NEWS
10 September 2023
STOP PRESS - 2023 REUNION PHOTOGRAPHS NOW ONLINE
The 2023 reunion took place yesterday and was a fantastic success. We welcomed several FCS pupils to their first meeting with their former classmates for over 50 years! It was lovely to see many of the 'serial attendees' (meant in the nicest possible way!) and it was great to share reminisences from our time together all those years ago. Photographs are available - please click the link above, or on the Reunions tab above and select '2023'.
27 August 2023
There are now several additional PDFs of Scimitar available to download. See the link on the menu bar, or click here:
14 August 2023
THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
This a searchable PDF of the booklet given to third form pupils to inform us of the pleasures (and responsibilities!) that would await us the following year and beyond. Clicking the link below should enable the PDF to magically appear in your downloads folder.
Another PDF...
WHY GO INTO THE SIXTH?
Here's a searchable PDF of the booklet given to fifth form pupils in November 1969. Whilst it might not be of much use in 2023, it may bring back some memories!
2 March 2023
STOP PRESS - 2023 Reunion
The next school reunion will take place on Saturday 9th September 2023 from 1.30pm onwards. The venue will be the same as last year:
Finchley Outdoor Bowls Club*, 6 Etchingham Park Road, Finchley, N3 2DT
off Ballards Lane
*Not to be confused with Finchley Indoor Bowls Club, the venue of some previous reunions
There is no charge for this event, courtesy of the Old Fincunians Association
Nearest Tube Stations: West Finchley or Finchley Central.
To enable us to ensure adequate catering (a free buffet lunch will be provided) please email Ian Thomas with your years of attendance, together with full then and now names and special dietary requirements (if any):
We very much look forward to seeing you there!
6 December 2022
Les Sharp's wonderful book, The History of Finchley County School is now available for download.
Please see the following link:
The History of Finchley County School
1 December 2022
From the front cover of an old Scimitar.
Alan Titchmarsh MBE meets Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
30 November 2022
SCIMITAR NOW ONLINE
We are most grateful to Ian Thomas for providing us with digital versions of three editions of Scimitar. Please see the tab above or click here. Future editions will be added as they are published and if we receive sufficient positive feedback, we may be encouraged to try to arrange scanning of older Scimitars that currently don't exist in digital format.
Please do let us know if you find this useful.
18 November 2022
LIVE THOU FOR ENGLAND, WE FOR ENGLAND DIED
We received an email today from an Old Fincunian, requesting information on the origin of the above phrase with which all FCS pupils will have been familiar and which appears on several war memorials, including the one that we all remember in FCS and on the replacement memorial outside the new building on the site of the old school. Initial research could find no reference to the phrase earlier than the years following The Great War.
Further investigation* uncovered what may well be the original source.
"If you think Twitter’s 140-character rule restrictive, the families of those killed in the First World War were allowed a mere 66 characters to compose an inscription, an epitaph, for their relation’s headstone."
This is the full inscription as it appeared in The Times on 16 February 1918 under the heading: 'For a Memorial Tablet', together with the initials A.C.A.:
True love by life - true love by death is tried:
Live thou for England - we for England died.
Excellent detective work by members of the Great War Forum have identified the probable author as Arthur Campbell Ainger, a one-time assistant master at Eton. Unless, of course, anyone here knows otherwise?
* Grateful thanks to R. Randall Esq for his help in this research.
October 2022
2022 Reunion
The twice-postponed reunion finally took place on Saturday 10th September from 1.30pm. The venue was:
Finchley Outdoor Bowls Club*, 6 Etchingham Park Road, Finchley, N3 2DT
off Ballards Lane
*Not to be confused with the venue of many previous reunions (Finchley Indoor Bowls Club)
Nearest Tube Stations: West Finchley or Finchley Central.
There's one photograph of the '65 year group here. If anyone has more photographs, we would be delighted to include them on the website. Please email them to the webmaster via the contact page.
Sir Leslie Sharp. 14 May 1936 - 18 January 2022
It is with deep regret that we report the sad passing of Les Sharp, former editor of Scimitar and one of the mainstays of the OFA for so many years. Sir Les was knighted in the 1996 Queen's New Years Honours List after a distinguished 39 year police career, during which time he rose to the rank of Chief Constable of Cumbria, and later Chief Constable of Strathclyde.
