We are happy to share any comments from past pupils about School life. We were recently contacted by a former pupil who wanted to share some of his memories. He writes:

Earlier today I uncovered one of those wonderful panoramic photos taken during my days as a student at William Ellis.  The year was 1948, my first and last at the school before I and my parents emigrated to the United States, where I have lived ever since.

I still have very fond memories of my time at William Ellis, and still remember quite vividly the teachers I had and friends I made.  In fact, I still have my report card and a copy of The Eysian produced in the Spring 1948. It includes a wondrous assortment of information - reports of the Eisteddford competition between the houses (I was Cumberland), school football scores (we won 9 of 18 matches that year, drew 2 and lost 7), various Club reports and other assorted material.

I remember going to the school's playing fields in Edgware every Friday and was wondering if the school still owns that property and if William Ellis teams still play there.

We arrived in Waco Texas in 1948 (President Bush has his ranch there), but soon moved to Dallas where I went to high school.  When I arrived in Waco they were so impressed by my preparation at William Ellis that they planned to put me in the 10th grade.  Wisely my parent suggested I be placed in the 9th grade where I was still a full year or more older than most of my classmates.  I do remember wearing my William Ellis blazer (which I still have along with my tie and belt) to school my first day - much to the delight of my teachers and the amusement of my classmates. It didn't take me long, however, before I was soon wearing blue jeans and Western style shirts

From High School I went to Columbia University in New York City where I earned my AB degree in Philosophy and Literature in 1956, and upon graduation from Columbia spent the next two years at Yale University where I earned my MFA in 1958.  My early cricket days came in handy at Yale as I played for the Yale Cricket team against Harvard, Princeton, and Brown - the only Ivy League schools that played cricket at the time

Upon graduation I returned to New York City and spent most of my professional career there until my retirement six years ago.  The major part of my career was spent at Time Incorporated (now part of Time-Warner) working out of the Time-Life building in Rockefeller Centre.  I worked for Time-Life Books, Fortune Magazine, Discover Magazine and Time Magazine itself.

It has been a wonderfully satisfying career -  one to which I owe my exceptional education of which William Ellis was definitely an important part.

My wife and I plan to travel to England some time this summer (unfortunately when school is out of session) and I do hope to drop by to see the old place and rekindle so many fond memories.

Congratulations on your exceptional website.  It is so professionally done that I'm surprised than any school would produce something so impressive in the way it looks and in the information it provides.

Sincerely yours,

Leonard Wolfe