The dry Autumn of 1975 contributed to a high scoring rugby season with the first XV breaking the scoring record of 1969.
Mr Esau wrote about the 1st XV in The Court magazine:
“Over the last two years and under the captaincy of H. E. Alireza, the 1st XV has achieved some notable successes; a first ever away victory v Bearwood College (1974) and our best result ever against Reed's School, Cobham. A 23-23 draw (1975), an individual points scoring record for Alireza himself in 1975, and a 1st XV points record of 297 in the same year. These records, and good overall results, have been achieved by extremely young sides and I would be surprised if the 16.6 average age of the 1975 1st XV were not the youngest in the country. Alireza, is a player of the greatest individual ability, obviously provided the catalyst of so many good results and I shall never forget his speed and dexterity on occasional runs from goal line. He has been admirably supported by senior players such as M. Shove, R. Halbert, R.R. Duckering, S.S. Barnes, J. W. Trenchard and D.S. Hall, not to mention the fine contribution of the younger players. Barnes and Trenchard deserve special praise for the courage, determination and technique they demonstrated in support of his captaincy.”
In the winter of 1975, the Dramatic Society performed The Royal Hunt of the Sun, the production was reviewed by David Welsh:
“The atmosphere was excellent. Visually we could have been in the Inca Palaces, and the music, specially composed by Malcolm Woodcock, provided some of the most memorable sequences, particularly the climbing of the Andes. The Spaniards strutted arrogantly and the barbaric Inca naivete was contrasted effectively with their gold and opulence. The achievement of the production for me was Glyn Davies' portrayal of Atahuallpa. He spoke his lines clearly and sincerely, and totally dominated the stage whenever he was on. In contrast Christopher Payne never seemed quite convincing. The part of Pizarro is difficult but Payne did not succeed in building up the relationship between himself and Atahuallpa. This made the ending of the play seem unlikely, and Payne became melodramatic which is a tendency he needs to suppress. Some tighter direction in the second half might have gone someway to improving this. Of the minor parts Simon Schwerdt's Young Martin stands out in my memory beyond all others. I found it difficult to believe that he ever grew into James Schwerdt's Old Martin however! The scale of the production was vast and a great deal of artistic talent was evident. The set was impressive, the costumes magnificent and the lighting effective. For bringing off such a tour-de-force, David John deserves the highest praise.”
We had to share this entry from the Sixth Form Society Minute Book in January:
Also in 1975:
- Despite a glorious summer, the 1975 Speech Day was the wettest to date. On 31 July 1975, early in the Summer holiday the College was the centre of a freak storm that did considerable damage to the contents of the main building.
- Five gold medals were won under the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.
- The Laundrette was built.
- The boat club were donated a new boat, called Donadonato, thanks to the generosity of many parents.
