Or rather, Speech Night......... Recently went to St George’s Hall and was reminded of the hours we sat through Speech Days. The staff and the choir, led by Keith Rhodes, were on the stage and we were sat in our appointed places in the stalls. Guest speakers gave, what seemed, very long speeches; prizes were distributed; the choir sang; we clapped a lot; George Pollard gave the Headteacher’s viewpoint; the Head Boy asked for, and was always granted, an additional day’s holiday. On other occasions we were expected to go to St George’s Hall to attend concerts in the afternoon, making our own way there, of course. Please forward memories of both occasions.
The House System
There were 5 houses: North - green; South - dark blue; East - yellow; West - maroon; Centre - light blue.
The house masters were: North - Mr H Bennett; South - Mr J Mitchell; East - Mr E Tordoff; West - ??; Centre - Mr A Rodley.
We collected house points for good work, in class and exams, in the form of HMs (honourable mentions). Sport also brought about points with inter-house competitions - football, cricket, athletics, cross-country etc.
The cross-country was fun wasn’t it? An over-crowded changing room at Horsfall Playing Fields followed by a run through a usually muddy Judy Woods. Even if you were excused on medical grounds you were still expected to be a marshall.
The First Year
We arrived in September 1957 complete with brand new uniforms, including caps and short trousers, along with new leather satchels.
Our first class was 1H with Mr Jackson and we were housed in a classroom in the Annexe with other First Year classes. New subjects were introduced such as French, Physics and Chemistry. We learned the names of the staff such as “Killer”, “Butch” and “Big Jim” and were afraid.
With the odd exception these fears were to prove unfounded. Didn’t the Sixth Form seem really grown up? We felt in awe of them. Is that how new starters saw us when we reached the Sixth Form?
New friendships were quickly formed, many of which, like ours, have stood the test of time.
Other new experiences included proper Games lessons with “Killer” Rodley, which proved very disappointing because we had football coaching but no game for months! We also had proper changing rooms with showers and a bath. These were luxuries compared to Graham’s previous junior school.
School dinners were also a new experience but rarely enjoyable. We were always anxious to get back outside and play football on the “Tip”. Shoes were always cleaned with a paper towel before going home in the evening.
