Central Technical School

[HPSec 10]

Who was the teacher who used to come in and do current affairs with his news papers. From meory he had a tweed jacket small but stocky.

 

The more you talk of Wisewood the more I remember, I was in the music class and played the Trombone, I also at the age of 12 was to sing a duet with Jane Bartlet at the end of school pagent, but my voice broke so I played in the band with my Trombone.

 

In metalwork I learnet how to make pastry cutters and solder from Tin sheet.,how to use a ball pain hammer to shape brass and copper.

Also tools and their names files for example, the 3 types which were marked R B Y to indicate the finish they would produce.

The one's marked Blue (related to those children who's parents were not at that time married) were aways a point of laughter in the playground at 12 year old.

 

46 Years later I go to a School not far from Port Ness north of Stornaway Isle of Lewis to carry out an M&E Survey, finish up in the as it is now called the craft workshop.

Well it was like going back to the 60's, proper woodwork benches with bench stops, vices with jaw protectors etc. The Master of the class was due to retire and I asked him if I could look in his tool cupbords.

It was like time had taken me back to my childhood. Spokeshaves,wooden mallets, wood chizels with brass rings at the top to stop the handle from splitting,gimletts, centre punches, taps and die's and the final most rewarding of all was the "******* File" with a blue mark.

 

Sadly the school will close within 2 years and if I have the brass I would by all of that workshop and preserve it.

 

I have strayed from the point I am sorry. Wisewood gave me the building bricks, but CTS gave me the information to allow me to put the cement between those bricks and for me I will always be greatfull.

 

My education at CTS was not always easy and at the time seemed unfair, but it on reflection was bloody good.

 

Sorry for the grammer and spelling I was in the Science streem where english was not important.

 

Those days have passed us all by If only we could go back.

 

I don’t remember who did current affairs. It wasn’t Mr Richardson was it? He wore tweeds – a pleasant fair-haired man. His face came back to me as clear as a bell today (though I hadn’t given him a thought for the best part of fifty years).

 

It’s as you say, the more we talk the more we remember.

 

Envy! I never did learn to play a musical instrument. I only dream of playing the sax. It’s still OK to dream, I guess. Did Jane Bartlet make the Big Time? Do you still sing?

 

Our tin-smithing exercise at Wisewood produced an ashtray and I remember making a coat hook which involved forming a rivet and making countersunk holes for screw fixings (not supplied as it would say on a DIY purchase). Who was the metalwork teacher? I don’t suppose the ashtray would be PC these days, but Dad used it for a while.

 

I was fonder of woodwork. Who was the woodwork teacher? Was that Mr Moffit?

 

I’d forgotten the colours for files until you mentioned them. It must be PC to say “******* file” these days. You are right – that was the name of the item as we were taught it and I wonder why it was so called? In any other sense ‘*******’ is a term that would apply to half the population these days according to any old definition (surely long gone). I’m all for promoting family values, myself, and something longer than a one-night stand - but I’m glad we (as a society) seem to be largely past the name calling. The dictionary makes for interesting reading, referring to “fils de bast”. Perhaps a ******* file was a general purpose packsaddle file used by a mule driver.

 

I can tell from what you say about looking in the tool cupboard in the craft workshop, up there in Scotland, that you are a true chip off the CTS old block. There’s no escaping it. You speak with such affection for the tools.

 

Make “The Master” a reasonable offer for them. Don’t stand back. That is my advice. Far better you have them than they go in a skip. I’ve got an old CTS wooden jack plane and the remains of a mallet that were sold off in my day – and a hand drill that was a school prize! Get me!

 

No matter that you stray from the point. Maybe that’s where we find our most creative moments. After all, what is the point? No apology needed. It’s great to share in your story. What did the old school song say, “may their story” (your story) “serve us in the age-long fight”? There’s wisdom, knowledge and experience in it - and for what purpose if it’s not to share?

 

You say your “education at CTS was not always easy and at the time seemed unfair, but on reflection it was bloody good”. I can understand and echo that.

 

No worries about spelling and grammar. Nobody is standing over us now. Just tell it the way it comes. That will be quite good enough.

 

Sadly there is no going back – but onward, Sandie, in the age-long fight!

[sandie 11]

I don’t remember who did current affairs. It wasn’t Mr Richardson was it? He wore tweeds – a pleasant fair-haired man. His face came back to me as clear as a bell today (though I hadn’t given him a thought for the best part of fifty years).

 

It’s as you say, the more we talk the more we remember.

 

Envy! I never did learn to play a musical instrument. I only dream of playing the sax. It’s still OK to dream, I guess. Did Jane Bartlet make the Big Time? Do you still sing?

