Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SPIRIT AND MOOD - On the traditional path - the humanities section of the secondary school and theological education 199 A New Crown Jewel: The English Residential School
208 THE STRUGGLE AGAINST MARGINALIZATION István Horváth, eighth-level secondary school student, in the role of Lucifer status also meant that newspapers and periodicals were regularly received from England. Teachers methodically directed attention towards English-language radio broadcasts. After graduation, one or two students were granted as a reward the opportunity to travel to England. The school’s leaders purposefully aimed at teaching not only the language but the culture, also, in order to educate the students to become gentlemen and to import a bit of Oxford to the Athens on the banks of the Bodrog. Being admitted to the English school meant special treatment for the students, also. According to informational bulletins sent to parents, the students had to bring nothing more than their own clothes and paper and pens as everything else was provided for them. To maintain uniformity, even the utensils and dishes were provided by the school. More importantly, English school students were provided with textbooks and meals. In the mentioned bulletins, it was clearly noted that parents need not send any food items with the children, if, for whatever reason, the students did arrive with baked goods from some celebration at home, they were required to share it with the other students. The brand new, three-storey building was indeed well-suited to be competitive and attract the interest of wealthy families. It had central heating, running hot and cold water round-the-clock, hygienic bathrooms (with compulsory bathing) and a sprinkler system for the gardens, all ample evidence that much thought had been invested in its design. A good indication of the high standards of the services provided was - as the director mentioned at the end of the first year - that even the yearly flu epidemic had bypassed the school. T he rooms in the building had ten beds each. T he students of each room shared meals together and were free to choose a leader in their midst. Two rooms of students constituted one study group with one elected leader. The students were constantly monitored by three teachers and the director. According to the original concept, there was always to be a native speaker present as well as an adult who was responsible for physical education activities. Quite a wide range of sporting activities were offered. Immediately adjacent to the building were four tennis courts, a handball field, football field, running track, a sports hall and a fencing hall. Seasonal sports such as swimming, rowing, ice skating, ice hockey and cross-country skiing were also offered. Students of the English Residential School enlivened the former acting traditions of the college within modem circumstances. In 1939 the beautiful and comfortable dining hall of the dormitory was developed into a theatre hall, and with the direction of a seventeen-year-old student, István Horváth, Imre Madách’s play, The Tragedy of Man, was staged and presented in a performance in English. Both the stage and the setting were prepared by the students. The first performance met a national response, journalists arrived from the capital, and even Antal Németh, the director of the National Theatre showed up. The next year Richard III by Shakespeare was performed - also in English. The journal entitled Új Nemzedék (New Generation) paid tribute to the students’ accomplishment thus: “The 21 changes of acts happened in an incomparable speed, and in the tiny chamber stage [the student actors] achieved not only liveliness, but also a monumental effect”. Michael Habted, a member of the British Council in Budapest was a guest teacher in Sárospatak in the school year 1946-47. It was hb, as well as educator Geoffrey Tier’s merit that the students performed Julius Caesar by Shakespeare in English with great success in Patak, then in Budapest in the City Theater. In 1948 they were eagerly preparing to present Midsummer Night’s Dream. The stage was being carpentered in the court of the fortress - however due to higher order the performance had to be cancelled.
