Issuu

The ALMONDBURIAN T H E MAGA Z I NE O F T HE O LD ALM O ND B URIANSâ€™ SOCIETY

November 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

3 4 5 6 9 11 13 14 15 19 20 25 26 27 32 33 36 41 44 47 49 51 55 57 59

A word from your Chairman OAS Calendar Membership From the study Kirklees confirm ACS closure Annual Dinner 2019 From ironmongery to T & Cake Apostrophe corner Farnley Lines Back to the drawing board Old boys on tour: Campania Crossword by Hérisson The School again opens its doors When People Power saved the School Just out for a run in the park… Cycling and Poetry The room with the Big reputation Almondbury news and views The day the signwriter called New use for cricket field: rugby league Every picture tells a story Classroom commentary Badminton/Tennis Postbag Obituary

Opinions expressed by contributors to The Almondburian do not necessarily reflect the views of The Old Almondburians’ Society

(Opposite): This evocative pen and wash view of Northgate by Old Almondburian Tony Haigh (1959-64) will be familiar to most former pupils waiting for the bus home at the turn-round point on the right. See story on page 13

The ALMONDBURIAN Editor: Roger Dowling

November 2019

The magazine of The Old Almondburiansâ€™ Society

A word from your Chairman WA LT E R R A LEIGH some new Dartmouth Medals for awarding from next year. The investment is considerable and we thank him for his desire that the family name continuse to be associated with our School. From next year the boy and girl students who have contributed most to the success and development of the School will be awarded

ELCOME to the November 2019 issue of The Almondburian. I do hope you will en-

joy it. The OAS committee, with the help of Christopher Mann, are delighted to announce that the Earl of Dartmouth has agreed to jointly fund the minting of 3

third year running as part of the Heritage Weekend celebrations. Again it was another overwhelming success and a day well worth the effort of all those who were involved. Many thanks to them all. Finally, may I remind you it is not too late to buy a ticket for the Annual Dinner. This year we are delighted to have as our guest speaker Judy Hirst (see page 11). It is always wonderful to have a female speaker at the Dinner but to have someone with such a distinguished CV is especially exciting. As you will be aware, Judy was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society last year and when you see the illustrious list she has joined you will understand how thrilled we are she has agreed to come up from Cambridge to speak to us. I hope any contemporary students of Judy come along to say ‘hello’. As the Dinner approaches may I, once again, ask for volunteers to help Andrew Haigh in setting up the Gym for the Dinner. Any help would be much appreciated. Please contact me or any other Committee member for details and times required. n

this ancient prize. It is something we hope all students will want to be awarded in their final year at School. Read more about this on page 46. For those with a love of the history of the School there have been recent developments which may have had Rev Francis Marshall spinning in his grave in Norfolk! As you will be aware, since the Almondburians’ Cricket Club resigned from their league, little cricket has been played at the field off Arkenley Lane. Following the best endeavours of the Foundation and numerous articles in The Huddersfield Examiner we received a discrete enquiry about possibly using the pavilion for changing facilities for a Rugby League side. Due diligence was taken and I can now announce that a new Rugby League club has been formed in Almondbury and they are to use the pavilion for feeding teams after their games. They will be using the main School football field for Open Age games and the cricket field for Junior fixtures. See the report from Colin Bamford on page 47. Last Saturday saw School open for the

Old Almondburians’ Society Calendar ANNUAL DINNER/FOUNDERS’ DAY This year’s Annual Dinner will be held on Saturday, 23rd November. Full details, together with an application form for tickets, appear in this issue. It is always good to see members making a special effort to stage a re-union of their year at the dinner and such occasions are always enjoyable. The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held the day after the Annual Dinner and this year falls on Founders’ Day itself, Sunday, 24th November. Further details are given in this issue. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS Executive Committee meetings will be held in the ODH at the School at 6.00 pm on Monday, 4th November and Monday, 2nd December.

Membership A N D R E W H AIGH of Geoffrey Robertshaw (1947-52), Derek Bellard (1941-46), Steve Burns (1966-74) and Doreen Hinchliffe, secretary to the Headmaster from 1966 until 1991.There will be special tributes to Doreen in the next issue.

INCE the last issue our membership has taken on a more antipodean slant, since we have been delighted to welcome back two former members to the Society who are both resident in Australia: l Robert Johnson (1960-68), from Beckenham,Western Australia; and l Christopher Ramsden (1976-79) from Adelaide, South Australia. Christopher re-joined the Society on a recent visit back to the UK, during which he took the trouble to attend a meeting of the Executive Committee. In addition, we have been pleased to welcome to the Society someone who has never previously been a member: John Battye (1957-62), from Ashford, Kent. At School, John was an accomplished footballer; an ever-present in the School teams and captain of the Dartmouth team, he was spotted and coached by Bill Shankly, the then manager of Huddersfield Town. John remembers King James’s Grammar School as ‘a fine school with caring, diligent and competent schoolmasters’ and he has fond memories of his time there. We are saddened to learn of the deaths

Subscriptions Please remember that subscriptions for 2019-2020 fell due on 1st September. The vast majority of our members now pay their subscription by standing order, which makes life easy. If you do not pay by standing order and you haven’t recently made a payment for this year, then you will receive a letter with this magazine pointing out that your subscription is not up-to-date. In this event, please send your payment without delay. Alternatively, if you can complete the updated standing order mandate that accompanies the letter and return it in the envelope provided, that would be even better! Alternatively, you may renew online, using PayPal or a debit or credit card, by visiting www.oas.org.uk and clicking on the ‘Join/Renew Online’ button. n

Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at ‘The Woolpack’, Almondbury on Monday, 6th January 2020 at 7.30 pm, followed by the customary pie and peas. Nominations for office on the Executive Committee are required by the Secretary in advance of this date, so that the election of officers can take place at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with Rule 7. All members are urged to make every effort to attend the Annual General Meeting.

GCSE 2019

From the study Even the Government accepts that educational changes make it difficult to make year-on-year performance IAN RIMMER comparisons. But broadly speaking, things are on the up at King James’s School N August morning sees a gathering of anxious young adults building slowly outside the School front door; nervous chattering masking a confusion of optimism and fear. Yes, it’s GCSE results day! The professionals, who have been through the process many times before (this is my 27th such event), somewhat coldly analyse the student cohort’s overall performance and differences between subjects. Meanwhile, and it is sometimes easy to forget this fact, for each 16-year-old (actually for the late August births, like myself, they have yet to reach that milestone of course) this is a pivotal moment in their education.Will they get the grades required by the excellent local colleges for them to pursue their chosen A level orVocational courses, or by the employers for their highly sought-after apprenticeships? Will they be obliged to retake their English or Mathematics GCSE, required by law if they have failed to attain a Grade 4? Moments later, envelopes are opened; tears of joy, and sadly a few of disappointment too, begin to flow. It is a uniquely emotional annual event.

So how did King James’s School do this year? As has been mentioned in previous articles, it is not as easy as it once was to answer that question. In fact, Government advice is not to compare cohorts as they are different and will therefore inevitably perform differently.That said, it is impossible to resist attempts to make some comparisons. The percentages for 2017-19, in so far as you can compare for all the reasons stated above, are listed in Table 1. Readers may recall that a Grade 4, which was previously equivalent to a Grade C, is no longer deemed to be a sufficient pass.A Grade 4 is described as a standard pass and a Grade 5 is a strong pass.This labelling follows through all measures, which refer to Grade 4+ or Grade 5+. Thus EBacc at 5+ refers to the percentage of students who gained a 5 or better in English, Mathematics, two Sciences, a Humanity and a Modern Foreign Language. In terms of individual successes, thirty-five students (19% of the cohort) gained at least five Grade 7s or higher; that’s grade A or above in‘old money’; fourteen students gained at least eight Grade 7s or higher. Twenty-four gained at least one Grade 9 6

(I can think of no better way to express this than A**) and three gained six or more Grade 9s.To put this into some sort of perspective, this year in Mathematics 2.9% of the entries nationally were awarded a Grade 9 and in English it was 2.2%, so to achieve multiple Grade

