Donaldson's re-opens

Our year of celebrating co-education at Christ College may be drawing to a close but there's still one part of the story to be told.

This month’s post completes the historical jigsaw by focusing on the redevelopment of an old house for a new era, and the redrawing of the traditional map of boarding houses.

By the end of the Summer Term of 1997, de Winton had completed its first ten years and firmly established itself as a vibrant House for Sixth Form girls. With the same energy and determination, Bannau was similarly making its mark as the boarding house for middle school girls, and Alway was preparing to welcome girls in Years 7 and 8 to become the school’s first mixed House.

Across the school site, School House and Orchard remained sturdy bastions of boys' boarding while St David's House, the newest (1994) of the boys' houses, looked on from its hillside setting. But further change was on the horizon. 

After 107 years as a boys house, Donaldson's closed its doors to new boys in July 1997 and the last male residents made ready to transfer to School House. With Michael and Mary Dyer still at the helm, the U6 braved the building site and moved to Bannau at the end of the year as the very last of "the Donaldson's men". Theirs is a whole other story.

Bannau 1997/98. The last of the Donaldson's men. 

As the sound of refurbishment began to echo across the Quad in preparation for re-opening as a girls’ House in September 1998, rumours abounded within the OB community about the changes going on within its walls. Despite the general magnanimity towards the change, an extraordinary act of passive resistance was spotted at Salisbury railway station. The last male Head of House, Nick Samuel, reported in ‘The Breconian’ that the words “Donaldson’s is not for girls” had been seen graffitied on the wall of the station ‘WC’!

It's no surprise to discover that the Jacuzzis and other luxuries imagined by slightly envious OBs – who were more used to more austere surroundings – never materialised. The reconfigured rooms, brand new furnishings and repainted walls certainly modernised the space, but it was the soft upholstery and fairy lights that defined the house in a completely new way.

And it wasn’t just the building that changed. In many respects, a whole new era was taking shape. Girls were now at the centre of the school site; inter-house competitions saw the added rivalry of boys v boys, girls v girls, and boys v girls; the girls’ Houses were both configured in line with the boys’ Houses to become senior houses for Years 9 to U6, and the increased capacity for girls in all year groups enabled more equal numbers of boys and girls.

Under the experienced leadership of Housemistress Lynne Webber with Chris Webber, who transferred from Alway, Donaldson’s developed an identity of its own as soon as the paint began dry. New traditions were quickly established and a strong sense of community flourished from its very first day as a girls’ house. 

Even as it embraced change, the house's unique history continued to weave its way into everyday life. In a totally unintentional throwback, the house soon became affectionately known as "Donnie's" – unknowingly echoing the nickname given to Canon Donaldson himself when he first joined the school in 1902.

The re-opening of Donaldson's House as a girls' house completed one of the most remarkable periods of change at Christ College. That it was simply another house, rather than "the girls' house", reflected how much the school had evolved in ten years. The success of the shift to full co-education ensured that future generations would continue to shape the school's story in ways that could be barely have been imagined when Sally Stewart walked nervously into her first assembly in September 1985.

Four decades later, co-education is the most normal thing in the world for current pupils but they are still eager to learn more about an era they think of ‘ancient history’. No matter which house you were in and no matter whether it was a boys’ house or a girls’ house, you will surely have a story to tell about those changing times. Share a sentence or a story with Huw or Felicity. If you have any photographs, let us know about those too.

And if you know anything about those words scratched on the wall at Salisbury railway station, we'd REALLY love to know more.  

Book now to join us for a convivial 40 years celebration supper in September. 

The guest speaker will be Tori James, one of the first Donnie's girls and the first Welsh woman to climb Everest. 

Find out more on the Events page and book your place.