Three Heads and a Pioneer in conversation

Instead of the usual ‘Lists’ just before the half-term break, as part of this year’s celebration of 40 years of co-education the Head welcomed to assembly two previous Heads of Christ College and the first female Christ College pupil. 

The conversational format of the assembly, led by Gareth Pearson in the role of interviewer, offered senior pupils a valuable insight into the extraordinary transformation to the school that was brought about in the 1980s when Christ College took its first steps towards to co-education.

It is rare in any school to see so many Heads gathered together, and we were fortunate indeed to hear first-hand the experiences of Philip Jones (Headmaster 1996-2007) and Emma Taylor (Head 2007-2017). Though Stuart Hockey (Headmaster 1982-1996) was unable to attend, his portrait was brought to the stage in acknowledgement of his significant role in leading Christ College towards the co-educational school we know today.

A special guest for the event was Sally Stewart (School House 1985-1987). As the very first girl every to enrol in the school, her name was already familar to the young audience and she delighted them with a description of her first assembly and tales from her broom cupboard study. If you haven’t already read about her experiences and the friends who looked after her, you can enjoy Sally's words in an earlier news post.  

First of all, the young audience needed help to understand that the 1980s really was a different century. It’s world that will be familiar to all but the most recent generations of Old Breconians; that it had to be explained is a reminder that Christ College is a very different place in 2025.

Gareth Pearson described a few key aspects of the school at the time.

- All phones were landlines. There were no mobile phones. And there was no internet. So all communication between boys and parents had to be by letter or by a call home from a public phone in the boarding house.

- Day pupils (about 10% of the school in those days) were in school until the end of Prep. And on Sunday they had to come in to attend the morning Chapel service.

- If you were not a Day Boy, you were a Boarder. Boarders were not allowed to go home on weekends, except for what was known as Long Leave – from after matches on Saturday to Sunday evensong. There were about three Long Leaves each term with all boarders in school on all other weekends.

- There were about 300 boys in the school when Sally arrived. In the following year, there were 7 more girls and when de Winton opened a year later there were 21!  Until 1995 the population of girls was never more than 45. 

For pupils accustomed to a more gender-balanced community, it came as a real surprise to many of the young audience that the girls faced such a predominantly male environment when they joined Christ College, and they were taken aback to realise how heavily outnumbered those early pioneers were — at every school gathering, every event, and in every classroom. All the more remarkable, then, was the way the girls threw themselves wholeheartedly into every aspect of school life — from sport to music, and from drama to the CCF.

With Gareth Pearson sharing some of Mr Hockey’s words from an interview recorded in the summer, each of the guests reflected on their personal experiences of the school as it found its way from being a boys school with a girl to a thriving co-educational institution by the time of Mrs Taylor’s appointment as the first female head.

From Sally’s account of the abject fear as she felt as walked into her first assembly to Mr Pearson’s reflections on the fully co-educational school we know today, their stories revealed not only the extent of the change but also the courage and determination of the girls who blazed trails in every aspect of school life.

As we share more celebration stories in the year ahead, it is encouraging to know that the Head's special assembly enabled the audience of senior pupils to better understand the changes co-education brought and commend the courage of those who led the way.

We owe our guests a debt of gratitude for so willingly reflecting on the part of the story they witnessed. Thanks to them, and to all our pioneers, the school proudly continues to embrace the very best values of co-education.

Reds. 1987. From the Jeff Wright Collection. With his kind permisison. 

If you have a memory or a photo of the time that you’d be willing to share, send it to Huw or Felicity so it can be enjoyed during our 40 year celebrations. We'd love to hear more from those who were there!