Charles Henry Dobinson

C.H.Dobinson M.A. Bsc. 1933-1945

The Headmaster of the school during it's evacuation to Monmouth was Charles Henry Dobinson. In every interview or article appertaining to the evacuation, whether the writer or interviewee be master or pupil, Dobinson's name comes up time and again. His character and influence seems fundamental not just to the story of the evacuation, but to the school's development in the preceding six years from his arrival at KEFW in 1933.

In his book King Edward VI Five Ways School 1883 - 1983, the school's current Headmaster David Wheeldon provides a fascinating and in-depth profile of this greatly respected educational thinker whose 'powerful philiosophy of education was moulded in a love of the countryside':

' Jubilee year was also to see the third Headmaster appointed: Charles Henry Dobinson came to Five Ways from Mill Hill School where had had been a member of the Science staff. A young Oxonian with a clearly thought-out educational philosophy, he seemed a marked contrast to Barker, the self-made man. Their similarities, however, belie their obvious background differences. Both were scientists whose interest spread far beyond their own subject, both loved outdoor life, both were tough disciplinarians whom staff and boys alike found remote and awesome. Like his predecessor, Dobinson was not notable for his sense of humour but both were totally dedicated to the school they served.

At 29, he was one of the youngest Heads to be appointed by the Foundation. Born in 1903 and brought up in London and Kent he went to Wadham College, Oxford to read Mathematics. He was intent on teaching from the start and became fascinated by Science (Geology, Astronomy and Zoology). These Science subjects became the key to his beliefs about education clearly linking past, present and future. He took a second in Mathematics moderations, a first in the Geology section of the Honours School of Natural Science and a London BSc. From Mill Hill, Five Ways was his first application for a Headmastership.

He brought to the office a powerful philosophy of education moulded in a love of the countryside' a belief in the innate goodness of the child which needed to be stimulated and unrtured by the School; a conviction, in common with others who had been brought up during the First World War, of the futility of war and the iniquity of the peace settlement of 1919. Polticially he was left wing from an observation of the blatant inequailities of the social system of the day, and the miseries of unemployment. A keen believer in the League of Nations and appeasement, he believed right up to March 1939 that Germany's aspirations were reasonable.

He preferred to think of a school as a community rather than as an institution. He believed that the life of a school formed the boy, and he never judged his results simply by academic success. In all his work he aimed at producing men who could weight evidence and think for themselves; He tried to free their minds from propaganda and involve them in the community.

His philosophy dominated the School in the pre-war years, especially, but also during the difficult years of evacuation during the Second World War. His dynamism inspired both masters and boys and was translated into an educational programme inside and outside of the classroom which made Five Ways a school well ahead of its time. The older staff felt that he was perhaps idealistic. To men down to earth and a little over-addicted to games, his theories appeared high flown and impracticable. His intense and earnest approach perhaps put a gulf between himself and some of the staff, but the boys were willing to follow his lead and gradually staff were won over. '

Wheeldon, David John / King Edward VI Five Ways School 1883-1983 / The Tudor Press (Redditch) Ltd / pages 55 - 56