Shute In The Early 1950s
A Memory of Shute.
As Anne Tilbrook, I was a pupil at Pippins and then Shute, from 1950-53. I vividly remember Feb. 6, 1952, when the girl who rang the bell for change of classes brought us the news that King George VI had died. We all cried and Mrs. Clapp, our math teacher, led a spirited lesson on lung cancer. Few linked it to smoking in those days. I had a pash on a girl called Helen Roth - all very innocent in those days. The only other student's name I remember was Heather Spears. We did G and S in the gorgeous old theatre, played vigorous lacrosse and indifferent tennis. I had a tortoise - and I remember the crocodile lines going to church on Sunday and to a pantomime in the village - where I remember hearing the song 'Little White Duck' for the first time. We also did a school trip to Lyme Regis, perhaps by train?
I recall a wonderful cello recital in Mardi's study and showings of great movies - 'Livingstone and Stanley', 'The Bicycle Thieves'. I think it was a progressive school, founded, I was told, by the sister of James Barrie. I was sorry to leave when we emigrated to Canada. I paid a nostalgic trip back in the mid 1980s. It had turned into a block of flats.
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I was at Pippins 1961-63 (from where we boarders were taken on occasional weekend visits to Shute). Until now I have failed to find ANY information about Pippins online anywhere. I'm writing some memoirs of the 50s and 60s, and kept a rather sketchy diary in 1963, but if it wasn't for that diary and this website, I'd almost think I'd dreamt the whole Pippins experience!
Tessa, I would love to compare notes with you, as it would seem we must have overlapped at Pippins. I arrived for the summer of 1961, aged 8 (turning 9 in October that year), and left at the end of the summer term 1963, to start at a senior school in Bexhill. I can confirm that the Pippins headmistress Mip and twin-sister Pip's surname was Roberts-Jones. Pip wasn't around much when I was there, I think she was travelling, and Mip was the very hands-on head. I knew both Pippins and Shute had closed, but hadn't known the dates before reading this site. I visited Pippins a couple of years ago, and had a quick look round, although the building (now a community youth centre)was closed. It was sad to see much of the lovely gardens covered in car park tarmac now. I remember quite nostalgically how we ran around freely in those gardens, building camps, swinging on ropes from the cedar tree, and keeping rabbits and guinea pigs in the pets corner. There were two donkeys too, Neddy and Rosie. The teachers I most remember were Miss Ray ('Rocket') and Miss Tonge (who someone here also remembers at Shute), and there was Mrs Wilson the piano teacher and Miss de Voss for dance lessons. Any sadness I experienced there was probably linked to my parents' two-year absence in Brazil. The school itself felt happy and friendly, with many of us in the same boat (parents abroad).
Shute, on the other hand seemed huge and scary, and I hoped I wouldn't have to end up there! I had to sit next to the famous Mardi/Miss Freeman at lunch on one visit, and was mortified when she ticked me off for scratching my nose. ("Does your nose tickle, or do you need a handkerchief?" - I even remember the words she said!!). I did enjoy watching a musical in the Shute theatre though, possibly the Mikado or HMS Pinafore. The former Pippins girls at Shute showed us Pips round, and presumably Mip, as a former teacher there I think, and a close friend of Mardi, hoped we would all want to go on to this senior school once we left Pippins. But I begged my mother not to send me there. It felt too big, and the girls seemed ever so grown up, and talked about pashes and all sorts of things I had no concept of!
Tessa B., if it's possible, and you get to read this, I'd be very happy to discuss dates and names with you. I have a Pippins school photo from 1961 or 62, and can remember some of the names on it. I recall a Tessa, but I know she lived locally as I enjoyed a weekend out at her home. I'm still in touch with one other old Pip, who was a day girl called Jane, now living in New Zealand.
If you, or any other old Pips, would like to chat more, please do contact me on opencommsbiz@gmail.com
With thanks and best wishes to all contributors here
Judi Conner
PS This is my maiden name, which I still mainly use 'tho married. I switched from the Judy to Judi spelling at the age of 13, to differentiate from a best friend with the same name -illogical since it sounds the same! ☺