David Joscelyne
Sadly, 2021 saw the end of an era. David Joscelyne, the last headmaster of Finchley County School, passed away aged 94 on 30th May 2021 from a heart attack. Here's a link to happier times when David and Betty celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary in 2013:
Thorpe St Andrew couple celebrate Diamond Wedding
Here is the original photograph, which has strangely been cropped in the newspaper article:
Everything below this line is 'old news' but is left here for reference purposes.
Finchley County School cameo role in a new novel
A novel by Alan Jones - The Sturmtaucher Trilogy: a powerful and compelling story of two families torn apart by evil - was launched in 2020. The Kindle version of Book 1 - The Gathering Storm - is available on Amazon, as are Books 2 & 3:
I am Fincunian - by Brian Andrews
The full poem by Brian Andrews, a shortened version of which appeared in Scimitar.
To access the FCS Digital archive, click here: Finchley County School Digital Archive
For guidance on how to use navigate the archive, please read item #1 within DropBox.
Old Fincunians Membership
The Old Fincunians membership year runs from September 1st. The annual fee is now... drum roll...free, gratis, zero. How many associations are such excellent value? Please email The Webmaster for further details.
23 March 2021
2021 Reunion - POSTPONED
The ongoing pandemic has sadly caused the proposed reunion to be cancelled once again. The earliest possible date is currently hoped to be September this year, but in all probability 2022 is seeming to be more likely. Please revisit the website from time to time for further updates.
June 2020
2020 Reunion
The 2020 reunion was due to be held on 12 September 2020, but was cancelled for reasons that are only too familiar to us all. Here's hoping that 2021 will allow us to meet again.
10 April 2018
2018 Reunion - Saturday 15 September
The 2018 reunion took place at the now traditional venue of the Glebelands Indoor Bowls Club, Summers Lane, N12 0PD on Saturday 15 September 2018.
17 September 2016
2016 reunion pics now online
The 2016 reunion today was, as ever, a great success. Many thanks to Ian Thomas for his impeccable organization of the event and to Costas and his team for the superb food! Photographs from the event are available here:
25 April 2016
FCS Message Board
UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2022 - PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MESSAGE BOARD IS NOW PERMANENTLY RETIRED AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
The new FCS Message Board is now up and running and available on a computer near you. Or a mobile phone or a tablet (no, not that sort of tablet). The Message Board is intended to be an additional means of contact between Old Fincunians and to supplement Scimitar and the reunions.
A tutorial is available on pages 14-16 of Scimitar 182 (Spring 2016) and will probably be repeated in the next edition, space permitting. A link also appears at the bottom of this post. If anyone has any difficulties in registering for the MB, please feel free to contact the webmaster via the contact tab at the top of this page. A link to the Message Board follows below, and we hope to see you there for a real-time exchange of information:
25 April 2016
2016 Reunion - Saturday 17 September
The 2016 reunion will take place at the now traditional venue of the Glebelands Indoor Bowls Club, Summers Lane, N12 0PD on Saturday 17 September 2016. For those who haven't attended a reunion at the Indoor Bowls Club before, it is barely a stone's throw from the old school and is well signposted as you enter Summers Lane from the High Road.
These events are well attended by Old Fincunians from all parts of the world. The organization is first rate (thank you Ian!), the food is exquisite and the company - well, what can you say other than they're all well-educated! If you haven't been to a reunion before, please don't let that put you off. We're a friendly bunch and would love to see you there. For convenience, please see below a link to a pdf of the form you need to send to Ian Thomas, enclosing your cheque in the sum of £10 per person attending.
2 March 2016
2015 reunion pics now online
At long last, the pics of the 2015 "Year of '65-'72" reunion have been uploaded. Yes, it was almost exactly 50 years to the day that we all met for the first time. It's hard to believe that we're only about 5 minutes away from our free bus passes. Apologies from the webmaster for taking so long. No excuses, just didn't get round to it - until now! The photographs from the event are available here:
1 September 2014
2014 reunion pics now online
The 2014 reunion yesterday was a great success. Official numbers are still to be confirmed, but some 140 attendees were pre-booked, including two members of staff. Photographs from the event are available here:
15 December 2013
FCS ARCHIVE GOES LIVE!
