• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Wheelers Lane Boys School

B

Barmad

knowlegable brummie
Hello all


I wonder if anyone can help…



I’m the Librarian at Wheelers Lane Technology College (formerly WL Boys School [secondary]) and I’ve been charged with sourcing material for an upcoming project we’re running shortly with some of our students about the history of the school.



Has anybody any relevant information/memories/photographs that would be of interest?



Thanks in advance.

Barry
 
I was at Wheelers lane in the 50s and have quite a few memories.

Would you like me to just post them here ?
 
Barry I have posted your appeal on the BHF Facebook page I hope that was not presumptuous of me?
 
Barmad said:
Anyone? Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Barry
Click to expand...

I was at Wheelers lane from 1951 'till the end of '55.

The teachers I remember were North (Head), Bonner, Hall, Goulcher, Flavell, Clutterbuck, and Fletcher.

In, I think our second year, we often had to go to what was called "The Annexe", which was a church building in Kings Heath High St, almost opposite Poplar Rd.

More to follow.
 
Thanks for getting back to me.
Was this Kings Heath Baptist Church you went to? I heard there were schoolrooms there.
Did you go there because the school was overcowded at the time?

Barry
 
I'm afraid I don't which church it was, we weren't taking much notice at the time !
We were in a large room which had a stage at the end of it. Rows of desks had been set up in there but you'd hardly call it "school rooms".
Kids in their first year at WL had to continue wearing short trousers until their second year. I remember how we all gathered laughing at the other kids of our year coming in on the first day of term. They looked so funny to us, even though it was our first time in long "strides" too.
Another teacher I recall was Harrison, he had a thin cane, like a whip. If you ran in the corridor, past his classroom he would order you in and cane you on both hands.
One good thing about the school was, as well as having swimming on the curriculum we could go up to Kings Heath baths after school hours. I learned to swim there.
 
maypolebaz said:
I was at Wheelers lane from 1951 'till the end of '55.

The teachers I remember were North (Head), Bonner, Hall, Goulcher, Flavell, Clutterbuck, and Fletcher.

In, I think our second year, we often had to go to what was called "The Annexe", which was a church building in Kings Heath High St, almost opposite Poplar Rd.

More to follow.
Click to expand...
I was there from 1950 to 1952 and remember these teachers also a Mr. Skinner who I think was the woodwork teacher and a Mr. Mason.
 
Thanks all for your replies.
Imagining Wheelers in the fifties will be a challenging exercise for our Year Sevens (first years)!
What was the school like back then? Did you enjoy going to school? Were you proud to be a Wheelers lad? Did the school have a good/bad reputation in the area?

All the best
Barry
 
From what little I recall Barry the school had a good reputation. However I can only speak from what I heard as I went to Bishop Challenor. Believe it was considered better than Billesley but one of the Billesley ex boys may have a different view.
 
I would say the same about the reputation of the school, I went to Yardley Wood senior school for 2 years and never really liked it there, but found Wheelers Lane a lot better for me personally.
 
Barmad said:
Thanks all for your replies.
Imagining Wheelers in the fifties will be a challenging exercise for our Year Sevens (first years)!
What was the school like back then? Did you enjoy going to school? Were you proud to be a Wheelers lad? Did the school have a good/bad reputation in the area?

All the best
Barry
Click to expand...

How would you like it Barry ?

I can tell it warts and all but school in those days was quite brutal. I'm not sure that that would be the kind of stories you are looking for !
 
No, maybe 'warts and all' wouldn't be great for the boys! (Althóugh personally I'd be quite interested...)

Perhaps 'enjoy school' and 'proud to be a Wheelers lad' were the wrong phrases to use. I suppose what I was getting at was how pupils regarded going to Wheelers? Were you glad to be there rather than at other local schools?

Our boys will be working on a timeline of events and stories in the school's history, so if you can remember any specific events that'd be great. But anything (and I appreciate that we're going back a long time!) is goód.

On a personal note, may I thank everyone who's responded to this appeal. I actually have a keen interest in local history myself, and I will definitely be back when this project is over. (I remember Kings Heath in the 80s - that's how far I go back, lol).

For now, though: Wheelers. Keep 'em comin'.


Barry
 
john70 said:
I would say the same about the reputation of the school, I went to Yardley Wood senior school for 2 years and never really liked it there, but found Wheelers Lane a lot better for me personally.
Click to expand...

By rights, as a progression from Highters Heath Juniors, I should've gone to Yardley Wood, most of my mates did. I daresay my parents had some say in the matter.
Yardley Wood was supposed to be rougher than Wheelers Lane, all those Warstock types used to go there!
 
Again I have typed in a great spiel on my memories of Wheelers Lane school only to find, on clicking on "post reply" that I am required to log in.
I WAS logged in. On logging in again I find that all I have written has disappeared.
This has happened before. I can't be bothered to do it all again.
Can this fault be rectified ?
 
Not had this happen Baz so don't know the answer to be honest. I will raise it and see if anyone else has had the problem at all. I do recall when I first joined I was not used to the way my typing would disappear of I moved off the page to check something then came back. Not suggesting that is why it has happened to you. The only thing I can suggest, until we can get it looked at, is to type the post in a word processor then cut and paste it in. Not as simple but the only thought I can come up with just now.

Bernie
 
This has happened to me also Baz, And I used to have no problem putting photos on, but tried last ight for nearly an hour and got no where with that either.
 
Thanks John. Now I have recently been posting photos the old way with no problems so it is going to be difficult to pin down.
 
Bernie D'Boult said:
Not had this happen Baz so don't know the answer to be honest. I will raise it and see if anyone else has had the problem at all. I do recall when I first joined I was not used to the way my typing would disappear of I moved off the page to check something then came back. Not suggesting that is why it has happened to you. The only thing I can suggest, until we can get it looked at, is to type the post in a word processor then cut and paste it in. Not as simple but the only thought I can come up with just now.

Bernie
Click to expand...

Thanks Bernie.
No expert me but I suspect, because my laborious typing means I take a long time to post something, the computer thinks it's inactivity.
Even so if I'm allready logged in, why am I told to log in ? (stupid machines !).
 
Baz this may help - In the Profile there is the option to stay logged on always or to stay logged on for a period of time (say 10 minutes). This may be the cause if it is a long post being typed out.

There is an auto save on posts. Look for the yellow auto save flag appearing every so often in the bottom right hand side of the Reply box and Quick Reply box, when writing a reply.
After logging back in and returning to the original post if you click on restore auto save (appears below reply box) that will reinstate the post in the box.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for that.
I'll get on it as soon as I can.
If I can't sort it I'll I'll just have to "minimize", (as they used to say on army radio nets !).
 
There a few photos in Barrie Genes book From Kings Heath to the Country related to the school, W H Smiths in Kings Heath have the books I believe, there are 2 copies.
 
maypolebaz said:
By rights, as a progression from Highters Heath Juniors, I should've gone to Yardley Wood, most of my mates did. I daresay my parents had some say in the matter.
Yardley Wood was supposed to be rougher than Wheelers Lane, all those Warstock types used to go there!
Click to expand...
Where did you live then Baz?, I lived in Highters Road till I was 15, in 1952, then we moved to Highters Heath lane opposite Gorleston Road.
 
Sladepool Farm Rd, Highters Heath Rd end.
Were you in that first group of houses, that lay back, opposite Gorleston ?
It looks like you're four years older than me, I wonder if there were people we both knew back then ?
 
Yes we lived in the first group of houses as you say, other names in that group were Waltons, Barlows, Spence and Tylers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top