Catching Up With…Peter Sergeant

Role: I was appointed to teach English in 1975 and by the time I retired in 2016 I was Assistant Headmaster, having had a wide range of responsibilities including being the CCF Contingent Commander, Head of General Studies and Director of Admissions. During my 41 years on the staff, as well as English, I taught Classical Civilisation, Philosophy and Law for General Studies, Design & Technology and Biology. I served for two years as the Housemaster of Kaye’s (since 1991, Pulteney’s) and as Master in Charge of Drama from 1979 to 1987. In addition, as producer, director or stage-manager, I was involved in a very large number of theatrical events, including writing plays and songs for First Year (Year 7) and 10+ (Year 6) Evenings.

1. Where was your favourite place on campus, and why?

My favourite place on the campus was at the very top of the Tower, raising and lowering flags for various occasions, one of the more curious jobs I acquired by the need for it to be done by someone. The view of the campus and the surrounding area from that vantage point is breath-taking (as is the ascent to it from the top of the stone staircase below). The wooden ladder without a handrail which I used to use to access the trapdoor below the flagpole has now been replaced by a caged steel ladder and safety harness for use by members of the caretaking fraternity who are now the designated ‘flag staff’. 

2. What did you enjoy most about your role?

I was fortunate to have a number of different roles during my time as a member of staff, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. The one which proved to be the most demanding and divergent was that of Examination Officer which led to my being seconded to the Department of Education for seven years (2003 – 2010) as a lead presenter and content creator for their national Exam Officer training programme. While carrying out that role I still had my LGS administrative responsibilities to attend to – I just wasn’t doing any teaching meaning that a whole year group of boys passed through the school without ever encountering me in the classroom.

3. Is there a standout memory from your time at the school?

I have many wonderful memories of my time at the school but a ‘standout’ one is of a charity concert for LOROS on 27^th February 1982 which was arranged by James Hilton, an Upper Sixth-former (Year 13). When he asked if any of the staff would like to take part, Stephen Smith (LGS pupil 1959 – 1966 and member of staff 1970 – 1993) and I performed for the first time as Flanders & Swann, me as Michael Flanders (with beard and wheelchair) and Stephen as Donald Swann (with glasses and grand piano). The success of that concert and our part in it inspired us to stage Staff Cabarets which became a regular feature of the school calendar, creating wonderful memories for all involved – and Stephen and I are still performing our ‘tribute act’ whenever opportunities present themselves. 

4. Was there a particular class or year group you remember especially fondly?

I hesitate to single out any class or year group that I remember particularly but the ambience of the school was and remains unforgettable. What has always impressed me about LGS pupils is their receptiveness and openness to everything and everyone and their ‘gentlemanliness’, even now, in a very different world to the one which existed when I joined the staff. I think that keynote was struck during my first term when, leaving the Quad after a teaching a lesson in L4, heavily burdened by my briefcase and the 33 exercise books that I had just taken in for marking (there really were that many in classes in those days) Peter Collins, that year’s Head Boy, met me on his way in and said, “May I help you, sir?”: I have never forgotten that.

5. What is one thing about your role that most people wouldn’t know?

There was never just ‘one thing’ about my role in any of the responsibilities I had that most people would not know.  What is probably less well-known, though, is my being behind some things which have had a lasting impact on the day-to-day life of the school. For example, it is only since 2009 that there has been a flagpole by the Pavilion on which a Green Flag or Red Flag is flown to indicate whether the First XI Field is in or out of bounds. It was commissioned by me and paid for by the Parents’ Association but although the use for it just mentioned was my suggestion, that was not the mainspring for the idea. That came from my observing that various cricket teams arriving to play brought their club flags with them which they wanted to display. There being no flagpole on which to do that, the flags ended up being tied to the guttering in a rather undignified manner so I felt there was a need for something more appropriate. The flagpole at Quorn (also funded by the Parents’ Association) was installed at the same time for the same reason.

6. What was your favourite school lunch?

I cannot say that I ever had a favourite school lunch but I do remember with great affection the separate staff dining room which existed before the Burton Hall was built. Comprising about a third of the section of the dining hall which housed the kitchen, the various offerings for staff lunch were laid out on a worktop to the right as we entered and we just helped ourselves to whatever took our fancy. For some reason, there always seemed to be a plate of fried eggs to complement (or not) whatever we chose. During my first year at the school, living in a couple of spartan rooms at the top of a house in Burton Street, I used to make sure that I had a hearty meal at lunchtime as my cooking facilities were rather basic: by the time I retired, lunch was usually a hastily-eaten sandwich at my desk in Buckland.