 

Our tin-smithing exercise at Wisewood produced an ashtray and I remember making a coat hook which involved forming a rivet and making countersunk holes for screw fixings (not supplied as it would say on a DIY purchase). Who was the metalwork teacher? I don’t suppose the ashtray would be PC these days, but Dad used it for a while.

 

I was fonder of woodwork. Who was the woodwork teacher? Was that Mr Moffit?

 

I’d forgotten the colours for files until you mentioned them. It must be PC to say “******* file” these days. You are right – that was the name of the item as we were taught it and I wonder why it was so called? In any other sense ‘*******’ is a term that would apply to half the population these days according to any old definition (surely long gone). I’m all for promoting family values, myself, and something longer than a one-night stand - but I’m glad we (as a society) seem to be largely past the name calling. The dictionary makes for interesting reading, referring to “fils de bast”. Perhaps a ******* file was a general purpose packsaddle file used by a mule driver.

 

I can tell from what you say about looking in the tool cupboard in the craft workshop, up there in Scotland, that you are a true chip off the CTS old block. There’s no escaping it. You speak with such affection for the tools.

 

Make “The Master” a reasonable offer for them. Don’t stand back. That is my advice. Far better you have them than they go in a skip. I’ve got an old CTS wooden jack plane and the remains of a mallet that were sold off in my day – and a hand drill that was a school prize! Get me!

 

No matter that you stray from the point. Maybe that’s where we find our most creative moments. After all, what is the point? No apology needed. It’s great to share in your story. What did the old school song say, “may their story” (your story) “serve us in the age-long fight”? There’s wisdom, knowledge and experience in it - and for what purpose if it’s not to share?

 

You say your “education at CTS was not always easy and at the time seemed unfair, but on reflection it was bloody good”. I can understand and echo that.

 

No worries about spelling and grammar. Nobody is standing over us now. Just tell it the way it comes. That will be quite good enough.

 

Sadly there is no going back – but onward, Sandie, in the age-long fight!

 

Hi HPSec.

 

You are testing the gray matter, the people I remember was David Jowell, Jane Harper, Paul Bartlett and Kathrine Harrison.

I had a crush for Jane Harper.

 

To go back to Wisewood School their was portable buildings just past the sceince block. Can you remember when the school was been painted we moved into the hall.

 

Woodwork I dont remember, but metalwork I do remember as it was yesterday.

 

CTS well that was different. Foundry, Woodwork and Metalwork gave me the base of practicality and I was lucky to have that oppertunity, sadly kids today do not have that priveledge which is sad.

 

It has been a real priveledge to talk to you and thanks.

 

Dave

Edited February 8, 2010 by sandie

[HPSec 10]

Hi HPSec.

 

You are testing the gray matter, the people I remember was David Jowell, Jane Harper, Paul Bartlett and Kathrine Harrison.

I had a crush for Jane Harper.

 

To go back to Wisewood School their was portable buildings just past the sceince block. Can you remember when the school was been painted we moved into the hall.

 

Woodwork I dont remember, but metalwork I do remember as it was yesterday.

 

CTS well that was different. Foundry, Woodwork and Metalwork gave me the base of practicality and I was lucky to have that oppertunity, sadly kids today do not have that priveledge which is sad.

 

It has been a real priveledge to talk to you and thanks.

 

Dave

 

As I might have told you, Sandie, I left Wisewood Secondary Modern in 1962. However over this last weekend I was in the company of a couple of other ex-pupils. I’m guessing to an extent, but I reckon one went there about 1951 and the other left about 1973.

 

Teachers’ names that cropped up were:-

 

Mr Cattel (Head before Mr Goodfellow*)

Mr Hook (Head after Mr Goodfellow)

Mr Turner (Deputy Head in the time of Mr Hook)

Miss Ballard* (daughter of a former Lord Mayor of Sheffield)

Mr Mossingdew* (responsible for 4th Year boys)

Miss Revill *(responsible for 4th Year girls)

Miss Toplis (Dance)

Miss Tindall (Music)

Miss Pinder (Domestic Science; sister of a local male doctor of medicine)

Miss Gold (or Gould; Domestic Science)

Miss Hand (Physical Education)

Mr Kay* (Religious Education)

Mr Burrel

Mr Williamson* (Music)

Miss Young (who became Mrs Yerdley)

Mr Turton*

Mrs Higgins (Art)

Mrs Larkin* (School Secretary)

Mr Mumford* (Maths)

Mr Osgathorpe (Woodwork or Metalwork)

Mrs Osgathorpe (Sowing)

 

I suppose we tend to forget that there was staff turnover, but I’ve starred the teachers I believe to have been in the School when I was there. Mr and Mrs Osgathorpe were of the later generation of teachers and were highly regarded apparently.

