At the outbreak of the Great War the Crypt School and grounds were at Friars’ Orchard, an idyllic location in the centre of Gloucester situated between Brunswick Road and Southgate Street. They were behind the original Schoolrooms, erected in 1539, and St Mary de Crypt. The Headmaster Dr J.H.E. Crees (1911-19) was just twenty eight years old and had gained a Double First in the Classical Tripos at Cambridge University. The future looked bright for those 150 Cryptians, scholars and fee payers and their eight masters, as they looked forward to their summer holidays in 1914.
The defeat of France by Germany in 1870 led to the humiliating loss of Alsace and Lorraine. By the turn of the century a firm economic and military alliance was in place between democratic Republican France and autocratic Tsarist Russia. Germany felt surrounded and had real concerns about the growing population and economic power of Russia. It could only count on the Austria-Hungarian Empire with its many diverse nationalities in the Balkans as an ally. After the controversial incorporation of Bosnia-Hercegovina into the empire in 1908, the Serbian military secretly supported armed terrorists with the full support of the influential Russian ambassador. From 1912-13 the growing tensions of the remaining territories of the declining Ottoman Empire erupted into two Balkan Wars. The result was the defeat of the Turkish forces and the increase in the size of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and the creation of an independent Albania. The Austrians felt threatened by the concept of a Greater Serbia for the Slavs. During the years leading up to 1914 the military leaders in Paris, Berlin, Vienna and St Petersburg felt that war was inevitable at some stage and created plans to ensure that they would not be surprised and they had the full support of their allies. The pressure on the political leaders by the military was intense. The instability in the Balkans created a tinderbox atmosphere.
On June 28th, the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the nephew and heir to the ageing Emperor Franz Joseph (1948-1916), at Saravejo in the disputed Bosnia-Herzegovina, set in motion the events that led to the outbreak of war a month later. On July 6th Kaiser Wilhelm and the German Chancellor responded positively to to an appeal for military support from Vienna in the event of war against Serbia. In effect they were given a “blank cheque” by Berlin. At a meeting in St Petersburg in the third week of July France eagerly supported the Russian foreign policy in the Balkans. On July 23rd Vienna delivered the infamous ultimatum to Belgrade and demanded a response in 48 hours. These three decisions in effect started the countdown for war. On July 28th Vienna declared war and bombed Belgrade across the river Danube. The Tsar was persuaded to mobilise his huge conscripted armed forces. The Liberal Government led by Herbert Asquith and the Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey had been occupied by the threat of civil war as a result of the controversial Home Rule Bill for Ireland. They now instigated a series of Cabinet meetings to decide on their policy in response to the Balkan crisis. Initially they were divided as to how to support their Entente French partners. On August 1st Germany and France mobilised. On August 4th three huge German armies invaded neutral Belgium who resisted valiantly. Their ambitious plan was to first attack France and needed to sweep through Belgium in order to envelope Paris and force a quick surrender before they had to face the Russians who would take over a month before they were fully ready. They felt that the UK would not react and if they did it would be too late. However, the Cabinet under pressure from the Tory opposition and the influential right wing press, felt they must support Belgium and could not allow the Germans to control the Channel ports.
The declarations of war were received with patriotic fervour in St Petersburg, London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin. There were claims that that it would all be over by Christmas. The regular, well trained but small peacetime army consisting of six divisions, approximately 120,000 troops, was mobilised. This Expeditionary Force crossed the Channel and arrived in France on August 14th. The Kaiser called this the “Contemptible little Army”. Lord Kitchener, the Minister of War, appealed for 100,000 volunteers to enlist by the use of the famous poster: “ Your Country Needs You”. The response was tremendous. The Second Master, D.E. Griffiths ( 1900-1936) formed the School Cadet Force which used the rifle range. Most reservists in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (RGH) joined up to serve abroad. The Gloucestershire Regiments, the Glosters, added seven more battalions in the next few months. By December, 109 Old Cryptians had enlisted. By the spring of 1916 there had been a ten fold increase in the army. The first setback for the Germans occurred on August 23rd at the Battle of Mons in southern Belgium. The BEF, including the 1st Battalion of the Glosters, had marched 170 miles in nine days and arrived in time to support the French and slow down their advance. The Allied forces fell back 85 miles south in good order to the River Marne, 60 miles east of Paris. They were now closer to their supply lines and Marshal Joffre secretly transferred reinforcements west by rail to protect Paris and outflank the Germans. Six German armies arrived after an exhausting march of 250 miles. However, the coordination of their armies had broken down. General Moltke remained in Luxembourg and was showing the strain. The plan to encircle Paris was unrealistic and they now planned for a victory on the Marne. At dawn on September 6th nearly a million French and British troops attacked 750,000 Germans in a free flowing mobile battle. After a few days the Germans feared they may be encircled and decided to retreat in order to control the higher ground where they dug in. Their gamble of a swift victory in the West had failed They now had to