9s is a considerable achievement. Table 2 shows ‘Progress 8’ results for this year compared with 2017 and 2018. It will be recalled that Progress 8 was introduced in 2016 as the headline indicator of school performance. It aims to capture the progress

School Performance Measures (%) 2017 - 2019

2017

2018

2019

English 4-9 (standard pass)

77.1

78.3 

English 5-9 (strong pass)

57.5

62.1

61.7 

Mathematics 4-9 (standard pass)

75.7

73.3 

Mathematics 5-9 (strong pass)

53.8

53.9

54.4 

English and Maths 4+ (standard pass)

68.6

70.1

67.8 

English and Maths 5+ (strong pass)

44.6

47.5

48.3 

EBacc, inc English & Maths at 4 (standard pass)

39.5

41.7 

EBacc, inc English & Maths at 5 (strong pass)

20.3

30.6 

EBacc, APS

3.75

4.33

4.52 

TABLE 1 7

inc E ng & Maths at 5+ EBacc

inc E ng & Maths at 4+

h &M aths 5 +

Englis

matic

h &M aths 4 +

s 5-9

s 4-9 matic

Mathe

EBacc

2017 2018 2019

Mathe

Englis

h 5-9

h 4-9

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Prog (all o ress 8 Op e ther subjec n ts)

ess 8 Huma EBacc (Sc i nities , Lang ence, uages

Progr

ess 8 Mathe matic s

Progr

ess 8 Englis h

Progr

ess 8 Overa ll

that pupils in a school make Progress 8 2017 - 2019 from the end of primary school to the end of key 2017 2018 2019 stage 4 (when they take Progress 8 - Overall 0.03 -0.08 0.08  their GCSEs). It is a type of value added measure, Progress 8 - English -0.29 -0.28 -0.16  which means that pupils’ Progress 8 - Maths 0.08 -0.03 0.09  results are compared to Progress 8 - EBacc (Science, Humanities, Languages) N/A 0.15 0.33  the progress of other pupils nationally with similar priProgress 8 - Open (all other subjects) N/A -0.17 -0.02  or attainment. A Progress 8 score is 0.4 calculated for each pupil by 0.3 comparing his or her At0.2 tainment 8 score with the 0.1 average Attainment 8 scores 0 of all pupils nationally who N/A N/A 2017 2017 had a similar starting point, -0.1 using assessment results -0.2 from the end of primary -0.3 school. The greater the -0.4 Progress 8 score, the greater the progress made by the pupil compared to the average for pupils with similar prior attainment.A 2017 school’s Progress 8 score is 2018 TABLE 2 2019 calculated as the average of its pupils’ Progress 8 scores. It gives an indication of whether, as a group, pupils in the school made above or below average progress compared to similar pupils in other schools. ∑A score of zero means pupils in this school on average do as well at key stage 4 as other pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2; a score above zero means pupils made more progress on average; and a score below zero means pupils made less progress. A negative progress score does not mean pupils made no progress, or the school has failed, rather it means pupils in the school made less progress than other pupils across England with similar results at the end of key stage 2. Moving in the right direction… So in conclusion, some areas of King James’s are performing more strongly than others but, broadly speaking, things are on the up; and long may that continue! n 8

NEWS UPDATE

Kirklees confirm ACS closure Almondbury Community School (ACS) is set to close for secondary age students in September 2020. So what will be the impact on King James’s? ELL, it’s official now. Al- Trust must take it under its wing. That mondbury Community whole process has yet to be started, but School (ACS) is closing to it will be entirely concluded in the next secondary age students with effect from twelve months. So, there will be no new Year 7 ad1st September 2020. The decision was missions to ACS in September next finally taken at a Kirklees cabinet meetyear. In order to accommodate them, ing in July, following months of conlocal schools including ourselves are sultation from a breadth of stakeholders being asked to amend their Priority including King James’s School. So what Admission Areas for the Year 2020. And happens next? what about 2021? That is still to be deThere is still a lot to be detertermined! mined. It is a rapidly changing context, But the astute amongst you will rebut what one can definitely say is that alise that, come September 2020, there the secondary phase is closing. It has will still be Years 8-11 left at ACS; been calculated, however, that a single where must they go? form entry Primary school is viable. At this time we do not have capacThis means the all-through school must ity, although plans are afoot to expand be split in two. The secondary phase our site in the longwill officially cease to term. Newsome and exist, and the priNetherhall do have mary phase will consome capacity, but tinue on that site. the issue really lies As a result of the with where parents all-through school and children of ACS having been put in want to send their Special Measures by children. That inforOfsted, when it is mation was partially separated the Prigleaned back in the mary school will Summer through keep that grading. consultation, but a That means it must definitive answer has be ‘academised’, yet to be obtained. It which in turn means KJS Principal Ian Rimmer is clear though that a a Multi-Academy

thrown into turmoil. For some it is worrying because they may have to change schools having just started. For others, they face disruption as they approach their GCSEs. Think also of the staff, and their families, whose futures are very uncertain. Whatever the future holds, there is bound to be much upset and distress. Rocky roads lie ahead, whichever way one turns. n

large majority, perhaps unsurprisingly, want to send their children to King Jamesâ€™s. Quite what the future holds is unclear, but frequent and detailed conversations have and will continue to take place. Rest assured that the interests of King Jamesâ€™s School remain a priority. But spare a thought for the families affected by the closure; their education

SUDOKU

Difficulty: tough

1 9

Each row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain the digits 1 to 9

2 4 10

7 9 8 1 4 4 8 3 7 2 2 1 7 7 9 8 7 8 1 6 7 4 6 9

Annual Dinner 2019 A N D R E W HAIGH HIS year’s Annual Dinner will take place at the School on Saturday, 23rd November, at 6.30 pm for 7.30 pm.The main speaker will be Dr Judy Hirst, MA, DPhil., FRS (KJS 1985–88), Professor of Biological Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and Deputy Director of the Medical Research Council’s Mitochondrial Biology Unit. Following her time at King James’s School, Judy studied ‘A’ Levels in Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics at Greenhead College from 1988-1990, before going on to St John’s College, Oxford to read Chemistry from 19901994. After graduation, she remained in Oxford researching the mechanisms of catalysis in complex enzymes and completed her Doctor of Philosophy in inorganic chemistry in 1997.Two years of post-doctoral work as a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the Scripp’s Research Institute in California followed, be-

fore she took her position at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge in 1999. She is now Dean of College and Director of Studies in Chemistry at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and last year was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and awarded an Interdisciplinary Prize by the Royal Society The scene at last year’s successful Annual Dinner when the guest speaker was Andrew Taylor.

of Chemistry. AppropriateName From To Travelling from ly, Judy derived some of her Croft David Gary 1968 1975 Almondbury early interest in science 1949 1957 Honley from the writings of George Bedford Godfrey Jarmain, who taught chem- Broadbent Jean Guest Golcar istry at the School from Broadbent John 1948 1954 Golcar 1852 until 1856. Judy also 1968 1975 Lepton worked in the laboratories Broadhead Anthony David 1952 1959 Lymm of Jarmain & Son in Dowling Roger Kirkheaton before going up Dyson David M. 1968 1975 Oakes to Oxford. French Andrew Peter 1968 1975 Durham Following their sucNicole Staff Netherthong cessful 50th anniversary re- Green Richard J. 1957 1963 Netherthong union last year, organised by Green Gary Croft, the Class of Haigh Andrew Mark 1977 1983 Almondbury 1968 is having another get- Hirst Dr. Judy 1985 1988 Cambridge together this year. But, what Jepson Roger 1962 1969 Netherthong about the classes of 1949, Brian Howard 1964 1972 Cheadle Hulme 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, Nash 1994, 1999 and 2009? You Searby Richard 1976 1979 Lepton all have anniversaries to Sharp John Franklin 1951 1958 Leighton Buzzard celebrate! Dennis 1961 1969 Chesterfield The ticket price for the Taylor Annual Dinner will remain Thompson Helen Guest Cheadle at £27.50 for this year and Thompson John Stuart 1949 1956 Cheadle an application form is inGuest Almondbury cluded with this magazine. Raleigh Walter Put Saturday, 23rd November, in your Please be aware that when the dinner is at the School spaces are limited, so early ap- diary and book your ticket now to make plications are recommended. Gentlemen, sure that you don’t miss out on a great why not order, at the same time, a new So- evening. The early birds who have already ciety tie to wear at the dinner? Ladies, how about ordering one of the lovely new So- booked their ticket this year are as listed ciety silk scarves when you apply for your above: ticket? Founders’ Day The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held as usual at Almondbury Parish Church the day after the Annual Dinner, Sunday, 24th November at 11.30 am. Almondburians are invited to assemble at the School at 11.15 am. n 12

