Page 30 - Headingtonian Magazine 2017

chair and not outside in the Library itself. I believe our sonic chairs are the first to be part of a school library in the UK. The new glass extension allows the user to feel as if they are sitting reading in the Quad – something that makes this part of the Library extraordinary.
What’s next?
It seems so fortuitous that our first year of opening should be Headington’s Year of Performing Arts. This is one of the key places in the School to enjoy the richness of both worlds. Indeed, our 84” Quiet Room screen is used to view ballet and music productions on film, as well as our library of DVDs.
Education doesn’t stand still, it’s constantly moving forward and this Library is perfectly equipped to be adaptable, relevant, and at the heart of communicating the joy of acquiring knowledge today and in the future. Whatever’s next, this Library will be a part of it!
The Oak Chairs
During my time at Headington and earlier, there was a tradition that when a girl left the School she could give a gift in the form of
a chair, or a donation, to the Library. These were beautiful oak chairs with a curved seat to make them more comfortable. At the time, they cost around £100 each. The girl’s name and year were carved in the back of the chair. The aim was to have enough chairs to seat the whole school in the Hall.
Transporting the chairs down from the Library to the Hall, and back again, was quite a feat and it fell to the boarders at Davenport, Napier and Hillstow. We formed a human chain and, with much scuffing of shins and knuckles, we passed the heavy chairs from one to another along the corridor from the Library, down the stairs, along the entrance corridor, and into the Hall. And when they’d done their duty in the Hall, we hefted them back again. Seeing some of the old chairs in the Quiet Room of the
new Library at Headingtonians’ Day last year certainly brought back memories!’
Mary Duly (Dono 1959)
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