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Great Barr Schools - Aldridge Road And Great Barr Comprehensive

Vivienne14 said:
This might stir some memories - a Great Barr Comp school trip to Snowdonia (from Birmingham Daily Gazette, December 1956). Viv.
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My wife has often told me about this trip, at 12. Sure enough, there she is in these photos. She remembers sharing a dorm with Victoria and Sandra (who fell in the river from her canoe). Her name was Rita Smith, she lived at 333 Beeches Road.
 
Biddy said:
Hi Hannah,
I went to Great Barr HS & Commercial College 1948-52. When did you go? Headmistress Mrs Fannie Hunt modelled it on Pitmans/Lawrence College, Corporation Street [where my father & mother went 1920's]. Remember the tennis courts in the back garden? We had navyblue uniforms with matching hats [which always had to be worn!] and white panama hats in the summer with blue & white candy striped dresses. The house is still there on Walsall Raod but is kindergarten or daycare centre. Before that I went to Arnold House Preparatory School on Heathfield Road, Birchfields. Miss Margaret Hailey was headmistress. The blazers were spectacular - green with thin red & white stripes - green gymslips, green hats, white panamas in Summer. Boys wore striped caps & blazers with green pants short or long. The striped material was hard to get after War. There was a special school uniform supply store on New Street.It closed in 1948. I started out at Wilson Road School, Birchfields. Remember being given the blue & red "Mickey Mouse" gas mask which I hated to wear - thought it would suffocate me!
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Biddy, my mother went to Lawrence's College in the 1920s. She was born in January 1914. How close to your parents' time would that have been? regards, Terry
 
My father, Stanley Whitfield, was one of the first teachers at Great Barr School when it opened in 1957. He died at the grand age of 83 in 2007, but I recently found the school's Official Opening booklet amongst his papers. If anyone would like a PDF copy of the booklet please email me at janew242@uwclub.net and I will gladly email a copy to you.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Welcome Clare. Did your mom keep any class photos ? Viv.
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Hi Viv. I’ve never seen any pictures of mom at school to be honest. I have just asked her (I only just joined this group last night lol). I’m waiting for a response yet. Steve Winwood also attended GB comprehensive school, but my mom was older than him. There’s quite a few famous musicians from that area around that time. Clare
 
A Sparks said:
Two of my cousins were at Great Barr Comp at the same time as Steve Winwood, he was two years younger that them but they remembered him as he played piano at the school.
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I’m visiting my parents next week (I live in Lancashire, they’re down in the midlands still), so will hopefully have more information, as my mom has messaged to say we can talk about it!!. If I find anything more, I will post it on here. Clare.
 
Izzy1703 said:
Did anybody go to Great Barr School between the years of 1974 and 1982 (I stayed on for 3 years in the 6th form whilst I improved on my very poor 'O' levels? It would be lovely to see some photos from these years. I was in Kenilworth house - K1 and my form teach was Barbara Kimberly. Does anyone remember any of the teachers from the 70s and 80s?
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I went to Great Barr, leaving in 1978. I have very mixed memories about the place... A lot of the teachers there were decent and more to the point with hindsight not bad teachers, others however were awful bullies who by todays standards would be investigated. I remember them well with nothing but contempt.
Anyhow, as I said I left in 1978 and at that stage could hardly read and write; I had a very mixed experience there, and all not bad... my form teacher was Mr Ramos, a West Indian mad on cricket, he was a fair person as was my Head of House, Mr Hilton who even so gave me the cane a few times.
I also had some very good friends there, including John Grahaem
Izzy1703 said:
Did anybody go to Great Barr School between the years of 1974 and 1982 (I stayed on for 3 years in the 6th form whilst I improved on my very poor 'O' levels? It would be lovely to see some photos from these years. I was in Kenilworth house - K1 and my form teach was Barbara Kimberly. Does anyone remember any of the teachers from the 70s and 80s?
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Yes I do, my form teacher was Mr Ramos who was mad on cricket, every time there was a test match he was absent, having said that he was one of the better ones. Also I remember, Mr Hilton who was head of Dudley house, and although he gave me the cane a few times was decent. There are many others I remember who I will not name as some of them were tyrants.
I left GBC in 1978 and at that stage believe it or believe it not I could hardly read and write. Some may say I still can't...
In any event, I had some good times there as well as some grim times; it was a bit of a free for all being of huge capacity, at that time the largest school for numbers in the country, something like two and a half thousand pupils.
I also had some good friends there, including John Graeham (I may have spelt his surname incorrectly). Anyhow, he passed away recently, he was a speedway rider, following his two older brothers.
Some of my memories seem like yesterday others yonks ago...
Anybody else got any memories...
 
Actually during my days at the “comp” the teachers were quite tough like..
”Forgot your gym kit?”
”Well you do it in your underpants lad“

plus you were told to climb to the top of the gym wall bars, and whilst hanging there a certain teacher would pull your dangling legs out and let them go slamming them against the bars...

”OUCH..my knees” (Gym punishment!!)

We actually had a guy who was made to run over the “wrek” (where we did cross country) in his underpants too
because he left his kit at home.

As for science class....forget your science book?
then you were made to stand in front of the class by mr Payne with a ‘hacksaw’ trying your best to cut through a section of railway track...sometimes for a double session

How embarrassing was that??

And yes the caine was used as punishment!!

Brill days..wouldn’t change it for the world, and that goes for all my mates who went there too
 
Not sure Eric..I mean this is between the years 1968-73 The Mr Payne that taught us was probably in his fourties-fifties ish? and at the time being in my mid teens they all looked old to me so...
 
Maaan!!..Not sure Don, 4DA springs to mind for some reason, can’t remember who my last teacher was tho.
I’ll have to ask around, I’m still in touch with a couple of guys who were in the same year.
 
Hi

I went to the Comp and I was in my second year when it opened. We still had some of the teachers from the old Aldridge Road school, it was a lot more lax than the Aldridge Rd school where the the teachers were all ex military and the school was run almost like a military camp. What I remember of the comp was it seemed to lack for nothing and as it was only the second comprehensive school in the country there were hoards of HMIs all the time (Her magesty's inspectorate). The head or principal as he prefered to be called was Oswald Bynon, and he and several of the teachers swanned around the place in their black gowns. I encountered him a few times. I won't elaborate, I left Easter 1958 just two weeks after my 15th birthday and started work three days later.

Brian Steadman.
 
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