ALMONDBURY MEMORIES

From ironmongery to T & Cake SELWYN SHAW (1961 - 1967) Selwyn Shaw remembers his family’s shop inNorthgate,founded over 100 years ago by his grandfather and shown inTony Haigh’s painting on page 3 and below. HAW’S hardware/ironmongers was originally started by my grandfather Ewart Shaw in 1911 in the Colne Valley. He moved to Almondbury after World War 2 when he was joined by his two sons Leonard and Frank (my father). For approximately 25 years they also had the Post Office in the same building; my uncle Leonard was the postmaster. The business remained in the family until 1986 when my father retired and sold the shop to Steven Garlick who kept it much the same until he sold it on several years later to Howard Jennings who tried various changes to try to keep the business viable. The business eventually closed and reopened as a cafe/restaurant with Ben Franco at the helm. There have been another couple of changes of ownership since then but it remains a popular cafe, now called T & Cake.

I believe that prior to our family moving to Almondbury the building was originally the premises of Almondbury Liberal Club, who are still located behind the shop in Thorpe Lane. n

elwyn Shaw, shown here with his wife of 48 years Anne, was born in 1950 and has lived his whole life in Almondbury. He attended the Church of England Infants’ School in Stocks Walk and then Southfield Road Junior School before finishing his education at King James’s Grammar School. He left school and had various jobs in the hardware/ironmongery trade before joining the family business in 1977. He left the business when his father retired in 1986 and then joined Prudential as a district agent where he stayed until they closed down their sales force. He then joined Cooperative Insurance as a financial consultant where he stayed until he retired in 2010. Anne and Selwyn have four children and six grandchildren, all of whom live

The scene today. For some years, T & Cake (left) generously sponsored the shirts of the Almondburian Cricket Club, shown here in 2015.

HY is it that so many people get upset about the misuse of apostrophes? Do they really matter? Indeed they do, but one has to admit that the apostrophe can sometimes be its own worst enemy. For example, it’s commonly used to indicate omission: ‘I can’t go out this evening’; I didn’t agree with him’. But why does it seem to follow different rules in such sentences as ‘I shan’t be going on holiday’? Why not ‘sha’n’t’? (As it happens, Lewis Carroll had the same thought and did often use ‘sha’n’t’ but it never really caught on). And why on earth do we say ‘I aren’t’ when we would never think of saying ‘I are not’. Would not ‘I amn’t’ be a more appropriate contraction? Meanwhile, here are a few more greengrocer’s apostrophes, submitted by James Clayton. Send your sightings of errant apostrophes to us at apostrophes@oas.org.uk. We’ll publish the best.

W Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

Bridport, Devon

’

A couple of fine example’s from the seaside

HE OP TR ER OS RN AP CO

Farnley Lines DAV E BU S H

lay on my back on the small lawn in my somewhat isolated village of Billingborough and listened to a steady,dull drone. It did not come from any apian community as might have been expected in our flower-filled garden. The sky darkened as hundreds of planes flew over on one of the first daylight bombing raids of Germany. This was in stark contrast to the earlier nights when awake in my small bed I heard the repeated sound of passing bombers bound for Nazi targets. My village was in South Lincolnshire the whole county being dotted with airfields. I wonder how many remember the backdrop of Lincoln Cathedral as The Dambusters set off on their historic mission. What has prompted these reminiscences? Two reasons. The July issue contained some excellent articles on how the Second World War affected Huddersfield. When I mentioned to our esteemed editor that I also had wartime memories he suggested that perhaps I would like to share

them. The second was that on page 33 of the same issue, the date 3rd September 1939 leaps out at me for I was born at midday the previous day during a thunderstorm. Was the fulminating (fulmen Latin for a thunderbolt) Jupiter sending a message? It cannot be denied: I am now an octogenarian. I celebrated achieving this status by using my bus pass for the first time and giving my 109th pint of blood. To my embarrassment, the staff gathered round my bed to sing ‘Happy Birthday, David’. The ‘New Block’ There is another 80th anniversary most probably coinciding exactly with

Thumbs up: blood donor staff sing ‘Happy Birthday’ as I give my 109th pint 15

Name change: for many Almondburians, these first floor classrooms will always be N1, N2 and N3.Today, they are ‘mathematics rooms 15, 16 and 17’. Below, the old Physics and Chemistry labs are known as Labs 4 and 5. Skylights in the roof now admit light to Special Educational Needs rooms.

Missing photograph At least the ODH, a room that holds special affection for me, has retained its title. It was here that I taught my last Year 11 Latin class numbering some eighteen very able students. However, stimulus for another gripe. I had a photograph taken and framed of this delightful group and it was hung on the ODH wall. It disappeared apparently soon after my retirement and no trace of it has been seen since. As past items such as Honours Boards continue to reappear I suppose there is hope that it may turn up. Any ideas anyone? If the School does not want it I would treasure it.

my birth. It was in September 1939 that the ‘New Block’ was opened. Herein lies a problem, for younger members will not know to what I am referring. This is the building adjacent to Big Tree Yard and the grass tennis courts. I tease as neither of these exists any longer. It still houses the Chemistry Labs but is today three rather than two storeys. The corridor on the second level was known as the ‘N Corridor’. The rooms were N1, N2 and N3, N standing for ‘New’. It still rankles with me that two people who shall remain nameless decided to rename many of the historic rooms around the School thereby destroying part of its history. To what avail? I can understand the wish that the School should not remain rooted in its past but its proud history is surely a significant part of its attraction.

A welcome visitor I know this atmospheric room is being used as a venue for OAS committee meetings because your super-efficient 16

do not seem to decrease. Take the Szydelko connection for example. My daughter, Catherine, attended All Saints School in Bradley. She was one year below Angela Melling. Her closest friend was Wanda Szydelko, her eventual bridesmaid and with whom she has maintained a close friendship. Wanda was one of nine children and three of her brothers – Eddie, who became Head of Languages at Salendine Nook, Richard and Leonard – all came to King James’s Grammar School. I remember asking Eddie in a French lesson how many there were in his family. “Onze,” he replied. “Ce n’est pas une famille; c’est un troupeau [a flock or herd],” I joked. Today that would have earned me at least a severe reprimand. Wanda left Halifax earlier this year to move into a large house which had been built in the grounds of an even

secretary, Andrew Haigh, keeps me fully informed of developments. I was especially delighted when Andrew brought all his lovely family down to South Wales in August for some surfing in Porthcawl and to sample local fish and chips which, I believe, rival those we used to buy from the chippie at the top of Southfield Road. The main purpose of their visit was to watch Cardiff City v Town, two sides relegated from the Premiership last season. A not very inspiring game saw Town go down 2 – 1. As I tap away in September It seems possible The Imps could be swopping places with The Terriers at the end of the season; yet early days. The Szydelko connection As I enter the 24th year of retirement and departure from God’s Own County the reminders of my time there

Correction: Gordon Hebblethwaite, shown here with neighbour Wanda Szydelko, points out that the Sykes & Hebblethwaite mill was in Paddock, not Moldgreen 17

Fish and chips all round: the Haigh family tuck in on their visit to Porthcawl

must agree with me that he was one of the most natural comics ever to have walked down St Helen’s Gate. He sent me two very long emails full of anecdotes and personal history. He affirms that we both started at King James’s on the same day, September 4th 1961 and recollects how he was impressed by my Leeds University blazer with its silver and gold wire. I suspect, Norman, that I had no other jacket.

larger one in Beaumont Park. Her new neighbour is Gordon Hebblethwaite, widower of Helen, French teacher at King James’s whose obituary appeared in the March 2013 issue of The Almondburian. Gordon had never seen this so Wanda took it next door much to his delight. He was keen to point out that his mill was in Paddock not Moldgreen as Peter Heywood had wrongly suggested. The Szydelkos were just one of the many pupils from Huddersfield’s large Polish community to attend KJ and they had the reputation of being very able and industrious.

