Kilquhanity House School
John Aitkenhead founded Killy in 1940. It took many kids that were evacuees from WWII.
My parents sent me and my brother to this school in 1972 and I stayed till 1976 when I was 16 years old. Before it I attended Summerhill and after it I attended Kent College, Canterbury.
Killy provided an alternative to the strict authoritarian system of secondary education in France, which is weher my parents lived.
The main house was a large sandstone farmhouse built in 1820. The rest of the school was made up of converted barns and outhouses.
Uniform was a non-compulsory sweater and pair of jeans.
John felt that it was a distortion of education that a child's schooling should be dominated by the need to take exams.
However, it was not total freedom as some might think, and there were 3 hours of compulsory lessons a day but the teachers were there to encourage discovery and to open our minds.
The rest of the time we had "free choice". But the subjects on offer were so engaging that you'd be mad to miss one of Toddy's science classes or one of Richard's woodwork, metalwork or jewellery making classes.
As kids we had freedom to experiment but it was not anarchy. At Killy rules were decided in a weekly council meeting in which the youngest child (8) had the same voting rights as the head teacher (John A).
There was a good solid framework and we learned the rights and wrongs but we were allowed to discover these rather than be frightened by the wrongs.
Every morning after breakfast we had "useful work" when we'd help bring in the cows, make the fires, chop the logs, collect the coal, milk the cows, sweep the byers, feed the pigs, sweep the dorms, prepare the vegetables for lunch and dinner, wash up the breakfast dishes etc...
Other jobs were paid like making breakfast (porridge and toast) and ringing the morning bell all around the grounds and in the dorms. Washing up after lunch and tea were also paid.
Punishments were never corporal. Punishments were decided and voted on at the weekly council meetings. The punishments always fitted the crimes.
Everybody attended council meetings. A senior boy or girl would chair and another would scribe.
All issues were noted before the meetings and points of discussion and outcomes were recorded in writing and published in the weekly magazine, The Broadsheet.
In council we made the rules and decided on the punishments. These were usually fines, taking away privileges and giving tasks to do that would benefit the community.
This system taught us about the importance of civics and practical governance, in action. When real feelings and real lives are affected, it shapes you.
Killy taught pupils about living together in society. It taught the values of reliability, integrity and stickability. You can never forget your time at Killy.
