Traditions

[Image: School badge with motto “Whatever you do, do it well”]

The Customs, Rituals, and Shared Identity That Made Clare House Distinctive

Every school develops traditions – the repeated customs, rituals, expectations, and shared experiences that create institutional identity and bind community together across generations.

Clare House had its traditions, some formal and some informal, some documented and some surviving only in memory. Together they created the Clare House experience and made being a Clare House boy mean something specific and lasting.

These are the traditions that shaped Clare House identity.

The School Motto

“Whatever you do, do it well”

Origin: Established by founder George Philbrick, emblazoned on the school badge

Placement: On school badge worn on blazers, visible daily to every boy

Meaning: Simple but profound – excellence in all things, not just selected pursuits; honest effort always; pride in work; maintaining standards

Application: Used by teachers to encourage and challenge:

Legacy: Alumni decades later report carrying this motto through life:

The motto wasn’t empty words but lived daily principle – perhaps Clare House’s most enduring tradition.

The House System

Four Houses: Phillips, Mason, Norwood, and Gulliver

Origins: Unknown with certainty, though Phillips likely honored Rev. Thomas Lloyd Phillips, founder of the Abbey School in 1866

Purpose: Creating smaller communities within the school, fostering healthy competition, building loyalty and identity beyond individual self

How It Worked

Assignment: Boys assigned to houses, likely upon entry

Duration: Remained in same house throughout Clare House career

Brothers: Possibly assigned to same house (one alumnus was “Bowen III” – third brother in school simultaneously)

Earning and Losing Points

Academic performance:

Conduct and behavior:

Sporting achievements:

The Display

House notice board: Points publicly displayed, updated regularly, visible to all

Running totals: Boys could see house standings, know how their house was doing, feel connection to collective effort

Term-end tallying: Accumulation of points throughout term building toward final result

The Rewards

Winning house: Granted a half-holiday at term’s end – significant reward in era when time off was rare and precious

Centurions: Individual boys accumulating 100+ points received similar recognition – becoming a “centurion” was prized achievement

Pride: Beyond tangible rewards, pride in one’s house, satisfaction of contributing to collective success

What It Taught

Community responsibility: Your actions affected others; you represented something larger than yourself

Collective endeavor: Working together toward common goals; celebrating team success

Sustained effort: Points accumulated over entire term; consistency mattered more than single dramatic gesture

Multiple forms of contribution: Academic, behavioral, athletic – various ways to contribute meant everyone could help their house

Loyalty: Developing allegiance to one’s house, supporting housemates, taking pride in house identity

Legacy

Decades later, alumni still remember their houses. The house system created sub-identities within Clare House identity – you weren’t just a Clare House boy but a Phillips boy, a Mason boy, a Norwood boy, or a Gulliver boy.

The Uniform

The Red Blazer

[Image: Boys in red blazers]

Color: Distinctive red – immediately identifying Clare House boys

Badge: School badge with motto sewn on breast pocket

When worn: School days, formal occasions, representing school at matches

Significance:

The School Cap

[Image: School cap with badge]

Design: Red cap with embroidered school badge

When worn: Various occasions, particularly formal events or when traveling

Preservation: Some alumni still possess their school caps decades later

Reproductions: At 2002 reunion, reproductions of the original red school cap with embroidered logo were made available at £5 each – testament to ongoing affection for this tradition

Other Uniform Elements

Daily wear:

Standards maintained:

What Uniform Meant

Equality: Rich or poor, everyone wore same uniform – visible equality regardless of family background

Standards: Maintaining proper appearance taught attention to detail, pride in presentation

Identity: Uniform created visual unity, made boys recognizable as Clare House community

Responsibility: Taking care of uniform, keeping it clean and neat, taught personal responsibility

Tradition: Wearing what generations before had worn connected boys to school’s history

Daily and Weekly Routines

The Daily Schedule

Morning:

Midday:

Afternoon:

Evening:

The Weekly Rhythm

Monday-Friday: Full academic schedule with sport most afternoons

Wednesday & Saturday: Half-days – morning lessons, afternoon sport or activities

Friday evening: Singing classes with Robert Thompson (during Ashurst Wood years) – highlight of the week

Sunday: Different routine – Chapel services (two during Ashurst Wood years), walks in countryside, more relaxed schedule

The Predictability

This consistent routine provided:

Alumni remember the rhythm of school days – not as monotonous but as comforting, creating framework within which they could focus on learning and growing.

