Over the hill Issue 1 September 2015

Over the Hill

Magazine for

Issue One Michaelmas 2015

KINGHAM

HILLIANS

KINGHAM

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Dear ReadersWelcome to our first issue of Over the Hill,

a magazine that is written and created by Hillians and for Hillians.

It gives me great pleasure after graduating from Kingham Hill in 2015, to lead this magazine as the Editor in Chief, and I hope that through reading this magazine our group will grow and connect more.

We have tried to include a variety of articles in our first issue, including things about the Hill’s future developments and stories from current Hillians. I hope you enjoy this first issue. We are planning to release one issue each term, and I look forward to expanding this magazine with your contributions in the future.

Tyler Smith (KHS 2011-2015 Norwich House)Editor in Chief

Dear HilliansA magazine for the Hillian community is by no means a new idea and this latest edition comes some 99 years after the Founder, C E B Young “found the desire expressed that a magazine should be started in connection with the Homes”. This opening statement from issue number one of the Kingham Hill Magazine, published in December 1916 invites “all who have the ability and inclination...to contribute articles from time to time” so I use this first introduction to Over the Hill to echo the Founder’s call: please do send in your articles and we will try to include as many as possible in future editions.

Readers of previous editions of Over the Hill may recall a section called News of Old Boys and Young Ladies, where Hillians would send in brief updates of what they are doing to share with the wider community. We would like to resurrect this feature, under the new heading, News of Hillians, for the next edition so please do get in touch and tell us what you are doing now.

Our intention is for Over the Hill to be principally an e-magazine but we will be producing a limited print run. If you would prefer a hard copy sent to you in the post, please let us know.

Harriet DeardenChairman Kingham Hillians

WelcomeKINGHAM

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KINGHAM

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Over the Hill Magazine for Kingham Hillians

About TimeTyler Smith

It is probably one of the most prominent features of the School and even features on the front cover

of this edition of Over the Hill. Yet the clock tower is one of the most unexplored and enigmatic parts of our community.

Early on a Tuesday morning, I had the rare opportunity to go up into the clock tower, which I was very excited about. Steve Preston from Maintenance helped me access the tower, and after a faulty ladder incident, we were in the first level of the tower. However, to my horror, he had forgotten a torch and had to return to the maintenance building to get one, leaving me in the almost pitch black for what seemed like forever! Soon enough, he returned and we continued on.

Inside, it can be described as bit of a tardis and is bigger than it looks on the outside. The whole structure comprises two rooms: a small one and a much larger one, with a small five foot door leading between them. The larger room has a steep staircase running from the ceiling to the floor, allowing access to the top level, where the clock mechanism is kept.

As I was warned, the tower was riddled with dead flies and cobwebs. Being absolutely terrified of spiders, this did throw me a bit.

The larger room was very dark, with beams holding up the ceiling. There were plain brickwork walls and a wooden ceiling and floor. There is a small rope mechanism pulley system running all over the larger room, which used to control the chimes.

Steve went ahead of me and climbed the ladder, opening a small wooden trapdoor and disappearing to the next level. I ascended the ladder and lifted myself through the tiny trap door and onto the platform. The top section of the tower is uncomfortably tiny, a thin strip of flooring is all that I could stand on.

Continued on next page >

Over the Hill Issue One Michaelmas 2015

The room is very small and at the centre is a clockwork device, the size of a car engine, that is no longer in use, yet takes up most of the space. The room is lit up by an aged window which is not visible from the outside of the building. The floor is a graveyard of dead flies and above them hung a veteran pendulum which used to power the old clock system.

Steve, who has been working at the School for the past two decades, tells me about the history of the clock. “A long time ago, I used to have to come up here every week to set the time. About ten years ago, the School disconnected the chimes of the clock for about a year, and when they finally connected it again, the boys in Durham complained that the chimes were keeping them awake at night, so they were disconnected permanently”.

The clock today is run automatically by a small box which is now held at the top of the small wooden room, with four metals beams controlling the time.

But what is the history of our iconic clock tower? Well, unfortunately little is known about its past. “It was built in 1887 on top of what was then a workshop, made up of a blacksmiths, carpenters, tailors, shoemakers, millers, bakers, printers,

mason and laundry” Development Officer Harriet Dearden told me. An extract from ‘The Early Days of Kingham Hill’ by Ralph Mann says “There used to be a steam-powered flour mill in the centre of the workshops so the School could be self sufficient. However the mill was later demolished and replaced with the current Dining Hall, and the basement filled in, allegedly with carbide drums in which the Founder’s beloved collection of rare fossils were embedded in the cement.”