fight on two fronts. Both armies tracked each other northwards in what was termed the “race to the sea” and opposing trench lines were formed with the notorious “no man’s land” separating the forces. Finally these lines, protected by barbed wire, stretched over 300 miles from Switzerland to the Belgium coast. The opponents had failed to outflank each other and the armies faced each other at Ypres in Flanders. From now on the mobile warfare was over and the cavalry units were cutback. The Battle of Ypres, 40 miles from the Channel ports, consisted of a series of advances and counter attacks which lasted from October 19th to November 22nd. A triple line of trenches were protected by extensive barbed wire and deadly machine guns, howitzers and artillery. Those on the defence had clear advantages. The Germans almost broke through in November but were repelled four miles from the city. Frederick Smith (1904-09) joined the Crypt aged thirteen and paid no fees. He later worked as a pupil-teacher in the Junior School and received tuition. He joined the Glosters and was a reservist as war broke out. He fought at the Battles of Mons, Marne and later at Ypres. John Goring was born in 1889 and was a regular soldier with the Royal Dragoons. He served in India and South Africa and fought in these early battles. By December over 250,000 casualties had been recorded and no significant ground had changed hands. Both sides were by now exhausted and a deadly stalemate followed as both sides dug in for the winter. Since August, two thirds of the Expeditionary Force were casualties, but their role had been critical in checking the German advance. It was clear that this was going to be a bitter and protracted struggle and that a huge expansion of troops and armaments production was necessary. Fifty new, large factories were hastily opened across Great Britain which produced heavy guns and artillery shells. A huge complex was constructed at Quedgley which employed 6,000 workers, mainly women. Gloucester factories such as the Wagon Works and Fielding and Platt Engineering on the Bristol Road were converted to support the war effort. Sam Fielding (1893-90) was a director of this company.
In the spring of 1915, the Germans attacked the Allies in front of Ypres. Their aim was to breakthrough and seize the Channel ports. The city and defences were shelled heavily. On April 22nd they used chlorine gas shells for the first time. One part of the French front collapsed but the Canadians filled the gap and after fierce fighting the city defences held. The Second Battle of Ypres carried on until May 25th. The Germans did not mount another serious offensive in this area for three years. Lieutenant Francis Ballinger (1901-12) entered the Junior School, which charged fees, aged eight. He became Head Monitor and was Editor of the School Magazine, which had been introduced in 1907. Information before this time is very difficult to find. He captained the 1st X1 soccer and cricket teams. He was awarded the Townsend Scholarship at Pembroke College, Oxford. He volunteered and was commissioned into the King’s Regiment which was attached to the Indian Corps. He was killed in action on May 22nd a few days before the battle ended. He was the first of 58 Old Cryptians who died in the Great War. Private Frederick Draper (1906-11) and Frank Norville (1900-07) both volunteered and fought in this battle. Private John Goring died later in November on this front.
In the East the armed forces under Tsar Nicholas, were under serious pressure from the Germans in the north after the humiliating defeat in Prussia at the Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914 and the Austrians further south. In October, Turkey declared war against the allies and attacked Russia in the Caucuses. In February 1915 Turkish forces crossed the unforgiving barrier of the Sinai Desert. However, they failed to cross the Suez Canal. The result was that 70,000 British, Australian and New Zealand forces, the Anzacs, arrived in Egypt. The heavy casualties and stalemate on the Western Front had shocked everybody. Lord Kitchener, Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty and Admiral Fisher persuaded the War Cabinet that for political and strategic reasons, France and the UK should open up a second front in the Mediterranean. The aim was for a combined British and French fleet of eighteen battleships, destroyers and minesweepers to penetrate the narrow Dardanelles in March, thus threatening Constantinople with bombardment and a force of 70,000 troops. This would support a beleaguered Russia and allow for vital wheat exports from the Ukraine. Almost everything that could go wrong did. Five battleships were hit by mines and the shore batteries were not destroyed and the fleet withdrew. After this failure it was decided to make an amphibious landing, always very difficult, on the Gallipoli peninsula and capture the fortresses from behind. There were no maps or intelligence on the size and distribution of the Turkish forces. The small beaches were overlooked by steep, rocky cliffs. This was a high risk strategy. The Anzacs and British landed on separate beaches on April 25th. The delay enabled the Turks to strengthen their forces. They were well trained by German officers and quickly moved to the landing sites. Those troops which scaled the cliffs were checked on the heights by the defenders. They were forced to dig in and for the following three months they endured constant shelling and fire from snipers. In one last desperate effort to make a breakthrough reinforcements arrived in August from Egypt at Suvla Bay north of the Anzac beachhead. Troopers Cary Carter, aged 20 and Karl Fowler, aged 21 of the RGH were killed on August 21st as was Sergeant Frederick Smith of the 7th Battalion of the Glosters, who had been wounded at Ypres. L.A.Beddis (1908-13) and Lester Fennel (1906-11) served with the RGH. After eight months of fighting the troops were evacuated. It was a humiliating defeat and there were 250,000 casualties on both sides for no gains and led to the resignation of Winston Churchill.
