Whilst the late Frank Forrest was Headmaster at Ledston Hall and later when the school was moved to Breckenbrough Hall, he and his wife Mary had become aware of the need for a follow-up service to the boys who had left. Frequently, even when still in post, they had calls from old boys for assistance and advice about various problems facing them. When Frank retired he discussed the situation with several friends, one of whom, Mrs. Ellis, wished him to accept a gift of £5000 to enable him to carry on with work to meet what was clearly a real need. A formal committee was established under an agreed constitution as a sub-committee of the school's Board of Governors and the first meeting was held in October 1961, Friends' Trusts Ltd were appointed as holding trustees for the capital assets.

During the period 1962/63 the E.M. Waller Trust assisted with financial help and various people gave donations. It became obvious that a formal Trust Deed should be prepared under which the activities of this committee could be continued. This was adopted in July 1965.

In March 1963 it was reported that 58 contacts with old boys had been made. The then H.M.I. to the school, having been given permission to recieve for his own private information copies of the After Care Officer reports, expressed his interest in the work and gratitude for what was being done. The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust made a gift of £125 to enable the committee to have an adequate working balance of cash, and has since made generous grants.

The first report to the Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting of the Society of Friends was given by Frank Forrest in October 1965. In March 1966 the acceptance of the Trust Deed by the Inland Revenue was established. Because of increasing clerical work involved, authority was given for part-time help.

From May 1968 Frank Forrest was obliged to limit the list of boys with whom he could reasonably keep in touch. It was agreed that he would not see boys who entered the school after January 1968. The Board was asked to give consideration to the provision of After Care in the future. They agreed that the After Care work should be school based in the future. Difficulties were raised by the Department of Education and Science about financing such work but it was decided a social worker post could be established at the school to deal with the boys' problems whilst at school and also with home liason.

With the death of Frank Forrest on July 3rd 1970 there seemed no way in which his work could be carried on in a voluntary way. His 24 written reports provided detailed evidence of his devoted care for the welfare of 230 former pupls. Mary Forrest was encouraged to submit her out of pocket expenses for contacts with and assistance to old boys, as she continued the links with them. The Social Worker was released from some formal duties in order to undertake some of the work, and the expenses were paid from After Care funds.

During 1972/73 attempts were made to organise an Old Boys Association, but difficulties of finance and places in which to meet caused the idea to be shelved. In February 1973 corresponding with the original benefactor gave hopes of help but legal difficulties prevented these hopes being realised. Some approaches were made to boys who had been helped, but little response resulted, as most were in no position to respond.

In June 1963 the committee decided to grant up to £200 per annum for two years for a boy to attend a study course in Art in Stockport. A Local Authority grant had been negotiated for an Agricultural Course in Askham Bryam College. In October a grant of £164 per annum was agreed for assistance in a training course for one of the boys and this brought thanks from his mother and proved to have greatly improved the home relationships. Later grants of up to £324 per annum were agreed subject to reduction if the assistance of the local authority was obtained. In May 1976 one of the older boys was in difficulty due to unemployment and family needs, so money was made available to put him on an even keel again.

In 1977 two scholars were sufficiently re-adjusted to be transferred to the Quaker boarding school at Great Ayton. One settled well but the other had relationship problems. This year a £10 a week grant was made to a boy towards his expenses at a Riding School on an Apprenticeship Course leading to a qualification as a Horse Master. In November assistance was given for a place at Harrogate Art College on a course leading to an Architects Model Maker. £35 was given for tools and instruments and up to £300 over a period of two years if no other grants were obtainable. A boy who left in 1973, having completed satisfactory apprenticeship as a Motor Mechanic, was accepted at Darlington Technical College for a further two year course of one day a week leading to a Motor Vehicle Technician's Certificate. As this would mean some loss of wages, travelling expenses, course and examination fees, an immediate grant of £50 was given, with promised help of up to £100 per annum if no other help or grants became available. By November 1978 the boy who transferred to Great Ayton with problems had settled down and attained good 'A' level grades so a Merit Grant of £10 was sent to him.

Discussion with Brian Gu, a former member of the teaching staff, resulted in his being appointed as After Care Officer in 1978 with an honorarium plus expenses. One of his jobs, suggested by an old boy, was to organise re-unions in London. In March the first Newsletter was circulated to 60 individuals. It soon became apparent that within two or three years more funds would be required to carry on the work on the new basis.

Reports from time to time gave encouraging results from most of the contacts being maintained, either through the After Care Officer or the school. Successes included one boy running his own business in Computer Software, another appointed manager in a local garage following help with training in motor engineering, and one becoming a pilot in the R.A.F.