This must be the biggest news in FCS-land since the demolition of the old school building. After many, many months of hard work, Peter Monk has achieved the remarkable feat of making some FCS archive material available to all via the wonder that is the internet. Not only can we access the Panora School Photographs (1932, 1937, 1953, 1957 1962, 1965, 1969 and 1971) but there are also many other photographs and school documents as well as some audio. This currently comprises the School Song and amazingly a greeting by Mr Povah and an interview with Mr McNelly.
Other material will be added from time to time so please do make a mental note to visit frequently.
The link below will take you to DropBox. It may look unfamiliar, but do not worry. You do not have to download dropBox to your computer. Please do read the guidelines (item #1 within DropBox) prior to accessing the archives. It will simplify the procedure and answer questions you didn't even know you wanted to ask. To access the archive, please click here: Finchley County School Digital Archive (Dropbox will open in a new tab or window.)
Many thanks to Peter for the enormous amount of hard work and dedication over the last year.
08 September 2013
ADVANCE NOTICE - 2014 REUNION
A reunion will again take place at Glebelands Indoor Bowls Club next year.
The date for your diary is Saturday 13 September 2014.
Photographs from the last reunion, which was held at the same venue, are available here: 2012 Reunion
15 April 2013
Steve Hertz, '65-'71
The following email was received yesterday from Martin Wellsman:
Hi All, I’m afraid I have to impart some very sad news about Stephen.
We received a call from Ian Joseph yesterday who was a family friend of an 80 year old Aunt of Stephen’s, apparently his only living relative who had found out that sadly Stephen died in January of this year.
Although Ian never knew Stephen he promised the Aunt that he would try to find out something about his life and had found my name in an old phone book.
As we all know Steve was a great character at school, highly intelligent, sociable, eccentric, and I think everyone loved him. I remember him as a good friend in the early years, building a radio controlled plane with him (which flew away never to be seen again on its third flight!), electronic projects, trying to manufacture various explosives (thankfully with only limited success!) but latterly most of you will remember him being instrumental in producing the Turquoise Rag Factory.
We lost touch with him after he left school, although he must have come to an early reunion at our house for him to have our phone number in his phone book.
Sadly, I understand from Ian that his later life was not so happy, he seemed to have extended periods of mental illness, had few friends and was taken in care when his weight dropped to just 35Kg as he wasn’t able to look after himself. He was responding to care and was in the process of moving back to his home when tragically he choked to death whilst eating and was found by his care worker.
It is so sad that it appears that he had rather an unfulfilled life for someone with his immense intellect but I know his years at FCS were happy, I can’t think of a single person who didn’t love him.
22 March 2013
Long School Photographs - again
We have now added 1937, 1962 & 1971, in addition to 1965 & 1969. Many thanks to Peter Monk for his scanning expertise! The following years are in the queue to be added: 1932, 1953 & 1957. If anyone has a copy of any other years and would be willing to make them available for scanning, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact the webmaster .
Years 1953 and 1957 are available to view on John Archer's Picasaweb album, together with a photograph of Class 2A from 1953.
18 March 2013
Long School Photographs
It is hoped that in the not too distant future that we will be able to add to the collection of 'Panora' panoramic photographs. We already have 1965 & 1969 and the following years are in the queue to be added: 1932, 1937, 1953, 1957, 1962, 1971. If anyone has a copy of any other years and would be willing to make them available for scanning, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact the webmaster .
Years 1953 and 1957 are available to view on John Archer's Picasaweb album, together with a photograph of Class 2A from 1953. Direct links don't appear to work, but if you enter 'picasaweb finchley county' (with or without the quotes) into Google you should be able to find it.
15 September 2012
2012 REUNION
A reunion took place on Saturday 15 September 2012. Over 200 former pupils and three members of staff attended. Many thanks to Glebelands Indoor Bowls Club for the use of their fine facility, to the OFA officials for their guidance and kindness and especially to Ian Thomas who diligently, skilfully and efficiently organized the event.
