Ecclesfield Grammar School

[Paul Iverson 0]

On ‎25‎/‎05‎/‎2014 at 16:39, scousemouse said:

Jean and Janice Hearnshaw went to this school, Jean married David Tompkins. anyone remember them?

Jean was a girlfriend of mine before David and he was an inside forward to my left half in the first X1. Nice to hear they got wed, another EGS romance just like the McEwens who married various alumni, including my sister Veronica Iverson.

[Paul Iverson 0]

Anybody old enough to remember the McEwen family, John, Catherine and Libbie, or the Iverson family, Angela, Pat and Veronica who all went to EGS before 1960?

[Mike Roebuck 0]

I just found this forum while looking for something else.

 

I was at EGS from 1964 to 1971, so I experienced, but wasn't subject to, the change to a Comprehensive school (I stayed on my Grammar school curriculum when it happened). I recognise some of the teacher's names that others have mentioned in previous posts. I have both good and bad memories of the school, but I'll always be grateful to the teachers there for recognising and nurturing my talent for languages (and for forgiving my lack of ability in other fields, especially sciences).  I think the ability to specialise was a great help to me, and probably to many others, too.

 

For the first two years, the first and second forms were at what had previously been Ecclesfield Secondary School (and later became Ecclesfield Junior School), just off Ecclesfield High Street, so teachers had to travel between the two schools a lot of the time.

 

My languages (French, German and Italian) led to an international career with British Rail in Germany and Switzerland and these days I translate German to English for a living. I have a son and daughter-in-law who live in Switzerland and have just become a grandfather to a baby girl, my first grandchild. None of this would have happened without my EGS education and, if I didn't appreciate then what a good school it was, I certainly do now. David (Das) Smith taught me French for 4 years and also taught me Italian and got me through the O-level exam at the second attempt, after less than two years' lessons - he even provided a Linguaphone course to help me. At the time, I never dreamed that I'd end up living in Switzerland for twenty years, using all three of the languages I'd learned.

 

I attended a school reunion in 2001, just after I moved back to the UK, when former teachers Geoff Jennett and John Shaddock turned up. I'd never had either of them as teachers, but it was nice to see them.

 

It's always nice to read other peoples' memories of the school.

[Mike Roebuck 0]

On 23/07/2006 at 07:41, mr_blue_owl said:

 

 

Other girls I remember:Shirley Walker, Susan Vickers, Kathleen (or Catherine? Turner), Anne Crellin.

 

That'll be Catherine Turner. She's my cousin. I remember being at school with her, but haven't seen her since. Her two sisters turned up for my Mum's funeral in 2012, though.

 

[badab1ng 11]

2 hours ago, Mike Roebuck said:

 

Mike maybe you knew my brother Charlie Holden? 

[Bayern Blade 10]

On 22/03/2019 at 22:05, Mike Roebuck said:

I just found this forum while looking for something else.

 

I was at EGS from 1964 to 1971, so I experienced, but wasn't subject to, the change to a Comprehensive school (I stayed on my Grammar school curriculum when it happened). I recognise some of the teacher's names that others have mentioned in previous posts. I have both good and bad memories of the school, but I'll always be grateful to the teachers there for recognising and nurturing my talent for languages (and for forgiving my lack of ability in other fields, especially sciences).  I think the ability to specialise was a great help to me, and probably to many others, too.

 

For the first two years, the first and second forms were at what had previously been Ecclesfield Secondary School (and later became Ecclesfield Junior School), just off Ecclesfield High Street, so teachers had to travel between the two schools a lot of the time.

 

My languages (French, German and Italian) led to an international career with British Rail in Germany and Switzerland and these days I translate German to English for a living. I have a son and daughter-in-law who live in Switzerland and have just become a grandfather to a baby girl, my first grandchild. None of this would have happened without my EGS education and, if I didn't appreciate then what a good school it was, I certainly do now. David (Das) Smith taught me French for 4 years and also taught me Italian and got me through the O-level exam at the second attempt, after less than two years' lessons - he even provided a Linguaphone course to help me. At the time, I never dreamed that I'd end up living in Switzerland for twenty years, using all three of the languages I'd learned.