 

There was some agreement amongst us that where we identified teachers with a particular subject, it was not necessarily the only thing they taught. There was some general teaching being conducted probably and I think we could apply this observation to CTS teachers too. That would go some way to explaining why, when “posters” sometimes identify teachers with a particular subject that was taught, my memory differs.

 

We reminisced at length about the legendry Charlie Haydock. We all confessed to loving him despite the firm discipline and the fear factor. We recalled that if you were in bother you were “Jimmy” if you were a boy and “Mary” if you were a girl. It was perhaps Charlie’s unique way of de-personalising an issue. We remembered him standing close to the board, white knuckled, and grinding the tip of a stick of chalk into it. Sometimes we were so slow to get the point of his teaching, and his frustration was palpable.

 

We think he’d had a bad war which was quite sufficient excuse for his behaviour. If infrequently a blackboard rubber flew, it was understandable. I recall him coming into the classroom in a temper. Somebody or something had wound him up. We were instructed to open our books at a certain page, but on opening his copy he accidently screwed it up and then patted it and stroked it as flat as he could as if it were a pet dog. There was something of that incident in his pattern of teaching – of our fear being overridden by his delight when we actually understood something or latched on to a rule-of-thumb (such as not more than two ‘ands’ in a sentence).

 

On the day we left we wrapped up a circular tin of his favourite tobacco in newspapers until the parcel was about 2 feet long and 6 inches in diameter. He started to unwrap it and then got us leavers out to the front of the classroom. Then he said “Margaret, get my peppermint stick!” Two pale blue built-in cupboards each having a pair of tall doors with raised-and-fielded panels flanked the blackboards (three or four that slid in a wooden track) as I remember them. Young Miss Broomhead dutifully obliged in taking the cane from the cupboard, which from a pupil’s point of view, was on the left. Was it yet not too late for us to be caned? Surely it was too late, and we were asked to kneel so that we could each be knighted. That is my last memory of that classroom on the ground floor – there overlooking the boys’ yard on the one side and the quadrangle on the other. Charlie had prepared us well for the harsh realities that had to be faced at the Central Tech.

 

We were gone, and there was no going back. We were victors without knowing precisely what we’d won, but I imagine another group of lads was moving up into the daylight now that we’d been creamed off. What strikes me now as quite unfair is that the girls, some of them quite a bit brighter than us, didn’t get the same kind of chance. It was a good system, but that was the major flaw in my opinion. I can almost tell you the girls’ names that were above mine on the star table.

 

Out in the street at the corner of Ben Lane and Rural Lane, in the parade of shops, and amongst others, were Beech’s post office (for your yo-yo or your gobstopper or your sherbet spaceship requisites), the chemists, a hardware shop, Mr and Mrs Parr’s wonderful bread shop. There might have been a men’s hairdresser, or was that later? Anyway, all of that was largely left behind - and the sign saying “Wisewood Horticultural Society” (or some such thing) on intriguing gates that barred a way at the top of Hallowmoor Road, and the longcut across the Top Field where we lads played football on the cinders. The world of serious homework beckoned. And that is quite enough ‘ands’ in a life sentence for one day.

 

Teachers’ names I recollect from Wisewood Junior School are:-

 

Miss Bate (Head)

Mrs Jarvis

Mr Lacy

Miss Sugarman

Miss Turner

Miss Oldfield

Mrs Simmons

Miss Sewell

Miss or Mrs Robinson (Music)

 

Were you there too?

Edited February 13, 2010 by HPSec
Shop name corrected

[HPSec 10]

I hadn’t realised that after the Central Technical School was relocated to Gleadless, (in due course becoming Ashleigh Comprehensive Upper School) it eventually became part of Myrtle Springs School.

 

It may have been called Myrtle Springs School (Gleadless Road Site) or so it would seem from some City Council documentation on the Web.

 

Does anybody know precisely when it was knocked down?

 

Hurlfield Girls School, which became Ashleigh Comprehensive Lower School was demolished in 1988 if my information is correct.

 

I’m supposing Central Technical School (Gleadless), Ashleigh Comprehensive Upper School, Myrtle Springs (Gleadless Road Site) – whatever you knew that school as – was knocked down later, but when?

