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Week Commencing 31/3/08

Tankerton College Draft Article

In last week's Chat Column, we featured draft material for a new permanent article on Tankerton College. This was a prominent local school that operated at No 6 Park Avenue (between the Park Avenue roadway and the eastern edge of the The Castle Grounds) from 1898 until, at least, the 1930s. 

The school was established by the Rev. William Osborne (a Baptist minister) and it became quite a family affair involving William's two sons (George Basil Osborne and Sidney Herbert Osborne), daughter (Maud Elise Osborne known as 'Daisy') and Nellie Osborne née Collar (wife of George).

Much of the school history was kindly provided for us by Jean Martin, (great granddaughter of the Rev Osborne). Now Jean has supplemented her text with some wonderful old photos for us to mull over! These originally formed part of the college prospectus.

	So, let's make a start. Last week, we showed the scene in modern times with this shot of Park Avenue.... The school building is the brick building on the left and, although relatively narrow, the premises extend some way back towards the Castle.,
	The frontage is not too different from a normal Victorian house. This may conjure up the idea that the school was a small concern that operated in modest accommodation. However, Jean's old photos will  quickly put paid to that theory!

 This was the school in its heyday....  

... complete with flagstaff and substantial roof top sign. That archway at the side led to a sizeable playground....

By now, you will have gathered that, this was not just a case of a school being squashed into an ordinary house and garden. For a start, that room alongside the playground looks like a real school building. 

Quite a bit of thought and planning seems to have been involved and the sign on the roof would have made it all a recognisable and well known landmark in the town. All this makes me wonder if some (or even all) of the premises may have been purpose built. 

Park Avenue was probably part of the land known as the Tankerton Estate. Large scale redevelopment of the estate appears to have been planned during the mid-1890s. Thus, No 6 Park Avenue might have been a new (or relatively new building) when the Osbornes established the school in 1899. Was it a new house that had major modifications to fit school needs... or was it even a wholly purpose built? 

The extent of the premises is also evident when we peek inside. The accommodation would appear to match or surpass that of the state schools established at Oxford Street, Albert Street and, later, Westmeads...  

Ahhh!... the coal fire, 'lectern style' desk of the teacher, the cluttered chalk board, the bench desks/seats... and the ink wells! I wonder how desks were allocated. Who acquired a seat with a back support and a place by the fireside in winter?

Those two classrooms show the same sort of flexibility as those of the state schools at Oxford Street. The shot below confirms that the rooms were separated by a wooden partition with glass panels above... 

The term 'upper classroom' might suggest that these rooms were on the first floor. However, we do not yet know.

The photo below shows what might be a third classroom. On the other hand, it might be a photo of one of the rooms above after a bit of re-arrangement....

Looking at the windows and angled ceiling, I am tempted to suggest that this is the single storey building alongside the playground. I wonder if all that wood panelling was a form of sound-proofing?

The photo below clearly shows a totally different and much smaller classroom....

Again, there may be evidence of a partition in the foreground.

Jean's final photo demonstrates that, despite all the parallels with state schools, this was a fee-paying establishment.....

Yes, it's the reception room where parents would be entertained and provided with information about the school. The set up is fascinating! It is light and airy.... possibly because it is located at the front of the building - close to the main entrance and probably boasting a bay window  It is full of Victorian elegance and, (with pictures, book case and piano), it has more than a hint of culture. There is a single seat on left for the headmaster and a double seat on the right for two parents. 

One can just imagine that flower pot being removed by Maud Osborne (or some, as yet, un-named member of staff) and replaced by a tray containing a Royal Worcester tea service. We can also conjure up a scene in which George Osborne leant across that dainty table cloth to hand parents a copy of the school prospectus. As they sipped tea and flicked through the pages, they would have viewed the very same photos that we feature here! 

This was not a room or a scene that you would have found at the Oxford Street board school! Interestingly, Jean tells me that many of the items contained in that room are still in use in the homes of various relatives!

In my draft article, I think I placed too much emphasis on the fact that Tankerton College catered for board pupils from distant locations. Certainly, this was a feature of the school and, no doubt, an important source of income. However, it does seem that it played an important part in the lives of local families who could afford to opt out of the state system and its early problems

Jean's photos and information now show that Tankerton College was a substantial school that was more than a match for the other types of establishment in the area. 

Our scurry around the premises at Park Avenue adds massively to our view of education in Whitstable. When we look across our full range of school articles, we can see that we now have basic information  across the three main categories of school - state, church and private. Furthermore, we can see that the private sector was itself subdivided between modest operations established in cramped residential accommodation (such as the Soderberg school in Argyle Road) to the more sophisticated environment of  Park Avenue. These will, of course, map on to the towns' social structure of the day.

I suspect we can also compare our draft Tankerton College item with our other school articles and begin to see the demise of the smallish private school. For example, by 1928, the Oxford Street state school had a large school garden, the massive playing fields at Church Street and separate woodwork and metalwork workshops. By the late 1940s, the school had been extended to cater for a new school leaving age of 15. By the mid 1950s, the Butler Education Act had created the massive Sir William Nottidge Secondary School with its sophisticated science laboratories, gymnasium, school hall, tennis courts and playing fields. The eleven plus had also opened the way for free access to Technical and Grammar School education. Only the largest and most wealthy private schools would survive the onslaught. By the late 1960s, private education had all but disappeared from Whitstable.

 The School Staff

Apart from the school scenes, Jean Martin has also supplied photo portraits of individual members of some of Osborne family.....

Above Left: Rev William Osborne Above Right: Sidney Herbert Osborne Right: George Basil Osborne with wife, Nellie Osborne (nee Collar).

The School Badge and Sale of the School...

Our draft article mentioned that Tankerton College was eventually sold by the Osborne family after World War I and that it was then run by Miss Sussanah Bentley Stanton. Jean has now provided more information....

In the draft article, I  mentioned that one source of customers for the school might be the naval dockyard at Chatham where Royal Navy, Royal Marine and Royal Engineer personnel might find themselves being posted abroad. It was possible that the school had marketing connections with that and other military bases in the Kent area. Did the military get to know that the Osborne's were considering the sale of the college? Did that prompt an offer?

We also mentioned that the school drama production of Hiawatha was staged in 1914 when the Osborne family were still running the college. So, it does seem possible that Sequere Ut Ducas may have been the motto that they chose. Phil Neame has kindly translated the phrase as "Follow in order that you lead" and, as he commented in the Visitors Book, this is a far cry from the modern 'me first' attitude.

All this raises some questions. Our draft article included a wonderful memento kindly sent to us by Peter Robins. It comprised his father's Tankerton College school report dated April 1928 and signed by Sussanah B Stanton. The report was headed with the school badge...

By that time, the school motto was Tu Ne Cede Malis... which translates as "Yield not to misfortunes" or "Do Not Give In To Evil". Were the badge and motto introduced by Sussanah?

To Come...

Jean has supplied some other fascinating keepsakes on other Whitstable matters and we will take a look at these shortly. In the meantime if anyone can add to the Tankerton College story, we would love to hear from you.

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