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© R. Saunders The scholarship boys standing outside the entrance in 1960 are P. L. Near, N. P. M. Nimmo, B. R. Dean, R. H. Baker, M. Q. Rose, R. W. Bidwell, J. A. Scott, and N. L. Banks |
In September 1927 H. R. Gordon Millar opened the school in his house at 56 Sackville Gardens. Miller had spent some time in the outreaches of Empire, either in India or the Far East, and his study was crammed with exotic memorabilia such as ivory goddesses and extraordinary beads. The boys became familiar with these items because the study also doubled as a classroom at times.
Masters from the early days were Mr Paulson, senior, who taught maths, and his son Mr Paulson, junior, who taught Latin, and took games in Aldrington Recreation Ground; the boys nicknamed the latter Polly. There was also a Mr Young, a retired Army Major who taught geography. He lived in a house opposite the school, and one of the classrooms was located in his drawing room.
In the 1930s the school was based at 56 New Church Road, and in 1937 Gilbert Beall was headmaster.
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| copyright © J.Middleton This house was once known as Hassendean, and is the only one left of the three identical villas |
As befits a school on the Sussex Coast, the school was divided into four houses named after famous admirals of past times. It would be fitting if the colour chosen for each house was blue because of the connection with the sea, but only Howe had that honour. The other colours were red for Drake, green for Nelson and yellow for Anson.
In 1947 Maurice Saunders began teaching at the school and was soon in partnership with Gilbert Beall. Maurice Saunders became headmaster in 1956, having purchased the establishment; his son Roger J. M. Saunders, after leaving Oxford University in 1973, went into partnership with his father in running the school, and in 1978 took over as headmaster.
In
1981 the sculptor Marilyn Panto created a bronze bust of Maurice
Saunders as a gift, while the Saunders family forked out £300 for
the foundry fee.
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© R. Saunders This photograph was taken in 1981 and Mike Carter is the teacher |
In October 2002 it was announced that when Roger Saunders retired in September 2003, the school would be run by Brighton College. Mr Saunders said, ‘My wife Sylvia, who has built the school with me, and I, are delighted that the long-term future of St Christopher’s has been secured.’ Meanwhile, Heather Beeby, Brighton College prep deputy head, worked alongside Mr Saunders from January 2003 to ensure a smooth transition. The school’s name would continue, and so would the distinctive red blazers. It certainly provided a contrast to the blue blazers worn by children at the Torah Academy next door. In February 1998 it was announced that more than 50 children from St Christopher’s and the Torah Academy had released a CD entitled Hear the Children to help finance ‘Angel of Mostar’ Sally Becker’s new mission.
Interior
The entrance has red quarry tiles on the floor and the most ornate ceiling rose. There are stained-glass panels in the inner entrance, and some of the classrooms have stained-glass insets of pale lilac or yellow.
The hall has a grandfather clock, a glass case displaying silver cups and trophies, and beyond this a statue carved from wood of St Christopher. There is a grand staircase with nicely turned newel posts, and the original dado on the wall. There are also wooden achievement panels with names and dates of boys. Old school photos are on display together with a colourful collage composed of photographs – the work of Marylou.
In the library there is still a working gas fitting on the wall – a relic from the time when this was the latest form of interior lighting.
There used to be an elaborate pendant lamp outside the main door, which unfortunately was stolen, perhaps during school holidays. Nobody quite knows when it went missing because it was not missed for some time.
The school motto is Altiora Peto – We Strive for Higher Things.
Achievements
St Christopher’s has always had an excellent academic reputation. In 1961 the boys won all ten scholarships offered by Brighton College.
In 1984 boys won top scholarships to Brighton College, Hurstpierpoint College, Lancing College and Christ’s Hospital.
In March 1989 three boys won places in the finals of a national maths contest out of 40,000 entrants. The boys were Piers Grieco, Reuben Comiskey and Rajah Patel. St Christopher’s boys won two gold medals, five silver and two bronze.
In June 1993 it was stated that on average the boys won twelve scholarships and exhibitions a year but 1993 exceeded that with 22 awards won by 20 boys, and seven went to Lancing College, four to Brighton College, and three to Hurstpierpoint College.
In 1998 eighteen boys won exhibitions or scholarships worth £270,000.
In June 2002 scholarships to top public schools were won by 28 boys.
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© R. Saunders A smart display of drill was a highlight at Sports Day held in Glebe Villas in the 1950s. Mr Saunders led the boys, and they would sing a good marching song such as Men of Harlech or Sussex by the Sea |
In February 1988 it was stated that the school’s rugby team had been unbeaten for two years, and that Roger Saunders had helped to develop the talents of senior international fly-half Alex King, and under-sixteen scrum-half Ben Hampson.
