MISS MARGARET COWLISHAW AT WISBOROUGH LODGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Click here for the latest discoveries about Margaret Cowlishaw at Cheam School, Berkshire

Our members have great respect for Miss Cowlishaw (as we knew her):

Asher Weill wrote: "Miss Cowlishaw (Margaret? Peggy?) was a paragon of what teachers should be - kind, gentle, understanding, enthusiastic."

Stephen Harvey recalls: "She was both an excellent teacher and a delightful person. She once marked a biology exam of mine 100/100, and afterwards told me that she had been about to go back through it to find some mistake so that she could reduce it to 99/100 and realised the unfairness of that so left it at 100/100. An achievement I would never subsequently match!" and also... "Margaret Cowlishaw - aka, to me at least, as Teragram Wahsilwoc (her names in reverse) - a brilliant teacher, who taught biology in addition to the subjects mentioned previously by others." and "She was Margaret, by the way, and the reason I still think of her as Teragram Wahsilwoc is typical of the woman: we children had been playing a game in which people reversed their names. Without any of the 'side' exhibited by most teachers of that era, she promptly referred to herself Teragram Wahsilwoc."

Stephen's brother, George Harvey, mailed to say:- "Our "Peggy" (?) Cowlishaw definitely moved from WL to Cheam, and subsequently had young Prince Charles as one of her pupils."

Shaun Mather wrote "I remember the day of the Oxcam Boat Race 1947. Miss Oliver was wearing a pinned dark blue rosette whereas Miss Cowlishaw sported one of light blue."

Robert (Robin) Priddy relates:-
"Miss Cowlishaw at Wisboro', it is now evident, was called Margaret, and so must be the same person who became the tutor of the young Prince Charles before he was sent to Gordonstoun. Miss Cowlishaw was certainly not thin, as she reportedly was later, but people can slim, of course. I do recall my parents having told me that she was a specially-trained teacher... it had been one of the MacDonald's best selling points, apparently. She was trained in the Froebel method. (link to Froebel Institute website). She taught me in the subjects English and botany. She used to set interesting subjects for small essays and once also gave me very encouraging marks... though I could not find out from her why at the time. I suppose it was to boost interest and self-confidence!
Nature walks with Miss Cowlishaw: I particularly recall one glorious spring day around noon when Miss Cowlishaw took our class on a nature walk. We started from the bunglaow or 'White house' and walked behind it along the boundary hedgerow and into fields and eventually a farmer's cider apple orchard. There was a profusion of insects and butterfiles and bird life in the hedges. I first saw a wren that day. Miss Cowlishaw was a very relaxed teacher who chatted freely and taught us biology in this casual way, telling about the local wild life, naming birds, butterflies, grasses and flowers.
One evening I found I could command the attention of most of the sixty boys in the dining hall by standing up and making faces behind the back of the duty teacher. To my shame, it was my lady champion herself. She was a rather chubby person and, perhaps because of her name Miss Cowlishaw, I stupidly thought of her as cow-like. But actually I realise that I trusted her, unlike other teachers, because I sensed her fairness and open-heartedness. I may have thought I was safe, sensing that she would not have wanted me punished if caught. But the second time I did it, I was caught red-handed by the headmaster himself, who had presumably been tipped off by someone and had been watching us from behind a door with a glass panel. I was ordered to the study and there I had to bend forward and receive three swipes with a bamboo cane. It did not hurt much, just stung a bit. In fact, I became the centre of attention after all yet again, because everyone wanted to hear about the caning and show some sympathy at my 'bad luck', even though we all agreed it was not unfair. I think the fact that I had made something happen to relieve the dull winter routine of school life seemed to make me quite popular.
The worst part was that I had to go and apologise to her. Still, this saved me from feeling unnecessary further guilt. I had a proper sense of rue and genuine regret, for I was then able to feel how hurtful it could have been from the point of view of Miss Cowlishaw. She was still loving, sympathetically saying she wished I had not been caned as she was against it anyhow and she made me feel she understood it was just a prank, if a rather thoughtless one. I ended up with neither the slightest of physical nor mental scars. I am now able to appreciate the importance of the presence of one or two such teachers in that school, which was so lacking in the real warmth of human love, formalised and intellectualised as it always somehow was."

Further: "There was a system of plus- and minus-marks at Wisborough Lodge, plus marks were given for learning achievements and diverse other acts, such as cleaning up the classroom after class. Minus marks were given for all kinds of small and large behavioural errors. Those pupils having sufficient plus marks were taken on a half-term holiday treat, while the rest remained and languished in school. I had never managed to get into the blue enough to go on a half-term holiday, but after the above episode, I was well into the red. Imagine my surprise when the holiday came around to find that I was one of the elect! So I was able to visit Portsmouth to tour over Nelson's famous ship 'Victory' along with my best pals... a very memorable time! I could never get to the bottom of the reason, but it was almost certain that all the plus marks came from Miss Cowlishaw. She probably thought the system unfair, at least in certain cases. After all, if you can't achieve academically it is not so often one's own fault! And having been caned, the minus marks that automatically accrued were a kind of double whammy."