Mealtimes

The Dining Hall

Three meals daily:

Seating: Long tables, likely organized by form or house, with staff supervision

Manners expected:

The Food

Wartime (at Ashurst Wood):

was available”

Post-war Beckenham:

Memorable Details

Radio malt: Miss Silcox (later Mrs. Crump), the school nurse, administered daily spoonfuls – described as a formidable person “particularly when administering one’s daily spoonful of radio malt”

Sweet rations: During and after the war, varied between 2-4 oz. per week – the Tuck Shop visits to claim these precious rations were highlights

What Mealtimes Taught

Social skills: Conversation, manners, communal eating

Gratitude: Appreciation for food, particularly during wartime scarcity

Community: Gathering as a school community three times daily

Structure: Regular mealtimes punctuating the day’s rhythm

The Tuck Shop

At Ashurst Wood

Location: In the Lodge, run by Mrs. Storrs (George Storrs’ wife)

Schedule: Opened once a week – boys eagerly anticipated this event

Contents: Sweets (within ration limits), small treats, items purchased with pocket money

Management: Mrs. Storrs also looked after pocket money accounts, ensuring boys didn’t overspend

The Significance

For boys during wartime, with sweet rations of only 2-4 oz. per week, the weekly Tuck Shop opening was a highlight. The anticipation, the careful selection of how to use precious ration allowance, the enjoyment of treats – these small pleasures loomed large in institutional life.

What it represented:

Prize-Giving

Annual Ceremony

Purpose: Formal recognition of academic achievement, progress, special accomplishments

Setting: Weather permitting, held outdoors in summer in shaded corners of the grounds – taking advantage of beautiful setting

Attendees: Boys, staff, parents – family event and community gathering

Format:

What Prizes Recognized

Academic excellence: Top marks in subjects, overall performance

Progress: Significant improvement, exceptional effort

Character: Good conduct, service to school, exemplary behavior

Sport: Athletic achievements, sportsmanship

Scholarships: Public celebration when boys won scholarships to public schools – bringing honor to school as well as individual

The Impact

Motivation: Public recognition encouraged effort and achievement

Standards: Prize-giving demonstrated what school valued, what was worth striving for

Community celebration: Families gathered to honor collective and individual success

Tradition: Annual ritual connecting each year’s cohort to all previous ones

Memory: Boys remembered prize-giving decades later – either receiving prizes themselves or watching others honored

Sports Day

[Image: Sports Day scene with parents watching]

The Annual Athletic Competition

Timing: Late spring or early summer

Events: Various running races, field events, relays, house competitions

Preparation: Practices in weeks leading up, boys training for their events

Atmosphere:

The House Competition

Sports Day was culmination of house athletic competition:

Memorable Sports Days

1944 at Ashurst Wood: V-1 Doodlebugs appearing during the afternoon, one flying low along the valley. “We kept running, whilst many of the parents were diving for cover!” The determination to continue despite air attacks showed British spirit and the importance of maintaining traditions.

1970 at Beckenham: The final Sports Day on July 23, 1970 – the last official day of Clare House. Ordinary events weighted with extraordinary finality.