Photographs from the day are available here: 2012 Reunion
18 February 2011
The following depiction of the old school, dated circa 1915, was discovered on the website of the Friern Barnet & District Local History Society. It is reproduced by kind permission of their Chairman David Berguer. This and many photographs of local interest can be found here:
Friern Barnet & District Local History Society Photo Gallery
They also welcome contributions of any historical photographs or drawings of the local area.
Reproduced by courtesy of Friern Barnet & District Local History Society
13 February 2011
Further to a previous post at the bottom of this page, Lee Partis has since departed from the music industry to fulfill a long held ambition. [Edit 2018: Lee's latest website is here: Lee Partis]. Quite a change of career! Best wishes Lee.
20 September 2008
The 2008 reunion was held on Saturday 20th September. Photographs may be viewed here: 2008 Reunion
September 25th 2005
Following on from information and comments from (Derek) John Archer (1952/59) in issue 149 of Scimitar and Les Sharp's response, we are delighted to include this link to John's Picasa website where you will find some long school photographs. It is extremely time consuming to scan these photographs, so on behalf of all former FCS pupils, we thank John for his efforts. If any other websites have FCS photographs, we will of course be delighted to include links on the website.
September 24th 2005
Synopsis of email received from Les Sharp, editor of Scimitar, on 23rd September:
"Soon you will have received the latest edition of Scimitar and you will learn that the New War Memorial is in place in the perimeter wall of the Old School. On Friday 11 November 2005 at 11 am the traditional 2 minutes silence will be observed, the exhortation will be spoken, and the Association wreath will be laid. Everyone is invited."
The following news came too late for inclusion in Scimitar:
"Additionally the opportunity is being taken to dedicate the new memorial with a few words from our own Rev Brian Cross.
Also Barratt's have invited us all to a reception with drinks and canapés on the site. The site will be opened up for us to inspect. Barratt's also plan to move the Old School foundation stone from its present resting place at Avenue House, and place it on the site in a small peaceful garden. The stone should be in its new position by 11 November 2005. The Mayor of Finchley will attend to participate."
January 27th 2004
John Keogh ('69-'71) has been keeping a photographic record of the demolition of the old school building. You can view it here.
December 16th 2003
Received today from Les Sharp, Editor of Scimitar:
I have just heard the sad news that Leslie Victor Collins (1947/51) died of a heart attack on 15 December 2003 at his home in Australia. He died peacefully sitting in his lounge chair watching TV. Anyone wishing to know more details can contact me.
September 9th 2003
The second of the long school photographs has now been added. If you were at FCS in March 1965, you may wish to click here. More will follow in due course. If you'd like your year photograph added and have a copy to loan us, please contact the webmaster.
September 6th 2003
"FINAL" REUNION
THE OLD SCHOOL BUILDING WILL BE DEMOLISHED LATER THIS YEAR
The final reunion at the Old School Building was held on Saturday 6th September 2003. Those present gave a rousing rendition of 'Away with Care...' at 3pm. The whole day really was an event to remember, with an attendance of some 380 former pupils. This was roughly the same as the number of pupils attending the school at any one time, and equates to approximately one in ten of all pupils who attended the school between the early 1900's and the 1970's. A splendid achievement, and a credit to the hard working (and unpaid) officials of the Old Fincunians' Association. Those of us who were there were thinking of those who were unable to attend but were there in spirit!
Photographs of the day are here: 2003 Reunion. If you have any of your own, please do e-mail them for inclusion. If you wish to discuss before sending, or if they are not in digital format, please contact the webmaster for snail mail address.
July 25th 2003
Received today from Les Sharp, Editor of Scimitar:
I have just heard that Peter Bond (1953/60) died of a heart attack last week whilst out walking his dog. He was 61. Is there anyone out there knows enough about Peter to write me a short obituary for publication in the next Scimitar ? (Not due out until March 2004).
June 25th 2002
We've started on the 'Long School Photographs'
June 24th 2002
New Year Group pages added. If your year group does not yet feature, why not dig deep into your archives (physical or mental!) and send whatever you find to The Webmaster for inclusion?
For those who remember Lee Partis... you may be interested to visit www.oysterband.co.uk (Please also see update above, 13 February 2011)