After the stalemate at Ypres, the French placed enormous pressure on the British government to prepare a joint offensive which went ahead against the advice of Sir John French and General Haig. The British targeted the German lines 25 miles further south in the Artois region at Loos. The volunteer army was arriving after training. The French were to attack the formidable Vimy ridge nearby and to initiate a major offensive in the Champagne region near Rheims. Both these actions failed. On September 25th after the usual artillery bombardment which included gas shells, the British, including the 10th Battalion of the Glosters, advanced from their trenches. The aim was to breakthrough and force the Germans to fall back to protect their rail supply depots. However, the German lines were on higher ground and the coordination between the artillery and infantry was poor. Sergeant William Thomas (1895-99) entered the school aged thirteen and joined the Glosters in 1914. They achieved their objective but the reserves including the 1st Battalion did not reach them before a concerted counter attack forced them back. He was killed leading from the front aged 32 in this action on September 25th. It proved to be a disaster, no ground was gained and another stalemate ensued. Sir John French was blamed for the failure and resigned later. It was clear that after the huge casualties that had accrued in the last year the UK would have to enforce conscription like all the other combatants. In January 1916 legislation was passed and single men aged 18 to 41 were liable to be recruited and married men from May. By the end of the year one million were in training.
In April 1916, British cavalry battalions advanced across the Sinai Desert to secure two critical oases and to prepare communication lines and water stations for future actions. On April 23rd at Katia, 40 miles east of the Suez they were attacked by 3,000 Turkish infantry. Trooper Lancelot Williams (1906-08) entered the Crypt School aged thirteen. He volunteered and joined the Worcestershire Yeomanry. Initially the 420 troopers refused to surrender and he was killed in hand to hand fighting before they were forced to surrender. Lieutenant Hugh Walwin (1902-08) was one of five brothers who attended the school. He joined the RGH which was based in Egypt after the Gallipoli campaign. He became a prisoner of war and spent the rest of the war in appalling conditions in Turkey before returning to Gloucester. In the autumn of 1915 an overambitious offensive was launched in Mesopotamia. By November an Anglo-Indian force had marched 200 miles up the River Tigris. However, they were forced to retreat and were besieged at Kut. In April 10,000 surrendered and became prisoners. Corporal John Smith a trainee mechanic joined the Royal Flying Corps in March 1915 and was sent to Mesopotamia. He contracted malaria and later typhoid fever and was sent home to the huge Netley Hospital near Southampton. On June 26th he died aged 28.
In 1916 the Western Front was dominated by two major offensives. In February the Germans launched a huge offensive along an eight mile front in the east against the ring of forts at Verdun on the river Meuse. There were 25,000 casualties on both sides on the first day. This horrific slaughter continued into the autumn. General Haig decided that the British offensive would take place in the River Somme area in Flanders. This would help the French at Verdun and prevent Germans being sent to the Russian front. Thirteen divisions of volunteers were considered ready for operations. The conscript army was still in training. Private Stanley Dancy (1904-07) joined the school aged eleven and volunteered in 1914. He was killed on patrol by shrapnel from an explosive shell in April.
As the British were assembling at the Somme and the slaughter at Verdun continued the German Naval High Command had decided to be more aggressive in the North Sea. The aim was to ease the blockade of German ports. The plan was to lure the British battle cruisers from the Firth of Forth into an engagement against the full German battle fleet which were waiting. However, the trap was detected by the Admiralty cryptographers. Admiral Jellicoe’s main fleet of 28 dreadnoughts stationed at Scapa Flow set off for the danger area off the north Denmark coast. The Battle of Jutland involved 250 ships and 100,000 sailors. On May 31st in the initial battle two British cruisers were sunk but the arrival of the main fleet surprised the sixteen German battleships and after intense shelling they broke off the engagement. The British declined to risk further losses and also withdrew but critically the German fleet did not emerge again in the war. The British lost fifteen ships with the loss of 6,000 sailors. The Germans lost one battle cruiser and nine other ships and 2,500 sailors. Frederick Bayley was the eldest of three brothers all educated at the Crypt. They had not far to go as the family owned a wine merchants shop in Greyfriars Lane next to St Mary de Crypt. Fred served in the Royal Navy and was at this battle as were a number of unknown Cryptians.
