To mark Founders Day at Framlingham College, we’ve unearthed a prospectus from nearly a century ago – back when Framlingham College was an all-boys school, fees were £105 a year and tinned food was banned.
It was 1929, ten years prior to WWII, James Ramsay MacDonald was elected as Britain’s first Labor prime minister, black and white television was being tested, women’s rights to vote was finally succeeded, and the impending financial crash of the 1930s quickly sent a chilling ripple effect across the UK and the world.
Framlingham College’s Headmaster at the time was W. H. A. Whitworth (1929-1940) and, thanks to the introduction of ‘day pupils’ and a £3,000 surplus (approx. £166,180 in today’s money, according to the Consumer Price Index), the College survived and thrived, even adding in squash courts as a tribute to the previous Headmaster F. W. Stocks – the stone of which can still be seen outside the PE classrooms today.
For the boys who attended Framlingham College during this time – as girls were not accepted until 1976 – this ‘time-capsule prospectus’ provides a charming insight into what life was like as a Framlinghamian 96 years ago. Here are just some of the most notable and fascinating extracts from the prospectus:
- Full Boarding fees were ‘100 Guineas per annum’ (approx. £105) and included games, medical fees and laundry.
- Every pupil completed ‘15-minutes of personal training every morning’.
- ‘Games were compulsory for all’ and included cricket, rugby, football and hockey, with the option to pay an additional ‘2/6 (“half-crown” or 12.5p in today’s money) per hour for horse riding’.
- Music tuition costs were ‘2 Guineas per term’ (approx. £2.10) and included the choice of piano, violin and organ.
- Tinned food was ‘banned… except for tinned fruit’.
- The College’s yearly ‘Shakespeare play was performed at Framlingham Castle’.
Read the full 1929 Framlingham College Prospectus below.
