19617 RGS ONA Issue 106.qxp_Layout 1 03/10/2019 17:55 Page 12
MY BURSARY STORY
A N OVO ’ S REFUGE BY SPENSER GRAY (04-11)
Some of my ON peers will know bits of my story, most will not. In amongst the smorgasbord of less than desirable parenting which my mother displayed while I was aged between six and 15, she did two things of real benefit to my future; applied for me to go to RGS on a bursary, and persuaded me to join the Combined Cadet Force (CCF).
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t is difficult to sugarcoat but my home life was quite turbulent with my mother often a passive witness to her boyfriend’s abusive behaviour towards me. If anyone were to ask English Teacher, Chris Goulding his opinion of me when I was in his form in Year 8 I feel that, “Oik” would be the first word to be used. I lost count of how many yellow slips I received. In short I was bringing problems from my home life to school with me and I had a chip on my shoulder about the fact that everyone around me seemed to have loving and affluent parents who acted in the interests of their children. At the start of Year 9, my mother persuaded me to join the CCF. I rapidly realised that it was a way for me to avoid spending weekends at home, escaping an unhappy situation. As such, I embraced my time in the CCF with gusto, attending every combat weekend, Self Reliance weekend and summer camp which I was able to (unfortunately money at home was too tight to attend Easter Camp as well). Through this I became friends with many of the people whom I had previously had a chip on my shoulder about as, at the end of the day, when you’re lying down in a ditch at 1am in the rain you will accept a chocolate bar from almost anyone. I had a great many adventures with these people throughout my time in CCF,
