STAR gets it wrong again.

[CHAIRBOY]

In Saturday's 'Star' (2 Dec), there is a feature on the Leopold Hotel which is currently being built in Leopold Square. Tony Belshaw refers to it as the former Firth College and goes on to say: "Former pupils from the college include singer Joe Cocker and nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow."

I don't know how many times this has been pointed out to members of this newspaper that the building in question was part of the old Central Technical School (Holly Street building) and it was the CTS that the above names attended. It may well have been Firth College at one time but for many years, thereafter, was a scholarship-entry technical SCHOOL, whose head was Herbert Wadge. It then moved from its central-base in the mid-60's to Gleadless when it became Ashleigh School.

 

http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=1910652

[bensonhedges]

Herbert Wadge - you couldn't make it up!!!

[CHAIRBOY]

Certainly not, in fact every time I pass on the tram, I look up at Wadge's office in the West St. building and there is still a pane of glass missing. The building between West St. and Holly St. was the Bow Building. The Holly St. building housed rooms for the 'Building Section' of the CTS but engineers also accessed the building in order to get to Chemistry lessons and Mechanics laboratories for Applied Maths lessons.

As posted on the nostalgia board, Holly Street was the domain of that fearful man 'Pop' Gregory (Chemistry). Those in 'Building' may well equate him to Thornton and Hunter? As I have pointed out before, the school badge bore the letters CTS - Central Technical School!