Little do people

realise that the

current clock tower

was one of three

similar structures

located around

the school.

The second was built on top of the current main hall, and the roof is still bleached from its creation. It is believed to be built at a similar time to the clock tower and can be seen in old photos of the school. The architecture suggests it was built and designed by the same person and was wooden with a brick base. The third was built on the roof of

the chapel, although not at the

same time as the structure on top

of the hall. It was an original feature

of the chapel, which was built after

Top School and may have just been

a vent or for decoration; its purpose

is not completely known. If you look

up in the chapel, you can see the

remains of the base of the structure

in the centre, right at the very top.

Both remained there until the 1970s

when they were demolished for

unknown reasons, however, the

wooden materials used to create

them suggest that decay may have

been the cause.

I hope that one day we may be

able to restore the current clock

tower to its former glory, working

as a pendulum clock which chimes

every hour. I am immensely grateful

to Steve Preston for my trip up

the tower.

Do you remember the old towers

above the chapel and hall in

Top School? Do you remember

what happened to them and why

they were taken down? Write to

us at overthehill@kinghamhill.

org and we can finally solve the

puzzle of the original architecture

of the School!


A new chapter - the library redevelopmentRecent visitors to the Hill will have seen a new addition to the landscape with the completion of the

Veritas building, our new Mathematics and Science facility in January 2015.

This is the first step in phase one of the 2020 Vision masterplan to improve facilities at the School. The next step is already underway with the relocation and refurbishment of the library which started at the end of August.

The new library will continue to be located in Top School but will move to the site previously occupied by Havelock and Clyde with an extension that will overlook Chipping Norton. It will be three times the size of the existing library, split over two levels. As with the Veritas building, the library has been designed by Hillian Mark Foley (1963-1969), an architect with internationally renowned firm Burrell Foley Fischer.

The library will have different zones to provide a range of areas for pupils to engage in private study, quiet reading, collaborative discussion as well as seminar space for group work. Kingham Hill Librarian Donna Saxby says: “It is not only the physical space of the library that will change this year, the way the space is used will also be very different. No longer just a storage space for books with limited study space, the distinct areas will create a library that celebrates and nurtures thinking, learning and creativity.”

The building work will take around nine months to complete and should be ready before the end of the academic year. We look forward to welcoming Hillians

for tours of the newly completed library at the AGM in June and Speech Day in July.

What will happen to the existing library?Readers may be interested to know what is planned for the space that the current library occupies. Once the new library is completed, the existing Young Memorial Library will become the Common Room for staff. With staff numbers increasing over the last five years, the existing Common Room can no longer accommodate everyone comfortably and the old library presents the ideal space and environment for a Common Room for staff.


I first really got to know Emily Laing during a small photography group that used to meet every Wednesday afternoon on the Hill. We began

chatting about what she was going to do when she left school, and that was when she explained to me her intentions to move to Tamworth, in New South Wales, Australia to work there as a teaching assistant. Now, after a year of living there at just 19 years old, I caught up with her to see what life is like, 10,500 miles away from the Hill, in sunny Australia.

“I was at Kingham Hill between 2007 to 2014, doing the full seven years! I was in Durham House”

she explained. I wondered that

after being at Kingham for such

a long time, if there was anything

that she really missed about the

Hill. “Definitely! I miss my friends, and I miss not being able to see them much as they either live in a different country, or just because they’re traveling after school. I just miss the relationships you form in houses and classrooms. I miss the

funny moments, such as when I was in Plymouth... ooh well I remember in Year 7 putting our ladders across the bunk beds and crawling across them without touching the floor! (don’t try this at home)”.

Having recently finished my own

time on the Hill, I can definitely

relate to her experience.

“How has Australia been for you?”

I asked. “It’s been amazing! I got out here on the 2 March 2015. I’ve been living with three other Year 13s

Dan, Luke and Claire. I have been working at a school called Calrossy Anglican school, working as a Year 13 (gap student). They don’t have Year 13 in Australia, as they finish school a year earlier than the UK, in Year 12, but we are all the same age when we leave school as they have kindergarten. I’ve been working as part of the Chaplaincy team, helping with taking Christian study classes, running chapel on Wednesday. Unlike Kingham, the school only has chapel service on a Wednesday. As it is a boarding school I also help out in the boarding houses and I also take some art classes during the day, and coach a Year 10 netball team. I work at the primary school to take a Christian lunch time group too! So I’m really very busy throughout

the week!”