A birthday call from Jack It is rightly said that advancing years tend to lead us into rambling and repetition. However, I must just slip in that one of my special birthday moments was to receive a phone call from that dearest of friends, Jack Taylor. What a pleasure to hear his velvety tones and to share thoughts on the ‘Present State of Education’. You can imagine the drift.

Scout camps One of the rewards of writing these lines is that they always produce follow ups. July’s issue was no exception. It was the mention of the out-of-county scout camp in North Wales which led to two definite confirmations of the exact site, Pontblyddyn near Mold. One was from Richard Green, husband of Nicky, and the other from Norman Pearson. Those who knew Norman at school

And in conclusion… To conclude as usual on a positive note. Over the years, Margaret and I have visited 47 of the 48 mainland Spanish provincial capitals. As you read these lines we will have completed the set by staying near Cadiz, having committed ourselves to the caring arms of SAGA. More next time. n 18

Back to the drawing board Roger Sykes (1946-1953) revisits some of his favourite drawings HIS is a place for passing through a mixture of reflected sunshine. What is missing is the noise! At the ring of a bell, the staircase emulated the Calgary Stampede, with boys crashing down the stairs to pivot round the newel post and jostle to merge with other streams. I can still hear the swamped faint voice of ‘Walk not run!’ Not a place for standing still. So I sketched the silence to compose a quiet picture during lunch. But focus on the detail as the dust settles. The window halfway down the stairs? The stone flagged floor. The boys passing through the old solid door but why is there a crash bar? Now we realise that this was a focal point of school history. It was the old school outer door and all beyond was the ‘new’ school of 1939. Left turn and the long main corridor led past cloakrooms, the new entrance, my favourite woodwork room and thence to the gym or assembly room. I still enjoy resting my feet on the raffia top of the mahogany stool I made 70 years ago! And I recall that I was even trusted to run a woodwork club during the lunch break – before ‘elf an’ safety’ days of course - but great for a sense of responsibility. So the key to this sketch is the unobtrusive crash handle to open the door to the future. It is not the boys who are in focus – but there is maybe an allegory – a n narrative to be understood symbolically!

The corridor – and the crash bar 19

TRAVEL

Old Boys on tour: Campania JOHN ASPINALL (1956 - 1961) Despite strict border controls, our intrepid team of Old Almondburians gains access again to mainland Europe to explore the sights of northern Italy challenge. This year was to be no exception - we had to be at Manchester Airport for a 5.00 am flight to Naples.This meant that the taxi was picking up two of us at my house at 1.00 am and then the others at John Linton’s en route to Manchester. We were actually in the airport before the cafes opened at 3.00 am! One of us was so confused (by lack of sleep) when asked to pay at the coffee bar that he inadvertently gave an £8.00 tip for a £3 bill. Having re-

ADLY, our party was reduced to five this year; Peter Fisher having suffered a serious stroke last summer, shortly after our trip to Alicante.We go and see Peter and his wife, Diana, quite regularly, and he continues to make steady progress in their fight against a difficult illness. Regular readers of this annually presented article will know that my travelling companions and I do not shirk a

NAPLES

Vesuvius Torre del Greco

Pompeii

Sorrento

Dining out: (l to r): John Linton, John Aspinall, Colin Ainley, Mike Gibson, Mike Hellawell at the Red Hot Tower Restaurant in Torre del Greco

alised his mistake he managed to recover his cash if not his composure, which took another hour. The flight was uneventful and when we arrived in our hotel at Torre del Greco it was still only about 11.00 a.m. and we were told our rooms wouldn’t be available until 2.00 pm. After a little persuasion we were offered one of the rooms to at least have a wash and brush up. In the confusion created by five elderly men, lacking sleep, and luggage all in one room, we were reluctant to fully open our suitcases and cause more of a muddle. So we decided we would carefully extract a pair of shorts, change, and go for a walk. After the exclamation “Blimey, it ain’t half hot mum!”, one well meaning soul offered a tube of sun-tan lotion. I thought it had rather a thick, creamy texture but attempted to apply it to my arms – it was toothpaste! Yes, sleep deprivation can cause strange actions in some circumstances. The Hotel Marad proved to be an excellent choice of hotel; it is worthy of its 4* rating in nearly all aspects.The staff, on the whole, were very helpful. The exception being the waiters at breakfast, who seemed to walk around with their eyes shut, not noticing that various tureens, milk jugs, etc. needed topping up. The coffee machine had a mind of its own, inconsistent in its delivery of a cup of coffee. It must have been deaf as well, or maybe it didn’t understand English, - shouting at it

had no effect. But... the food was good. Unfortunately breakfast finished at 9.30 am and for one of our party the world doesn’t begin until 10.00. Dinner in the hotel restaurant was a different experience; the service was professional and the food excellent. On the remainder of our arrival day we decided to have a look at the town of Torre del Greco. The hotel is about a 50 minute downhill walk to the town (70 minutes back up) and we wandered around, as usual, and finished up at the port.We soon realised that it is a working town: attracting tourism is not high on the council’s agenda. With the exception of a few streets occupied by smart shops and restaurants in the very centre, the general appearance was one of neglect. Even the railway station was shabby.The walls were covered in graffiti, the external paving was cracked and weeds were abundant. It is a shame because it must have been – and still could be, with a lot of TLC – attractive. The small kiosk which served as ticket office and convenience store, was manned by a jovial soul who soon switched on to our requirements and helped us to choose the correct train and platform. There were only two – Naples one way and Sorrento t’other. We walked back up to the hotel and in temperatures 21

tual, and well patronised by locals and tourists alike. There are some modern coaches in use, but most of those we used were passed their sell-by-date with no air-con, tired upholstery and so on. Someone suggested they were ready for export to the Trans-Pennine route… ouch! Pompeii tourism is well organised, although we managed to be confused by the different entry/guide fees. We were shown a relatively small area of the ancient city during a two hour walk but it was really interesting and somewhat mind-boggling, trying to picture the life that must have existed there so long ago. It was worth the money. At the suggestion of one of the hotel receptionists, she booked us in to eat at a fish restaurant in a coastal town just down the road where we were based. On arrival, we had a short stroll up and down the promenade and soon realised it was scruffy. However, we went to the restaurant and having been escorted to our table, we asked for the menus for food and wine. The conversation with the maître d’ or owner went something like: “Can we see a menu please?” “We don’t have a menu. You tell me what you want and I’ll tell you if we have it.” “How do we know how much it will cost?” “When you have chosen, I will tell you.”

of 30ºC plus it was a struggle, so on the following days we used the hotel’s transfer taxi to and from the station most of the time. The swimming pool was also a welcome relief. We learned, quite quickly, that the scooters have the right of way on the pavements, and one’s chance of survival is enhanced by acceptance of the situation. Zebra crossings are merely an option for the motorist: they can stop if they want to, or ignorethem, depending on how they feel. After a day and a half of exploring Torre del Greco, mainly on foot, we decided to go and see the regional sights and sites. There are plenty of these in the vicinity, and we had already concluded that our hotel was ideally situated for visits to Pompeii, Vesuvius, Naples, and Sorrento. This explained why most guests were staying for three or four days only, before moving on.We made full use of the free hotel transport to the station, and went to each attraction in turn. We used the coastal railway, which is cheap, punc-

