Talk:Highgate School

Prestigiousness
Comment by 86.138.158.87 - removed from article text:
 * Although some regularly claim on this page that it is 'prestigious', not 'fairly prestigious', I attended the school for 13 years and it really is nothing more than fairly prestigious. Repeatedly calling it prestigious is why there is a complaint saying this page sounds too much like an advertisement.

MightyWarrior 20:07, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Repeatedly? You mean 'once'!! --193.118.203.3 08:47, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

What makes Highgate school mid importance when UCS is high? Highgate is older, and, although UCS has historically been more academic, this is no longer the case. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.233.15 (talk) 21:34, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

Two more missing Elements
As an Old Cholmelian, I note two more obvious omissions:

The first is that there is no mention of the school song, known simply as Carmen.

Sursum corda, sursum voces, Una gaudeamus!

Are the first lines. This was often sung at ends of term. (The headmaster would hand out copies of the words, and then lead the singing. (This was in the 1960s and early 1970s ...))

The other notable omission is of the famous (or notorious - according to taste and attitude) Jewish quota.

Comments? Hair Commodore (talk) 17:14, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

As a former pupil (1960-70) could I venture a little on these two points.

1) In the sixth edition of the Highgate School register(which I have beside me) the lyrics of the song are printed on page 35.

I recall the then headmaster Doulton (aka The Bede) surprised us all at the final assembly in Big School at the end of one term in around 1969-70 by having the prefects distribute sheets with the song lyrics on and getting us all to sing it in unison. The next end of term we were ready and during the song a lot of boys linked arms and swayed from side to side in time with the music whilst singing lustily and laughing. The Bede was visibly annoyed and we never sang the song again.

2) As for the infamous Jewish Quota I seem to remember a short article in the colour section of Private Eye making allegations about this in 1969-70 and possibly a also letter in the Times in around 1969-70. I seem to recall the Bede defending it as a quota for "boys not of the Christian faith " on the grounds that the school was a Christian Foundation. In practice it only seemed to apply to Jews and then only to boys whose parents said they were Jewish. I can recall two Sikh boys in turbans who sat through Anglican chapel services looking nearly as bored as I was - I always presumed they were nominally C of E - as were some lads who were of Jewish ancestry but did not seem to practice.

My house actually had a competition with the house oppostite us in chapel for the number of us who would sit up during the prayers instead of kneeling as a kind of silent protest at having to be there (but we still were counted as boys of the Christian faith").

A pretty clear case of institutional racism in my opinion.

On the plus side the school has had an active Jewish Circle for boys since the late 1930s. There is an article on it in a recent Cholmeleian available on line from the OCs' web site. As ther were no Jewish staff in the 1960s it was run by the Jewish boys who seemd to have much more fun with it than we did in chapel - especially during the hotly contested JC elections. User: Kusala1952 —Preceding comment was added at 17:09, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

The school's colours are clearly not 'Pink shortshorts and a yellow top hat' - Rectify? --PorgeHR (talk) 18:17, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

I started at the Junior school in September 1965 and left from the Senior school from Sci VIa (Oxbridge entrance) in March of 1975. I knew someone who claimed that there was a School Song (and that he knew the words and tune), but that claim was derided. Possibly the incident with the Bede (who was also my housemaster) put paid to that, but that must have been just before my time in the Senior school.

I certainly never heard of any ritual anniversary floggings of Head Boys (no girls at the time).

The two turbanned Sikhs in chapel were probably Prickbar Singh and his younger brother Amajit.JimInRoses (talk) 00:10, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

False or unsourced entries in the Alumni list
Please only add alumni with verifiable online sources. Strictly speaking, all entries should include references. For example, in the wiki page for Special Boat Service, Roger Courtney, not Davis, is mentioned as its founder in 1940 (!?!)) So, the question is, did Old Cholmeleian Davis really found the SBS? Please add credible online references or this claim should be deleted.

I have to deleted Reginald Blomfield from the sub-list for alumni in the arts. All the sources I read do not support that he was educated at Highgate. They cite Haileybury. The fact that he designed the school does not make him an Old Cholmeleian!!! --Abacchus1974 (talk) 22:43, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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