By May 1998 pupil Hugo Shepherd was cricket captain of the Sussex under-thirteen with an impressive batting average of 342. Robert Bairamian, school cricket master, said Hugo was the best prospect he had encountered in 35 years of teaching cricket, including Tony Pigot, the Sussex and England player. Tony Pigot, while conceding Hugo had made a tremendous start, said he still had a long way to go.
In November 1998 ten-year old Jordan Peters became the youngest black belt in Britain, having started to learn Tae Kwon-do at the age of four. He also captained Hove’s under-tens rugby team, and played scrum-half for the school’s colt side.
In
September 1990 former pupil Cedric Carr, aged 13, started at Brighton
College on a sport’s scholarship. When he was at St Christopher’s
he won a record number of eight sports trophies, and was captain of
the school’s first XV rugby team.
In the Sports section of the Sunday
Times (1/10/23)
there was a two-page spread about 39-year old Alex Muzio, described
as ‘Tony Bloom’s data-crunching protege’. It seems that Muzio’s
ease with numbers was a gift at birth because at the tender age of
seven years he was able to understand calculus while he took his GCSE
aged eleven.
The reason he appears here is because his unique talent was recognised at the age of six by his teachers when he was at St Christopher’s School. It could all have had a different outcome because his father could no longer to pay his fees, having left his job. But the school authorities wanted young Alex to achieve his potential, and so they came to an arrangement with his father; this was that Mr Muzio took out a life insurance policy so that the school fees would be paid off in the future. Thus Alex progressed to Lancing College and studied economics at university.
Today, he lives in London with his wife and young son but commutes to Belgium on a regular basis because he owns the famous football club Union. Tony Bloom, owner of Brighton & Hove Albion, also owned 25 per cent in Union while Muzio owned 75 per cent, but in July 2023 Muzio purchased most of Bloom’s stake. Muzio loves football because of its unpredictability whereas he reckons that there has been so much analysis of baseball and basketball that those sports run the risk of becoming boring for the spectators.
Theatre and Arts
St Christopher’s produces a major theatrical work every year. For example, in 1998 it was Pilgrim’s Progress composed and directed by senior master Mike Carter. It was stated at the Gardner Theatre.
In May 1998 Richard Holdsworth aged 12 was one of the runners-up in Sainsbury’s National Schools Rewards Drawing Competition. He was awarded a special certificate, plus a guitar, and a music stand for the school.
Expansion
In 1987 four new classrooms were added to celebrate the school’s Diamond Jubilee. It was an appropriate gesture that Captain A. V. M. Diamond RN performed the opening ceremony, and he had been a schoolboy at St Christopher’s in 1928.
In 1991 a new building project was started, designed by the father of one of the boys.
On 16 December 1991 Mrs Heath opened the Heath Wing – she had been on the school staff for forty years.
In February 1992 Diana Saunders, widow of Maurice Saunders, opened the new extension. It houses a school hall, music room, and an art and design studio. The music room was called the Austin Camp Room.
In 1993 the science laboratory and upper sixth were enlarged, and two new classrooms were built – one called the Cale Room after Patrick Cale who taught history and cricket for many years.
In October 2002 St Christopher’s had 225 pupils, including a few girls. It was in September 1999 that girls were admitted for the first time but initially only those aged 6, 7, and 8. Roger Saunders said that when the shock announcement was made at the school’s Sports Day, there was a moment of stunned silence followed by a spontaneous round of applause. Historically, the presence of a young girl on the premises was not unknown, but only because the girls in question were the headmaster’s daughters – there was Sarina in 1949 onwards, and Vicky in the late 1950s
Interesting Footnotes
In September 1988 there was a story in the Press about eight boys at the school sharing the same surname. There were two sets of brothers and the rest were cousins. The two older Heals had already left the school, and there were two younger Heals waiting to join. The Heal family ran most of the amusement venues in Brighton.
In February 1995 the HMI reported, ‘The school is effective in promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its pupils. Behaviour is generally excellent.’
In the 1990s Roger Saunders, a keen fisherman, rescued a wrecked boat from Hove beach, and with the help of Graham Bryant helped to restore it. By November 1995 the boat had been installed on the east side of the playground. There was a competition to chose the most appropriate name, and Ryan Kinglsey won it with his suggestion of Old Compass.
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| copyright © D. Sharp The new Sapphire Hove residential development in June 2023 towering above St Christopher's School |
In
conclusion, St Christopher’s was nominated for the UK Pre-Prep
School of the year 2002.
Sources
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Middleton, J. Britain in Old Photographs: Hove (1996)
Personal interview with the Saunders family
Copyright © J.Middleton 2023
page layout by D.Sharp