At the Somme the Germans had been constructing an extensive series of defensive lines on the chalk ridges that overlooked the British and French lines in the valleys below. In the spring, clearly aware of the British intentions they intensified their efforts. The trenches were protected by thick barbed wire which stretched back four miles to the artillery batteries which targeted no man’s land and all the roads and tracks. The trenches were linked to deep thick concrete bunkers, cellars of ruined farms, villages and fortified woodlands and quarries. Entrenched in this formidable defence system were eleven German divisions. On July 1st 100,000 troops consumed their rum ration, scaled their ladders and went over the top at 7.30 am. The Germans had suffered the biggest bombardment of the war for a week but many shells proved to be duds and unsuitable for the task. Haig was convinced that this would destroy the thick barbed wire and concrete bunkers. However, this assumption proved false and they were met by withering machine gunfire and artillery. The British suffered 57,000 casualties in the first hour, 19,000 of which were killed. Captain John Abell (1900-06), a graduate of Durham University and schoolmaster volunteered in 1914. He was commissioned into the Cheshire Regiment and was killed on July 3rd whilst leading from the front aged 27. Lieutenant Gwilliam Ross (1903-08) was a scholar and became a pupil-teacher. He volunteered and was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Glosters. He was one of five officers and 86 other ranks killed in a ferocious fight to gain a trench on the same day aged 26. Three offensives took place for two weeks from July 13th involving four fresh divisions. A creeping barrage had more effect on a smaller three mile front. However, the German counter attacks regained most of the lost ground and their strong points still held out. There were heavy casualties in all these attacks and no breakthrough was made in these areas for three months. Corporal Rowland Hill (1907-08) also served as a pupil-teacher. He volunteered and joined the 1st/5th Battalion of the Glosters and moved to Flanders in 1915. On July 20th he was killed aged 26. Lieutenant William Fream (1906-11) was Head Monitor and lead actor in the school plays. He was awarded an Open Scholarship to Trinity Hall, Cambridge and became the President of the student Law Society. He joined the 5th Battalion in 1912 and was duly commissioned. He was killed in another frontal attack on the 21st. Lt Colonel J.H. Collett commanded this battalion which consisted of about 30 officers and 1,000 men. He was an Old Cryptian and later became the Sheriff of Gloucester. Corporal Melville Lewis (1909-13) volunteered and also joined the 1st/5th Battalion. He was killed on July 23rd aged 20. His parents received news that his brother, Thomas, an ex-pupil of St. Thomas Rich’s, had been killed two days earlier. Lieutenant Raymond Knight (1900-05) was Head Monitor and captain of football and cricket. He was awarded the Townsend Scholarship and captained the Oxford Cross Country Team and gained his Blue. He volunteered in 1914 with his brother Archie who joined the Royal Flying Corps. Raymond moved with the 1st/5th Battalion to Flanders where he received the Distinguished Conduct Medal as a corporal at Ypres. He was commissioned and was killed on July 26th aged 29. The casualty rate for infantry officers at this time was six weeks.
The initial reports from the front were optimistic but as the telegrams and letters arrived and the casualty lists were published, it was clear that the huge number of casualties shocked the nation. By August the British and Canadian forces had only advanced one mile. Lieutenant William Johnstone had emigrated and joined the Manitoba Regiment and was wounded as was Private George Milner (1907-13) of the Nova Scotia Regiment. Despite growing criticism General Haig felt that there was no alternative but to continue with a policy of attrition which would lead to the collapse of the front. The French insisted that as long as Verdun was at risk the campaign must continue. In the absence of radio, the War Cabinet, for the first time, made the bold decision to release a documentary “The Battle of the Somme” to cinemas such as the newly opened Hippodrome Cinema in Eastgate Street. Despite the graphic images the vast majority of the British public remained committed to the cause. In mid-September, 50 British tanks arrived for the first time but they proved unreliable and only 25 reached the front line. They had a positive psychological effect on the attackers and initially panicked the defenders, however they made little operational impact. A series of offensives took place throughout September and October and eventually a number of strong points and woods were captured but at a heavy price. By November the Allies had advanced only seven miles, but the Germans still held their third line and their depots were safe. It was decided to make one last offensive in the northern sector where no progress had been made. On November 12th three redoubts were attacked for a week and were captured but only half a mile had been gained. Private Oscar Walwin (1904-09) joined the Junior School aged eight. He volunteered in 1914 and joined the RGH but was transferred to the Worcestershire Regiment. He was killed in action on November 12th. Private George Milner (1907-13) entered the Junior School aged eight in 1897. He emigrated to Canada in his teens and joined the Nova Scotia Regiment. He was in the front-line in this offensive and was gassed and entered hospital. Three million soldiers were involved in the Battle of the Somme over the six months. The British and Imperial forces suffered over 420,000 casualties, the French 200,000 and the Germans over 450,000. Some 70,000 Germans were captured. The Germans had already started to build even stronger defences, the Hindenburg Line, 30 miles further back. By now the French had regained all the lost ground at Verdun and all the fronts settled down for winter. The deadly attritional battles of 1914, 1915 and 1916 on the Western and Eastern Fronts had led to huge casualties on both sides.
There had been growing criticism of the leadership of Herbert Asquith from the Tory opposition and influential press barons which was supported by the dynamic and ambitious David Lloyd George who replaced Asquith in December 1916. Some thought should be given to the tribulations of Dr Crees. Despite the difficulties the Crypt produced some excellent results. In these three years, ten of the very small Sixth Form obtained awards at Oxford and Cambridge. A shortage of teachers led to the appointment of the first female teacher. Miss Dorothy Ballinger, an ex pupil of Denmark Road School for Girls and brother of Lieutenant Francis Ballinger, taught French. However, his most harrowing task was to read out the deaths of former pupils at the daily assembly. There seemed no end to the conflict and the Roll of Honour would grow in 1917.
How The Crypt School guides its students to academic excellence
From its ‘teach to the top’ approach in the classroom, to its network of academic and pastoral support structures outside of it, SoGlos sits down with the head of The Crypt School in Gloucester, Nick Dyer, to find out how the school helps its students to flourish academically, with a view to each student getting the best possible start onto their chosen career pathway.
