HERITAGE Examinations – the way they were
We’ve all sat them. Pens, pencils, rubbers, calculators and laptops ready for the words, “You can now turn your papers over”. Pages that at first glance seem to make no sense – but a couple of deep breaths later, your brain clicks into gear and the answers come tumbling out. The Christ’s College Archives has an eclectic collection of exam papers, dating from 1867. However, the first mention of examinations appears in the April 2nd 1862 handwritten College magazine. “A Lover of Moderation”, whom it has been suggested was Henry Thornton Dudley (59), wrote in a letter to the editor: “Sir, I think you will agree with me that examinations are all very well in moderation but that they may be carried to excess. Now Sir, this is just the case with the Somes Scholars. They have three examinations in six months; namely the Christmas, the March and mid-winter. This, I think, is too hard a tax on their mental facilities; they are deprived of the pleasure of joining in the games that are going on, especially in the noble game of cricket! Hoping that they may be able to devise some plan for getting off the ensuing examination at mid-winter.”
Given the number of examinations the Somes Scholars sat, it is not surprising that the first extant papers are for candidates for the Junior Somes Scholarship. This scholarship was tenable for three years and was open to all boys under 15 years of age who had resided in Canterbury for the six months prior to the examination.
The candidate required a certificate of good character from his schoolmaster and, where possible, countersigned by a clergyman in the parish or district in which the school was situated. The scholarship was worth £15 and a further £20 was available if the person appointed to the scholarship lived more than three
Examination in Divinity for a Junior Somes Scholarship, 1867
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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