What Sports Day Represented

Community gathering: One of the few occasions parents regularly attended school

Public display: Demonstrating what boys had learned and achieved athletically

Friendly competition: House rivalries expressed through organized athletic contests

Family pride: Parents watching their sons compete, celebrating their achievements

School spirit: Collective enthusiasm, cheering for housemates and school

Chapel and Religious Observance

At Ashurst Wood (1940-1946)

The Chapel: Wing of the main house containing chapel with altar and stained glass window

Daily prayers: Morning assembly included religious observance

Sunday services: Two services – morning and afternoon/evening (evensong dispensed with during summer term)

Leadership: Rev. Edward Wallace Green in charge of spiritual affairs

Participation: Boys reading lessons, participating in liturgy, learning hymns

The Sunday Collect

One short-lived tradition: Rev. Green introduced the practice of staying in for an hour on Sunday afternoons to learn the weekly Collect by heart (for hearing later in the week). This earned “undying disapprobation” and was quietly dropped after a few weeks!

Even failed traditions become part of school lore – boys decades later remembering this unpopular innovation with some amusement.

What Religious Observance Provided

Moral framework: Christian teaching providing ethical foundation

Community ritual: Gathering for worship creating shared spiritual experience

Cultural literacy: Familiarity with Bible, hymns, liturgy as part of British cultural heritage

Quiet reflection: Time for contemplation in otherwise busy schedule

Connection to tradition: Participating in centuries-old religious practices

Term Beginnings and Endings

Arrival: Victoria Station

[For wartime evacuees to Ashurst Wood]

The ritual:

The significance:

Departure: Going Home

The anticipation:

Memorable journey: One alumnus recalled “the excitement of my first journey home for the Christmas holidays of 1943, waiting in the ‘big schoolroom’ for the coaches to arrive and then later on the train threading its way past the bomb damaged areas of south London.”

The journey home, passing visible war damage, reminded boys of the world outside their relatively protected school environment.

Exeat Weekends

In post-war years, visiting patterns evolved:

Initially: One Sunday per term when parents could take sons out for the day (during wartime when car travel virtually non-existent)

Later: Short weekend away each term as car travel became more accessible

Eventually: Long half-term break at home from Friday to Sunday, known as “exeat” – far preferable and always eagerly anticipated

What Term Transitions Meant

Clear boundaries: Distinct separation between school and home life

Anticipation: Looking forward to going home, counting down days

Renewed commitment: Returning refreshed, ready for new term’s challenges

Rhythm: Terms punctuating the year, creating manageable segments

The Guinea Pig Club

During Wartime

Context: Letherby and Christopher restaurant in lower East Grinstead had a cocktail bar that was favorite haunt of RAF and Allied Air Forces patients – some badly disfigured – undergoing burns treatment under Sir Archibald McIndoe at Queen Victoria Hospital

The school’s response: “We had all joined the Guinea Pig Club at school to raise funds for the burns unit, and we proudly displayed our badges”

Significance:

Lasting memory: One alumnus remembered “the RAF uniforms, being worn with white shirts and red ties to denote their patient status and although we probably didn’t appreciate the full significance of what we saw, we did know that in some small way we were giving them support.”

This tradition of service and compassion reflected school values beyond academic and athletic achievement.

VE Day Celebration

May 8, 1945

The ceremony: Whole school listened to Churchill’s speech in the hall leading off the headmaster’s study

The celebration: Next day, school walk and picnic to Hammerwood, a country house about three miles away, in scorching weather

The details:

The significance:

End-of-Year Traditions

House Cup and Half-Holiday

The tallying: At end of term, house points totaled up

The announcement: Public revelation of winning house

The reward: Winning house granted half-holiday – precious free time in structured school environment

The celebration: Winning house members celebrating together, pride in collective achievement

Centurions

The achievement: Individual boys who accumulated 100+ house points

The recognition: “Centurions” received recognition and reward

The pride: Becoming a centurion was significant personal achievement

The incentive: Clear goal motivating sustained effort throughout term

Reports and Farewells

School reports: Formal assessment sent to parents covering academic progress, behavior, effort, areas needing improvement

Goodbyes: End of year meant saying goodbye to:

Looking ahead: Anticipation of next year for those returning, nervousness about public school for those leaving