The Crypt School’s headmaster, Nick Dyer, tells SoGlos how the school’s thorough support and guidance helps its students achieve academic success and identify the right career path.
The Crypt School is a co-educational grammar school in Gloucester, which welcomes students aged 11 to 18. It has an excellent academic reputation, an impressive extra-curricular programme and an environment of strong pastoral care to help its students achieve their full potential.
With an approach that puts emphasis on encouraging students to use their newly acquired knowledge to answer challenging questions, The Crypt School in Gloucester has an excellent record of guiding its young people to academic success.
SoGlos talks with the school’s head, Nick Dyer, about how the school helps students to thrive in their studies, from its approach inside the classroom, to extra support outside of it, and how it helps to prepare students for their future careers in an ever-changing landscape.
Tell us about The Crypt School’s academic record.
As a selective grammar school, students come to us with high academic ability to begin with. That’s, of course, a strong advantage in terms of their potential to succeed in their learning journeys; however, as a school we’ve got to work hard to make sure that they do indeed make that exceptional progress that they are capable of across the full range of academic subjects that they study.
Over recent years, the attainment of our groups in their GCSEs and other exams has further strengthened. For example, outcomes in modern foreign languages have improved significantly, and the school is now one of the best performing schools regionally in those subjects at GCSE.
Science and mathematics have always been great strengths of the school, but we also see students do extremely well in the humanities – history, geography and religious education – and in the creative arts – music, drama and art, for example. Many of our students also excel in and enjoy studying computing, English and more practical subjects such as sports science and food technology.
We’re fortunate to have very able students at the school, but we work hard to enable them to achieve ‘value added’ in the progress they make over the course of their studies with us.
What approach does the school take to supporting students to succeed academically, in the classroom?
We have very clear expectations of what our student’s learning is going to look like, in terms of the curriculum, but also of what we want them to achieve at key ‘end points’ across the year.
Our approach is to teach to the top, setting high academic expectations for all of our learners to aspire to. However, we provide extra support to those who find the work more challenging at times, which is really important, but we also take away that ‘scaffolding’ over time, enabling students to reach those high grades and make excellent progress in their work.
We put a lot of focus on questioning – not accepting the first answer given, but asking the students to dig deeper, to think more critically, with skilled teachers bouncing students’ ideas around the room to involve a wider group.
Ultimately, we want to equip our students with the knowledge they need to answer challenging questions, and to ultimately make evidence based judgments of their own. We do have a knowledge rich curriculum here at The Crypt School, but one that seeks to place critical thinking and the development of skills such as oracy at its centre.
We also want our students to increasingly become independent learners – but students do need to learn how to become more independent in both their work and learning. We have a strong focus on students all developing a growing sense of personal ownership of their progress, and of their work, and that is also a key feature of our sixth form curriculum and approach to learning: that’s about preparing our senior students for university study and the world of work, where they will have to operate independently.
We have a strong and deep rooted culture of celebrating and valuing each student’s progress and achievement here at Crypt which shapes our learning environment; with able and committed learners, and expert subject specialists, supported by a talented team of professional support staff, it’s no surprise our students really excel in their learning.
And of course, those students who have special educational needs are given the support and encouragement they need to excel in their learning and progress, too.
What does that extra support look like for students?
We offer a lot of academic support outside of lessons at lunchtime and after school, particularly in the form of revision sessions for exam students.
We might also identify that a student has challenges with handwriting, there might be students whose literacy skills aren’t as good as we would hope, for example, and they would be identified for extra support.
Beyond academic support, we also have an outstanding pastoral system here at the school. Students can find the challenge of their school work quite hard, and they need that extra support from a wellbeing perspective.
I think the success that we have as the school is founded on the care that we offer to students, built around our inclusive and kind culture. Whether it’s our counsellors, pastoral support workers, tutors or heads of year, the students know that if they are facing challenges – be they academic or pastoral – there’s someone they can go to for support and guidance. That’s really important and I think it’s something the students really appreciate.
How does The Crypt support students to pursue their desired career pathways post-school, whether that’s university, an apprenticeship, or full-time employment?
The careers landscape is ever changing, isn’t it? It’s challenging for us to know what that landscape is going to look like for the current Year 7, for example, when they go into the workforce in seven to 10 years’ time.
However, we do have a very thorough careers education guidance programme, that begins in Year 7 and strengthens through to the sixth form. That includes work experience in Year 10 and Year 12; lots of employer engagement activities; an annual careers fair; and we also have an independent careers advisor. All of that is led by our careers leader, who has a full network of contacts drawn from our parental body, our Old Cryptian network and others who want to give up some of their time to support our programme.
We don’t just concentrate on university – 75 per cent of our Year 13s will go to university, but there’s a significant group who are actively seeking apprenticeships and degree apprenticeship opportunities. Over the last few years, we’ve increased our support for those who want to look at apprenticeships, running workshops and replicating employer-led assessment days. There’s plenty of support for writing UCAS applications, CVs, or application letters, too.