Hotel Marad is located iin Torre el Greco, about 17 km from Naples 22

was in the middle of renovation and resembled a building site. I don't think we saw the best of Naples. For lunch we managed to find the only café in Italy that didn’t have pizzas, and the second place which didn’t have a menu. One of our ‘must do’ targets was Vesuvius and it proved to be quite an interesting experience. We went just two stops down the train track before alighting and catching a tourist bus which took us part way up the mountain. I must admit it was a surprise when the bus actually passed our hotel on the way to Vesuvius. The five of us occupied the whole of the back seat on the bus and exchanged looks of astonishment and bewilderment! And we’re not often astonished – bewildered yes, but not astonished. The bus took us as far as the terminus where there were lots of other buses and the usual tourist facilities, and we were advised that the bus would return to collect us in one The Grand Theatre of Pompeii, one of three amphitheatres on the site, dates back to the 2nd century BC. It could hold 5,000 spectators and a half hours. It and was used for drama productions and political meetings. was very busy, surprisingly as it was still June, and we set off walking up the hill. I admit it was too much for me, and Colin kindly walked with me until we decided to call it a day after half an hour. However, Messrs Gibson, Hellawell, and Linton continued to the summit, and took a photo of the crater to prove it. Colin and I returned And so on – unbelievable! He said the menus hadn’t returned from the printers. To cut a long, painful and expensive, story short, we had a round of drinks (no menu) and he talked us into having a platter of starters, which was of good quality though we had no idea of the cost. By this time we had had enough of the man’s attitude, so we didn’t order a main course but paid up and left. He charged us top dollar for what we’d had, but we thought it was a case of cutting our losses. We phoned the hotel and arranged to dine there, a bit later than usual, but at least we could choose from a priced menu. Naples was the next on the agenda, again by local train. Unfortunately for some reason it didn’t occur to us to use the ‘hop on, hop off’ bus which served us so well on other trips. After walking in the heat for an hour we found the historical square we’d been looking for to discover it

On top of the world: (l to r) Messrs Linton, Gibson, and Hellawell’s triumphant ascent of Vesuvius

ride on a street-car type train which took us around the town centre. The views from the top promenade looking down on the harbour and marinas were lovely. After a steady last day, we thought it would be prudent to settle our bills before we left early the following morning. The bar and restaurants had been virtually cashless (in other words, they never had any change) and the hotel seemed to prefer that we signed for everything. So we did. I won’t bore you with the details, but the hotel simply wasn’t geared up for this and we finished up arguing. I think we shall be settling bills on a daily basis next year. n

to base camp and managed to enjoy a couple of cold beers while we awaited the return of the three mountaineers. I have to say I admired them; the track was of loose, dry gravel (volcano ash?), the temperature was over 30º C, and they are 73/74 years old. The return bus was on time and our pals made it with ten minutes to spare. What an effort ! We enjoyed a late lunch in a café in Ercolano, not far from our hotel, complete with menu. We thought that our trip would not be complete without a visit to Sorrento, so off we went by local train. I had been 30 years ago, but it didn’t seem to have changed much. We had a very enjoyable 24

CROSSWORD by Hérisson

Entries to the Editor (address/email: back cover) by 31st January 2020. Prize: 12 months’ free OAS membership

27. Cash for starters in Essen, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Ostend (4) 28. Trashed 27 amongst grown-ups – descriptive of a 25 (10) DOWN 1. Big vehicle award (5) 2. Go wrong in row for dog (7) 3. Forgive factory making weight (5,2,7) 4. Dark Blue batting. Nudge to off, initially (6) 5. Eels she’d disturbed without thought (8) 7. Exercise like insect for low-status fellow (7) 8. Ecstatic harp arrangement by first of symphony orchestra’s director in charge (9) 9. No kinaesthetic activity – dangerous to do this! (5,2,4,3) 14. Chris and Nicole cavorting – is ACROSS 1. Not in position, we hear, and can’t 15. Donkey or Edward mixed up (8) missing record (9) 17. Hack left in concerning queen (8) 16. Translucent cupid transformed be seen (3,2,5) holding measure (8) 19. Capital icon pens type (6) 6. Prod projection (4) 18. He scientifically discovered over 10. Adjust credit rag for container (9) 22. French town after architect half Europe (7) 11. In the style of French agreement, created American city (9) 23 I get little sheep losing head and 20. Vacate landau, mob arguing, go west for marsupial (5) nothing more. It’s a pain! (7) 12. Empty rubbish in East River (5) feet (5) 25. Avoid applying high temperature 21. Len returned to marsh for herb 13. Addressed by Paul, almost all (6) to carbon (5) against moving (9) 26. Nominated one open and brewed 24. Favourite back on board showing 14. Wine container from artist in paces (5) tea (9) restaurant (6) Name Email Tel l The winner of Crossword by Hérisson (July 2019) was Dennis Taylor Across 1.Windup 5.The clock 9. Break the silence 10. Catheter 11. Sterne 12.Tsars 13. Attribute 16. Shipwreck 18. Roast 21. Bandit 23. Immodest 24. Awkward customer 25.Typeface 26. Damask Down 2. Inroads 3. Deathtrap 4. Potato 5.The Arctic Circle 6. Emissary 7. Liege 8. Coconut 14. Broadloom 15. Criteria 17. Headway 19. Systems 20. Amused 22. Dowse

HERITAGE DAY 2019

The School again opens its doors WALTER RALEIGH The Charter returns to the School once more as we take part again in the nationwide festival to celebrate Britain’s history and culture

N Saturday, 21st September, King made sure everything was in place for a sucJames's School once again opened cessful day. There was a steady stream of visitors and its doors to the public so they could take a look at where we have had the they came from far and wide. There was one privilege of working and studying for so couple from over the border in Lancashire. Once passports had been checked they were many years. The theme of this year’s national event invited in and were a delight to talk to. They was ‘People Power’ and we produced a spe- had their Kirklees Heritage booklet and had cial pamphlet (opposite page) giving the sto- marked in half a dozen venues they wanted ry of how People Power saved King James’s to visit, with King James's at the top of their at the time of the controversial educational list. Similarly, there were numerous former changes introduced by the Thatcher govstudents, some of whom had not been in the ernment in the 1970s. building since they left in the 1950s! All were Abbigail Terry, an Assistant Head at delighted with their tour King James's, had once of the School and espeagain chosen a select cially their viewing of band of keen students the Royal Charter, once to act as guides for our again brought in by the visitors. West Yorkshire Archive And, once again, Service. they did not let the And once again, School down. They though the doors were looked marvellous in scheduled to be closed at their school uniforms 2.00 pm it was nearer and their knowledge 3.00 pm before we were and enthusiasm was able to close for the day. noticed by all. Another Heritage May I also thank Weekend over for a year Keith Ramsden, our and one just as successPremises Manager, Walter Raleigh is Chairman of the Old who together with his Almondburians’ Society. He taught at King ful and enjoyable as the n previous two. new assistant, Tony, James’s School from 1979-2010. 26

HERITAGE DAY 2019

People Power saved the School Changes proposed by Huddersfield Council in the early 1970s could have spelt doom for the School – until People Power came to the rescue

N 1966 Huddersfield Council voted to change the education provided in the town from the tripartite system, which had been in place since the 1944 Education Act, to a comprehensive system.They realised it would take a number of years of planning and building for a successful introduction of comprehensive education.

Though there was a majority in Huddersfield supporting comprehensive education there was a vocal minority who regretted the loss of, what were seen as, the highly successful grammar schools in Huddersfield. However, in March 1972 Margaret Thatcher, who was at the time Minister of Education, refused to pass the plans sent by Huddersfield Council for her approval. Her one objection was that Huddersfield did not need a third Sixth Form College and so King James’s should not be part of the process. For the Council this simply meant that King James’s would have to close with another use being found for the historic buildings. One suggestion was it might become a ‘special school’ for children with learning difficulties; another was to use it as a Teachers’ Training Centre. However, for those who supported the retention of the Grammar School system it was quite clear that Mrs Thatcher wanted King James’s to be left out of the changes and continue as it was, a Grammar School. But how

By 1971 officers had produced plans for where new schools needed to be built and what would happen to the old schools. These proposals were published in the Huddersfield Examiner in May. Amongst the proposals were for new purpose built comprehensives to be built in Almondbury and Newsome. King James’s Grammar School, Greenhead Girls’ Grammar School and New College Boys’ Grammar School were designated as Sixth Form Colleges serving all the post 16 students of Huddersfield. The other Girls’ Grammar, Huddersfield High, on the same campus as New College, was to be converted into an 11 to 16 comprehensive serving the whole of the Salendine Nook area. 27