 

I attended a school reunion in 2001, just after I moved back to the UK, when former teachers Geoff Jennett and John Shaddock turned up. I'd never had either of them as teachers, but it was nice to see them.

 

It's always nice to read other peoples' memories of the school.

Mr Shaddock was my German teacher, I was sad to hear that he passed away a few years ago, he was a great teacher. Thanks partly to the start he gave me in the language I moved to Germany in the 80's and speak the language fluently. 

[REDMANTW 10]

On 07/03/2019 at 16:19, Paul Iverson said:

Anybody old enough to remember the McEwen family, John, Catherine and Libbie, or the Iverson family, Angela, Pat and Veronica who all went to EGS before 1960?

 

On 07/03/2019 at 16:19, Paul Iverson said:

Anybody old enough to remember the McEwen family, John, Catherine and Libbie, or the Iverson family, Angela, Pat and Veronica who all went to EGS before 1960?

I’m not sure whether this is the same family but the Elizabeth McEwen that I remember was the daughter of Dr McEwen whose practice was in Hoyland.  He was our family doctor.  I think that Elizabeth was about the same age as my sister, Jean Wroe.

[Paul Iverson 0]

You are quite right, Libbie was the daughter of Hoyland GP Dr Aitken McEwen. Libbie died a few years ago following a long illness. Sadly her brother and sister have also passed away in recent years. Libbie would have been about 72 years old this year.

[Peter Johnson 0]

I started at EGS in 1963.My partner on the tea trot in that first year was Helen Goodison.

Anyone from my year on this site?

Peter Johnson

[Keith Harrison 0]

Hi there.   I started at EGS in 1963.  I was in 1N with Mr Moss as Form Tutor.  I never settled at the school because I suffered from anxiety and was always afraid of missing the coach home (some five miles to Loxley) and being stuck in Ecclesfield - no cars in my family in those days.  I had a lot of time off because of the anxiety and got behind in most subjects; I finished up leaving in 1968 with two GCEs and worked in the steel industry for 20 odd years.   In 1989 I went to college and did A levels then onto Uni in Sheffield to do an English degree because, strangely enough, I had a burning desire to teach!  I was sent to Ecclesfield School on my first Teaching Practise in 1994 and it was a really strange experience to be back there (the tiles on the walls in the corridors were still the same though).  I asked  about teachers I remembered whilst i was there, but they were long gone, apart from Tom Smith who taught me for Spanish, who had retired the year before.  I never really saw anyone I went to school with after I left, and I suspect that most of my peers would remember me as being an immature dick!  I retired from teaching two years ago, having had a wonderful 23 years working with students and helping them develop both socially and academically;  I miss the job so much however, that I still do one to one tuition.  I remember lots of names from my year - Tom Middleton, Andrew Hemingway, Michael Owens, Rob Fisher, Tom Henderson and girls I was fond of like Alison Tissington and Angelyn Dawkins.  I would like to hear from anyone who remembers anything about those years at EGS.

All the best.

Keith Harrison

[Maureen T 0]

On 07/03/2019 at 11:19, Paul Iverson said:

Anybody old enough to remember the McEwen family, John, Catherine and Libbie, or the Iverson family, Angela, Pat and Veronica who all went to EGS before 1960?

I remember your 3 sisters. I attended Ecclesfield Grammar School 1954 to 1958. Veronica was in my home room and I knew her the best. Angela and Patricia were just someone I knew as Veronica's sisters.  My maiden name was Maureen Brownhill and I have lived in the USA since 1964.

[Peter Johnson 0]

Keith,

We must have been in the same first form class as I was in 1N too with John Moss.

Peter Johnson