Page "St Cyprian's School" Paragraph 5

The high success rate in achieving scholarships to leading public schools including Eton and Harrow attracted ambitious parents.

However, the Wilkes appreciated that such scholarships were really intended for talented children from less well-off families, and provided places at significantly reduced fees for deserving cases, in the hope that they would attain these scholarships.

Two further features distinguished St Cyprian's.

The first was the proximity to South Downs, which was fully exploited to give opportunities to the boys for running wild, studying natural history, walking, picnics, riding and even golf on the adjacent links.

The second was the overwhelming impact of Mrs Wilkes ( known as " Mum ").

She was in total control of the school and in the days before female emancipation this made a great impression on her charges.

The resulting ambivalence was exacerbated by a fiery temper and by the way her mood flipped between firm discipline and generous indulgence.

Mrs Wilkes was a great believer in history teaching and saw the Harrow History Prize as an opportunity to bring it into the classics-dominated curriculum.

Mrs Wilkes also taught English, and stimulated generations of writers with her emphasis on clear, high quality writing.

In addition to Mrs Wilkes, a major influence was the second master R. L. Sillar, who joined the school staff soon after it opened and stayed for 30 years.

With his interest in natural history, his crack skill at shooting, his art teaching and his magic lantern shows he broadened the curriculum considerably and is revered in Old Boy's accounts.