Pupils at Brabyns School were on all-conkering form
IT has been a contest of epic proportions, and children at Brabyns Preparatory School have recently played out the tense finals of their annual conker competition.
The event is organised every year with official ‘conker bashing’ rounds for the juniors, and a more safety conscious target throwing trial for the infants.
Headteacher, Lee Sanders, said: “in this modern world of technology it is easy to forget the games that we ourselves played as children. Our conker competition allows the children to embrace traditional games and enjoy the aspect of healthy competition between friends.”
Conkers has long been a familiar childhood ritual played in schoolyards across the country.
Traditionally, it is played using the seeds of horse chestnut trees although the term ‘conker’ is applied to both the seed and the tree itself.
The game is played by two players, each with a conker threaded on to a piece of string who take turns striking each other’s conker until one of them breaks.
The first mention of the game is in Robert Southey’s memoirs published in 1821 - he describes a similar game, but played with snail shells or hazelnuts.
It was only from the 1850s that using horse chestnuts was regularly referred to in certain regions. The game grew in popularity in the 20th century, and spread beyond England.
All conkers start their playing lives as a ‘none-er’ - that is to say, that they have conquered none. Once they smash their first opponent they become a ‘one-er’ then a ‘two-er’ and so on.
In some versions of the game, if the strings become entangled, the first person to shout ‘strings’ or ‘stringsies’ gets an extra turn. Various methods are used to harden the conkers to make them last longer including soaking them in vinegar.