Hylands College, Jersey

St Edward's had close links with Highlands College, Jersey. Highlands was the mother house of the brothers - started when there was religious persecution in France in the early 20th century. (Read here for more information about Jersey and the founding of the English province.) The English juniorate was based there in the late 1940s before moving to Pell Wall and thence on to Cheswardine. But the links with Jersey were maintained - after students at St Edward's completed their GCEs they were sent to Highlands as novices to spend a whole year studying the religious life.


Reading

Everyone read - it was a requirement. When it wasn't spiritual reading, we'd read material of various kinds, including football magazines. Curiously, although an avid reader myself, the title of only one book remains with me. This was "A Prince of the Willow" by ER Home-Gall - a cricket book as the title suggests. The book (without cover) was passed from boy to boy and read avidly. It was a kind of rags to riches story of a young lad with talent but little money and his rise to fame - despite the machinations of his rich but spoilt opponent on the team. We loved it!

I tried to trace it subsequently without success and so asked my uni to obtain it from the British Library. It gave me several enjoyable hours in the library reading through the story once again. I could understand why it had been such a hit with us all those years ago.

Getting there

A coach trip to a school sports day.The day was a revelation to me. A day that changed my life. I knew vaguely that two of my friend Leo’s older brothers, James, and Noel had gone away to this school. It would have been early July. A beautiful bright summer day. I was on a coach after travelling away from Liverpool on country roads and through small towns and villages. we came to a small town called Market Drayton. Leo said, ‘Not far now’.

Just the other side of the town we entered the grounds of a country house. and I glimpsed a new world.

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