[sandie 11]

As I might have told you, Sandie, I left Wisewood Secondary Modern in 1962. However over this last weekend I was in the company of a couple of other ex-pupils. I’m guessing to an extent, but I reckon one went there about 1951 and the other left about 1973.

 

Teachers’ names that cropped up were:-

 

Mr Cattel (Head before Mr Goodfellow*)

Mr Hook (Head after Mr Goodfellow)

Mr Turner (Deputy Head in the time of Mr Hook)

Miss Ballard* (daughter of a former Lord Mayor of Sheffield)

Mr Mossingdew* (responsible for 4th Year boys)

Miss Revill *(responsible for 4th Year girls)

Miss Toplis (Dance)

Miss Tindall (Music)

Miss Pinder (Domestic Science; sister of a local male doctor of medicine)

Miss Gold (or Gould; Domestic Science)

Miss Hand (Physical Education)

Mr Kay* (Religious Education)

Mr Burrel

Mr Williamson* (Music)

Miss Young (who became Mrs Yerdley)

Mr Turton*

Mrs Higgins (Art)

Mrs Larkin* (School Secretary)

Mr Mumford* (Maths)

Mr Osgathorpe (Woodwork or Metalwork)

Mrs Osgathorpe (Sowing)

 

I suppose we tend to forget that there was staff turnover, but I’ve starred the teachers I believe to have been in the School when I was there. Mr and Mrs Osgathorpe were of the later generation of teachers and were highly regarded apparently.

 

There was some agreement amongst us that where we identified teachers with a particular subject, it was not necessarily the only thing they taught. There was some general teaching being conducted probably and I think we could apply this observation to CTS teachers too. That would go some way to explaining why, when “posters” sometimes identify teachers with a particular subject that was taught, my memory differs.

 

We reminisced at length about the legendry Charlie Haydock. We all confessed to loving him despite the firm discipline and the fear factor. We recalled that if you were in bother you were “Jimmy” if you were a boy and “Mary” if you were a girl. It was perhaps Charlie’s unique way of de-personalising an issue. We remembered him standing close to the board, white knuckled, and grinding the tip of a stick of chalk into it. Sometimes we were so slow to get the point of his teaching, and his frustration was palpable.

 

We think he’d had a bad war which was quite sufficient excuse for his behaviour. If infrequently a blackboard rubber flew, it was understandable. I recall him coming into the classroom in a temper. Somebody or something had wound him up. We were instructed to open our books at a certain page, but on opening his copy he accidently screwed it up and then patted it and stroked it as flat as he could as if it were a pet dog. There was something of that incident in his pattern of teaching – of our fear being overridden by his delight when we actually understood something or latched on to a rule-of-thumb (such as not more than two ‘ands’ in a sentence).

 

On the day we left we wrapped up a circular tin of his favourite tobacco in newspapers until the parcel was about 2 feet long and 6 inches in diameter. He started to unwrap it and then got us leavers out to the front of the classroom. Then he said “Margaret, get my peppermint stick!” Two pale blue built-in cupboards each having a pair of tall doors with raised-and-fielded panels flanked the blackboards (three or four that slid in a wooden track) as I remember them. Young Miss Broomhead dutifully obliged in taking the cane from the cupboard, which from a pupil’s point of view, was on the left. Was it yet not too late for us to be caned? Surely it was too late, and we were asked to kneel so that we could each be knighted. That is my last memory of that classroom on the ground floor – there overlooking the boys’ yard on the one side and the quadrangle on the other. Charlie had prepared us well for the harsh realities that had to be faced at the Central Tech.

 

We were gone, and there was no going back. We were victors without knowing precisely what we’d won, but I imagine another group of lads was moving up into the daylight now that we’d been creamed off. What strikes me now as quite unfair is that the girls, some of them quite a bit brighter than us, didn’t get the same kind of chance. It was a good system, but that was the major flaw in my opinion. I can almost tell you the girls’ names that were above mine on the star table.

 

Out in the street at the corner of Ben Lane and Rural Lane, in the parade of shops, and amongst others, were Beechill’s post office (for your yo-yo or your gobstopper or your sherbet spaceship requisites), the chemists, a hardware shop, Mr and Mrs Parr’s wonderful bread shop. There might have been a men’s hairdresser, or was that later? Anyway, all of that was largely left behind - and the sign saying “Wisewood Horticultural Society” (or some such thing) on intriguing gates that barred a way at the top of Hallowmoor Road, and the longcut across the Top Field where we lads played football on the cinders. The world of serious homework beckoned. And that is quite enough ‘ands’ in a life sentence for one day.

