Some days stick in the mind, don't they? One such for me was the day, some 44 years ago now, when my father took me to my new school. I remember him saying in the car as we arrived in Bruton, that he remembered his first day in Old House and wondering whether it had changed much! I spent the next few years trying to convince him that it had changed very little and that the "heating", "hot" water and and "beds" were all still of 1950s vintage, thank you for asking. And yet, despite all its quirky idiosyncrasies, Old House and Plox quickly got under my skin and became my second home for the next few years. Recent news that Old House will cease to be a boys' boarding and day house in 2021 has triggered a flood of nostalgia, taking me by surprise somewhat, and prompting this...let's call it a thank you note! Schools must evolve to survive in these challenging times for independent education, particularly so in a rural context such as Bruton. It is to the school's enormous credit that not only does KSB consistently punch above its weight in many areas, but it has done so without compromising its core values, which still run deep in those of us fortunate enough to have passed through its freezing cold corridors, up the spiral stairwell on our way to the junior dorm! It is said that schools are not buildings, they are people, communities - and so they are. But spare a thought for my old school house and my father's old school house, Old House, which will have meant so much to so many over the years. Its function maybe about to change but its walls will always contain our secrets and our memories. Thank you Old House. Floreat Brutonia.

John Brett

Old House 76-79

Jeremy Brett (Deceased)

Old House 52 -57