Notes

Notes on Colyton Grammar School 1958 - 1963

Produced in 2000 by John Stephens for Colyford/CGS Millennium history project

Buildings etc.: Original, breeze block, canteen (now demolished I think) + domestic science (where Miss Pat Goate used to hold sway) and woodwork/metalwork block. Due to pressure on space, the hall balcony was used as a classroom for small classes. Used to queue along cloakroom corridor to be let into lunch; quote from Meeke, 21 year old head boy, "I have never known such insubordination".

Open-air swimming pool completed just before I left. It was contaminated by the sealant. Also, I nearly drowned. As a result of both, I was rather ill during my GCE exam period, particularly maths. (I passed all of them though).

Classroom arrangement etc. Rows of flap-up desks with ink wells. Girls one side of class, boys the other. At break time, all except the sixth-form (all of whom were prefects as it was so small) were locked out into the playgrounds, boys in one and girls in the other. If it rained we were kept in allocated classrooms, to play chess etc; again, boys one side of the school, girls the other. - Segregation ruled OK!

Although I cannot remember actually using ink from the wells, periodically we had to refill them anyway. As a result of evaporation, solids built up. I remember doing "ink duty" once and pipetting some from the large bottle. It went too far, into my mouth; it tasted of iron - at least, that is what I thought.

Weather: It seemed to be a lot colder/snowier then. Colyton was the only school that never closed due to weather. The third-of-a-pint milk bottles were often frozen and had to be melted on radiators.

Break times: When I was in the lower forms a particular bully, plus the feared ginger twins, used to terrorise us, throwing projectiles around, ducking people in the washbasins, "cubing" (piling people into a toilet cubicle), "running the gauntlet" etc. At break/lunchtimes everywhere was out of bounds except the playground; "the terrorists" once herded everybody out of the playground into the lane, much to their consternation. Meanwhile, the staff used to be in their crowded, smoke-filled room at the back of the hall.

Now, at the age of 52, I am convinced that I am suffering from an injury received in the playground. Two boys that were fighting fell against my knee, bending it backwards, presumably stretching the ligament. I thought that I had recovered soon afterwards but now my left knee hurts when I cannot move it for any length of time (e.g. in a plane or driving).After the ringleaders left and we went further up the school everything was OK as we did not do anything like that.

Numbers of pupils: I think there were about 220; you knew everybody by sight, even if you did not know their names. There was a two-class intake, A and B. I was in the A class of my year and there were 24 pupils in 1958, (which was probably one of the biggest classes), rising to a peak of 31 in the summer term of 1961. The B class was smaller, about 16, I think. We used to be weighed and measured every term. I was 5 ft 2in and 6 st when I was just 11, becoming a 6 ft, 9 stone weakling when I was 15. (I am quoting these figures from my report book which I have unearthed again).

A comment by the English teacher, December 1960. - "He has worked well. Absent from memory work which would have highered his position".

Discipline in lessons: Usually very good, with strict teachers. The girls used to mess about more than the boys but somehow did better in the exams. You had to stand up when any adult entered the class. The headmaster always wore his gown. It was a treat to be selected to go to ring the bell outside the head's office at the end of lessons.

Some dangerous pupil antics: Throwing compasses to stick in the ceiling. Tying string between the blackboard rubber on top of the board and the door handle to clonk people when they came in.

Punishment: Order mark (telling off and minus five house points, read out at weekly house meeting), teachers' detention (kept late to do work and minus ten points), prefects' detention (kept in at lunch + doing "tots", lots of additions, minus ten points). Rare occasions, the cane (up to six strokes).Praise: Distinctions (plus ten points)

Things that are not allowed now (health & safety reasons): The cracks in the physics benches always had little globules of mercury in them. We used to like to coalesce them to make a nice little pool to chase about.

Staff: Headmaster, Mr Morison (secretary, Mrs Morison), Messrs Jowett (Physics), Bond (craft), Massam (geography), Howard (boys' PT), Hemmings (maths), Henwood (chemistry), Cox (music), Pumfrey (craft), Collop (French), Jones (biology) Misses Goate (domestic science and girls' commandant), Lambert (English), Furber (English), Walkey (girls' PT), Sollars (history), Whittaker. [Marriage for women must have been forbidden!]

Subjects: Seven subjects standard number taken at GCE. Sciences were studied separately but taken as general science in the 5th form. Only options were (a) History or Additional maths, (b) Metalwork/engineering drawing or Latin.

Maths: There were no calculators then. We had to work everything out using log tables initially, and later on, slide rules.

PT: "Bogo" Howard, an ex-army instructor used to throw medicine balls about and bang a plimsole down on the vaulting horse to get attention. "I've split boys' fingers with this before now".