CONDITIONS for the award of the prize for the composition of
the school song of St. Augustine’s Grammar School, Manchester.

PRIZE for winning entry - £20, although the Adjudicators reserve the right not to make any award if entries are not of sufficiently good. quality.

 The song should incorporate two themes:

(i) St. Augustine of Canterbury
(ii) Our school

POETIC FORM. Candidates are reminded to confine themselves to three stanzas of 4 lines each in Iambic tetrameter, for example:-

Be present, Holy Trinity,
Like splendour, and one Deity:
Of things above, and things below,
Beginning, that no end shall know.

Candidates are at liberty to select other forms but they must bear in mind that the song is to be sung at Assemblies of the school and on Speech Days. The words must fit the tune selected and it is doubtful whether more than three verses will be thought desirable.

THE TUNE. Candidates are recommended to use or adapt the attached tune. They are also at liberty to compose another but are reminded that it must fit whatever words they choose; they must confine themselves to traditional hymn idiom, the melody must be within the range of an ordinary congregation as well as being capable of being sung in ordinary diatonic harmony for four-part singing by the School Choir. They may also use a hymn already in use, so long as this is not associated with well-known words.

THE ADJUDICATORS will be the following: -

The Head Master, Monsignor McGuiness
The Head of the English Department, Mr. Quinn
The Head. of the Music Department, Mr. Morris

COMPETITORS must be either present or former students of this school. Two or more of our students may combine to produce one entry; in this case they will be given one number for the group and, if successful, they will share the prize of £20 between them.

IDENTIFICATION. Entries must not be signed. but are to be handed to the Registrar, who will ask the competitor’s name and assign to him a number which she will keep secret until after the Adjudicators have chosen the winning entry. The Adjudicators will not know the identity of the competitors until after they have announced the result.

 CLOSING DATE. Entries must be submitted not later than the second day of the Michaelmas Term, i.e., Wednesday, 8th September, 1976. The Adjudicators expect to announce the result the following Monday, 13th September.

[Ed Note: St Augustine's Grammar School ceased to exist under that name on 11th July 1977]