Our main aim in the lower years is to give students an idea of the kind of careers that might be available to them, both now and in the future. We utilise labour market information, using a platform where students can record their personal achievements on, but also use it to research what careers are out there, how many jobs are available in the Gloucestershire area, what are the salary expectations and what skills and qualifications they would need to access that kind of career pathway.
What’s really fundamental, too, is the skills and personal qualities that each student is able to develop over their education at the school. If you can communicate well, that will always be something in demand. If you are resilient, there will always be challenges that you will face and can overcome. So, while knowledge and qualifications remain important, alongside that, our young people need those ‘softer’ skills that employers look for.
We know that our careers guidance programme is exceptional – that is what Ofsted said when they inspected the school in March 2024. We have also just had an external audit of our career programme by a company called Careers Mark – we gained their Careers Mark Award three years ago, and we’re aiming to have our programme re-accredited this month.
Of course, the labour market is in a time of great change: technology and AI in particular are reshaping how people work, and where they work. It is also going to profoundly affect what roles are going to increase in demand, what new roles will emerge and what roles will also disappear: our careers work in school must therefore remain relevant and future focussed.
And finally, how does The Crypt School balance academic learning with enrichment activities, and why is that important?
Academic learning is central to what we do here, but students want to engage with lots of other things, too. And it’s really important they do that, and through that develop their communication skills, ability to work in teams, to become leaders as well – but our programme is also about each student having fun and building friendships.
When they leave school and look back upon their school lives in years to come, they often remember those times where they played in a team or went on a trip; took part in a debate, sung in the Cathedral or led one of our clubs or societies; acted in a play or led their House in an assembly – we have a huge programme of extracurricular and enrichment activities here at Crypt – something for everyone to engage with and grow through their participation in.
Our enrichment programme and school culture is also underpinned by our house system which offers lots of opportunities for leadership and for fun, which helps all our students develop a stronger sense of belonging to their school. Our senior students also take on leadership roles as prefects, members of our sixth form student executive team, head boy and head girl. We also have our three school parliaments, which although are focused on important aspects of school life, provide opportunities for students to engage in debate and have their say, so they feel a sense of ownership and belonging to the life and work of the school.
Our programme builds culture, it enables friendships to flourish, and it helps the students to manage their other challenges – the workload, the expectations that they will do well academically and wider concerns that I think young people have today about our society. It’s a release from all of that and really good for their wellbeing and mental health. So it’s a fundamental part of our curriculum.
The Club are saddened to learn of the death of former pupil Andrew Clements.
The following obituary has been extracted from The Guardian.
Andrew Clements, who has died aged 75 after a period of ill health, was for more than three decades the Guardian’s chief classical music critic. His style was a model of critical integrity – authoritative and intelligent, sometimes enthusiastic and sometimes slightly grumpy, dry-humoured yet never showy.
Music may say things that words cannot express, but he mastered the rare art of putting music into words, always using language with precision; reading him, you knew what a performance had sounded like. Best known for championing new music with tireless devotion, Andrew had much wider musical interests than many realised.
However, music was only one of his passions. Topping the list of other fascinations were natural history and Latin American literature, and these strands all came together when he reviewed the world premiere of Peter Eötvös’s opera Love and Other Demons – based on Gabriel García Márquez – at Glyndebourne in summer 2008. Welcoming the work, Andrew ended his review by saying that only the production disappointed “for its failure to evoke any real sense of place, despite the lavish use of video projections full of writhing bodies, insects and reptiles; someone might have pointed out to [the director] that there are no chameleons in South America”.
With such wide interests, Andrew could have taken several professional paths but worked in music journalism – at times as an editor as well as writer – almost all his adult life. But his first job after graduating was in the editorial department of the Open University, where he met Kate (Kathryn) Coltman. They married, and had two daughters, Lara and Holly; they separated in the 1990s.
Andrew served as music critic of the New Statesman for 11 years from 1977, also contributing to Time Out. He had a brief spell (1987-88) as editor of the Musical Times, and wrote for many years (1979-93) for the Financial Times, not only on classical music but also as the paper’s rock and pop critic. Later, in a Guardian classical review he would say that Brian Wilson’s God Only Knows was still the most perfect pop song.
Overlapping with his writing, Andrew was commissioning editor for books on music at Faber & Faber (the publisher’s connection to poets and poetry was not lost on him), midwifing several significant titles. He first wrote for Opera magazine in 1983 and joined its editorial board in 1990. When he succeeded Edward Greenfield on the Guardian in August 1993, the appointment was clinched at least in part by a recommendation from the pianist Alfred Brendel.
He also had a fondness for the English pastoralist composers of the early- and mid-20th century, and indeed had grown up in Hucclecote, a village that has become a suburb of Gloucester. His mother, Linda, a domestic science teacher before her marriage, was from the Forest of Dean; his father, Joseph, who had grown up on a small family farm in Down Hatherley, to the north of Gloucester, made aeroplane parts for Dowty Aviation.
An only child, Andrew attended The Crypt school, a grammar in Gloucester, and was the first member of his family to go to university. He studied theoretical physics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and played the flute in a university orchestra. Contemporaries remember him as a little unsocial and enigmatic – qualities that later allowed him to maintain a professional distance and to write without fear or favour.
