b'A H I S T O R Y O F C O O G E E P R E PNimmo began with the Transition boys, asking more of fiveyear olds than was required in most schools. By introducing sub-jects at a younger age than normal, the boys had a longer period inwhichtomasterthework.Thus,theycommencedLatinandFrench at age nine; Algebra and Geometry at ten and Trigonometryat eleven. Not only did this head start increase a boys confidenceas he entered secondary school, but it also provided scholarshipsfor many. Alas, some boys were induced to rest on their laurelswhen they arrived at their secondary school, and eventually someof them slumped into an academic morass.Nimmos insistence on the study of French and Latin in thePrimary years was not so that these foreign languages would beused for communication. On the contrary, he emphasised them togivehispupilsabetterunderstandingoftheEnglishlanguage.(This would account for the variable French accent characteristicof Coogee Prep boys). Just as Nimmo emphasised Public Speakingto develop the spoken language, so he was committed to the studyof the structure of the written language and was particularly rigor-ous in his teaching of grammar. He devised the legendary parsingslip, which many boys kept with them for years to come. It enabledthose boys who mastered it to analyse any sentence and parse anyword.Oneofhisaides-mmoirwasS.V.O.C.E.(subject,verb,object(directorindirect),case,extension).Thiswaseasytoremember, because in the early 1930s there was an English fastbowler called Voce. His favourite sentence for parsing exerciseswas: The poor old fat man could not see his toes, which, in viewof Nimmos small, plump build, always drew a laugh.HisstudentshaverememberedothersentenceswhichBillenjoyed. For a broader vocabulary, he would cite: They went intothe water for diverse purposes and came out again for sundry rea-sons. Notwithstanding his moral strictness, he would give as anexample of three words beginning with DE: DE light went outand I couldnt find DE pot, so I did it in DE fender. He wouldsmile as the boys translated the sentence in the Clarendon LatinCourse, Old Bilius does not know a better ole.Mapping was another important subject. Generations of boys4 5'