A Three-Generational GHS Memoir - Sun, 29 Jun 2008
Patrice Daisley Shongo
The year 2011 will mark the centennial anniversary of the St. Vincent Girls’ High School. The GHS has educated three generations of the Vincentian young women, and truth be told, the wearing of the navy and white has become an important rite of passage in the journey from girlhood to womanhood. Every girl donning the uniform has known without a doubt that she was part of the cream of the crop, and as such, many great things were expected of her.
There are not very many families who can boast of the distinction of having three generations of High School “Old Girls” to their credit; but the women of the Prince-Daisley family count themselves among this fortunate group. The following is a brief summary of the “GHS experience” as seen through the eyes of three pairs of sisters in this family.
The First Generation
The St. Vincent Girls’ High School was still a fledgling institution in the 1920s when the Prince sisters, Violet and Marie, entered as students. Violet matriculated into Form 2A in 1925, and Marie in 1928, after passing the entrance exams given by Masters Lopey and Reeves of the Boys’ Grammar School. At that time, the school was located near Victoria Park, and the headmistress was Muriel Went from Barbados. Ms. Went resided on the upper floor of the small building, and there were only three or four forms at the time.
The school day ran from 8 am to 3 pm, and began with morning worship and ended with evening prayers. The curriculum was made up of subjects such as English, Mathematics, French and Latin. While Marie’s favourite subject was mathematics, Violet did well with languages. The teacher Violet remembered best was the language teacher Sheila Wall. It was she who gave the students the assignment of describing in detail the contents of a given photograph; and she also taught them a foreign language song that Violet remembered well, and could sing verbatim eighty years later.
Marie recalled that the uniform consisted of a white blouse, navy blue pleated skirt and blue tie. She walked to school every day all the way from Calliaqua, until she was given a bicycle. This was of limited value, however, because it was so hard to pedal up Casson Hill that she would leave the bike in Arnos Vale and walk!
Recess at ten o’clock was a welcome reprieve, and the girls would relax and play games. A lady named Atalie would sell her delicious homemade treats which included tarry sugar cakes and “kisses”—a confection made from ice cream shaped into balls.
The Senior Cambridge examinations were taken at the end of the course of study at GHS. When Marie finished her studies, she was not allowed to write these exams because her French was not up to par; so she took classes from an Anglican bishop in order to prepare. Violet’s stint at GHS was cut short due to financial difficulties in the family which precluded the payment of the school fees which were required at the time.
The Second Generation
Almost 30 years later, Jeane, Violet’s oldest daughter, embarked on her High School career. The year was 1954, and she had just passed the entrance exam. By this time, the uniform was slightly different: a white blouse, navy blue pleated skirt, navy and white tie, Panama hat with navy and white band and navy knickers. A short time later, Jeane was followed by her younger sister Ruth, who matriculated in 1961. Ruth describes the hat with the wide brim as “horrible,” and even after her first year when this was changed to a version with a narrower rim, she detested the elastic band worn under the chin. In fact, she attributes her lifelong dislike of hats to her early experience at GHS! Ruth’s most humourous memory of her GHS days was having a teacher put her hand under her skirt to check to see if she was wearing her knickers.
The school had by then moved from near Victoria Park to its present location. Initially, Jeane’s mode of transport from the family home in Montrose was her brother’s blue bicycle, but later she had the use of the family car, and she proudly recalls that she was the only student at that time to have a car parked on the school compound.
The headmistress in the mid-fifties was Jessie Bucchan; and then in the early to mid-sixties, the post changed hands from Barbara Heddle to Millicent Byron. By this time, the curriculum had expanded to include subjects such as History, Geography, Religious Knowledge, P.E., Cookery, Needlework, Commerce, Book Keeping and Shorthand. Jeane’s best subjects were Cookery and Needlework, and her favourite teacher was Pauline Allen-Young. For Ruth, recess was her best “subject,” and Jenny Jacobs and Elsa Velox were her favourite teachers.
The day still began with morning prayers, and the girls were required to line up in order of height to enter the assembly hall. Recess remained a popular highlight in the schedule where the students played games and bought snacks like fudge and baked goods from Beryl, the school attendant. Jeane remembers poor Beryl as “going insane” as the crowd of girls jostled her to make their purchases before the bell rang.
The house system had already come into being, and Jeane was initially enrolled in Staff house, but was later changed to the newly-formed Moffett house. Headmistress was Ruth’s house, and during her last year at GHS, she was the house Vice Captain. Sports activities included track, netball, volleyball, and rounders, among others.