With such a background, Andrew was well placed to attend the Cheltenham music festival during its vintage years, and also the Three Choirs festival; this was his first musical landscape, and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius held special appeal. He would remain more committed than most critics to covering the regional scene.
In 1992 he became a director of the Holst Foundation, honouring the Cheltenham-born composer, and the poetry of Ivor Gurney meant a great deal to him. Reading the Guardian’s Country Diary was a daily ritual (as was doing the paper’s Cryptic Crossword).
Music was not in the family, but his parents had been keen gardeners and lovers of the countryside. Andrew started collecting plants as a boy and was soon ordering Bhutan alpine seeds and indexing specimens. Birds, amphibians and reptiles were special interests, and he kept many creatures as pets – on one occasion, some burglars are said to have been frightened off by his poison dart frogs.
A holiday in Crete in 1979 – his first trip abroad – made a huge impression on him, and Greece would remain one of his favourite countries for the rest of his life. Bird-watching took him the length of South America, from Costa Rica to Ecuador and the Amazon to Patagonia. This he often did with his partner Amanda Holden, the opera librettist and translator, with whom he lived in London for several years. She died in 2021.
Andrew, who I was lucky to count as a colleague and friend for three decades, contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Music, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and The New Penguin Opera Guide. He wrote a compact account of the composer Mark-Anthony Turnage (2000). In opera, he responded not just musically but had a strong sense of theatre.
Pianists and the piano literature were close to his heart, and his penultimate review for the Guardian, of previously unpublished recordings by Radu Lupu, had a valedictory feel: “Of the many hundreds of pianists I must have heard in more than 50 years of recital going, a multitude that has included many of the greatest names of the 20th century, none gave me more consistent pleasure or a greater sense of wonder.”
An illness starting in early 2025 meant that Andrew’s last concert review (of the Dunedin Consort) appeared in early March. Despite these difficulties, he retained the sense of humour that countered an often gruff exterior. From his home in Oxfordshire he continued reviewing recordings; his final piece, about Nadia Boulanger’s opera La Ville Morte, was written just before Christmas and published at the start of January, by which time he had contracted the flu that led to his death.
Kate survives him, along with Lara, Holly and two grandchildren.
Andrew Joseph Clements, music critic, born 15 September 1950; died 11 January 202
The club is sad to announce the passing of former President, Ian Williamson. He died surrounded by his family after a short illness on the 27th December in Salisbury hospital in Wiltshire.
The club has sent its condolences to his wife, Patricia, and his wider family.
Dear Members, It’s my pleasure to invite you to this year’s reunion dinner at The Crypt School on Saturday March 21st. It’ll be held in the crush hall which is a wonderful and intimate setting. Not only do we have a great guest speaker but we’ll also finally be announcing our proposals for the future of the club. The price will be £35 for members and £38 for non-members. However for members who book before February 16th we’re offering an early-bird price of £32.50!
The menu is:
Starter: Slow Braised Ham Hock Terrine served with Sourdough Bread and Piccalilli Mains: Steak and Ale Shortcrust Pie Served Buttery Mashed Potato and Rich Gravy Dessert: Chocolate and Black Cherry Roulade Served with Pouring Cream Vegetarian option available on request
Our guest speaker this year will be Crypt alumnus, my former colleague and predecessor in the BBC, Graham Gardner. Graham has had a distinguished career in journalism from local newspapers to Severn Sound, BBC Radio Gloucestershire and then BBC Points West as the Gloucestershire reporter. He was high profile in the BBC’s coverage of the Cromwell Street murders after which he also authored a book with the senior investigating officer. Graham has never spoken publicly about his career before and I’m proud that he’s chosen his former school and my year as OCC President to do it.
As also mentioned above I’m also very excited that we’ll be announcing the committee’s proposals about the future of the club at the AGM on the 21st. In reality its taken us over three years to get to this point but we’re now in a position where we have a firm plan to reinvigorate the club and look to the future with some positivity. We won’t be announcing this generally to all members until the end of March so if you want to hear it first from me and the committee then the AGM and dinner is the place to be. I’m sure it will prompt some good discussions over dinner.
Please do book your tickets as soon as possible, take advantage of the early-bird offer, and encourage your peers and school mates to join us. As we embark on a new era of the club it would be wonderful to see as many people there as possible. We’ll be starting things a little earlier than usual with the AGM at 5.30pm, drinks at 6 and dinner at 6.30pm.
The OCC is saddened to hear the news of the passing of former club secretary, Eric Kennett.
Eric passed away at the age of 94 peacefully in his sleep after a short illness in the early hours of Friday 12th December 2025 at the Edgehill Care Home in Swindon. He had been visited by many of his family in the previous hours who are all greatly saddened by his passing.
Eric served for 7 years as Secretary of the Old Cryptians’ Club and he still treasured the tankard presented to him upon his departure to a new position at Warwick School.
