Central Technical School

[PopT 10]

Did anyone remember the great school dinners we had at Cathredral School.

 

Meat and potato pie, Shepherd's Pie, Cotage Pie, Stew followed with Apple Pie and custard, and all range of good dinners and sweets.

 

No Hamburgers, chips, pizzas or other fast food.

 

Happy Days!

[helbo 10]

Charlie Baines was a right old *******!...I still remember him dragging me to to floor with my hair. Just for the record, I was never rude to any of the teachers at any of the time I spent at the CTS and I had respect for most of them. This action however, was both inappropriate (I was struggling with some lathe work) and blatantly abusive.

[biker 10]

Mr Groarke and physics now that was some combination. I used to find physics dull and never thought Mr.Groarke added enough personality or humor into the subject to make it interesting. Contrast that to "pop" Gregory and chemistry.He was an entertainer and made what was probably an equally dull subject fun and therefore easier to learn.

 

I never felt brutilised in my time at CTS (1960-63).There was disipline certainly and when necessary punishment but I think in retrospect it did most of us more good than harm. Maybe its because I was young and more impressionable then but my memories are of teachers of "character" and who gave us a good grounding in our chosen subjects and a sound start in our careers.

 

By the way wasn't Mr. Harrington the guy who in assembly used to ask if anyone was interested in playing "wugger"?

I was also at the CTS from 1960-1963.What classes were you in ?

[last orders 10]

Hi biker, I was in 3b, 5c and 6c.

Never pulled up any trees but it was fun.

[sandie 11]

Hi last orders, I was at CTS from 1964 to 1968 fist af all in the town centre and then to Gleedles. I was in the House of Bessimer and my house Master was Woolhouse the Engineering Drawing Teacher.

The reason for the reply was I found Mr Groarke a great teacher and I learnet a lot maybe that is why now I am a qualified engineer in M&E Sevices.

If I remember our text book was called Heat,Light and Magnetism in a green cover.I agree with you Pop Gregory he was a one off I always remember his tests score under 7 and that was the cane and his special brand of brown ink.

 

The one name I am strugling with is the Maths Teacher who didn't use the cane but the slipper,then there was Hughs the music teacher he was a pratt he would cane you if you were not in a uniform line waiting to enter his classroom.

It was always good when we moved to Gleedles when Wimbledon was on we all watched the EX pupil Roger Taylor play live in the 2 lecture Theaters.

 

Well thats enough for now

Regards

[last orders 10]

Hi Sandie

I rember "sally" Hughes, he got very excited that the music room at the new school was going to be hexagonal in shape. I left before the move so never found out if it lived upto his expectations. Didn't he teach french as well?

 

The maths teacher wasn't Sid Gibbons was it?

 

There was a guy called Ron Underwood, I can't remember which subject he taught ,but when he caned anybody he made a great drama of it by moving the desks to give himself a full uninterupted swing of the cane!

 

How are finding life in Inverness? I lived in Drumnadrochit for 9 years and enjoyed it.

[CHAIRBOY 11]

Underwood taught French and English. He cut quite a tall, distinguished figure though I think he is 'grey' now! You are absolutely correct LO with the dramatic setting for a caning at the head of the class. I remember a pupil called Chamberlain who received six strokes for some facetious prose in an English essay. It shook the living daylight out of most of the audience!

 

I beg to differ with Sandie on the Physics' texts. There were two: "Heat and Light" and "Electricity and Magnetism" - but thanks for rubber-stamping the Gregory memories of tests and brown ink! Talking of boring texts, what about the C.P.Hill book that we used in History. Dour or what? On the theme of History and Physics - do you remember Arthur Hill who taught history, well when I arrived at High Storrs, Arthur's wife was teaching in the Physics' dept.

[CHAIRBOY 11]

Charlie Baines was a right old *******!...I still remember him dragging me to to floor with my hair!

 

A teacher whom I believe is still with us, based in the North Yorkshire moors if I remember his letter to the Star about the demolition of the school hall, is Don Charlesworth but I don't think anyone would say anything untoward about Don. I found him very approachable and still have a Phillips Atlas that greeted my 'first hand up' when Don was sorting out his atlases at the end of term and this one had come away from the stitching. It still forms part of my bulging bookshelves.

I didn't have much interest in the Savanna Grasslands, the Amazon Basin and the "we'rethefcukarewi" tribes, confluence or ox-bow lakes etc. but I excelled when it came to British Isles geography because I travelled the country watching sport, hunting for autographs or trainspotting - and learning routes, stations and knowing the London Underground lines was second nature. Proof that if you have an interest, it takes on a different dimension.

Imagine my surprise when I turned up with my dad's cricket team (as scorer) at the Transport ground at Meadowhead, and Don was playing for the opposition. In those days, you were most embarrassed whenever you came across a teacher out of school. When teaching myself from the 70's, this understanding changed markedly. I'd be walking through Endcliffe Park when "*****, that a w****r/ or "that a puff" would echo through the trees - which apart from rudeness was most inaccurate as I was walking with my wife! But what a difference - for the worse, I feared, and it was.

[biker 10]

Hi biker, I was in 3b, 5c and 6c.

Never pulled up any trees but it was fun.

 

We were definately in 6C together.I too was never inspired.PM me if you want.

[DavidRa 10]

Did anyone remember the great school dinners we had at Cathredral School.

 

Meat and potato pie, Shepherd's Pie, Cotage Pie, Stew followed with Apple Pie and custard, and all range of good dinners and sweets.

 

No Hamburgers, chips, pizzas or other fast food.

 

Happy Days!

Hi Pop T,

Were you deprived of good food as a teenager?I went in 1963 and all I can remember were prunes & sago occasionally the food was OK.

[PopT 10]

DavidRa

 

In the 50's, Yes.

 

I served the staff dinners so I could get more.

 

Happy Days?

[Albert T Smith 10]

DavidRa

 

In the 50's, Yes.

 

I served the staff dinners so I could get more.

 

Happy Days?

 

My brother Raymond Smith attended the Central Tech on Leopold Street in the late 1940s early 50s. Can anyone recall him?

Regarding the question about 'Being short of food in the 1940s.

If school meals had not been introduced during the War years, I'm certain a great number of poor children would have staved. My mother frequently sold our food rations to wealthy people and I'm sure others did also.

If you did not have a ration book you could not get, almost any, type of food.

Today when I walk around Tesco or Sainsburys I look at the full shelves I often reflex my mind back to the dark days of the 1940s.