Hilary Spicer—a valuable memory of her school days at NHS

Hilary Spicer attended Norfolk House School from 1954-62. In her graduating year she was a Prefect, Games and Grass Hockey Captain and President of the Social Services Club. 

During the preparations to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of NHS, two young students, Ann Izard [1984-92] & Katrina Dorken [1982-91],  provided their interpretation of an interview they had with Hilary Spicer. It provides another very interesting perspective of GNS (NHS) history.

“In our interview with Ms.Spicer, we discovered that our school has changed greatly in the last 25 years. The rules were much stricter in those days, and students were required to walk in straight lines, keep quiet in hallways and leave all jewelry, watches and makeup at home. If rules were disobeyed, the punishments included standing in hallways and staying after school. However, this did not stop Ms.Spicer and her classmates from playing tricks on their teachers. On April Fool’s Day when she was in Grade 8, they greased the door handles and put ketchup on the blackboards – but then had to stay after classes!!

The thing which Hilary Spicer enjoyed the most about Norfolk House was the strong school spirit. She was Games Captain in Grade 12, even though she was not particularly athletic. She loved playing the school’s two strongest sports: grass hockey and basketball. Ms. Spicer competed in the Bridgman Cup for grass hockey and was a member of Walsingham. She hated red because it reminded her of rival Caister always winning events and of their rival school St. Margaret’s. Queen Margaret’s was also considered a rival, but in a more friendly way. Ms. Spicer and her friends were always glad when classes resumed after holidays because the school spirit was so strong and everyone wanted to see their friends. Sports and school spirit were very important parts of school life.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s, there were many boarders at the school. They lived in a large house on St. Charles Street and were cared for by Mrs. Finley, a loving and motherly person. Many of the students went there for lunch every day, where they had warm, home-cooked meals. Although the boarders would have missed their parents, they treated each other like a family and added another positive aspect of the school.

In the eight years in which Ms. Spicer attended NHS, she encountered many different teachers, subjects and friends. Scripture, taught by Miss Ritkey was an extremely important subject as was Latin which was taught by Miss Gabriole. Miss Tonnie, her math teacher always told the class that they could do better than what they were presently achieving while her history teacher, Miss Condin acted out their lessons, inspiring each and every student. Ms. Spicer’s favourite subjects were English, taught by Mrs. Jenkins, and French. Her French teacher inspired her to teach French Immersion. Ms. Spicer was a hard-working, competitive student who had many friends. She loved our school and has many fond memories of good times at Norfolk House.”

Hilary Spicer returned to GNS (Glenlyon) as a French teacher from 1984-86. Her son, Joel, attended Glenlyon/GNS between 1978 and 1990, becoming Head Boy in his graduation year.