 

Teachers’ names I recollect from Wisewood Junior School are:-

 

Miss Bate (Head)

Mrs Jarvis

Mr Lacy

Miss Sugarman

Miss Turner

Miss Oldfield

Mrs Simmons

Miss Sewell

Miss or Mrs Robinson (Music)

 

Were you there too?

 

Hi HPSec,

 

You are realy testing the Grey matter, I remember Miss Tindall for music with a fondness, but I will always remember mr Haydock.

 

Who was the science teacher and the french teacher?

 

The Post Office had a wide selection of sweets, what you could by for a penny was unreal.

It was at Wisewood that I learned about the crisp buttie.

A bread cake from Parr's and a packet of Castle Crisps, take out the middle and stuff the crisps in the cake.

 

Can you remember the Potato Puffs at Wisewood and the CTS.

 

Dave

[HPSec 10]

Hi HPSec,

 

You are realy testing the Grey matter, I remember Miss Tindall for music with a fondness, but I will always remember mr Haydock.

 

Who was the science teacher and the french teacher?

 

The Post Office had a wide selection of sweets, what you could by for a penny was unreal.

It was at Wisewood that I learned about the crisp buttie.

A bread cake from Parr's and a packet of Castle Crisps, take out the middle and stuff the crisps in the cake.

 

Can you remember the Potato Puffs at Wisewood and the CTS.

 

Dave

 

Yes, those were the days, Sandie!

 

Potato Puffs - and crisps in a bread cake! Mm!

 

In my day Mr Hartley was the Science teacher in a lab on the north side of the school – the Laird Road side. It seemed quite dark and had wooden lab benches stained dark brown. The lab was at the top of some stone steps in the veranda. The Woodwork shop was at the bottom of the steps and beyond that (next to the Woodwork shop) was the Metalwork shop. Somewhere I think you have mentioned some temporary buildings. I think they were a driveway width away from the lab up against a wall (topped with black railings) on the Laird Road boundary. Between them and the Rural Lane service entrance (where there were double gates) I think there was a shelter of some kind – a roofed play area or bike shed somewhere where instruction was given after school about Cycling Proficiency and we trained for the test by zigzagging between wooden skittles. I can’t exactly picture that corner of the grounds.

 

French: “Excellent – has tried very hard” (July ’61); “Very good” (Dec ’61)! And I can’t remember a thing about the lessons! From forensic examination, finding a handwriting match between the subject comments and the Class Teacher’s “General Remarks”, I see Mr D Richardson was my French teacher. As well as being my Class Teacher to July ’61, I see that he taught me English and History too. The Geography comment is in Mr Haydock’s hand and the Mathematics and Physical Education comments are in Mr Croft’s hand.

 

The class was 1(1) and I was 19th of 40 that year and made 128 attendances out of 130. I never knew so much could be gleaned from a school report.

[DocDave 10]

I entered CTS 1963 till '66 in the Building Department. It was very hard at times but I kept my head down and usually escaped trouble , however, one incident, I got caught for (at Gleadless then) resulted in my name being entered in the dreaded BLACK BOOK! plus been wacked by Mr Hunter.

 

There were many hard cases within the school at the time (both staff and pupils) - I will forgive them for any hard times they gave me (any recognition of any miscreant (with my eye sight now - doubtful!) would not be a problem now - all part of growing up)) but also, some really decent school mates at the time (alas - time having moved on and we have all lost contact for many reasons - 'really' growing up, women, drink, life, etc,.........).

 

The Prefects (my opinion only!) were like a secret society (Masonic hopefuls/brown tongues, etc...) in nature and I had no time or respect for most them. They were generally worst than any bully I encountered at that time.

 

End of day - I have absolutely no regret going to that school - I was given a second chance after failing 11+ and am still full of nostalgia for the memory of it. I have done very well since, thanks CTS (including all teachers, not prefects) and all my old school mates.

[Rebated 10]

If anyone reading this was at the CTS between 1964 and 1969 they may remember David Ives. I regret to have to say that David died recently aged 59 and from cancer.

[DocDave 10]

Sorry Rebate, Did not know him. Thanks for contact.

[PopT 10]

Wasn't it Mr Frith who taught Geography and French in the middle fifties?

 

Popt

[DocDave 10]

Sorry PopT, I was there 1963-66 but I know someone who attended a lot earlier - I will ask him asap and let you know. Best regards, DocDave

[sandie 11]

If anyone reading this was at the CTS between 1964 and 1969 they may remember David Ives. I regret to have to say that David died recently aged 59 and from cancer.

 

Hi Rebated,

 

I do remember David Ives and am sad to here the news.

My thoughts go out to his familly and friends and their sad loss.