During the period 1981 to 1983 contacts between boys and the school Social Worker and After Care Officer have totalled 294. Of these the majority showed growing stability and improvement. There is no doubt in the minds of all concerned, local authority social workers, school staff, parents, and the boys themselves that there exists a wealth of appreciation of the work that is being done. The After Care Service is a unique organisation, there being no known similar being done for pupils who have left schools for Maladjusted Children, either in this country or elsewhere. It would be nothing short of disaster if this work had to cease for lack of funds. The committee's concern in the past few years has been how to seek more funds and an appeal has been launched to raise extra income of around £1400 per annum. This amount is required to keep going at the present level, although more will be neededin the long run to allow for increased numbers and infaltion.

The job of the After Care Officer involves many aspects of contact with the boys. The After Care Service in its present form has been running for almost 5 years. In December 1981 I was asked to work at the school for one day a week in order to establish a close link with those still pupils. It was felt that the real value of this work wouldbe felt if I was know to them as a familiar figure, not representing officialdom, and therefore impersonal, but perhaps some sort of a friend, some one to turn to for a chat. The boys who left during the gap in my direct contact with the school are to me only names as I am to them. My understanding of their needs is negligible and they prefer to contact someone known to them at the school. The personal link is crucial to the success of the After Care Service.

The execution of the job itself calls for great flexibility. Although I have no office, no secretary, no filing cabinet and no work schedule. I do have an address file, a log-book-cum-diary, a family car at my disposal, a memory filled with faces, a sympathetic ear, and a willingness to listen. I also ha\ve a large map which shows the distribution of old boys about the country, and I also have a telephone. All the boys have my address and telephone number which is printed in the Newsletter which is distributed annually. The personal link is always open, a friendly listener on an umbilical cord to "Mother Breckenbrough".

In an average year I get approximately 30 visits from old boys, mostly at peak holiday periods. When this occurs they usually join in whatever we are doing, but sometimes we drop the day's tasks and entertain them. They are always welcome guests, staying for a meal or sometimes for a day or two and we greatly enjoy their company. The boys who call to visit are usually from my days of full time teaching, with whom real relationships were forged.

I try to give leavers every opportunity to communicate with me, and to ensure this I write asking them how things are, make phone calls if possible, and make an actual visit if I think it appropriate. The Newsletter helps to rekindle any warmth for the school and reinforces the thread of contact. I keep a list of priority cases, boys at greatest risk, either unemployed or social misfits, and try to keep regular contact as a supportive friend. Time is no barrier to these links.

I organise collective visits or mini-reunions, which are based on a distant area in some instances. These may happen on an emergency visit to one boy, or on happier occasions to a wedding. If time permits I write to all boys in the area giving time and place for a meeting and an invitation to join me. These events are very good especially in an area of high density of old boys as they can then get to know each other and may prove mutually supportive following the event. Emergency calls often take the form of attendance at Court proceedings where moral support is needed and in some cases I have been called upon to speak for the boy. There are also visits to Prison, Borstal, Remand Homes, or Hospitals, where one's presence can be helpful and reassuring in difficult cicumstances.

The Newsletter, which used to br twice a year, is now sent out annually and I try to time this to arrive with the Christmas mail. The idea is to give those who recieve no mail at least one piece of cheer, one touch of warmth and nostalgia, especially as they are generally short of friends. Compiling the newsletter presents some tricky problems, what to put in and what to leave out. I try to be honest, but obviously prefer to be able to publish the good news; however I do believe that to someone who is constantly failing it is sometimes comforting to hear of others in a similar plight.

The concept of caring and maintaining a friendly relationship with each boy is the main aspect of this job, although the help that the boys can give one another must be encouraged. The work could expand in several directions, one such being the Summer Camps idea, as held in August 1983 at the school during the holidays. I occasionally entertain a dream in which a summer camp at Breck bring together all it's finest merits. An Avant Garde art colony of painters and musicians, ex-staff, all working together with Gordon, Kelvin and myself.

It would also be nice to see the growth of the newsletter to incorporate contributions from old boys with observations on life; thoughts on situations which have been particularly instructive or significant; poetry; ideas in general to leaven the weighty recording of events. I should like to see the newsletter more like a magazine.

I feel intuitively that it is the unnoticed ingredients of life which have the greatest influence in our lives; not so much the words that are spoken but more the manner in which they are said that leave a more lasting impression. I have often wondered, as a teacher, of all that one tries to instill into children, what will remain for them to take away with them, the direct instruction or the oblique remark.

Who can evaluate the worth of Connie sitting at her table ironing; simply her presence, the certainty of her being there, unchanged, dependable; the value of her conversation with the boys, which is considerable! Perhaps it is from such meetings that security and growth spring.

Similarly I am constantly trying to evaluate the work I do with after care. So much of the value of this is imperceptable. We cannot help people until they are ready and they will take only what they want; because of this there are few signs of constructive action. What I do hope to create is a flexible, indestructable link with Breck, the feeling that even at ones most unlovable someone still cares. The work is done in the belief that this alone is sufficient justification.