Friends' School
Saffron Walden

'The School on the Hill' - Memories of Three Hundred Years of Friends' School, Saffron Walden - FSSW 1702 - 2002 by those who taught, learned and grew up there.

 

Tony Newton -The Rt Hon Lord Newton of Braintree, OBE and former pupil at Friends' School, has this to say in his forward to the book: This book is published to mark three hundred years of the Friends’ School at its four locations, Clerkenwell, Islington Road, Croydon and Saffron Walden. It is not a history: it does not seek to replicate or replace David Bolam’s Unbroken Community, published for the 250th anniversary in 1952. It is, rather, a montage: a mix of archive, recollection and snapshot – both literal and metaphorical – combining to give a fascinating picture of life at the School over the years.
Hilary Halter, herself at the School from 1941-47, has put it together with skill, enthusiasm, persistence and determined sleuthing. The result is something which few connected with FSSW will not gain both enjoyment and interest from reading – or just dipping into from time to time.
For those of us who learned or taught there it will stir some memories, bring some surprises, and remind us of people who have left a mark on our lives. For everyone it will bring fresh insights into the story of an institution which has helped to shape so many people over three centuries as, still flourishing, it enters its fourth.

For 300 years, FSSW has been an educational pioneer - co-education, sports, general philosophy. This book can be downloaded in pdf format by clicking on the links below in the contents section.

To download each sectioneither double click on each link to open or right click choose 'Save Target As' and then follow instructions to save to your hard drive. You can then open using Acrobat Reader.

FSSW was also our home - the place where we grew up, rebelled, had our first loves and our first broken hearts, the place where we matured from adolescents into young adults.

This lavishly illustrated miscellany covers FSSW's history and development: the pranks and personalities, the memories and hopes of pupils past and present.

Contents of Book:

Section Details Download
Endpapers - 544kb - pdf
Outside cover - 136kb - pdf
Pages 1-16 Page 1 'Foreward'
Page 2 'Editorial, Notes and Acknowledgements'
Page 3 'Three Hundred Years of Friends' School - A Four-site Saga' by Farrand Radley
Page 11 'List of Stewards, Masters, Superintendents and Head Teachers'
Page 12 'The Complaints Book of Richard Hutton' by John Woods
Page 16 'A short account of the last annual treat given to the children of Croydon School' by Albert Edmunds
740kb - pdf
Pages 17-32 Page 17 'Principal Building Developments 1879 - 2002' by Roger Buss
Page 24 'Of Flu, Flight and Apple Pie', and 'Memories of the 1920's'
Page 25 'Junior House 1930 - 1948' by Jean Stubbs
Page 30 'FSSW and the Friends' Ambulance Unit' by Roger Bush
1417kb - pdf
Pages 33-48 Page 33 'A Good Idea? Well it seemed like it at the time', by Maurice and James Allward
Page 38 'The Staff - 20th Century Memories'
637kb - pdf
Pages 49-64 Page 50 'A Day Brat's First Impression in 1943' by Ursula Page
Page 51 'Home for the Homeless' by Helvecia Garcias
Page 58 'Informal Pastime'
Page 59 'Food'
Page 63 ' Marygold's Diary'
1056kb - pdf
Pages 65-80 Page 67 Gillian Hopwood remembers 'September 1939'
Page 69 'One Family's Sporting Links with Walden' by John Cadman
Page 72 'Theatre at Friends' School 1977 - 2002' by John Dickinson
Page 75 'Half a Century of Music Making at Walden' by Mary Mileson
Page 78 'Distinguished Old Scholars'
1903kb - pdf
Pages 81-96 Page 90 'The Squash' by David Fairbanks
Page 91 '100 Years of the OSA' by Mark Bertram
568kb - pdf
Pages 97-112 Page 98 'While in their spare time...'
Page 102 'Two Generations of Visiting Students' by Eckehard Scholl
Page 104 'The Night The Sky Fell In', 'Amnesty at FSSW' and 'The Weather Girls'
Page 106 'The Night We Saved the Girls' Honour' by Nigel McTear
Page 108 'The Present Generation' - some views from current sixth formers
Page 111 'Friends' Junior School', 'Boarding today', 'Vision for the Future'
645kb - pdf

All material is the Copyright © 2002 of Friends' School. All Rights Reserved. These pages are for personal use only and permisssion must be sought from the school if additional use is required.