A great life well lived,
Graduated from Oriel College Oxford 1950-53
For almost 40 years he taught French & German Language & Literature at:
Bridlington School 1953 – 1968
Head of Department at Crypt School Gloucester, 1968-1977
Head of Department at Warwick School 1977-1990
and like many teachers he also taught other subjects including P.E. Geography and History.
An active man for most of his life, he excelled at most activities including Rock Climbing (he climbed the Alps) Cycling, Golf, a Rugby referee and until his late 80’s regularly walked 7 or 8 miles around the Lower Quinton Villages. He was a keen Photographer, Painter, Woodworker and Gardener (He even grew his own pipe tobacco)
He was a very religious man and a very active member of St. Swithins Church Lower Quinton, serving as Church Warden and a regular reader.
A new exhibition about a poem written by a Gloucester-born writer has opened.
The exhibition, at St Mary de Crypt in Southgate Street in the city centre, tells the story of the poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley and how it has had a major impact across the world.
The poem was written in 1875, so this year marks its 150th anniversary. The exhibition has been put together by history students from The Crypt School, which Henley attended and which was founded at St Mary de Crypt, in conjunction with the Friends of St Mary de Crypt.
Most famously, Invictus was read daily by Nelson Mandela while he was in captivity but it has also been quoted from at different times by major figures including Winston Churchill and Barack Obama. It was also the inspiration for Prince Harry’s Invictus Games for injured service personnel and for the 2009 film about South Africa winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Paul James, Chair of the Friends of St Mary de Crypt, said, “We are very grateful to the students and staff at The Crypt School for putting this exhibition together. It is remarkable just how much influence Invictus has had on events around the world and we should be proud that its roots are here in Gloucester.”
James Higgs, Head of History and Politics at The Crypt School, said: “Our students have relished the opportunity to research, collaborate & present their ideas on William Henley and his poetry. They have enjoyed seeing the myriad of ways it has influenced figures way beyond Gloucestershire, and throughout the world. Henley’s themes of resilience and inner strength are all incredibly relevant to our students today.
The exhibition is free to view and St Mary de Crypt is open Wednesday-Saturday from 11am-3pm (except the morning of Wednesday 19th November when it will be closed due to a theatrical production). The exhibition will run until the end of the year.
INVICTUS
Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley 1849 – 1903 Born on Eastgate Street, Gloucester, Crypt School alumnus, William Ernest Henley, went on to become a celebrated poet, writer and literary critic. He was moved to write the 1875 poem, ‘Invictus’, whilst recovering from surgery to save his remaining leg, having lost one when he was 16 to complications arising from tuberculosis. Evoking the indefatigable spirit, self discipline and fortitude in adversity, Invictus has inspired many and was quoted at different times by leaders including Sir Winston Churchill and Barack Obama. Whilst incarcerated at Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of self-mastery. He was forever linked to ‘Invictus’ when his early presidency of South Africa and the 1995 Rugby World Cup triumph were immortalised by the 2009 film of the same name.
The Club is saddened to learn of the passing of Richard Lloyd on October 4th 2025. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Richard Lloyd was born in Gloucester and attended the Crypt School. After university, which included a First and two London M.Phils (M.Phil and Bar, he called them), he spent his whole career working for the environment, with his first post as an ecologist with the then Lindsey County Council.
A move to the Countryside Commission in London in the 1970s included policy and research work. Soon after the Commission’s move to Cheltenham – and still at a very young age – he was appointed as the Commission’s Regional Officer for the South West. A visit to Richard’s Bristol Office and his small, lively team was always a cheery experience. Later, back in the Cheltenham HQ, Richard energetically headed Countryside Commission policy units covering, variously, land-use planning, designated landscapes, and agriculture. From there it was a seamless move into CPRE. In retirement, and by then with an MBE for his environmental work, he was appointed by the Secretary of State to the Board of the Cotswolds AONB. Again, he made an impact as one of the more active and supportive Board members.
There is a full obituary on the CPRE website and a interview on the BBC Gloucestershire you tube channel below.
Sad to announce the passing of Michael Jones, a Gloucester lad who became a respected journalist and political commentator.
Michael was the first son of Glyn & Betty Jones. Some may remember Glyn who went into business with his Brother in Law Les Browett opening a betting shop ’Jones and Browett’ close to the Wagon Works and Morelands Match Manufactory on the Stroud Road. Peter, Michael’s younger brother worked for many years at Impregnated Diamond Products in Gloucester and continues to live in the city.
Michael was born in about 1937 and attended the Crypt School between 1948 – 1956. I believe Michael’s first steps saw him in a lowly job at the Citizen/Gloucester Journal in the late 50s where he worked his way up and from where eventually he joined the then Manchester Guardian. As a respected journalist he later worked in Hong Kong and also on The Times, Daily Telegraph and Financial Times. He retired as Associate Editor (Politics) of the Sunday Times in 2002. Thereafter he worked closely with Betty Boothroyd on her autobiography. For many years he lived with his wife Sheila in Orpington where their own family grew up. Michael was a much older cousin of mine and a fascinating chap to talk with. RIP.
Originally posted by Chris Coopey in the “Gloucester: A trip back in time” Facebook page
