Loreto College

I have not attended myself to the Loreto College in St. Albans, I attended the same Order but in Madrid, Spain. Also a Private boarding, half boarding or daily attendance, for girls. I have only seen the St. Albans College, passing by car, but the outside walls are the same as in Madrid. I again, do not know the St. Albans, (I would like to visit it) but in Madrid, at least, the nuns, were divided in two categories: The Mothers, (as Mother Superior etc.) who had a University degree each, and taught in the school to "O" and "A levels, in all subjects, so we only had to take examinations outside to the Institutes allocated by the Government, when we had to take the Batchelor Exams, like all other colleges or schools.. In my later years we could also choose Book keeping, once we had finished the "O" levels. In Spain the subjects and corresponding books were selected by the government, so we had no choice of subjects, we all had to study first two years, Latin, Biology, including not only the human body, bones, digestive track muscles, etc, but also the entire classifications of vertebrates, mammals, reptiles etc., cold blooded animals, Birds, invertebrates, insects, and all their classifications, maths, Geography, History including From Cristopher Colombus, and all the Conqistadors in South America, The Incas, etc. Grammar, French, Music, P.E., Religion, etc. The following two years Biology changed to: Physics and Chemistry, Grammer changed to Literature, not only Spanish, but main works and authors from other Countries, like Victor Hugo, for France, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens Lord Byron etc, for England, and I can not remember the others. History changed from Spanish only, to French, English, such as the war of the two Roses, Henry the VIII, the Invincible Armada etc, and Being a French founded School, we all studied French from 5 years old.
The other nuns, were called: Sisters, whose daily tasks involved cooking, and all the home tasks required.
Our Loreto College in Madrid, had a Gothic Chapel and the Chaplain. We had Mass Service in the morning, The Angelus at midday, Rosary and Benediction before going home, on a daily basis. and a white uniform , for special occasions, as well as the black first, changed to grey later, with a felt hat.
One girl in my class, became a nun and came to the Loreto College in England, another was T .....Fernandez Shaw, related to the English Writer George Bernard Shaw.
The School also had a conservatoire, a smaller building adjacent to the College main building, with several individual, rooms with a piano each for the girls who wanted to have piano tuition.
At the end of June terms we always did a perfect display of gymnastics accompanied by music, wearing our white uniforms and red sash, for our families and visitors, like sports day in England. I remember in my last year the music was Military March by Schubert.
We used to either play tennis after lunch or basket ball. An with melancholic sadness I had to say good-bye to the beautiful "Sauce lloron" or "weeping willow" I used to sit under sometimes and dream a world of fantasy away.....

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