet. The prefect then starts the process of getting the younger boys to go to bed. Teeth are brushed, nightwear

donned and lights extinguished. All is now immediate silence. The Tutor reports back to the Housemaster that all is well. After a sustained period of e-correspondence the Housemaster shuffles into his House to remind himself what his wife looks like and then carefully sets his alarm in order that he can be awoken the next day by the same penetrating sound … and so ends a typical day in the life of the modern-day Field House! Richard Murray Housemaster, Field House (C)

blue – all is right with the world – waves of Field House runners surge forwards – the trophy cabinet waits expectantly; ‘O frabjous day!’ I phone up the matron to give instructions for the oven to be turned on – a traditional feast, that celebratory ritual beyond compare, is clearly in order. The pupils settle down to do their prep, all working in their own rooms except for the Shells who work at the School’s only remaining horseboxes under the careful supervision of their Tutor. I walk round the House, inspecting the corridors to see that all the scholars are hard at work. Occasionally a

Far left: Future Head of House Ollie Smith competing in the 24- hour Run. Left: Pupils at work in the Field House horseboxes. Right:The opening of a classroominZimbabwe in 2011, built using funds raised by Field House, following 24-hour running and football events.

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