The School Song was written by members of staff Mr. Wood (words) and Mr. Wightman (music) and was first sung at Speech Day in 1943. It originally consisted of three verses but it appears that by 1945 one of the verses had been dropped. It is to Wilfred Tregenza (class of ’42) that we have to be grateful for turning up with the forgotten verse. Wilf wrote to us in December 2003 with a copy of the verse, adding he hoped to bring it along to the annual reunion at the end of the month. He had noticed in the ‘Epilogue’ of Three Score Year and Ten the reference to the second verse and that got him thinking because the verse referred to was originally the third verse. He had a green stencilled copy with three verses, not easy to read but it was all there, presumably as written by Mr Wood. However he noted that in the Penwithian Summer 1945 issue (No 67) only two verses were printed, showing how quickly the middle verse was dropped. Perhaps some of you will agree with the decision to leave it out. Here is the School Song in its entirety:
King Arthur ruled in Lyonesse a mighty Christian King.
His knights the flower of chivalry as ancient poets sing.
And since his days all men may praise full many a Cornish name,
That shines securely as the lamp where glistens Davy’s fame:
Godolphin! St Aubyn! Trelawney! and Treneere!
Come sing together and a song that all the world may hear:
The heroes of the Cornish past with pride we may recall;
Our School be still the First and Last, our Motto:
ONE AND ALL
The height of Learning will we scale, with Truth and Wisdom crowned
At play, howe’er our strength avail, good sportsmen still be found
The effort’s better than the prize, the team before the player,
Let skill and speed achieve the need but honour to the stayer.
Godolphin! St Aubyn! Trelawney! and Treneere!
Come sing together and a song that all the world may hear:
To virtue, kindness, friends holdfast and answer duty’s call
Our School be still the First and Last, our Motto:
ONE AND ALL
As mighty waters ebb and flow against our granite shore,
So we, an ebbing tide must go, this place be ours no more:
But other waves from ocean deep come surging into land,
Another race will take our place and bear the torch in hand
Godolphin! St Aubyn! Trelawney! and Treneere!
Come sing together and a song that all the world may hear:
By memory’s chain we linked remain whatever may befall
Our School be still the First and Last, our Motto:
ONE AND ALL
It has become the tradition to close the annual reunion of the Old Penwithians Association at the Queen’s Hotel with the singing of the School Song. The recording available here was made at the annual reunion in 2006.