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==Education==

==Education==

Lewis was enrolled at Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire, in Sptember 1908, where Warren was already a pupil. Lewis was unhappy at the "brutal"<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/authors/author/0,,-229,00.html The Guardian Unlimited] Biographical notes</ref> school, which in later life he referred to as "Belsen"<ref>'''Lewis''', ''Surprised by Joy'' op cit.</ref> or "Oldies" after the nickname of the Headmaster, Robert "Oldie" Capron (who was later committed to an asylum for the insane.) Lewis was withdrawn from the school in June 1910, the school closing shortly afterwards due to a lack of pupils. In September 1910 he was enrolled as a boarding student at Campbell College, Belfast, one mile from the family home, and where he remained until November of the same year, when he was withdrawn after developing serious respiratory difficulties.

Lewis was enrolled at Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire, in Sptember 1908, where Warren was already a pupil. Lewis was unhappy at the school, which in later life he referred to as "Belsen"<ref>''Ibid.''</ref> or "Oldies" after the nickname of the Headmaster, Robert "Oldie" Capron (who was later committed to an asylum for the insane.) Lewis was withdrawn from the school in June 1910, the school closing shortly afterwards due to a lack of pupils. In September 1910 he was enrolled as a boarding student at Campbell College, Belfast, one mile from the family home, and where he remained until November of the same year, when he was withdrawn after developing serious respiratory difficulties.

As a result of his health problems, Lewis was sent in 1911 to [[Malvern]], England, which was widely regarded as a health resort, especially for those with [[tubercolosis]] and lung ailments. He was enrolled as a student at Cherbourg House (which he referred to as "Chartres"), a [[Preparatory school|prep]] school near to Malvern College where his brother Warren was by now a student, and here he remained until June 1913. His love of fiction developed further while at school, where "''[...]I also developed a great taste for all the fiction I could get about the ancient world: Quo Vadis, Darkness and Dawn, The Gladiators, Ben Hur[...] Early Christians came into many of these stories, but they were not what I was after. I simply wanted sandals, temples, togas, slaves, emperors, galleys, amphitheaters, the attraction, as I now see, was erotic, and erotic in rather a morbid way.''" <ref>'''Lewis''', ''Surprised by Joy'' op cit.</ref>

As a result of his health problems, Lewis was sent in 1911 to [[Malvern]], England, which was widely regarded as a health resort, especially for those with [[tubercolosis]] and lung ailments. He was enrolled as a student at Cherbourg House (which he referred to as "Chartres"), a [[Preparatory school|prep]] school near to Malvern College where his brother Warren was by now a student, and here he remained until June 1913. It was during this time that he abandoned his childhood Christian faith. He eventually entered Malvern College itself (which he called "Wyvern") in September 1913 and studied there until June 1914.

It was during this time that he abandoned his childhood Christian faith. The Matron of Cherbourg House was very influential on the young Lewis, contributing enormously to his decision to declare himself an [[atheist]]:

His love of fiction developed further while at Malvern College, where "''[...]I also developed a great taste for all the fiction I could get about the ancient world: Quo Vadis, Darkness and Dawn, The Gladiators, Ben Hur[...] Early Christians came into many of these stories, but they were not what I was after. I simply wanted sandals, temples, togas, slaves, emperors, galleys, amphitheaters, the attraction, as I now see, was erotic, and erotic in rather a morbid way.''" <ref>''Ibid.''</ref>

<div style="width: 70%; margin: 0 15% 1em 15%; text-align: left; background-color: #DEE6ED; padding: 0.5em; border: solid 1px #6699CC;">She was floundering in the mazes of Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism; the whole Anglo-American Occultist tradition. I had never heard of such things before; never, except in a nightmare or a fairy tale, conceived of spirits other than God and men. I had loved to read of strange sights and other worlds and unknown modes of being, but never with the slightest belief. Without knowing it, I was already desperately anxious to get rid of my religion. I had set myself a standard. No clause of my prayer was to be allowed to pass muster unless it was accompanied by what I called a 'realization,' by which I meant a certain vividness of the imagination and the affections.

The Matron of Malvern College was also very influential on the young Lewis, contributing enormously to his decision to declare himself an [[atheist]]: "''She was floundering in the mazes of Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism; the whole Anglo-American Occultist tradition[...]I had never heard of such things before; never, except in a nightmare or a fairy tale, conceived of spirits other than God and men. I had loved to read of strange sights and other worlds and unknown modes of being, but never with the slightest belief.''"<ref>''Ibid''</ref>

 

 

 

Losing his mother at such a young age, combined with the distant personality of his father and his apparent loneliness throughout his school years, his adolescent rejection of religion becomes easier to understand, qualified by the adult Lewis when he later described his young self as being (paradoxically) "''very angry with God for not existing''".<ref>'''Lewis''', ''Surprised by Joy'' op cit.</ref>

==References==

==References==