Did you go to a grammar school?

[TORONTONY]

As far as I know Woodhouse Grammar was a 'full grammar' with an excellent academic record , certainly not an intermediate school. There were intermediate schools in the area at the time but Woodhouse wasn't one of them. I never heard of anyone having to pay to enter the school

 

I never said that Woodhouse was an intermediate school. What I did say was that my cousin was borderline at the 11 plus and that his parents had to pay a sum of money so he could go there. It was common knowledge in our family. It was nothing to be ashamed of. This would have been 1956, by the way.

[Littledaler]

Grammar Schools were brilliant - it was the Secondary Modern part of the system that needed tweaking but of course, instead of that, some numty decided that grammar schools were elitist and the system was unfair. What absolute rubbish. How were they elitist when in reality they offered someone like me and my brother, two kids from a council estate (allbeit a fabulous one when we were kids, maybe the best in Sheffield), a first class education. He went to Firth Park Grammar School for Boys and I went to Grange Grammar School for Girls. Very strict but if I hadn't gone there, I would not have done nearly so well, judging by people I knew who went to Waltheof, for instance. The selection system was fair then i.e. the 11 Plus but that was in the days when everyone was on a level playing field, as they say - not like now when those who can afford it have their children tutored to pass the entry exams.

[athy]

I have just caught up with this thread and have read it with great interest, as a grammar school boy (KES, then moved to Ashby-de-la-Zouch), the son of a grammar school teacher, and later a schoolmaster myself.

A few answers to earlier comments:

- yes, Woodhouse was a real proper grammar school. My Dad taught English there. I don't think it had any fee-paying pupils.

- yes, one's birthdate does make a difference to one's academic potential during childhood, because for example a child who is 11.8 years old when it takes the 11+ has developed further than a child who is 11.0 years old.

- one poster mentioned "the bully-boy teachers" at KES. Apart from this being a most unfortunate expression, who were they? When were you a pupil there? I certainly remember strict teachers; perhaps you did not take kindly to discipline? Masters were not allowed just to cane a boy willy-nilly, there was a procedure which had to be adhered to, involving sending another form member for a caning slip which I assume had to be signed by a senior member of staff.

- I thoroughly enjoyed being at grammar schools, I felt that I benefitted from the education which I received there, and would have liked to have taught in them, but by that time, most regrettably, many had been comprehensivised, so after a few years I moved over to the independent sector. I am delighted by the recent news that Britain may soon have more grammar schools than it has for decades.

[gregnig]

'Bully Boy Teachers' at King Edward's'. Yes there were several of them between 1952-1957. A book written about KES (and available from Sheffield City Libraries) confirms this remark. It mentions the fact that the Headmaster of the day took pleasure in ordering a fresh supply of canes at the time from a scholastic supplies outlet in Manchester! I can quite believe this.

[mikeG]

'Bully Boy Teachers' at King Edward's'. Yes there were several of them between 1952-1957. A book written about KES (and available from Sheffield City Libraries) confirms this remark. It mentions the fact that the Headmaster of the day took pleasure in ordering a fresh supply of canes at the time from a scholastic supplies outlet in Manchester! I can quite believe this.

 

I was there 54-59 and never heard of good old uncle *** , the headmaster, caning anyone. There were rumours about some of the masters but I don't think there was fact behind them.

[TORONTONY]

I was there 54-59 and never heard of good old uncle *** , the headmaster, caning anyone. There were rumours about some of the masters but I don't think there was fact behind them.

 

They weren't just rumours at my grammar school , I was caned and strapped on a number of occasions, between 1956 and 1961, and I was not that bad of a lad. Mind you I did go to one controlled by a Band of Brothers lol. That is De La Salle College, to be exact.

[TWhits]

I was there 54-59 and never heard of good old uncle *** , the headmaster, caning anyone. There were rumours about some of the masters but I don't think there was fact behind them.

 

There were definitely boys receiving the cane in my time (1968-1975) although not frequently. The threat was generally enough to bring boys back into line. Some of my mates (who were among the better behaved and one is now a Methodist minister) were caught leaning back on the chairs in the hall which had plasticky backs and were caned for "vandalism". I was lucky in that, although I was sat with them, Mr Finch (notorious for his almost sadistic discipline but great with things like car mechanics for the less academic students who arrived when it became a comprehensive) didn't see me leaning back or maybe I wasn't that day.

 

Interestingly, even after those strange creatures called girls were allowed into KES, I don't believe they were allowed to be caned.

[Janner]

I don't think canning was confined to grammar schools, during my school days corporal punishment was used in all schools. I went to the Red Caps, was caned for some minor infringement, can't remember what. I only stayed at the school for two years, learning two foreign languages was beyond me.

[Texas]

They weren't just rumours at my grammar school , I was caned and strapped on a number of occasions, between 1956 and 1961, and I was not that bad of a lad. Mind you I did go to one controlled by a Band of Brothers lol. That is De La Salle College, to be exact.

Are you saying TT that the teachers actually 'strapped' you to a bench or something and chastised you in the accepted order of the day?

[TORONTONY]

Are you saying TT that the teachers actually 'strapped' you to a bench or something and chastised you in the accepted order of the day?

 

Lol no, some of the brothers carried a strap like the old barbers used to sharpen their razors on. Some of them carried a cane and a strap. it was like a box of chocolates, you never knew what you were going to get, as both 'weapons' were concealed under their cassocks.