Vanbrugh Castle School

The Duchess of Kent visited the school in the 1950's. All the boys had to scrub up and do things to show the visitor what a good school it was.

Here some boys are playing with a train set which they had set up. It should be noted that the train is American, a gift from them to the school. Much fun was had playing with it and modifying the layout (note the wild west scenery with grain silo and canoe).

L to R : Jimmy Strachan, John Bartlett, Peter Kennet, Tommy Comer

Here boys demonstrate their fitness to the Duchess by doing physical exercises on the tennis court behind The Wing

Some of those who can be identified are : John Valentine, Tony Rowling, Robert Hall, Peter Norman

These boys sat for ages in their best clothes waiting for the visitation.This room was the main playroom and was rarely this calm or tidy. The table at which the boys are seated was long, heavy and made of oak. It was in this room for years but around 1951 was moved into the boy's dining room to become the "top table".When VCS closed it was moved to Duke of Kent school at Ewhurst where it remains.

Note the things on the table : a copy of "The Children's Newspaper", the game Pegity, and a model of a Spitfire, put on the table for effect.

L to R :Comer, Green, F.Valentine, ?, P.Cook, P.Sayer, ?,Billy Arthur