VISIT TO HARROW SCHOOL

On a sunny June day we walked up to Harrow-on-the-Hill for a tour of the school, which owns and occupies some 365 acres at the top of the hill. Under a 1572 royal charter most of yeoman farmer John Lyon’s estate was used to build and endow a school after his and his wife’s death. The school house was started in 1608 and finished in 1615.

The original intention was that the boys (and of course it was just boys) would come from the locality and would not have to pay. Over the years it became more difficult to persuade local families to take up the free places, so the school eventually became a boarding school.

The three terms start in September, January and April, and last for a total of 33 weeks. Annual fees are £40,500, excluding the cost of uniform, games kit etc., but there is a Scholarship Scheme which still provides 17 free scholarships.

Our tour started in the Bill Yard, so called because the boys had to queue up at the start of term to pay their fees, and continued into the original school room, now called the Fourth Form Room, whose panelled walls now bear the names of past pupils backed down when it was pointed out he would destroy the names of their fathers. If you look hard you can also find Winston Churchill and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Now the room is more famous for being used as Professor Flitwick’s charms class in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and is mostly used to welcome the new boys. Here the 16 boys would learn, and speak, Latin from 6 until 11a.m and then from 2 till 6 p.m. Boys who did not speak Latin would get one warning and were then flogged, after which they had to thank the Headmaster. In the 19th century flogging was swapped for the cane, until the 1980s. Today the boys start at the age of 10 and go on to 17 or 18 and are allocated to one of 12 houses or to an overspill boarding house for boys with problems. Everyday dress consists of a white shirt, black tie, light grey trousers (greyers), black shoes, an optional blue jumper, dark blue woollen uniform jacket (bluer), blue and white scarf and dark blue woollen overcoat on cold days and the Harrow Hat, or boater, made of varnished straw with a dark blue band. And look out the boy who damages his hat. Monitors are allowed to wear a jumper of their choice.

The first person to carve his name on the walls was called Wardle. He had been expelled and climbed back into the room to carve his name for posterity. Names to be found on the wall include Sir Robert Peel, and Lord Byron, who took exception to the new Head Master and tried to blow up the school room and only

The Head of the house wears a striped blazer. Sunday dress, which is worn every Sunday until lunch and on special occasions such as Speech Day and songs, consists of black tailcoats, morning trousers, a white shirt, a black tie, and a black single breasted waistcoat. Boys with sports colours may wear a grey double breasted waistcoat. Members of the Guild may wear maroon double breasted waistcoats with maroon bow ties. Members of the Philathletic Club may wear black bow ties alongside grey double breasted waistcoats. Monitors may wear black double breasted waistcoats, a top hat and carry canes. My mother who, when she arrived in London, worked for people at the bottom of the hill, said that she thought there was a wedding going on when she saw all these boys in tailcoats! Each House has a resident matron, and sick room, supported by the Medical Centre, where trained nursing staff offer round the clock care. The Centre is under the direct supervision of the school doctor who is available on the Hill every day for consultation. Originally the only game played was cricket (well, it would be wouldn’t it). An annual cricket match has taken place between Harrow and Eton at Lord’s since 1805 and is considered to be the longest-running cricket fixture in the world . These days the choice of sports has widened and includes Squash (originally called 'Squasher') which was invented at Harrow from rackets around 1830. Harrow has its own unique style of football called Harrow Football, which was pivotal in the formation of Association Football as it is known today. There are also 24 tennis courts. House Masters, Deputy House Masters and their families live in the boarding Houses, assisted by House Tutors appointed from the teaching staff. Every House has a residential House Tutor. The House Master oversees the welfare of every boy in his care and is the main point of contact for parents with the School. In recent years Harrow has expanded overseas, opening additional schools in Beijing, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. The boys are only allowed to use their mobile phones for a short time at lunch and in the evening.

The Speech Room

Harrow on the Hill

It was time for us to move on to the War Memorial building, whose bronze panels record the names of the 344 Old Harrovians killed in WWII. The banners carry the arms, personal on one side, and regimental on the other, of winners of the Victoria Cross. From here we passed into the magnificent Speech Room, where the boys sit together in houses with the new boys in the stalls. Here is where the Harrow Songs (80 of them) are sung, and on Speech Day boys from each house sit in the choir-stalls and sing for their parents. Two Shakespeare plays are performed here each year by old Harrovians and new boys. The school has charitable status so is unable to charge for any of the 17 productions put on each year. Every Tuesday there is a half hour concert in St. Mary’s church, where you can see a plaque to Byron’s daughter. There is a panel with the arms of seven Old Harrovian Prime Ministers and winners of the Victoria Cross. It is ironic that so much is made of Winston Churchill at Harrow as apparently he didn’t like the place. There have been many other famous people connected with Harrow including the Earl of Shaftesbury who was partly responsible for some 19th century social reforms, such as the abolition of slavery and stopping boys having to climb down chimneys, Pandit Nehru and King Hussein of Jordan. The Chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and built when it was decided that Harrow needed its own chapel because St. Mary’s church had too much influence. The services are shared between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. Our guide, Sharon made a very good job of selling Harrow to us by explaining how well the boys were looked after with a good diet and exercise. On the way back down to Harrow station we gave a quick nod to the statue of Queen Elizabeth I on the wall of the Speech Room who made it all possible by granting the Royal Charter. Angela.