Around the old school

July 4th, 2018. Went to the old school with some friends to continue with a video-filming project. Having spent the whole day there, I hope we have finished everything that we wanted to do. But it will be up to the video director to decide, not me. First destination was the Prefects' Room and we were quite pleasantly surprised to see that they had framed up a poster that had been prepared three years ago in conjunction with Penang Free School celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Board of Prefects in 2015. Hope that it can be kept in perpetuity. So many things have gone missing through the passage of time. We poured over the poster, looking at all the signatures and well-wishes that had been left by the Old Frees who had attended the dinner function on 30 May 2015. Discovered mine after quite a while of searching all over. It was somewhere off-centre in the poster. Do you see yours?

Some filming took place in the Pinhorn Hall but I was more interested in the school bell that was hanging high in the belfry above the main entrance. It needed someone to tug at a long rope below in order to ring it. So while my friends went off to search for the School Captain to give it a tug, I went upstairs the main building to film it up close. It was a one-off opportunity and I'm glad for it.



In the afternoon, we went around the school to capture its various extra-curricular activities. Football, cricket and hockey practices in the school field, taekwondo practice under the school porch, karate practice in the west quadrangle (Question: has it been called the Quah Seng Chye Quadrangle yet?), wushu practice in the Pinhorn Hall and the School Band practicing in the Band Room, their own secluded corner of the school's cluster of buildings. We went over to watch them practice and we asked them to play the ever-popular School Rally, which they readily obliged.



Talking about the School Rally, I was cornered by the School Captain, Krishan, during lunchtime. He wanted to know more about the song. So I told him about GS Reutens, the teacher who had written it in 1966. Krishan asked why we were only singing the first verse. I told him that I didn't know. Perhaps it was the decision of the Board of Governors. Anyway, I did say that originally, we sang all three verses way back in 1966 during the Sesquicentenary. He looked rather disappointed and said that the second verse was actually very meaningful. I couldn't agree more. The second verse of the School Rally talked about the call of duty and how Free School would respond readily with zeal and pride. Shouldn't these values resonate well with the rest of the Free School boys and the Old Frees too? We should bring the second verse back into regular use. Try imagining it being sung with a lot of gusto:

"When duty calls be it School or State

We to it with God by our side

For the Sons of Free School don't hesitate

Nor let cool their zeal and pride"