Page 64 - Old Ratcliffian Magazine 2017

P. 64

64 R
64
RATCLIFFE’S PASTATCLIFFE’S PAST

RATCLIFFE’S PAST

FORTY YEARS SINCE GIRLS STARTED AT RATCLIFFE

In his Headmaster’s Report, given at Prize Day in 1976, Fr Baxter
(38) announced that the governors had ‘recently decided to
offer places to a small number of girls in the Lower Sixth Form,
from September 1977’. So, this academic year marks the fortieth
anniversary of the first girls at Ratcliffe.

We all had interviews, and twelve were offered places to join in
September 1977. We came to the College earlier in the year to
meet each other and Mrs Joan Crooks (the first Housemistress),
to see the School, and to talk about our uniform and life for us at
the College. In the end, nine of us made the grade and started in
the Sixth Form in September 1977, with one other joining later in
the year. Many of us had connections with the College through
fathers, uncles, brothers or cousins. At the time, I remember there
being about three hundred boys in the School and nine of us.

It was a shock for many; most of the girls had been at all-girl
Catholic convents around the country, where some of us had
been classmates. Many of the boys hadn’t had girls in their
classes since junior school (if ever), and the staff, too, were
predominantly Rosminian priests and brothers, or male lay staff
who weren’t used to teaching girls. It was a very big change to
the life of the College, and for the original nine of us.

As the first girls, we were told (in no uncertain terms) what
was expected as far as behaviour was concerned, and on the
whole, we were very well behaved (your secrets are safe with
me!). During our two years at the College, we all formed lifelong
friendships with some of the boys - several I count as my dearest
and closest friends to this day - and two girls went on to marry L to R: Antonia Hollingsworth (79), Anne De Graeve (79), Lolade Mosaku
their boyfriends. Weddings were not only reserved for us girls, as (16) & Mary-Anne Pilkington-Oates (79) at the London Dinner
our Housemistress, Mrs Crooks, went on to marry Dr Beaver, the
Chemistry teacher. I have much to be thankful for from my time at Ratcliffe. I truly
hated my previous school, where I had been since I was ten. I
was always thought to have been weak academically, and I did
poorly each year. At Ratcliffe, I was happy, settled, valued and
nurtured, and my first end-of-term report showed what a huge
improvement I had made. Not only did the College help me to
achieve academically, but I also flourished personally and grew
in confidence. I soon learnt how to deal with the ‘male of the
species’, which was great training for my future career in a job
almost totally occupied by men.
My personal thanks go to the brave governors of the College
and to Fr Baxter for making the decision, over forty years ago,
to allow girls into Ratcliffe. Thanks also to my fellow ‘first’ girls
for their support and friendship throughout our time in the Sixth
Form, but especially to my dad (an OR himself), who was brave
L to R: Teresa Masters (née Flowers) (79), Francesca Papadakis (née enough to allow me to start at the College when my mum wasn’t
della-Porta) (79), Antonia Hollingsworth (79), Moira Murray (née Roche) so sure. Happy days.
(79), Mary-Anne Pilkington-Oates (79), Anne De Graeve (79), Henrietta
Hobkinson (née Van Heesewijk) (79), Catherine Ross (née Dodson) (79)
& Jane Hayes (79) Anne De Graeve (79)

The Old Ratcliffian 2017.indd 64 07/12/2017 11:17

59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69