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Marsh Hill Boys Grammar Tech School

C

christopher short

Birmingham Post
The school was opened in 1959 and shared the same campus as Stockland Green Secondary Modern and Marsh Hill Girls Grammar School opened in 1960. Edit. A link to Marsh Hill Girls Grammar Tech is here. https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...-grammar-tech-school.48205/page-2#post-609775

I was in the first intake which comprised of a first form of 5 classes (11 Plus) and a similar 2nd form (12 plus)
The school and its teachers had a lasting effect on my life and sadly I have lost touch with the many friends I made.
Maybe, just maybe there is someone out there who was in that first intake, I'd be delighted to hear from you.
 
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I attended Marsh Hill but I didn't start until 1971 leaving in 1976 at which time it had become a Comprhensive school.
 
I went to Stockland Green SM 1960-1966. My memories of the Tech were mainly associated with some great football matches between the two schools. I went to primary school with the goalkeeper Christopher Perkins, and my best mate was Tony Games. I also remember a Tech boy (name Mohammed) getting stabbed on the grass between the two schools. Probably 1965 or 6
 
I was at the girls school from 1962 - 67
I think it opened slightly later than the boys school as there was only a second and third year above us when I started.

I remember our French class going over to the boys school to use the language Laboratory (which I hated!).
The schools also used to do joint end of term plays.
 
Zambodini, Neil Mohammed was injured in that fight in July 1965. He went on to become head boy and was one of my best friends.

A Sparks, A few boys crossed to the Girls' School for cookery and the girls crossed to the Boys' School for technical drawing.
As well as the plays there were also Gilbert and Sullivan operas
 
I attended 1968-1974 and the G & S, Shakespeare etc extravaganzas were still (if I remember correctly) going strong and in my opinion could give professional productions a run for their money.

The teachers there were more than teachers. They were educators. Some still wore their gowns, though had stopped wearing their caps. Strict, fair and didn’t need text books to teach their subject.
 
A Sparks said:
I was at the girls school from 1962 - 67
I think it opened slightly later than the boys school as there was only a second and third year above us when I started.

I remember our French class going over to the boys school to use the language Laboratory (which I hated!).
The schools also used to do joint end of term plays.
Click to expand...

Did you know Christine Haycock?
 
christopher short said:
Zambodini, Neil Mohammed was injured in that fight in July 1965. He went on to become head boy and was one of my best friends.

A Sparks, A few boys crossed to the Girls' School for cookery and the girls crossed to the Boys' School for technical drawing.
As well as the plays there were also Gilbert and Sullivan operas
Click to expand...

I remember playing in a cricket match on the Saturday after that fight at Pype Hayes Park for St Marks Boys club, and the boy from Stockland was playing. He was petrified that Mohammed's family (and I think he had some brothers) were coming over to sort him out.
 
Zambodini - Neil did indeed have an older brother Bob who was even bigger than Neil, he also had some very frightening friends. I recall that Neil sorted it out himself.......
 
classof67.jpg

Sorrry, just experimenting trying to upload photos. Have tried putting the url in between the img quotes, but the photo doesn't post, just the url. Any help would be appreciated. I have tried registering with the forum's image hosting facility but the same happens, and when I try the video 'how to ppst images' I just get a blank screen. Cheers
 
Zambodini said:
Class of '67 Marsh Hill Boys Tech

URL]
Click to expand...

What age would the boys be?
I was at Marsh Hill Girls but I left in Summer '67.
 
Started at Marsh Hill the year it opened - 1959. Remained there through to the sixth form and then left to attend Teachers Training College at Saltley.
Played football, rugby and occasional cricket for school teams.
Alan Roberts. I can remember some names of both students and staff and look back with fond memories.
 

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Alanh said:
Started at Marsh Hill the year it opened - 1959. Remained there through to the sixth form and then left to attend Teachers Training College at Saltley.
Played football, rugby and occasional cricket for school teams.
Alan Roberts. I can remember some names of both students and staff and look back with fond memories.
Click to expand...
I also started at Marsh Hill in 1959. Form 1M with Mr Keatley (Head of French). Suspect you were in same form? I stayed through 6th form then went to Essex University. I recognise some of the guys in your rugby photo. Have attached a photo of a fell-walking group that I belonged to (I'm not in that picture but one of your rugby players is). Now residing in Dorset and still working part time.
 

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Those that were there in February 1969 might remember this. It got quite a bit of newspaper coverage. One teacher taught from home.

In the second article they seem to have got the Head's name wrong - tut tut Birmingham Post, go to the back of the class. It was Mr Markwell ("The Beak"). Viv.image.jpeg

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And this little beauty used to grace the main entrance to the school. It's by William Bloye - hopefully it was rescued before the school was demolished. The model for the sculpture was a pupil, anyone know who ? Press cutting from the Birmingham Post in October 1960. Viv.
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Welcome Jeff. And thanks for posting the photo. I remember the arches very well, but don't think I ever saw the sculpture close up. Viv.
 
This photo shows a part of a full-page spread on the school in, what I think was, The Erdington News of June 9th 1961. For some reason my mother kept it all these years.

The full headline says "Marsh Hill Offers a Wide Education". I was somewhere in the group shown attempting ballroom dancing. The spelling of the name of the chemistry teacher is wrong. It should be Riggall, not Wriggle. I could scan and post the other parts if there's interest?
 

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That's great Jeff ! Please do scan the rest when you have time. I recognise the material of the Marsh Hill girls dresses, although the design is different to when I was there in later years. Look forward to seeing more. Thanks. Viv.
 
October 1964 and April 1966 saw some innovative work from MH boys. The organ was a transistorised, two keyboard, electronic pedal organ exhibited at Arthur Terry School and at the Schools' Science Fair at Birmingham University. Viv.

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The other sections of the article about the school in the Erdington News of Fri June 9th 1961 are attached.

It's great to see the picture of the electronic organ again. That was a big project. It was started by Martin Peakman under the guidance of Physics teacher Don Fifer in 1963. I joined Martin in 1964 and our early version was based on a design that used thermionic valves, not transistors. We made a prototype that played a few notes on part of an old piano keyboard and it was demonstrated at an earlier Birmingham schools science fair. In 1965, when Brian Smith took over as head of Physics, we changed to a more modern transistor design and the organ was completed to the stage shown in Vivienne's picture by the summer of 1967, when I remember the head of music, Mr Buckley, was able to play it during a full school assembly. I think the picture of it was taken in November 1967 (the poppies are a clue) shortly after I left. You'll' see that, at that stage, it lacked a full cabinet and I heard later from Brian Smith that it suffered some damage during the transportation back to the school after the exhbition at the Arthur Terry School. Worse was to come, as the large loudspeaker cabinets that we also made as part of the project were stolen during a burglary at Marsh Hill shortly afterwards, so I'm note sure that the organ was ever fully completed.
 

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