Reginald Airy

Est: Earliest records date from the 14th Century; refounded 1560
Founder: Henry VIII (1541); Elizabeth I (1560)
School Motto: Dat Deus Incrementum (God Gives the Increase)
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On an occasion, a few years ago, when the great schools of England were being discussed, Westminster was referred to as a school that "has greater traditions than Eton or Winchester."

But the history of the school really begins with Queen Elizabeth, "our Foundress and Benefactress," who gave strength and life of a new foundation to the seedling of earlier days, and 1560 must be accepted as the first year of Westminster's existence as a public school.

In the popular estimation his game chiefly rests on his flogging—Sir Roger de Coverly's saying is well known: "A great man Dr. Busby, he whipped my grandfather, a very great man"

About this time Dr. Busby's two most famous pupils were at the school: in 1650 John Dryden was elected to Trinity, and in the following year Robert South to Christ Church . . . The former, who afterwards showed his confidence in Busby by sending his two eldest sons to Westminster, has left his mark at the school by cutting his name on a form which is still preserved.

In fact, his carefulness elicited some ill-natured remarks from the Restoration gossip, Samuel Pepys, who speaks of "the devilish covetousness of Doctor Busby."

. . . in those halcyon days a King's Scholar could live at Westminster for two years on the astonishing sum of £39.

He there in one week made himself master of the first vi bookes of Euclid, to the admiration of Mr. Busby

"the teaching in the under school consisted entirely of Latin—Latin grammar, Latin verses, and translations of extracts from the New Testament into Latin. We were not taught writing or arithmetic, and we used to go on half-holidays to a writing-master in Great Dean's Yard to learn these necessary arts." But he adds: "So little, however, had I learned of arithmetic, that when my father gave me two sums to add together, one of which contained a farthing, and the other a halfpenny, I was obliged to ask him what those odd signs meant."

. . . and the sides of the gateway are covered with the names of famous "alumni", cut into the stone, a form of immortality now forbidden.

On the right-hand side of the passage leading from the school gateway to the schoolroom stands Busby's Library, built by the doctor and bequeathed to the school by his will in 1695 . . . Many of the books are of great interest and value, including the first edition of Busby's Grammar, Euclid in Arabic, and the Bible in the Indian of Massachusetts . . .

. . . proposals have been mooted for removing Westminster into the country . . . Dr. Liddell, who wrote: "Even if an angel from heaven were to come down, I do not believe the school's fortunes could be retrieved as long as it remains in London"—a belief happily not justified by after events.

Each monitor has his own particular junior— usually two or three— and at the end of their year of service he rewards them with gifts of books.

When a monitor wishes to call his junior, the cry is not the "Fag" of other schools, but "Elec!" (short for "election"), or, if he wishes for any particular junior, thus: "Election Jones"; there junior answers "Coming," and runs to his master.

One important and excellent rule at Westminster is that no junior is allowed to "think," i.e., he may not begin a statement with "I think" or "I thought." Only one who has suffered, as a master, from the eternal (and fictional) excuse beginning "I thought" can realise the benefit of this training.

. . . the Pancake "Greeze" . . . Instead, too, of the whole school trying to get the pancake (which, by the way, is a newly fictitious one made of putty), each form elects one member to strive for the prize.

Meanwhile he is pelted with biscuits by his audience, whose main objective is to extinguish the candle, in which the unfortunate bearer has to descend and get it relighted outside. The difficulty of climbing the edifice described, with both hands full and amid a shower of biscuits, needs to be experienced to be properly realised.

The original motto is Westminster is supposed to have been "Memores fecere merendo." The present motto "Dat Deus incrementum," cannot be actually traded further back than 1730, though, quite possibly, it existed before that date. Some time about 1750 the school took the motto of "in patriam populumque," which it retained, until Dr. Scott restored "Dat Deus incrementum."

The classical shells and fifths do three hours mathematics and three hours French per week: their classical work ranges thorough Xenophon, Homer, and Euripides in Greek; Virgil, Horace, and Cicero in Latin.

The Westminster School Literary Society . . . It meets to read Shakespeare every Friday evening at 8.30 p.m

. . . where the teaching is still the same, the learning cannot be far different.
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My copy is inscribed:

"John Woodgate
August 1956"… (mais)