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The first 3 or 4 weeks of Summer term were spent preparing for Sports Day. Boys were introduced to the techniques of running, hurdling, long jump, high jump, etc; and they were invited to show that they could achieve the relevant athletic standard for their age.
Reaching a standard was an individual achievement, but formed part of inter-house competition. Points accrued for each standard passed, so house members encouraged each other to show they could do it. No doubt teachers and house-captains felt obliged to persuade laggards to do better, but there seemed to be no undue pressure.
Then followed practice and heats, so that Sports Day spectators could see the performance of the best in each age-group: Under 9, Under 10, Junior and Senior. Sports Day also saw the first wearing of white shirts, preserved until that date for optimal smartness.
Sports Day was quite an event: lines freshly painted, flags, marker-posts and other equipment serviced and placed with precision. During the morning, parents' cars drove slowly in along the rarely-used access lane to park on the fields. The chances of good weather were probably no better than 50:50 at that time of year, and occasionally events had to be postponed to another day: in the Boys' Entrance Hall there used to be a striking framed photo (taken undoubtedly by Ken Sutton) of the hurdle course under a heavy covering of hailstones.
The day's events were listed in a timetable. Up to about 1973 the timetable was printed on stiff card, folded so that it had 4 pages. This provided enough space for most names to appear in print, a worthwhile memento of the day: the 1973 card shows 110 names. In later years the card was replaced by a roneo-ed sheet with a more cramped format: the 1975 sheet shows only 62 names.
The headmaster or other compère was equipped with a megaphone, up until about 1960 a conical brass item (see 1960 tug-of-war on the ground at Henry Silcock's feet), thereafter a battery-powered device. The megaphone was used to announce events and competitors. And a suitable boy, one whose parents would not be present to distract him, would carry the breaktime bell (see bottom-left photo of 1961 tug-of-war), and ring it lustily guide spectators to each event.
Any parent or relative who attended could be sure of feeling involved, as there were Visitor Races for younger brothers or sisters, and (from 1959) consolation events for non-finalists. Up to about 1970 the consolation event was a handicap race round the 220-yard circuit, competitors starting from different marker-flags; the event then became an end-to-end relay on the 100-metre track, rather more exciting, and easier both to organise and to view.
The sports prize-giving took place on the same afternoon, outside the Pavilion. Prizes were usually presented by the headmaster of an English public school, or occasionally by some other worthy, sometimes an Old Leasian.
