Talk:The Leys School

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Old Leysian user box

I've created an Old Leysian user box. Those of you who attended The Leys can add it to your personal page by adding the following text to your page:

{{User Old Leysian}} cheers. It looks like this ->

This user attended The Leys School.

--Zoso Jade 20:41, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Public school?

Thought it appropriate to add a title to Palefire's concerns below.--Zoso Jade 20:41, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

This is a minor article about a minor school, so I don't expect a heated debate to follow these criticisms, but:

1. The Leys is not technically a public school, it's simply an independent school. The most recent official list of public schools was published in the "Public Schools Yearbook" of 1899. With one or two notable exceptions, this list is considered comprehensive. By the early 20th century the term had ceased to have any official currency, so no schools can claim to have attained the status of "public school" after 1899.

2. The article seems to have been virtually pasted from the school website, which is understandably written for purely promotional purposes. I've edited accordingly.

Palefire 23:32, May 20, 2005 (UTC)

The Leys School is, and always has been, a Public School. The term is used to describe schools which are 100% fee paying (The Leys is); long established (ditto) and often "boarding" schools. The term is still used, although "Independent School" is more common today (and somewhat wider in scope). Incidentlaly when I was at The Leys (1959-1964) we certainly knew that it was a Public School, and didn't belive that it was "Minor" !!PaddyBriggs 11:38, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

• I think your use of the "Public Schools Yearbook" definition of the term is a little too draconian. As noted in the Public School (UK) article, that is only one definition, and membership of the HMC is another valid definition. Saying that, The Leys seems to be pretty consistent in the use of the term "Independent School", so it's worth describing it as such, and avoid the whole problem. When I was there, the feeling was definitely one of a public school (as opposed to private), albeit a minor one. I've tried to rewrite the paragraph to take into account these other interpretations.
• Also, I would say that the comment about the schools league tables doesn't really fit as a "However," as "the more prestigious British Public Schools" don't seem to own the top of those tables either. I must say, however, I'd prefer it if the school's results were higher. We weren't exactly the best of the best when it came to athletic prowess, either... (not that I did anything to remedy that, though)

Gid 18:09, 30 May 2005 (UTC)

Actually I'm an oldboy too - as you might guess, I didn't like the place much. It irritates me that schools like The Leys make money through association with a centuries-old English public school tradition of which they are not really a part. "Public schools" can get away with charging vastly higher fees than other independent schools, because of this selling point of theirs - their link to the past, their heritage. I thought the point was worth mentioning because if a Russian or Nigerian oil magnate wants to boost his status by putting his children through this venerable system, then The Leys is not what he's looking for - it isn't really the genuine article, and it costs as much as, say, Tonbridge (or did when I was there). Palefire 02:39, Jun 4, 2005 (UTC)

I think this definition isn't even so much draconian, as it is ill-defined. In an encyclopaedia you must take a scientific and logically sound approach to things. The definition of a term such as "Public School" must be rigid and clearly set out. It cannot be based on unmeasurable and subjective terms such as reputation or historical importance or else we would have thrown ourselves deep into POV and no two people would have the same list of schools included. Rather, the definition must be based on indisputible features of a school, for example fees, or membership of an association. Whatever the definition of "Public School" you wish to put forward as a standard, whether a school falls into the category or not must be easily determinable based on the definition and the features of the school and not on how you feel about the school. My personal feeling (as seems to be the general feeling on Wikipaedia) is that the term "public school" itself is too "fuzzy" to have in an encyclopaedia anyway. I agree with what seems to be the standard Wikipedia practice of using the term "Independent School".--Zoso Jade 14:17, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

The final word in this is that it is accepted by the East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools' Club as a public school, which it defines as those independent schools which are members of the Headmasters' Conference. Those schools mentioned in the Public Schools Act are properly now referred to as major public schools.

School references and far-East connection

In addition to the Old Leysians reference, I feel there should be mention of Good-bye, Mr. Chips in the main text, as it's an important association for the school. What do others think about this? Also, The Leys is mentioned in Ben Schott's Original Miscellany as (IIRC) a public school with the catchphrase "Beards!" (which might help with your "public" definition, Tom).

I remember many discussions with staff about the school's popularity with Japanese royalty (etc.) at the beginning of the century - this is probably mentioned in Geoff Houghton's book. Perhaps somebody more knowledgeable could add this.

And I suspect the reason its fees approach those of Tonbridge is that it is the only boys' boarding school in Cambridge apart from CCSS...

Mark --81.7.4.9 21:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Goodbye, Mr Chips is now a section in the article. I note that it has been copied from the main article and so I have edited it a bit to be more Leys-specific.--Zoso Jade 20:38, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Is Goodbye, Mr Chips still in print? If not can someone please re-print it for modern Leysians? 90.203.162.80 (talk) 00:45, 16 March 2008 (UTC) Peter L

Wiki is not a soapbox

It is also not a prospectus or a place for students to write about their latest matches. I've just removed a large amount of irrelevant and non-NPOV material (like who won in recent matches, and how hard the teachers work). I've also corrected typos and added information where the present information was kinda meaningless. Sorry I've done it all in one edit - I hope it's not too much to digest.

The main thing missing is Wikipedia:Verifiability. Does anyone know of anything that could back up the stuff in this article?

I've created sections for the paragraphs on the school's history and religion. It messes up the flow a little, but I don't think the crest image is good enough to place at the top right. I'll try to dig out my good copy of it, and possibly create an infobox.

Mark --83.151.246.2 18:50, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism of 17 November 2006

Following extensive vandalism today I've reverted the article to the previous version (7 November), as despite the best efforts of others to repair things on a piecemeal basis several NPOV/local rivalry edits remained in place. I hope this is satisfactory to all concerned.

TO THE VANDALS: We all know of the Leys/Perse rivalry, but please keep it to more appropriate forums. RomanSpa 19:24, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

I think this person has made a return unfortunately. I accidentally accused the wrong person in my revert though.--Zoso Jade 16:32, 26 March 2007 (UTC)