The Quad, what memories spring to mind when you hear those words?

Is it Ranks? Is it fun and games? Is it outdoor lessons?

At the beginning of the day, this area of the school is so quiet, but at morning interval and lunchtime, the Quad is a hive of activity, boys shouting out to other boys, impromptu games usually involving a ball being played, lunches eaten and stories and secrets told and shared.

The Quad is an area of the school used by everyone. Almost every day, people cross it, running across it in the rain, strolling across it in the sunshine, but do we ever stop and just look at it? Wonder how it came to be at the centre of St Bede’s campus?

For many years, there were two Quads at St Bede’s, The Main or Outer Quad and the Inner Quad. It wasn’t until early 1938, under the direction of Fr Dowling, who did so much for the school grounds, that the Quads were sealed. Until then, due to the financial hardship of the Great Depression, there had been no spare money to complete this job. By late 1937, early 1938, the welfare system had just been introduced, employment rates were rising and people were investing in the economy again. The school roll started to grow once more and so the financial state of St Bede’s also started to improve. Used to being frugal though, it was Fr Dowling with the help of two men, Mr J Scott and Mr Bert Weir, who carried out the preparation work and the tar sealing. The work on the Inner Quad was completed over the Christmas break of 1937/38. The Inner Quad was completely protected on all sides, by either trees or buildings. The Outer Quad was improved during the first term of 1938. It took more work than the Inner Quad to complete, because the whole area had to be levelled and treated to “destroy all seeds lying buried in the soil and liable to cause trouble later”.

The sealing of these areas meant that there was now a much larger area for the boys to be during the cold wet months, when the front field was out of action. The Inner Quad had always had some protection from the wet weather, but now it could be used in all weathers. Now that these areas were no longer boggy in Winter and dusty in Summer, they were also no longer a constant source of complaint. The comment that comes from the 1938 Bedean is “Fewer colds and cleaner corridors” and “Quite apart from the marked improvement in appearance and in general tidiness, the paving appears to be in great measure responsible for the extraordinary record of the College in freedom from sickness.” The boys could now congregate and play all sorts of games at lunchtime, the First XV also had a place to practice their lineout Skills if the front field proved too wet to be used!

Although the Inner Quad had always had limited protection against bad weather, it was not a big enough area for all the boys to assemble and use during the wet weather. It was in the Main Quad as well, where the boys would congregate and that the new boys to the school would arrive. From the long driveway to the Quad was their introduction to the school it was also the place where Ranks were held every morning, boys lined up in their classes, Day Boys in one row and Boarders in the other and the Daily Notices were read from a window on the second floor.

The Inner Quad was where the life of the ever-important Tuck Shop began. Although not known exactly where it started in 1926, it is believed to have first been located near the Fives Courts and then in the group of wooden buildings on the Southern Border. From there it moved into the bottom of Grimes and finally now as a free-standing building in St Bede’s Red, again on the Southern side. No matter where it moves to though, it will always attract large groups of boys. The prefects room used to also be in the wooden block that formed part of the Quad’s boundary and in the 1960s, they used to play a radio in there which meant this became a favourite place for the boys from younger years to sit and listen.

In the 1990s, the construction of Marist house saw the Main Quad diminish in size, which saw the Inner Quad take over as the main sealed area of the school. The games that had always been played in the Quad could still be played, a rugby ball is even still tossed around, although First XV lineout skills are no longer practised in this area of the school!

One of the most important parts of this Inner Quad is the Elm, St Bede’s legend has it that the first one was planted in 1929, but died and the one standing now was planted in 1933. Through summer it stands shading the area for the boys and in winter, loses all its leaves to allow whatever sunshine is there to come through.

From the Community Office, we sit and look out over this part of the school. Through summer and winter, we watch people hurry through the rain and stroll across in the sunshine, we listen to the boys play their games, the shouts and laughter of games and conversations. We watch as the Elm tree gets its first leaves in spring, grow leafy green in summer, lose its leaves in autumn and then be completely bare in winter. This tree has been following Nature’s cycle for 88 years and in those 88 years, it has literally sheltered thousands of boys, heard many stories and been admired by so many people.

So, next time you’re at St Bede’s, come to what was the Inner Quad and is now The Quad, stop and take a look around, remember those times you had there, remember the tuck shop, look at the Elm and enjoy the centre of St Bede’s campus.