Saturday 07 December 2024
Rhodes Memorial Debate
The Rhodes’ Memorial Debate – Saturday 7th December, 2024 After much anticipation in advance of OH Day, the weekend of 7th/8th December arrived with warnings of 90 mph winds and a red weather warning issued as Storm Darragh approached ….. Never have I watched the weather forecast so carefully! Thankfully, despite the high winds and the rain, the Powell Theatre was filled with OH’s, past colleagues and friends and members of the Rhodes family as we gathered to remember the joint contribution of Richard and Anne Rhodes to our school community. Theirs was a truly remarkable contribution of almost 60 years of teaching - and so very much more - to the HCS and HCJS communities. Both Richard and Anne were great supporters of debating at HCS and under Richard’s guidance, HCS won the coveted ‘Mace’ competition twice – in 1972 and 1981. It was therefore entirely fitting that the motion before the House, ‘This House is proud of its classical tradition’, was the brainchild of a member of the 1981 team - Professor Michael Walling - who came to the rescue, after much head-scratching on my part failed to think of a suitable motion! Many thanks, Michael, for this inspired suggestion. It is testament to Richard and Anne that four debaters gathered from different parts – Alex Outhwaite from Portugal, Michael Walling from London, Oli Henman from Bath and Jeremy Wilding from Hereford to produce a tremendously entertaining debating showcase which Richard and Anne would have so thoroughly enjoyed. After the main speeches, in which persuasive arguments were made on both sides, the floor debate allowed others to contribute, including Gary Withers (who partnered Michael Walling in the victorious 1981 team) and fellow Classics teacher, Siobhan de Souza amongst many others. After summary speeches, a vote was held and the opposition narrowly – very narrowly! - carried the day. This brought to an end a thoroughly enjoyable, but at the same time very moving, afternoon, with so many fine tributes rightly being paid to Richard and Anne. It is a very considerable reflection of the number of people whose lives they touched that so many fought through such terrible weather to be present at the debate. My sincere thanks to all those who made this debate possible – to Dr. Howard Tomlinson who chaired with his usual panache, to the debaters who entertained everyone most wonderfully and to all those behind the scenes who helped to organise the event. It is very clear that the very rich legacy left by Richard and Anne clearly lives on. Mark Jackson