“Spe, Labore, Fide” meaning “hope, work, faith”. This was the badge I wore on my hat and my jacket when I went to my grammar school for six years. The school was on the border of the City of London and we had to pass our 11+ examination to get there. That was also combined with an interview with the head misstress, which was more a formality it seemed to me.

The badge looks a bit worse for wear, but I found it in a dark corner of a cupboard and it was once on my jacket, but I managed to separate it and put it away. This was all about 66 years ago and it is a wonder that the badge still exists. The school no longer exists as such, but amalgamated with another school in the region, although a few relics from the days such as the honours board were inaugurated in the new school.

I suppose I can thank the school for the basics of my edudation and I still have a few connections through schoolfriends from the time.