Holgate School / Barnsley Grammar School Website launched

Just spent ages scanning a booklet of the history of Holgate school up to it moving to Shaw Lane, including the rules for pupils from 1861, which are a giggle. Wouldn’t have taken as long, had I not scanned the whole lot in upside down first! Fiona - drop me a message with your email address and I’ll send it across to you, as I think you might like it for the website.

 

Was there 76 - 81. Comprehensive by the time I joined, but girls only arrived in the third year. Caused a bit of a stir at the time, but was progress.

Have a lot of fond memories & a few horrific ones TBH.

Proud I got out of there with 7 O'levels & went to the sixth form college, which was the old girls school, on Wakefield Road, much nearer to my home on Smithies Lane. Got straight A's in my "A" levels. Some of the best teachers at Holgate at the time did inspire me to study. It is great it is being remembered.

Shout out to "Spot" Avery, who sadly died shortly after I graduated. Proper old school, but taught me some things I still carry with me.

 

75-80 for me, third year of comprehensive I think. Always thought a lot of the old grammar school masters resented us a bit, Spot Avery being one. Shout out to Norman Goddard who was our form master for two years and is still going strong I believe. Like you, I’ve mixed memories of the place, both good and bad. I can’t knock the education we received though.

 

Under 15s 1967,Bad Orb trip 1967 and Under 15s v Worms (Germany) 1967.

 

I recognise Don Rhodes and David Walshaw, 4th and 5th from the left on the back row on 4528, and also Ronnie Kaye, on the far right of the second row from the front. They were all in my year and left after A-level in 1967. Don and Dave were both in Sadler and Ronnie was in Lancaster. Dave played centre half and captained the school team. He and Don, a midfielder, both played for Barnsley Boys. Ronnie was a real character and very tricky winger. It was impossible to get the tennis ball off him when playing football in the school yard at break.

 

Spot was a great character and excellent teacher. He taught me in the 3rd form and also taught me A-level History from 65 to 67.

 

Remember Spot, Jack Livesey, Norman Goddard, Prooth, Ellerby, Lockwood. All good masters. Loved Spot..”The turnip had a greater effect than the battle of Waterloo”.

 

It’s a much over used word, but Spot was a true legend. A giant among teachers.

Can you answer this one?

Spot would shout over and over again ‘Treaty of San Stefano!’ and every time we had to give the reply. Then, with eyes closed and arms open wide he'd shout, "You’ll remember that for the rest of your lives chums!”

What was the reply? Clue: two words.

 

Surely they wouldn't be Under 15 in 1967 if they left after A levels in 67?

 

No that one taken in front of the bus on Langdale road is the U15s and sixth form Ist Eleven just setting of to Germany.

 

Big Bulgaria

 

Very, very obviously in fact of course…

Spot would be amazed and chuffed that 50 years on we’d remember that via some way of communicating none of us could ever imagine at the time.

 

All those you mention taught me, except for Norman Goddard, though he did teach one of my brothers. The only one of those I didn't like was Spike Ellerby, who had a nasty habit of punching boys high on the arm when he asked them a question. It really hurt when he did so.

 

I was scorer for the U14 and U15 cricket teams, and caught the bus with the teams a number of times on Saturday mornings from the end of Langdale Road, when we had an away game. That seemed to be a regular spot for buses. I remember going to watch the Reds at Huddersfield as a 9 year old, with my 13 year old brother, in the late 50s. We went on a coffee-coloured Co-op bus, which departed from Langdale Road. We won 5-0 against a Huddersfield team which included Denis Law.

 

I didn't cover that topic with Spot, but I do remember that when, as a young lad in 3A, I wrote, "Mazzini spent his life in political agitation for the regeneration of his country on a democratic basis", he simply put inverted commas around that part of my essay. Another thing I remember about him from my 3rd form days was his handing back homework to the class and commenting: "3A? More like 3 flaming Z!* We all respected him greatly, despite any insults, and we were really proud if he ever gave us a mark of 7/10. That was the highest anyone could expect from him, however brilliant an essay might have been. He used to say that 10/10 represented perfection and that "Yours is a hell of a long way from that, laddie".

 

I remember Spot walking up and down the isles of our O’Level History exam nodding approvingly as everyone had done the Grab for Africa map question he had been insisting would come up and it did

 

Yer slack, yer sloppy and you’re the worst 4A [or other form] I’ve ever had. And by God I’ll warm you round just now.

 

Go downstairs, get a shovel from the caretaker, go up to the playing fields and bury yourself lad because you’re no bloody use to me!