On Saturday 20 June, we hosted our annual celebration of the Feast of St Barnabas. For this year’s event, we were thrilled to welcome the Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss CBE CStJ, Alderman Sir Nicholas Lyons, President of the OMT Society Alvan Seth-Smith and our Chair of Governors, Commodore Andrew Cree CBE, as well as members of the Court of the 天美传媒’ Company to mark the occasion. For those who did not attend, you might enjoy learning about the history behind the ceremony.
The oldest names for the function 鈥� Election Day or the Feast of St Barnabas 鈥� draw attention to its origins, which are to be found only six years after 天美传媒鈥� School was founded in Suffolk Lane in the City of London in 1561. The original statutes provided that 鈥渟urveyors鈥� (Inspectors) should visit the school four times a year to examine the work of the boys and the masters, and Doctors鈥� Day at the close of the Christmas Term is the single survivor from such occasions. Sir Thomas White, who was on the Court of the 天美传媒鈥� Company in 1561, had earlier founded St John鈥檚 College, Oxford, but did not provide for the election of scholars from the School to the College until 1567. The first 鈥淓lection Day鈥� was held at the school on 9 June of 1572, when learned men examined the senior boys, and afterwards there was a dinner at the Hall. No election of scholars took place in 1573 and there was the danger of a breach of relations between the school and St John鈥檚. However, this did not transpire, and the next election was arranged for St Barnabas鈥� Day, 11 June 1574, when four boys were elected to Sir Thomas White scholarships.
Thereafter the election of scholars at St John鈥檚 was fixed for the Feast of St Barnabas, unless that day fell on a Sunday, and the Master, Wardens, and Court of the 天美传媒鈥� Company attended each year together with the President and some of the Fellows of St John鈥檚 College. Later on, further closed awards were established at St John鈥檚, together with others at Pembroke Hall (later Pembroke College) Cambridge; subsequent changes to the admissions procedure of Oxford and Cambridge meant that scholarships are now awarded only because of good results in university examinations, so the elections are no longer a regular part of 鈥淓lection Day鈥�.
In the nineteenth century, prizes were given out for distinction in Greek and Latin prose and verse, and this 鈥淧rize Giving鈥� has, of course, become the central feature of the day. However, it is salutary to remember that a hundred and fifty years ago they were less sought-after than the places on the Prompter鈥檚 Benches, which would, in the longer term, determine the seniority, which, in those days, established eligibility for the St John鈥檚 scholarships. Those places were decided after three days of examination following the 鈥淔east of St Barnabas鈥�.
Speeches in the modern sense (including that of the Head Master) were not made until the late nineteenth century, but specially composed epigrams in Greek, Latin and English were recited: these are preserved in the manuscript Speech Books and the Latin Speech made by the Head Monitor preserved something of the earlier tradition until the 1990s.
If judged by the large number of guests prominent in public life, the nineteenth century Speech Day was a particular feature of the calendar of the London Season. By the early twentieth century, the day was quite a big event, with excerpts from plays and athletic displays added to the programme during the Charterhouse Square era. Speech Day was curtailed during the First World War and (understandably) abandoned temporarily in 1940, whilst in 1931 the speechmaking and prize giving were held a day early, on 10 June, so that the foundation stone of the present school could be laid here at Sandy Lodge on St Barnabas Day itself.
St Barnabas Day has changed a great deal over the centuries, but we continue to welcome distinguished guests, the prizes are awarded, and musical and other items are performed. We always conclude the function in the same traditional manner, with the singing of the School Song and the National Anthem.
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