Emily Laing’s Journey to AustraliaInterview by Tyler Smith


Having lived in the Falkland Islands myself, I know what

it is like to experience life so distant from the UK, and I

wondered if Emily had experienced any ‘culture shocks’

whilst in Australia. “Yes, it’s been exciting to learn about a different culture, but it’s been weird adapting to winter in June and Christmas in the summer. Also, I’ve come to understand Australian slang such as arvo (afternoon) and Maccas (Mcdonalds).

A weekly tradition where we live would be our car park football matches at the weekend, as well as something called a Tim Tam slam, your task is to look it up on Google!”

“What do you think you’ll do next?” I asked.

“I feel I have settled in really well” she said. “I don’t want to leave as I’ve made lots of new friends. I’m really so happy I’ve had this opportunity to come out here, so I’m looking to extend my visa, hopefully to carry on working here a bit longer as I’m really enjoying it here in Australia. So if all goes to plan, I may not be returning to the UK until June 2016, or it maybe even longer.”

In the summer of 2015, I carried out multiple interviews

with past Hillians and in every conversation, I asked how

their experience at Kingham had helped them in later

life. I asked Emily how she had been able to use what

she’d learnt on the Hill in Australia.

“I think due to having been a boarder I didn’t experience any homesickness. Having been away from my family before and knowing they are just a skype call away, that really helped. Even if the time difference is a whole day sometimes! Having been at Kingham has helped me to feel more confident in presenting my faith, having done so at CUs and Bible Breakfasts in Durham. These experiences have helped me know that God is in control and I didn’t need to worry about going to Australia. I think how I related to the PAs at Kingham has helped me relate to the girls here and to build up trust. My experience at Kingham has helped me move to Australia with confidence.”

Is there any advice you would give to any of the readers concerning travelling so far away on your own? “If it’s a really long flight, like going to Australia, I would say try sleeping through it, as I didn’t experience any jet lag when I got here. I guess I was just too excited for jet lag! Remember to send a message to your family to say where you are and that you have landed at your next stop. It’s nice for them to know you’re safe. Try to go to bed when the locals go to bed as it will only make you tired even more if you don’t!”

I asked Emily where she thought she might be in ten years time, when she finally decides to leave Australia. “Well from being here I have been thinking about teaching art, so probably go to university when I get back to do teaching or just to study Fine Art. I would like to see myself working in a school like Kingham or Calrossy. I also might be living in France so will be learning French on top of that! In ten years, hopefully I’ll be teaching art, or perhaps have started my own business in France, something cool like that. Maybe even thinking about marriage. I will definitely be returning to Australia again, as I’m loving it and love all the friends I’ve made here!”

I would like to thank Emily for taking the time to speak with me. Your journey from Kingham to Australia has been inspirational, and I hope you’ve enjoyed every second of it!

Have you got a story like Emily’s that you would like to share with us? Email us and we’ll see if we can get it published. Information on how to do so can be found on the back pages.


Stay in TouchI really hope you’ve enjoyed reading our first

issue of Over the Hill. It’s been an exciting journey to produce this first issue and to give back to a school that gave me so much.

Tyler Smith

Get involvedIf you would like to get involved and would like to write a piece to be published in one of our following issues, long or short, or perhaps you have old photos, then get in touch. It would be great to expand this magazine and to resurrect old experiences and stories to share with this ever-growing community. Email [email protected] for more information.

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Get togetherWhy not attend an upcoming event on the Hill to catch up with old school friends, or even to pay a visit. Dates below:

Saturday 5 December 2015Hillians vs KHS hockey and Christmas drinks

Saturday 30 JanuaryHillians committee meeting

Saturday 19 March 2016Hillians committee meeting

Founder’s Day Dinner Reunion dinner, particularly for those who left in the late 1970s and early 1980s.Veritas Building, Kingham Hill School.

Saturday 4 June 2016

Kingham Hillians AGM and 50th anniversary reunion

Saturday 2 July 2016

Speech Day cricket match and summer drinks, with special meet up for those who left school in 1996 (20th anniversary).



Over the hill Issue 1 September 2015

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Transcript of Over the hill Issue 1 September 2015