The lady has spoken: Margaret Thatcher was Education Secretary from 1970-74. Grammar school educated herself, she was sympathetic to the idea of retaining grammar schools where possible

could a Grammar School exist in the middle of a comprehensive system? Many, including the local Teachers’ Associations, spoke out in favour of the Council’s comprehensive education plans and against any suggestions that King James’s should be kept open as a Grammar School. If this took place they said Huddersfield would not have a truly comprehensive system of education. Those in favour of keeping the school open said a precedent had been made in Grimsby where a grammar school had remained open while the rest of the schools in the area had become comprehensives. The Council tried to fight the Grammar School lobby by asking Mrs Thatcher to look again at their plans and accept that Huddersfield DID need three Sixth Form Colleges. But initially, the lady was not for turning which encouraged groups to spring up in defence of King James’s. Meetings were held and support began to be organised. Petitions were made and volunteers went around the

district asking for support and signatures. Some 9,260 signed the petition to keep King James’s Grammar School open and it was presented to the Council by Michael Dyson, Status Secretary of the Old Almondburians’ Society Committee. The local press became involved and were inundated with letters. For months the Letters Column was full of arguments both for and against Grammar Schools. By the middle of 1973 the Examiner decided enough was enough and said no more letters would be published on the subject until a final decision had been made. As the summer of 1973 approached Council leaders became more desperate for Mrs Thatcher to look again at their plans otherwise the September 1973 start of Comprehensive education in Huddersfield would have to be delayed. Initially, Mrs Thatcher refused even to meet Council leaders such as the Chair of Education Ald. Douglas Sisson and one of our local MPs, Mr JPW Mallalieu, having some experience of dealing with Mrs Thatcher, said it was a waste of time meeting her as she would not change her mind and said her decision was final. Eventually, however, she was forced to look at the evidence again and came back at the end of June with the decision to accept the Council proposal for three Sixth Form Colleges for the town. As a result in September 1973 comprehensive education began in Huddersfield with King James’s opening as a Sixth Form College, so that for the first time 28

in over 370 years girls were admitted to the school. But Mrs Thatcher was proved correct in her calculations as two years later in 1976 King James’s lost its status as a Sixth Form College. There were simply not enough students in Huddersfield willing to travel to Almondbury to attend King James’s. Once again the Council was faced with a major headache. What to do with King James’s? Once again the groups of parents who still longed for the opportunity of a Grammar School education for their children began to re-form their action committees. And once again the Old Almondburians’ Society, a vocal group of former students and staff, became central in the fight to keep the school open. Ideas were thrown around including a suggestion that the school might become a fee paying independent school. Some OAS members liked this idea and resented the fact that girls had been part of the school if only for a couple of years. The Membership Secretary of the OAS, Edward Germaine, was strongly against girls joining King James’s School or joining the OAS. He said the OAS consisted of between 300 and 400 former students and he felt large numbers would resign if girls entered King James’s or wanted to join the Society. Others, such as Chairman Reginald Carter, were less pessimistic and said members would quickly readjust to the new status of the

school and the role played by girls. And then the Council came forward with a suggestion that might solve the problem about the future of King James’s. Shelley High had recently been opened as an Upper School taking students from the Middle Schools of Kirkburton, Lepton and Scissett. The new Kirklees Council had quickly realised that Shelley High was not large enough to take all the students from the three Middle Schools and so suggested that King James’s could become another Upper School taking the intake from Lepton Middle. The idea was quickly accepted so in 1976 plans were approved for an extension

The argument rages: for many months, the local press were inundated with arguments for and against grammar schools 29

to King James’s School so it could become an Upper School serving Kirkheaton and Lepton. King James’s facilities were to be extended from those of a two form entry Grammar School, and later Sixth Form College, with about 350 students to an Upper School for 650 students. Though it was a handy compromise for the Council, there were still vociferous numbers in favour of the Grammar School system who argued, amongst other things, it was not a good start to the working school day to require all the students to travel by bus into the centre of Almondbury. However, as Lepton Middle could not provide King James’s with all the 180 students necessary to make it a financially viable school some local parents saw a chance to get their children into a ‘Grammar School’ after all. Parents from all over the town applied to send their children to King James’s and the short fall in numbers was averted. The reputation of King James’s as an old Grammar School remained and old and new staff worked hard to make the change over a success. Headmasters Alan Conley and later Clive Watkins saw King James’s steadily develop and improve as a modern comprehensive both in examination results and other aspects of school life such as sport and performing arts, so the school’s future again seemed secure. But one should never relax at King James’s. By the late 1980s Kirklees saw that more and more students were choosing to have their sixth form education at specialist

Colleges like Greenhead. Those schools with a sixth form were finding it difficult to compete with the courses on offer at the specialist Sixth Form Colleges so Kirklees made the decision to close all sixth forms in local schools. As well as King James’s, Colne Valley and Honley High also lost their sixth forms. However, to replace this loss King James’s was re-designated as an 11 to 16 comprehensive. Kirkheaton was to become a 5 to 11 Junior School along with Lepton Middle, which became Rowley Lane Junior School. This took place in the summer of 1990 so it was change once again for staff, students and parents. Many outstanding teachers left King James’s at this time to take up posts at Greenhead and other Sixth Form Colleges. It was a loss but the school continued to prosper. Students and staff worked hard to keep the old spirit of the school alive and the numbers of extra-district students who wanted to be part of the old school continued to be high.

Campaigner: Michael Dyson attended King James’s Grammar School from 194047 and through the Old Almondburians’ Society in the 1970s he led the campaign to preserve the status of the School. 30

Principals Robert Lamb (2003-15) and Ian Rimmer (2015-present) and their staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that King James’s School retains its distinction of being the most over-subscribed school in Kirklees

By 2000 league tables became central in education and it was important to make sure a school was near the top if it was to remain viable with a full intake of students each year. This was so important as schools were now funded on the number of children they had in the school. Fewer students in any new September intake resulted in cuts to staffing and a reduction in money available to subjects for equipment or text books. The days when parents blindly sent their children to the local school were gone. Fortunately, King James’s had a formidable Head in Robert Lamb, and he was able to lead both staff and students to ever better examination results. By 2010 King James’s was the school at the top of Kirklees Schools’ examination league tables. But as one school becomes full and over-subscribed another one feels the financial pinch of too few students wanting to go there. By 2010 Kirklees realised that having three comprehensive schools in the Dalton/Huddersfield area was not a viable situation. One had to close as there were simply not enough children in the area. Logic said it should be King James’s because of the site it was on and the difficulties of both extending it again and improving the roads for access. By contrast both Almondbury High, by now Almondbury Community School, and Rawthorpe High or Netherhall Learning Campus, had large flat areas of land available for any expansion needed. But People Power once again came to King James’s aid. Parents voted with their feet and while King James’s under current Prin-

cipal Ian Rimmer remains the most over-subscribed school in Kirklees, Almondbury Community School continues to shrink in size despite the best endeavours of Kirklees Council, school staff, parents and students,. What appears to be the next act in the history of King James’s now seems to be unfolding with the news in recent months that Kirklees Council has decided to put the future of Almondbury Community School out to consultation. A decision is expected as early as September 2019, with the proposal that students, instead of attending Almondbury, would be offered places at Rawthorpe, Newsome or King James’s. If this plan goes ahead it will see King James’s return as the principal school for the older children of Almondbury, for the first time since the mid 19th century. And all because of People Power! n 31

Just out for a run in the park… Two Old Almondburians take part in ‘250 club’ parkrun in Greenhead Park The 5 km parkruns have milestone clubs to reward the dedication and commitment of regular parkrunners and membership of the clubs offers the opportunity to claim a free T-shirt. If you are a junior, completion of ten 5km parkruns entitles you to a white T-shirt. For adults, a red T-shirt can be claimed after 50 runs, a black T-shirt after 100 runs, a green T-shirt after 250 runs and a blue T-shirt after 500 runs.There is also a purple T-shirt for those who have volunteered at least 25 times. On 17th August, Andrew Haigh (1977-83) ran his 250th parkrun and joined David Harpin in the 250 club. Andrew is a Run Director at Tolson junior parkrun in Ravensknowle Park and has also volunteered 189 times. He can be seen below, modelling his newly-acquired parkrun 250 T-shirt alongside David Harpin in Greenhead Park. Between them they have now run 686 parkruns (3,430 km) and volunteered 548 times. They can often be found on a Saturday morning sorting finish tokens long after parkrun has finished. n

N the July, 2016 issue of The Almondburian, we carried a story about David Harpin (1962-70) completing his 250th parkrun. David is one of the staunchest supporters of parkrun in Huddersfield and he has now run 430 parkruns and volunteered no fewer than 359 times. Parkrun (stylised as ‘parkrun’) is a collection of 5 km (3.1 mi) running events that take place every Saturday morning at over 1,400 locations in twenty-two countries across five continents. Junior parkrun is a spin-off event that provides a 2 km (1.25 mi) weekly run for children aged 4-14 on a Sunday morning. Events are free to enter and are run by volunteers, supported by a small group of staff at its headquarters. Huddersfield parkrun started on 2nd April, 2011 and has since been run 426 times in Greenhead Park.