Informal Traditions

Nicknames and School Slang

Staff nicknames: Teachers undoubtedly had nicknames (though specific ones aren’t documented)

Locations: “The Big” for the large classroom, specific names for various spaces

School vocabulary: Phrases, expressions, slang unique to Clare House or absorbed from public school culture

Stories and Legends

School stories: Tales passed down about:

The cricket field: At Ashurst Wood, the story that it had been built for and used by the first South African touring team

Sir Abe Bailey: The South African millionaire cricketer whose estate they occupied

Hierarchy and Status

Age-based hierarchy: Older boys had informal authority over younger

Athletic prowess: Being on school teams brought status

Academic achievement: Top performers earned respect

House loyalty: Strong housemates commanded respect

Centurions: Special status for those who achieved 100+ points

The Lasting Traditions

What Endured

Some Clare House traditions lasted beyond the school’s closure:

The motto: Alumni carrying “Whatever you do, do it well” throughout their lives

The red blazer: Reproductions made for reunion, memories of wearing it with pride

The house identity: Former pupils remembering which house they belonged to decades later

The friendships: Bonds formed lasting through lifetimes

The standards: Expectations of excellence internalized and maintained

The Association Traditions

Since 2002:

The commemorative plaque: Unveiled at first reunion, hanging in Clare House Primary foyer – ensuring preparatory school is remembered

Reunions: Gatherings every few years reconnecting former pupils

The website: Preserving history, memories, photographs, documents

Shared stories: When alumni meet, certain stories always retold, certain memories always recalled

The polo shirts: Clare House Association polo shirts with embroidered original blazer badge available at £20 each

The caps: Reproductions of red school cap with embroidered logo at £5 each

Why Traditions Mattered

Creating Identity

Traditions made being a Clare House boy mean something specific:

Providing Structure

Traditions created predictable patterns:

This structure provided security, particularly during uncertain wartime years.

Building Community

Shared traditions united diverse boys:

Teaching Values

Traditions reinforced school values:

Creating Memory

Traditions gave boys shared reference points:

Decades later, mentioning “the big schoolroom” or “house points” or “the red blazer” instantly connected former Clare House boys.

The Final Tradition: Closure

The Last Year: 1969-1970

Even the closing had its traditions:

January announcement: Letter to parents informing them of July closure

Continuing routines: Maintaining normal schedule despite knowing the end approached

Final Sports Day: July 23, 1970 – running the traditional events one last time

The auction: August 5, 1970 – dispersing school contents following traditional auction format

Scattered memories: Each boy taking his own memories forward, tradition now carried individually rather than institutionally

The New Tradition: Remembering

Since 1970:

Individual memory: Former pupils carrying Clare House with them

Informal connections: Alumni occasionally encountering each other, reminiscing

The search: Some trying to find the school, discovering it demolished

The reunion: 2002 gathering after 32 years creating new tradition of remembrance

The Association: Formal organization to preserve memory and maintain community

This website: Digital memorial ensuring traditions documented and accessible

In Conclusion

Clare House traditions – from the motto emblazoned on every blazer to the house system organizing daily life, from Prize-Giving ceremonies to Sports Day competitions, from the distinctive red blazer to Friday evening singing – created institutional identity that transcended individual experience.

These traditions taught values, built community, provided structure, and created lasting memories. They made being a Clare House boy mean something specific, something shared across generations, something worth preserving even seventy-four years after founding and fifty-four years after closure.

When former pupils meet decades later, these traditions provide common language. Mention “the big schoolroom” or “becoming a centurion” or “Whatever you do, do it well,” and immediate recognition flashes – we were there, we shared that, we understand.

That’s the power of tradition: creating bonds that survive even the institution that created them.

Clare House the school is gone. Clare House the tradition continues in every alumnus who carries its values forward, in reunions where memories are shared, in this website preserving its history, and in the motto that still challenges:

“Whatever you do, do it well.”