Central Technical School

[PopT]

DavidRa

 

In the 50's, Yes.

 

I served the staff dinners so I could get more.

 

Happy Days?

[Albert T Smith]

DavidRa

 

In the 50's, Yes.

 

I served the staff dinners so I could get more.

 

Happy Days?

 

My brother Raymond Smith attended the Central Tech on Leopold Street in the late 1940s early 50s. Can anyone recall him?

Regarding the question about 'Being short of food in the 1940s.

If school meals had not been introduced during the War years, I'm certain a great number of poor children would have staved. My mother frequently sold our food rations to wealthy people and I'm sure others did also.

If you did not have a ration book you could not get, almost any, type of food.

Today when I walk around Tesco or Sainsburys I look at the full shelves I often reflex my mind back to the dark days of the 1940s.

[DavidRa]

Underwood taught French and English. He cut quite a tall, distinguished figure though I think he is 'grey' now! .

Underwood had a good sense of humour,the school had moved to Gleadless and there was a small orchard next to the school.

Three guys had been caught scrumping and of course Underwood in French had them translating about French boys caught stealing apples from an orchard.

The last time I saw him was about 3 years after leaving school he called at home, conducting a survey about postschool qualifications.

[DavidRa]

DavidRa

 

 

 

Happy Days?

 

Certainly Happy Days for me, a good friend went with me & hated the school it seems views on the school are black & white,you liked it or you did'nt.

with no grey area in the middle.

[PopT]

I think back with happy memories of my time spent at the CTS.

 

I never won any awards or achieved any stunning results and saw the inside of Wadgy's 'stick cupboard' more than once, I couldn't have gone to a better school.

 

I learned good values and some very useful technical stuff which put me in good stead years later.

 

As you say 'DavidRa' it didn't suit everyone but there couldn't have been a lot wrong there, as the Old Boy's Association attests with an increasing membership.

 

Not too bad for a closed school.

 

Happy Days!

[CHAIRBOY]

I get disappointed when I read in the media about former pupils and two that are always trotted out are the names of Stringfellow and Cocker - who have both said they hated the place and couldn't wait to leave. My question would be:"Why go there in the first place?" There were always people waiting to pass the entrance exam and the benefit of such an establishment was that if you didn't toe the line, you could be shown the door - this became more difficult with the advent of comprehensive education.

One of the problems at The Star is they haven't got the staff who can go back so far. They have referred to it in the past as 'Central Technical College' which as the school badge showed - was incorrect, and in the most recent feature, Stringfellow went to "Firth College!" So how old is he? It would be more purposeful if they chose examples of people who had a better attitude and went on to achieve - like footballer Keith Ellis or as was mentioned earlier Roger Taylor (though they do seem to have heard of him!)

Obviously, with the column inches I have written, it holds many memories for me although I don't think the technical subjects were my particular forte.

However, Messrs Fred Frow, Roy Wostenholme, Andy Walker - and Alf Simpson's applied Maths (Mechanics) helped me forge a career in teaching Maths - and for others supplementing this along the way - I have to be most grateful.

[DavidRa]

I get disappointed when I read in the media about former pupils and two that are always trotted out are the names of Stringfellow and Cocker - who have both said they hated the place and couldn't wait to leave. My question would be:"Why go there in the first place?" There were always people waiting to pass the entrance exam and the benefit of such an establishment was that if you didn't toe the line, you could be shown the door - this became more difficult with the advent of comprehensive education.

One of the problems at The Star is they haven't got the staff who can go back so far. They have referred to it in the past as 'Central Technical College' which as the school badge showed - was incorrect, and in the most recent feature, Stringfellow went to "Firth College!" So how old is he? It would be more purposeful if they chose examples of people who had a better attitude and went on to achieve - like footballer Keith Ellis or as was mentioned earlier Roger Taylor (though they do seem to have heard of him!)

Obviously, with the column inches I have written, it holds many memories for me although I don't think the technical subjects were my particular forte.

However, Messrs Fred Frow, Roy Wostenholme, Andy Walker - and Alf Simpson's applied Maths (Mechanics) helped me forge a career in teaching Maths - and for others supplementing this along the way - I have to be most grateful.[/quote

The subjects did not suit me,I was hopeless at technical drawing,metalwork and the sciences,apart from maths all the O levels I achieved were not technical or science related.

Halcyon days,probably why today I still must always be on time for appointments,having only once being late at CTS and facing the wall for 40 mins in the old hall.

[Janner]

I think it was 1946 - 47 when the football team managed to get shirts , they were light and dark blue quarters , did those colours stay the same right to the end?

[helbo]

Does anyone remember the CTS anthem? "Flourish CTS forever..." and Herbert playing "Hallelujah" on a scratchy record player in morning assembly? As orators go...Herbert was The Man!

[CHAIRBOY]

I think it was 1946 - 47 when the football team managed to get shirts , they were light and dark blue quarters , did those colours stay the same right to the end?

 

Yes, I remember those 'Wycombe' shirts. I can't remember if they did stay to the end, confusion coming because we had other coloured shirts for House games.

 

In an earlier page, I asked for the words of the School song and I got a reply. I wasn't sure about one of the lines, it didn't see to fit but we sang it at the end of term assembly and it also had a rendition at the Speech Day which in my time was held at the Victoria Hall on Chapel Walk.

"Flourish CTS forever" was the first line of the chorus. The song began: "From the Cheviots down to Dover, from the Wash to Milford Town, we are ......?.... the whole world over. etc

 

Wadge's orations were legendary - his views on 'fud' and 'avarice'. Sorry for repeating this tale but he once had a rant imploring a pupil called 'Scrimshaw' to stand up. Nothing happened, he grew more agitated until Thompson came to his rescue side-mouthing the 'correct' name of the pupil!