Frank Kilvington
I regret to inform you that Frank Kilvington, Headmaster of St Albans School from 1964-1984 died on Sunday 11th October 2009 after a long illness.
A Service of Memorial will be held on Friday 26th February 2010, 2.30pm to which all OAs, former staff, parents and other friends of the School are warmly invited. If would be helpful if you could inform the Development Office if you are planning to attend.
Headmaster
Frank Kilvington
Headmaster 1964-1984
Frank Kilvington was born in West Hartlepool in 1924 and died on the 11th October 2009 and between these two dates a remarkable life was to develop.
He began his education at Rosebank Preparatory School whence he was awarded a scholarship to Repton where it became apparent that he was a very gifted student - he had passed his School Certificate when aged twelve.
From there he went to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, to read Greats but, as with many young men at that time, he spent only six months at university before going into the forces - in his case into the R.N.V.R as a Sub Lieutenant. After his initial training he joined a Lease-Lend Destroyer, H.M.S. Kilchrenan, and spent the next two years hunting U-boats off the West African coast.
Towards the end of the war, being a good German and French speaker, he was posted to Hamburg to join the Naval Control Commission for two years. Before he left he asked to meet his Repton Headmaster, Michael Clarke, who invited him to lunch together with his daughter Jane. There began his first love and he and Jane began a correspondence during the two years he spent in Germany. On his return he resumed his studies at Oxford and graduated with an Honours Degree in Greats in 1948.
That year saw him appointed to Westminster School as Assistant Master and Housemaster of a Dayboy House. He and Jane were married soon after, in 1949, whilst she was still a medical student at the Middlesex Hospital. During the mid fifties Sally and John were born and in 1957 Frank was given a Boarding House, Rigauds, where he stayed as Housemaster until he left Westminster in 1964 to come to St. Albans.
He was particularly interested in St. Albans because it was a Direct Grant School; his application was successful and he became Headmaster in 1964 and here began his second love - the School, all within it and all it stood for.
The 1960s and early 70s saw much change and many challenges in the world of education, some externally imposed and others internal developments. 1968 saw the opening of the New Hall and the expansion of Drama and Music. Later followed the building of the Technical Centre, the conversion of part of School House for use as a Sixth Form Centre and the Old Hall modification to allow a hall to be established at first floor level, this later to become the School Library. During the same period he created new posts in the School - Heads of Sixth Form and Middle School and Professional Tutor being amongst these. This restructuring led progressively to the changing way in which the School was managed.
During this time competition from other schools was becoming greater, the curriculum was expanding and the catchment area growing; these changes were taken in his stride. He made sure that the School spread more widely into the community and some more Friday afternoon activities were introduced into what had once been the preserve of the C.C.F. These included the D.E.A.S. and Social Services, both of which in part involved boys going into hospitals and the homes of elderly people to give assistance. There were many firsts during this period, not least among them was his vision in supporting the acquisition and expansion of Pen Arthur, the Field Centre, and its inclusion in the formal curriculum allowing First Form boys to visit during the Summer Terms. All of these changes took place in a relatively short period of time and required a lot of attention to be given to them. But there was more to come.
In 1977 the Direct Grant was abolished by the Government of the time and, although this was replaced by the Assisted Places Scheme in 1980 by an incoming Government of a different colour, the School was not confident that it would last and, indeed, it was scrapped after a further change of Government in 1997. Even though the date could not have been foreseen in Frank's time, the decision not to take up many places in the Scheme proved to be a wise one. The inexorable route to independence had begun.
Something else was happening as well. The more rigid discipline of the ‘50s and early ‘60s was giving way to a more relaxed approach. Changes in styles of dress, haircuts and general behaviour were evident but Frank took these in his stride, as he had those other changes mentioned previously. Because he valued the individual and always looked for the best in everyone, he kept his School in good spirit, his manner being benign and encouraging, and this earned him wide respect from boys and staff alike as the great number of letters received by Jane testify.
The restructuring of the School and so many changing social and political attitudes all took place during his time, but his energy and general aura of calm never left him, and he saw the School through these changes with confidence and success. This did not, however, see him losing sight of the need to keep on promoting the School in the wider community. To this end he became active in a number in local spheres. The Archaeological and Architectural Society made him their Secretary and President, he joined the Rotary Club, was a Trustee of Kentish's Educational Foundation, Chairman of the Marriage Guidance Council, and later of the C.A.B., and a frequent visitor to our catchment schools. Added to these was the involvement of the School with Heathlands School for the Deaf and the Youth Training Scheme. Amid all this activity he still found time to make extensive researches into the School's history leading to the publishing of his book "A Short History of St. Albans School" and also resulting in the accumulation of a large variety of documents now in the School Archive.
On his retirement he had more time to spend on his birdwatching , about which he was very keen and knowledgeable, and also to spend time working in the Abbey Archive which he did for ten years. After that he assisted researchers at London University by translating into English many Ancient Greek and Medieval Latin texts. This he continued doing until he was eighty.
He and Jane, members of the family and some friends were able to celebrate their Diamond Wedding Anniversary in August this year.
He left a rich legacy. How lucky we were to have such a scholar, such a gentle man and such a gentleman as our Headmaster. He will last long and affectionately in the memories of those who were with him during his twenty years at St. Albans School.
Mike Highstead