Post by rjdgull on Oct 2, 2011 21:37:29 GMT
Well, we all know the man with the mostest this week, contributing probably to the widest range of topics on this site. This week even a bit of poetry was quoted but suspect that he got most of his votes this week with his reminiscences about the old Grammar School which I believe was known as the Pugh Building when I was at SDCAT in the late 80s / early 90s!
Well done to Barton Downs and keep those posts coming!
Starting over in the Far East – the chemistry block. Must have been “state of the art” in the early 1960s. Certainly it appeared “established” when I arrived in 1967. Did it make it to the end of the old place? Christ I was worse at chemistry than I was physics….
The gym impressed me as an eleven-year-old and, again, I’d date in as early-to-mid 1960s. Probably past its’ “sell-by date” by the 1970s. Main memory is of green mats and an odd activity known as “basketball” (which must have been a rubbish sport because Churston GS were better at it than we were).
Some sort of brown, wooden military hut – ATC or something? And the bike sheds, in front, which rang to the chant of “PANATHINAIKOS” (a very chantable word) when I arrived at school the morning after Everton’s European Cup exit.
The play ground “huts” – temporary classrooms from God knows when. Standard issue for the time – danger of death by frostbite or fumes during the winter. I’m sure I spent most of my first year in the left-hand one sat next to a lad who was enjoyed self-exploration of his anatomy during RE lessons. A Sherwell Valley boy, I think, which may account for a lot…
The sixth form block – the “jewel in the crown”. Built during my time at the school and ready for our desecration by 1972.
Hest Bank – the house over Barton Road which was first used (I think) as a fifth-year block in 1971/72. Much vandalised causing something of a scandal at the time. Too much responsibility that we didn’t handle well - a blot on the CVs of those of us on the 5th form committee.
Siberia beyond Oak Hill Road – two temporary blocks each of two classrooms. Another late 1960s/early 1970s “solution”. We may have been the first occupants as fourth years in 1970.
The woodwork block – a hell-like place for those of us who were totally incompetent in the practical arts. One year of this only for me under the tutelage of Mr Thirsk.
Dining room – in the car park between the school and the technical college. From the same pre-packaged kit as Cell Block 37. I didn’t do school dinners so kept a wide berth.
Were there other huts at the technical college end of the car park? Or were they part of the college but in the same uniform-style as our own?
The technical college – occasional trips (dreaded by me) to the “language lab”. Pure bastard torture.....and that big tower block dominated school life as it was being constructed during 1969/70. Not only was there the drone of Latin to endure (before I failed to make the “Classical Cut” after the third year ) but also the noise of a building site.
So, quite a few dubious “improvements” to the old place in my time, but mainly at the bargain basement end. I guess other schools were getting swisher new buildings with the school leaving age going up from the end of the 4th year to the 5th year (a development which didn’t really impinge on us at Swot Central).
Well done to Barton Downs and keep those posts coming!
Sept 29, 2011 14:11:10 GMT @bartondowns said:
No mention of the “outbuildings” in Mr_W’s TBGS reminiscences. Something of a jumbled mess if I recall correctly.Starting over in the Far East – the chemistry block. Must have been “state of the art” in the early 1960s. Certainly it appeared “established” when I arrived in 1967. Did it make it to the end of the old place? Christ I was worse at chemistry than I was physics….
The gym impressed me as an eleven-year-old and, again, I’d date in as early-to-mid 1960s. Probably past its’ “sell-by date” by the 1970s. Main memory is of green mats and an odd activity known as “basketball” (which must have been a rubbish sport because Churston GS were better at it than we were).
Some sort of brown, wooden military hut – ATC or something? And the bike sheds, in front, which rang to the chant of “PANATHINAIKOS” (a very chantable word) when I arrived at school the morning after Everton’s European Cup exit.
The play ground “huts” – temporary classrooms from God knows when. Standard issue for the time – danger of death by frostbite or fumes during the winter. I’m sure I spent most of my first year in the left-hand one sat next to a lad who was enjoyed self-exploration of his anatomy during RE lessons. A Sherwell Valley boy, I think, which may account for a lot…
The sixth form block – the “jewel in the crown”. Built during my time at the school and ready for our desecration by 1972.
Hest Bank – the house over Barton Road which was first used (I think) as a fifth-year block in 1971/72. Much vandalised causing something of a scandal at the time. Too much responsibility that we didn’t handle well - a blot on the CVs of those of us on the 5th form committee.
Siberia beyond Oak Hill Road – two temporary blocks each of two classrooms. Another late 1960s/early 1970s “solution”. We may have been the first occupants as fourth years in 1970.
The woodwork block – a hell-like place for those of us who were totally incompetent in the practical arts. One year of this only for me under the tutelage of Mr Thirsk.
Dining room – in the car park between the school and the technical college. From the same pre-packaged kit as Cell Block 37. I didn’t do school dinners so kept a wide berth.
Were there other huts at the technical college end of the car park? Or were they part of the college but in the same uniform-style as our own?
The technical college – occasional trips (dreaded by me) to the “language lab”. Pure bastard torture.....and that big tower block dominated school life as it was being constructed during 1969/70. Not only was there the drone of Latin to endure (before I failed to make the “Classical Cut” after the third year ) but also the noise of a building site.
So, quite a few dubious “improvements” to the old place in my time, but mainly at the bargain basement end. I guess other schools were getting swisher new buildings with the school leaving age going up from the end of the 4th year to the 5th year (a development which didn’t really impinge on us at Swot Central).