7. Have you returned to the school or stayed connected since you left?

Despite retiring in July 2016 I have never really left the school as I am still ‘on the books’ to provide cover for absent colleagues, though that’s something which I have not done for quite a while. I do get called in to attend to non-teaching things from time to time, however, such as replacing the halyard on the pavilion flagpole or re-setting the automated school bell-ringing system that I had installed in 2003 (of which more anon). I am also currently responsible for the Inter-Service Field Gun Competition which has been running on CCF Review Day since 1989 and that takes up quite a lot of the latter part of the spring term and the early weeks of the summer: being still qualified to use the machinery in the CDT workshops I am able to keep the field gun in good working order when repairs are needed. As a commissioned Cadet Forces Adult Volunteer (CFAV), something I have been since February 1982, I now work with RAF cadets at Trent College during term time instead of at Loughborough. 

In my role as a CFAV I was a member of the Leicestershire and Rutland East Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association Committee for 15 years, serving as it Chair from 2020 to 2022, and I am currently a co-opted trustee of the Thomas Harley’s Charity which provides support for dependants of the clergy and the education of young people in Leicestershire. When time permits I can be found in my workshop at home, undertaking a wide variety of projects, including the restoration of vintage small-wheeled bicycles.

8. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your time here?

The subject of ‘time’ at LGS is apposite since – in chronological order – I was the originator of the idea of an additional clock on the south side of the Tower; the instigator of the CX clock on the Pavilion; and the commissioner of the CCF Headquarters’ clock.

The Tower’s Golden Jubilee Clock

Crossing from the Sports Hall towards the Library one day in 2003 I found I could not see a clock showing the right time anywhere, the Pavilion clock having failed to work for years and the “Kellie” clock* on the top of the Burton Hall being too difficult to access to repair when it had also stopped working. It occurred to me that having a clock face put on the south side of the tower would prove beneficial so I took the idea to Paul Fisher who not only embraced it but immediately set about securing the necessary funding. The Loughburian, 2003/2004, gives precise details of the new clock and how it is synchronised with the original 1917 clock on the west face. That clock was presented by the then Headmaster and Mrs Bingham Turner in memory of their elder son Roger who had been killed in action in Mesopotamia on 9th April 1916.

The Parents’ Association contributed a considerable amount towards the cost of the new clock which was provided by Smith of Derby Ltd and, given that the year of its creation happily coincided with Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee, its installation was used to mark that particular event.

The Pavilion Clock

The success of the Tower clock project prompted me to suggest that the old weight-driven mechanism of the Pavilion’s turret clock should be replaced by a mains-powered one.  As the original glass was broken, however, and the dial faded and stained by the ingress of all weathers, an entirely new clock was required. This gave me the opportunity to give the replacement dial the idiosyncrasy of CX taking the place of XI to commemorate the fact that it was put in place in 2005, 110 years after the 400^th Anniversary of the School’s foundation for which to celebrate the Pavilion was originally built. This clock, too, was funded by the generosity of the Parents’ Association and supplied by Smith of Derby Ltd.

The CCF Clock

The clock on the CCF HQ commemorated in 2007 the Contingent’s 50^th Anniversary and it was the generous gift of Ivor Walker (OL 1934 -1939 and Chairman of the Governors, 1985 -1988) to whom I put the proposal when I was looking for a suitable project with which to mark that particular milestone. Also supplied by Smith of Derby Ltd, like the clocks on the south face of the Tower and the Pavilion, it is driven by a synchronous mains movement and has the same Auto Restart Unit and automatic adjustment for Summer/Winter time as they have.

And finally . . .

One of the best things about working at LGS is that there are no bells rung to indicate the end of lessons, something which happens in many other schools, but when I joined the staff summoning pupils back to lessons – at the end of Short Break and after Lunch – was done by the ringing of the school bell on the north side of the Tower. This was achieved by a senior monitor pulling on a rope which came down the outside of the building into the corridor to G1. Over time, however, the rope became jammed and the routine fell into disuse. When the new clock was being added to the south side, therefore, I asked Smith’s if there was any way in which ringing the bell could be automated so that it could be rung at given times as it used to be. As a result, a programmable bell control system was installed which meant that it could be set to ring automatically at whatever time was required – or rung manually by just pressing a button. When the ringing of the bell was not required such as during holidays, a simple button press set the system to “All Bells Silent”: it is currently set to that as, at present, no term-time routine ringing of the bell is required.

PS The majority of the projects outlined above would never have come to fruition had it not been for the unwavering financial support provided by the LGS Parents’ Association for which I am indebted.

*Installed thanks to the munificence of the Kellie family whose twins, Graham and Gordon, attended LGS from 1985 to 1992.