Following the setting up of the competitive house system in 1909, a letter appeared in the Portmuthian suggesting that boxing, tennis and swimming be introduced as house sports. This appears to have fallen on deaf ears, though by the 1920s unofficial contests were taking place. The late Royce Poke (OP 1921-29) recalled that, at that time, prefects were “always active, stopping fights, telling boys to sort things out in boxing gloves in the ring in the gym, under supervision”. In the 1930s, William Ingram (1933-38) recalled getting “a black eye or two” in such fights, supervised at lunchtime at 12 o’clock – high noon - by PE teacher Mr Bellinger (1926-38). “But you always came away friends – in fact, often before 12 o’clock came round!”  

The first formal boxing club appears to have been set up in 1938 by Mr Prater, a new, young and energetic Welsh PE teacher. He arranged for boys to use the church hall at St Swithun’s in Southsea on a Tuesday evening between 6.30 and 7pm. It was reported that the first meeting was unsatisfactory because some members experienced difficulty finding the hall. Subsequently the club appears to have held meetings at school, reliably attended by around 30 boys. As the “President and Instructor”, Mr Prater led a small committee made up of older pupils, and equipment such as punch pads, a punch bag and a punch ball were acquired.  

The following year the first tournament took place and saw founder members James Clavell (1935-40) – who became a best selling author – and Alan Bristow (1933-39) – future helicopter entrepreneur – lose in the final stages. Wartime evacuation soon followed and Mr Prater continued to run the club in the gym at Cliff House in Southbourne and took physical training classes on the beach at Bournemouth, with boys being permitted to go for a swim afterwards.   

When Mr Prater was called up in 1941, along with several other masters, the boxing club fell into abeyance but was revived by history master Mr Alderson with assistance by a Mr Eltham, who had once been a pupil of the British featherweight champion Jim Driscoll. This was recognised as a temporary arrangement until Mr Prater returned. Unfortunately, he was so badly wounded in the war that he was unable to resume his teaching career at PGS and appears to have taken up various administrator roles in the 1950s, including Secretary to the Empire Games Council and the Duke of Edinburgh awards secretary for Wales.     

In the post-war years, boxing flourished. The declared aim of the Lower School was to “give basic instruction to a large number rather than to produce a small group of accomplished boxers” and by 1955, it boasted the highest ever number of pupils entering the annual tournament with 140 boys who were narrowed down to 14 finalists through 120 contests. The following year, 166 boys – two-thirds of the Lower School pupils – took part, with the clang of the bell and "Seconds out of the ring!" becoming a familiar sound from the gym for several weeks of the term. The boxing report in the Portmuthian was followed by that of the Lower School stamp club which was reported to have lost members.   

By the 1960s – the decade of peace and love for some - boxing appears to have become all but compulsory in both the Lower and Middle schools. Thus, in 1966, it is reported that “of the 207 boys in the school six had valid medical reasons for not taking part and only one failed to enter the tournament, a praiseworthy effort considering the lack of aggression which prevails even among the talented games players”. In the Middle School, boys’ weights ranged from 4 to 11 stone and there were up to 12 weight bands. The competition finals took place after school and was quickly followed by the Middle School concert, often featuring the same battered and bruised pupils who were now expected to perform. Whether pupils with a split lip were able to perform in the brass and woodwind sections is not known.  

Nik Knight (Biology & Head of Biology 1968-2006) recalls Ron Wells (Head of Biology 1947-77) warning of the very real dangers of brain injury and, together with Brian Hall (Chemistry & Head of Science, 1966-72), they strongly recommended that boxing be discontinued. It was stopped in the mid-1970s, just before the school became independent and partially co-educational.