Discipline was a serious matter, and the common punishment during this time was the writing of lines. Jeane remembers having to write multiple times “I must not … in school” on one occasion. In addition, bad conduct marks could be added to the record of those who misbehaved. Ruth recalls having to stand on her chair for one of her transgressions; but this was rare, since she was often voted Form Captain, and as such she had to not only set a good example, but keep the other girls in check as well.
There were six forms levels in all at this time; and at the end of the fifth and sixth forms, one could sit for the Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations, respectively. Jeane finished her studies in 1960, but did not sit for any subjects. Ruth finished in 1967 and subsequently took the O level exams. The year 1967 was remarkable for the fact that it was the first year that a formal GHS graduation ceremony was ever held. This year also marked the inauguration of the signature diamond-shaped GHS ring with the blue background that has since remained an unchanged tradition. Ruth wears her ring every day with great pride.
The Third Generation
Jumping forward yet another generation, we land in the 1980s. The family tradition continued, but this time, the students were Patrice and Arlene (daughters of Violet’s oldest son Winston, and his wife Barbara). Having successfully passed the dreaded “Common Entrance” exam, they followed along in the steps of their predecessors, and they, too, donned the prestigious navy and white. The uniform had again changed somewhat, however; and instead of a tie and hat, the black and white school crest was worn on the left pocket of the blouse. Norma Keizer was the headmistress.
Patrice enrolled in 1981, and Arlene in 1985. The curriculum had continued to grow and by this time, over 20 subjects were taught. Classes went up to the fifth form, and sixth form was done at the Grammar School. Patrice really enjoyed the sciences and languages. She recalls that the school did not have all laboratory facilities needed for the upper-level science experiments, so the students often had to go over to the Grammar School (much to the delight of the friendly neighbours, who didn’t seem to mind the intrusion one bit!). Sylvia Jack was Patrice’s favourite teacher.
Both sisters belonged to Staff house, which was the athletic powerhouse of the day. The popular sports were netball, rounders, volleyball, cricket and track and field. Lawn tennis was a Saturday morning tradition, and table tennis was just beginning to rise in popularity at the school. Patrice and two other students were part of the first GHS Table Tennis team that beat the Grammar School sixth formers in the first secondary school table tennis competition for girls.
Certain traditions such as morning prayers continued to feature prominently. The little blue “Songs of Praise” hymnbook contained some of the all-time favourite hymns like “Daisies are Our Silver” and “Morning Has Broken”. Recess remained a perennial favourite; and the attendant named Ingrid ran the tuck shop in Grimble Hall. However, the most coveted snacks in this decade were the delectable coconut slice and tamarind balls sold over the Grammar School fence. Arlene in particular was especially fond of these treats.
One of Arlene’s most memorable times was when the entire first form brought their dolls to class on the last day of school after final exams were over. Patrice remembers the fun they had at the annual school fairs when everyone would sport their muftis, and compete to see which form could raise the most money. She also remembers how thrilled they were as fifth formers when they finally got to sing the descant part to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” at the end of the Nine Lessons and Carols service. The very last day of school was quite a memorable one as well, because the students went around collecting autographs on their blouses from their classmates. That signed blouse is still one of Patrice’s most prized possessions.
Neither girl ever got into serious trouble, but Patrice remembers having to write lines once for a minor issue. The punishment for more serious offences was having to sit on the landing outside the deputy headmistress’s office. One would sit at the table by the stairs—the object of knowing glances from many a passerby—and there was more than ample time for one to ponder the error of her way.
Both Patrice and Arlene left GHS in 1986, when the family migrated to the USA. Patrice was fortunate enough to get to complete the fifth form, and served as Head Girl during her last year. She also did O level exams, which at that time were split between two examining bodies—sciences were given by the Cambridge General Certificate of Education and all the other subjects were given by the Caribbean Examinations Council. The year 1986 was a very important one for the school, as it marked the 75th anniversary of its inception. There were many different celebrations throughout the year, the most impressive of which was a Founders Day ceremony at which the soil was broken for the building now named in honor of Mrs. Keizer.
So there you have it—three pairs of sisters, in three different generations, at one school. Even though things may have changed from one generation to the next, one point of unanimous agreement is the fact that the GHS years were very good ones. The education received was second to none, and the resultant life-long love for learning served each of them in good stead in the years that lay ahead. And there is also no denying that the GHS years were also great fun, and the friendships made during those years have lasted lifetimes. Thank you for the memories, GHS, and may you have many more successful years in the education of young women in St. Vincent.
This memoir is dedicated to the memory of Violet Prince Daisley (1910-2007) and Marie Prince (1913-2008), who were both scholars and gentlewomen in their own right. A debt of gratitude is due Lorraine Bascombe, for her invaluable assistance in collecting data from the Prince sisters before they passed away.