PRIVATE PASSIONS

Cycling and Poetry JOHN BRADLEY (1950 - 1957) Married to poet Avril, cycling enthusiast John Bradley packed away his Lycra a few years ago and decided it was time to try his hand himself N my late teens and early twenties We lesser members didnâ€™t compete in I was a member of the Huddersfield the road races but there were time trials Road Club that always met prior to every weekend between March and Octraining sessions at the cycle shop at the bot- tober. tom of New North Road. We would leave Huddersfield on SatWe had a regular training run: Honley, urday afternoon to the various 25 or 50 Holmfirth, New Mill. Brockholes and mile time trial courses which were on the back around two or three times then back flat roads north ofYork or around Newark home. As I lived in Almondbury the way and Nottingham, sleep overnight in a home involved another tough climb up Sta- Youth Hostel and get up very early for the tion Rd. around Castle Hill and down Kaye race. As I remember we were allowed by Lane. the authorities This was the to race on pubheyday of cylic roads early cling in HudSunday morndersfield. There ing but the race were at least six had to finish by clubs in the dis9.30 am. The trict led by the fast men did 50 Huddersfield miles in less Road Club and than two hours The Star Wheelbut the also rans ers. could take up Brian Robinto three hours, son the first Enso start time glishman to win was usually a stage in Le around 6.00 Tour de France am. was a member We would of the Road return to the Club at the hostel for a secJohn Bradley lives in Frankston, Victoria, Australia time. ond breakfast then

The Almondburian Poets Husband and wife special SPIN After sixty years, run off the road five times, I capitulate to Melbourne's murderous motorists. My swan song. twenty thirteen, following the 100th Tour de France with my two sons. Now I ride a stationary bike in the Spin Class at the gym. My Giro, My Tour, My Vuelta My Paris Roubaix, My Paris Nice, My Tour Down Under, there all before me as I pedal. Approaching 10 am Friday, the end of the session. ‘Up, up, out of your saddle. Push, push, push, faster, faster. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeeeze that bottom’. Legs screaming, lactic overload heart pounding, sweat in the eyes. Through the mist and pain, in front, two beautiful lycra-clad bottoms, ......bouncing. Mind distracted, befuddled, working at half pace. Musing. Which…one…shall…I… squeeze? Whilst my beloved carbon-fibre bike gathers dust beneath the rafters.

THE VIEW FROM A BALCONY IN NOOSA She has taken her old bones north to wait out winter in a warmer clime. Nestled on a balcony chair she writes, eight postcards to friends left behind in wind and influenza. Her voice - such wonderful warmth is light and airy, though she counts eight instances of the word ache While the unit she rents takes air, she ties up loose ends, dusts each one with the perfumed sadness of solitude. In the jumble of memory, she forages for children lost. Osteo. has touched her spine. Too crippled to descend the beach stairs, she hovers in the treetops burdening the sky, an old albatross weighting the balcony with scuffed magazines, a ruminant of conversations from vanished afternoons. The sea allows a distant glance where once everything was a dance hall decked out in scenes sweat, lights and cigarettes, harlequin colours of girls who weren't, their legs so broadly beautiful in the highest of heels. The diamond man with his alouette. Someone is calling her between banquets of eight courses and matching wines. Her lunch time meal arrives on wheels. The young girl bends to clean.

Avril Bradley John Bradley Avril Bailey’s collection'Five A NEEDLE of AvrilTHTOUGH Bradley’s THE collections CAMEL’SareEYEavailable / mistakes onlinein athousehold Ginninderra management Press: is on sale now at www.ginninderrapress.com.au https://tinyurl.com/y2lkj4hz 34

come interested and tried my hand at a few, firstly only limericks but later on a bit of free verse. I finally had one published in a small Brisbane publication The Mozzie (only Australians could choose such a name for a poetry magazine). The poem was entitled Spin and was about cycling, specifically why I stopped cycling and what happened afterwards. n

ride back to Huddersfield. Depending on the venue the total distance covered between noon on Saturday and late afternoon Sunday could be around 230 miles. I stopped cycling for few years while working in Stockton on Tees, but took it up again on arrival in Melbourne in the early seventies and combined it with Triathlon. One of the highlights was a visit to France in 2013 with my two sons to follow some of the stages of the 100th Tour de France by bike and campervan. I finally gave up in 2014. Growing antagonism between motorists and cyclists for road space was making it too dangerous for an old man. My wife was an English teacher, always interested in poetry.When she retired she turned to poetry as a serious second career. She is now well known within Australian poetry circles and has published six collections of her own, one jointly with another poet and has edited an anthology of work by others and herself. For 40 years of my career as an engineer and businessman I employed a secretary. On my retirement in 2000 I was promoted and am now my wife’s secretary, typing all her work, sending off entries for competitions, setting up her books and dealing with the publishers. She refuses to have anything to do with computers and gives me all her work handwritten in pencil. As a result of all this typing over the years; I – who had never read a poem since Wordsworth’s Daffodils in my last English class with Jock Anderson – started to be-

Avril Bradley

AVRIL BRADLEY emigrated from England to Australia in 1971. Her poetry has been published in many journals and anthologies since 2006. She was a performance poet in Poetry Idol at The Melbourne Writers' Festival (2007-2011). She received an honorary degree from The University of Roehampton (London) in May 2017. She and John live in Frankston, Victoria. Her poem won the Poetica Christi prize in 2016 and was published in the Poetica Christi Anthology for that year. It also appeared in Award Winning Australian Poetry 2016 and was highly commended in The Melbourne Poets’ Union International Prize 2015 35

PART 1

The room with the Big reputation RO GER DOWLING The Library or ‘Big’ will bring back fond memories for most Old Almondburians.Why has it always been the most attractive room in the School? mastership of Rev Francis Marshall, the numbers on the roll had increased from 34 to 83, including 31 boarders, over a period of just four years. Francis Marshall himself lived in the schoolhouse, so that the only teaching areas at that time were the ODH (the original schoolroom) and a nearby building known as the ‘Cloisters’ that had been erected in 1851 as the first Chemistry classroom in the district. The only new buildings, erected in 1880 soon after Marshall’s arrival, were a new kitchen area (used today as the main KJS office) with accommodation for the servants above. So by 1883, the lack of teaching and dormitory space was becoming an acute problem. The quickest and simplest solution would undoubtedly have been for the School to commission a local jobbing architect and builder to erect a cheap and cheerful large classroom and one or two new dormitory areas. But to its eternal credit, the School decided to embark on a much more ambitious expansion plan, of which the room that we now know as

HE ODH may be older and the Schoolroom may be more historic but I confess that it is the Library – or ‘Big’ if you attended King James’s Grammar School before the war – that has always been my favourite room in the School. I am sure I am not alone. Even as a youngster I have always loved books, so it was perhaps natural that I always enjoyed spending time in the School Library. But it was more than that. The room always seemed to me to have great calm and dignity, largely due to its elegant proportions and fine architectural design. With its lofty ceiling, its arched window at the far end and its little belltower outside, it could almost have passed for a small Gothic revival country church. Add an altar and transept and the illusion would have been complete. Built in 1883, it was in some ways a curiously extravagant room for the School to have commissioned at that time. Its urgent need was beyond doubt: the School was bursting at the seams. Thanks to the brilliant head-

