Abingdon News No.40

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Abingdon-Bielefeld
1967-2017
The Ratsgymnasium, Bielefeld marked the
50th anniversary of the Abingdon-Bielefeld
language exchange with a gala concert
and reception on 11 February. Among the
speakers were the Heads of Abingdon, St
Helen’s and the Ratsgymnasium, the Mayor of
Bielefeld and the Head of the Local Education
Authority. The exchange began after James
Cobban, Headmaster 1947-70, picked up two
German hitch-hikers, one of whom, Michael
Hissbach, was a pupil at the Ratsgymnasium.
He and Hilary Cobban, the Headmaster’s
daughter, were interviewed on stage about
their memories, as were Martin Sutton and
Karsten Meise exchange partners in 1982-3
who have remained friends ever since.
The Abingdon Foundation, Park Road, Abingdon, Oxford OX14 1DE 01235 521563 • Edited by Jane Warne – 01235 849123 • Design –
Abingdon Out of the Past
One hundred years ago the boys
composed a spoof guide to Abingdon
School for American tourists. Among the
objects it featured was a small window
“which suggests promiscuous gambling
on the part of its inhabitants. The pane
represents the four suits of a pack of cards
– diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades
are shown one upon the other – really a
remarkable curiosity of its kind”.
Members of the School regularly pass this
window – where is it?
A Curious Window
The Bright Panel
After many years hiding its light under
layers of smoke, dirt and varnish, one of the
School’s oldest treasures has been recalled
to life. Ironically, according to the restorer
Georgie Dennis, the layers had been acting
as protection, preserving the panel’s paint
and gold leaf in their original glory. Cleaning
has revealed the excellent, three-dimensional
quality of the artwork, which indicates that
the panel was the work of a master herald-
painter. The panel originally hung behind the
Headmaster’s desk in the old schoolroom, it
has now been hung above the fireplace in the
newly refurbished Boarders’ Hall.
Given to the School in 1763 by Henry
Bright, headmaster 1758-1774, the panel
commemorates the bi-centenary of John
Roysse’s endowment of Abingdon School.
Contrary to the wording on it, John Roysse
did not ‘found’ Abingdon School in 1563, but
he did establish it under a new foundation in
the same way that it was established under a
new foundation in 1878, and in 1998 when it
merged with what is now Abingdon Prep.
Karsten Meise and Martin Sutton who
were exchange partners in 1982-3 To mark the 50th anniversary of the Abingdon-Bielefeld exchange,
Abingdon presented the Ratsgymnasium with a framed collection of school ties
Before... ...and afterwards