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Welcome to the Guestbook
Feel free to add messages relating to the site and the school. The only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning).

It would be appreciated if you gave an email address, where you now live and said when you were at the school, but you don't have to.

Plase note that if you click on an email address below you will need to replace ~DOT~ with . and ~AT~ with @ in your email program. The Guestbook presents these this way to avoid email address harvesters collecting your email addresses from the page. I know it's a pain, but it's very much better than the alternative.

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There are 500 messages in the guestbook
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Viewing messages 471 to 480

Bryan Cooper | bryglen~AT~bryancooper~DOT~wanadoo~DOT~co~DOT~uk

Hi Mike,
Just to muddy the McDougle/McDougall further: Ian is brother to Bruce, see 3S 1958/59 and note strong family resemblance. Both are sons of Hugh McDougall who taught Chemistry.

Mon 23-Jul-2012 18:26 - North Wales

Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~co

Mike

Congratulations on completing the first step in your mammoth task of updating the school photographs.

I can help with a few of the christian names on the new 6th form pictures for 1955/6.

In the 6C group it is (James) Sharp and (Harry) Abernethy.

In 6U(Prefects) it is (Billie) Edgar abd (Cyril) Jefferson.

Lastly, in 6UX it is (Ian) McDougall, (Roy) - not Alan - Thompson and (Robert) Chritiansen.

Fri 6-Jul-2012 14:26 - Ruskington, Lincolnshire

From Mike T: Thanks for the comment, Bruce, and for the name updates.

McDougle (which is how the name is spelt in all the school records) is actually George Ian McDougle, and I just assumed he went by his first name (a surprising number didn't)

Roy Thompson was in a different name sequence in the admission records, along with Robert Christiansen. Now they're found and updated.

Thanks

Andrew Scarth | andrewscarth~AT~hotmail~DOT~co~DOT~uk

The school trip to Italy Gary.Kev Waughs probably still got the crutches.

Mon 2-Jul-2012 19:19 - Jarrow

aAlan Whittaker (53-59) | alan~AT~whittaker4000~DOT~fsnet~DOT~co~DOT~uk

Does anyone remember the "Nook Netties". They were located under the bus shelter and the air bricks which fed into the bus shelter at floor level were a popular target for ambitious "scoiters" hoping for a hit on someone waiting for a bus

Thu 28-Jun-2012 10:58 - Somerset

Eric Moyse 1946 to 1953 | eric~DOT~moyse~AT~sky~DOT~com

Another word about "Removes." In 1950 or 1951 the GCE replaced the old School Certificate. One difference was that it was only open to candidates who would attain the age of 16 years on 1 September in the year of sitting. I was one of a good few people in my year with a birthday too late so we had to wait for a year. Those who would leave after O Levels in the following year were placed in the "Shell" while those like me who would stay on for A levels (for which there was no such age limit) were placed in first year VI and so we took O Level and A Level in successive years. A third group, who were old enough to have taken GCE but who were awaiting starting work such as as in the Clerical Grade of the Civil Service and would leave at various times,were placed in the "VI Remove." The age limit problem was later solved by only allowing children who were 11 y.o. on 1 September to move into secondary education.
Funny but this seemed interesting when I started writing it. Anything more about skoitin' ower the netty waals?

Thu 28-Jun-2012 09:59 - Reading Berkshire

Neale | nealebackh~AT~gmail~DOT~com

OK, expense not expence. Just failed O level English!

Sun 24-Jun-2012 02:49 - Victoria BC, Canada

Neale Backhouse '46- '51. | nealebackh~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Ed on PEI,
I must report that even though "high peeing" at the High School was no longer a common occurence in 1946, caning was still very much the order of the day. I still recall the sting of a well swung bamboo cane, which left four fingers(and sometimes a thumb, if you were unlucky) sore, swollen and tingling for an hour or so. The secret was to appear stoic and unconcerned before the perceptive eyes of fellow classmates, eagerly searching for a tell tale tear. Incredibly some boys(I wasn't one of them) could absorb repeated doses of this torture without flinching and still manage to smile through it all. Oddly enough they were generally good soccer players too.
On another note, Mike, I read in the Mail Online that there is a move in the UK to bring back the GCE O level exams at the expence of the GCSE's. With questions in the latter like "Would you observe the moon through a microscope or a telescope", I'm not surprised! Could the next step, I wonder, be a return to the old grammar school system?

Sun 24-Jun-2012 02:37 - Victoria BC, Canada

Ed. Forster

Changing the subject,I keep hearing a lot about bullying in the schools in the USA & Canada, I can only recall a few cases during my time which was started 82yrs ago, & my memory is a bit hazy. Of course corporal punishment for misbehaving was in full swing then, I recall being whacked only a few times & deserved it. I hope Mike doesn't object to my being a bit rude, the first time was at Cleadon park school when a few of us tearaways were seing who could pee the highest & was caught by the teacher, she gave us all a good whack, never did it again. It was common occurrence at the high school & don't recall any complaints from parents or the kids. I was wondering about what the schools are doing about bullying etc. in the UK today. My mother (me mam) would have given me a clout if I came home & complained about being cained.

Sat 23-Jun-2012 11:25 - Sunny PEI

Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com

Mike

Just to (hopefully) wrap up the mysteries of the 1955 6th form.

A long time ago I recounted in the Guestbook the story of how, in September 1953, the Head decided that to try to improve A Level results he wanted to give a small group 3 years in the 6th form. To do this it was decided that the A form of my year (me included) - recently become VLA - should complete the GCE O Level syllabus in just one year. This we did.

So, in the first half of 1955 those of my group who remained would have been in the 6th and were presumably the 6C that you found mentioned in the records. By September 1955 they would have been "real" sixth-formers and called whatever Mr Egner had decided to rename the forms.

Thu 7-Jun-2012 14:22 - Ruskington, Lincolnshire

Bryan Cooper | bryglen~AT~bryancooper~DOT~wanadoo~DOT~co~DOT~uk

I'm fairly certain that the Remove was for those who had done badly at GCE and needed to resit at Christmas. I'm also fairly sure that the photo's were taken in the first term of the year. Thus the Remove's D.O.B. would appear to make them 6th form but they probably disappear from the register in January.

Thu 7-Jun-2012 09:53 - North Wales

From Mike T: Thanks, Bryan.

That does make a lot of sense.

The date written on the photo albums is June 1956 and the leaving dates for those I'd checked were July 1956 or July 1957. But, prompted by your comment, I've been digging a bit deeper.

I decided to see if the school logbook had dates when photos were taken. Thanks to Egner's detail in the logbook, it confirms that the photos were taken in the first term (on 10th October, 1955, to be precise).

And leaving dates are July 1955, December 1956, July 1957 and July 1958.

So that wraps up the mystery of the Remove, and also means that I can probably put a date to most of the school photos.

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