Revisiting Reindorp

I was unpacking and cleaning up the mess last week and came across an envelope my mother gave me a few years ago. I was surprised to see my school reports for primary (or elementary in the US) and secondary (equivalent of high) school.

I’ve always said that I was an underachiever in most subjects at school and every report that came home said “could try harder” in some way somewhere in it.

I picked one at random and thought it would be fun to share it.

This is from my second year at Bishop Reindorp Secondary school in Guildford. It was a Church of England run, publically funded school and I went there for four years. My school reports were made up of two grades for each subject:

• Performance (A-High standard through to E-Finds great difficulty)
• Effort (1-Excellent, uses own initiative through to 5-Little or no effort made)

So A-1 would be the best, E-5 the worst.

I do not think I ever got an E-5 during my four years at Reindorp, but looking through my second year report I did get an E-4 in Spanish. The report card reads “He puts no effort into his work and never actively participates in lessons. He has made very little progress this year.” The teacher was Mrs Perez-Pinto, I recall her being a rather imposing woman who had her favorites and those on the shit list. I’m sure I was on the poop list for some slight over the two years I took classes with her (this was my second and final year of Spanish, and my second year with her), I don’t recall a particularly supportive teacher and I’m pretty sure that played a part in my lack of motivation, which was very real by the way.

I have always struggled with languages (including the Queens English and the bastardized version of English that I’m immersed in now) and had to work really hard to be even remotely fluent in German at college.

Of the other 13 pages in the report card 9 of them are pure average C-3 (C-Average student, 3-Does satisfactory work).

Comments include

• “Worked steadily and sensibly this year” in what was probably a rather generous C-2 in English
• “If he wishes to make the necessary effort he could achieve much from his studies in Biology” in another above average C-2 there from Miss Lemon
• “Satisfactory years work” and a C-3 in Chemistry
• David’s work is usually of a satisfactory standard, he could have achieved a better result had he applied himself” Physics this time, and another C-3
• “A pleasing exam result, impressive and I’d like to see that standard reflected in his term work” my best result of the year with a B-2 in Geography, that was a subject that always engaged me and the teachers I had (Mr Taylor and Miss Croker in the subsequent two years) did an exceptional job in motivating me.
• “I feel that with more application David would do better” and another C-3 in History.
• “While his exam result surprised me, he could do so much better in this subject if he really applied himself”, a bit of a backhanded compliment in Religious Education there from Miss Pugh. This was not a subject I could take seriously, so I may claim a bit of over achievement here with another C-3!
• “David has shown satisfactory progress”, not shockingly another decidedly average C-3 in music.

This was fun looking at a school report from 28 years ago. It was not my best year of school and I was a very average, almost anonymous student through out. Of the teachers I had I believe Jane Croker is still teaching at the same school (now Christ Church College, Guildford), she taught me geography for the next two years and really engaged me in subject, to this day it’s something of a passion that comes from school and Dad, and left me wanting to explore the world.

I stand by my “could try harder” mantra, I think it’s reflected in this school report. I may open up the following years one evening and see what changed.