Everything you know if you went to St Aidan’s C of E High School

St Aidan’s C of E High School at the heart of Harrogate spa town is known for it’s good exam results, huge Sixth Form, and religious roots. Harrogate schools are notoriously pushy, with anxious parents paying upwards of three grand a term to scrape their little darlings through their GCSE’s and A-levels. However, attending a mixed state academy in my home town has proved that exam results are not dependent on your parent’s income, or other socio-economic factors. This is not an exhaustive list as there is so much that goes on in the 7 years at Aidan’s, but there are a few key aspects of being a pupil there.

School rivalry

The opposing school, St John Fishers down the road from Aidan’s, is the Catholic school we share a Sixth Form with. Being split between the two sites is as terrible as it sounds, particularly with temperamental Northern weather, but at least social circles broadened after the mix. Between periods, cries of “Gayden’s” and “I’m not going Fisher’s in the rain, who’s up for a HistoFree* in the caf?” Were commonplace, with each respective school believing that of course their teachers, facilities, and students were superior. Concluding that entering sixth form wouldn’t be dissimilar to the start of the 30 Years’ War, it was a pleasant surprise when Fisher’s turned out to be alright. Of course, other Harrogate schools were interested in neither schools, and we were one and the same when labelled as Bible Bashers.

The importance of assembly

The bell rings, and you and the other 250 plus pupils in the year file in to Main Hall to sit with the 30 other classmates in your form. Teachers line the walls, and the head of music plays a melodic, calming improv piece on the Casio SA-46 portable keyboard.

Hymn 

The highlight of each assembly was of course singing the hymn. Being the modern, open-minded and progressive Anglican school it is, pupils join in on classic bangers like ‘Reign in Me,’ ‘How Great is our God,’ and ‘Blessed be the Name of the Lord‘. Crowd pleasers really, in which clapping and deafening crescendos signalled the climax of the song. The school anthem, ‘King of King’s’ was sang regularly, with a stirring rendition being sang at the end of terms.

Metaphors

The second half consisted of the year group dreading which metaphor and biblical verse the assembly would be based on. Some personal favourites are the cricket ball metaphor assembly and the most frequently repeated assembly about the importance of being well-travelled. To quote this assembly leader in particular: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”

Starting sixth form and abusing your new found freedom by leaving school more often than necessary

St Winifred’s Co-Op was the go-to place for food, cigarettes, Diet Cokes, and potentially a meal deal – completely dependant on what the dinner staff had decided to offer that day. Driving was a major issue, with most students parking down one residential street and pissing off all the residents by performing questionable manoeuvres in their drives, and very illegal parking.

There was also the urban legend that if you asked the resident ice cream man on St Winifred’s Road for 50 pence worth of ‘White Snow’ he will sell you cocaine. But thanks to Hannah McDonough, it was safe to say, our conjecture was wrong and she left empty handed.

S.O.S (Save Our Skirts)

Saying this, circa 2009/2010 time, the school took the hugely sexist, and controversial decision to ban the female pupils wearing skirts. Of course this got to local newspapers and news channels, until the school were made to comment on the reasons for the decision.  It was around this time pupils starting using social media, so the girls took to Facebook. Here began the SOS Facebook page. The campaign was run by girls in my year, with ideas such as burning our M&S Angel range bras on the field, holding a lock down in assembly where none of us were supposed to move, and various chants.

Library vs. Study Centre

Basically, if you’re on the wrong side of the librarians, you take predominantly coursework subjects, and you are at school to socialise, then go to the Study Centre. It’s modern, there’s a copious amount of computers, and office swivel chairs.

If you’re boring, actually want to do work, and hope to go to a Russell Group, probably go Library.