Opposite page top:The ‘Big’ in 1914 The map of Northern Ireland on the blackboard reveals that a Geography lesson had just ended. Note the gas lighting brackets on the walls and the ancient master’s desk (still at the School today) in the foreground. Bottom:The same view today. 36

the Big or Library was an integral part. The development would also include a smaller adjacent teaching area (not surprisingly becoming known as the ‘Small’), a third classroom (known to many Old Almondburians as the Science Lecture Room or ‘Junior Lab’, a new entrance porch to an area now known as the Fenay Quad’ and additional dormitories above. The projected cost was £1,557, which would be nearer £2.5 million at today’s prices. The reason why the School felt it could afford such a large development was that for once its finances were in a fairly healthy state. The increase in the number of paying pupils and boarders was obviously a great help,

but beyond this the School was in the fortunate position of being able to draw upon funds available through its numerous endowments and charities, in the same way that the School today benefits from the King James’s Foundation. We know that at this time, the School held 3% Consols (redeemable Government bonds) to the tune of some £3,600, equivalent to over £5 million in terms of building costs today.These were administered by the Charity Commissioners who were prepared to contribute £1,100 towards the £1,557 if the School could find the rest. Clearly this was a project requiring an architect of some distinction to provide buildings on such a scale that would blend harmoniously with the existing buildings on the site. The architect for the small 1880 building project had been the Halifax-based William Swinden Barber FRIBA. This had gone well so the Governors had little hesitation in awarding him the contract for the more major 1883 development. And therein, without doubt, lies the explanation for the ecclesiastical proportions and design of the room The architect: William Swinden Barber, shown here in 1864 in Romantic dress and holding a flower. In a long working career, Barber was involved either singly or in partnership in over 30 major projects, many of an ecclesiastical nature. 38

Visionary: Rev Francis Marshall, headmaster from 1878-1896, was a supremely efficient organiser, a firm disciplinarian and a successful teacher. In his latter years his views on the ‘purity’ of the amateur rugby union game caused enormous controversy.

we know today as the Library. W S Barber, born near Halifax in 1832, was in fact one of the north west’s most noted members of the Gothic revival Arts and Crafts movement, with a particular specialisation in Anglican churches. It is not difficult to understand why this particular local architect had come to the notice of the Governors in 1880. Ever since its formation, AGS had been a church school in everything but name: not until 1896 was a lay headmaster appointed, and the board of Governors invariably included the resident Vicar of Almondbury. In 1880, this was no less than the formidable figure of Canon Charles Augustus Hulbert, then hard at work on his monumental Annals of the Church and Parish of Almondbury which would be published in 1882. A well-connected man, Hulbert would certainly have been aware of Barber’s local architectural reputation, not least because Barber had been much involved just a few years earlier in the internal reordering of Huddersfield Parish Church.The whole of the woodwork, including stalls, pulpits, screens (including the screen work in the north and south transepts) had been designed by Barber and was carried out under his personal supervi39

sion. More recently, in 1877, Barber had also been involved in a major renovation of All Saints Church, Netherthong. The building contractors for the School’s 1883 building development were Messrs B Graham and Nephew of Moldgreen and the tablet inscribed over the entrance to the new Fenay Quad confirms that the foundation stone was laid by Blanche Brook of Fenay on 2nd August 1883. In the grand tradition of building projects the world over it heavily overspent its budget. The final cost was £2,349, largely met by the selling of further consols, a £200 gift from the Earl of Dartmouth and various private contributions. The full scale of the development may be best understood by following the route Francis Marshall must have

The ‘new’ School entrance in 1900. It has changed little over the years.

taken each morning from the Schoolhouse. Turning left, there was a new corridor which led first to a lavatory (long since gone) and then a small Headmaster’s Study. The corridor then led directly into the ‘Small’, via which then one gained access to the ‘Big’. At the end of the Big were two new small rooms, one of which served as a Staff Room and the other was a small locker room. A door from the Big led to the new Fenay Quad entrance and the adjacent new Science Lecture Room. At first floor level, there was a series of small bedrooms and dormitories, later rationalised to form the two large ‘middle’ dormitories that became known as Dorms 2 and 3, and a room over the Science Lecture Room that became Dorm 1. Dorm 4 was, of course, the ‘old’ dormitory above the ODH. The Big must have been a wonderful addition to the School’s teaching resources. Measuring some 41 ft x 21 ft, with a lofty 30 ft height, it was a flexible space that could be used not only for teaching but for a variety of purposes such as morning assemblies, and even ‘physical jerks’. At last the School had space to meet the requirements of the existing pupils but could look forward with confidence to the

expansion that surely lay around the corner. But unfortunately it didn’t. Francis Marshall’s controversial and obsessive views on the growing professionalism of his beloved Rugby Union caused strong resentment in and around Huddersfield. As a result, Almondbury Grammar School was no longer a fashionable place to send one’s children and entrance numbers began to plummet. By the time Marshall departed in 1896 only 11 boys remained at the School, ironically much the same number as attended the School when it received its charter in 1608. More rooms than boys – the triumph had turned into a disaster! What n on earth was to be done? To be continued 40

NEWS UPDATES

Almondbury news and views Castle Hill: the debate continues N the November 2018 issue we reported on speculation on the possibility of new developments to improve the amenities at Castle Hill. The Thandi Brothers own land at the historic site and have come up with various plans over the years to redevelop it after demolishing the popular Castle Hill Hotel in 2003. The latest news is that Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman has started to take an interest. “Castle Hill is becoming a blot on the landscape,” he has declared. “I’m going to have meetings with the leaders of some of the most important conservation groups in the country next week including Historic England and the Ancient Monuments Society, and I'm going to tell them that enough is enough.” But his views have not gone down well by those who wish to preserve the historic Green Belt setting. Kirklees councillor, Bernard McGuin, who represents Almondbury, says, “Nothing built there should affect the setting of the listed Victoria Tower. The Hill itself

is an ancient monument and nothing should detract from that either.” Barry Sheerman’s views about what he claims to be the neglect of the site are not echoed by the environmental group Keep Britain Tidy which has awarded the site a coveted Green Flag Award.

George Hotel in starring role LSO in the November 2018 issue, we gave an update on plans to redevelop the George Hotel in Huddersfield, famously the building in which the new ‘Rugby League’ was formed – to a large extent bcause of the fuss created by the Almondbury Grammar School headmaster of the day, Rev Francis Marshall about the growing professionalisation of Rugby Union. Alarmingly, the hotel has now been ‘set

Huddersfield Examiner

alight’ by SKY TV earlier this year – but only by the company’s special effects team who were filming scenes for a new political drama Cobra. Businesses and residents received letters from SKY TV warning them not to be alarmed if they saw fake smoke being pumped out of the windows. Set in the halls of Westminster, the series follows Prime Minister Robert Sutherland, (Robert Carlyle), and his Chief of Staff Anna Marshall, (Victoria Hamilton), as they try to deal with a national emergency.

library in Stocks Walk.The library has now been re-located in a ‘community hub’ in Farfield Road, off Southfield Road at the opposite end of the village. The proposal to close the existing building aroused bitter debate. The Carnegie Building in which it was housed dates back to 1906, receiving its name from the financial assistance provided by the Scottish millionaire, Andrew Carnegie.

Stocks Walk Library closes ANY Old Almondburians will be saddened to learn of the recent controversial closure of the historic Almondbury lending

It was Huddersfieldâ€™s first purpose-designed library. The new-look library claims to be Kirkleesâ€™ first dementia-friendly library. As part of the refurbishment, the council has used a number of subtle design features to ensure that it is a more inclusive environment for people living with dementia. The curious relic in Somerset Road HERE has been lively discussion on social media about an odd relic of the past in Somerset Road near the junction with Benomley Road. Many suggestions have been made concerning its origins, ranging from flood drain and air raid shelter to priest hole and pinfold. In fact it was a public spring and your Editor himself remembers it being used during the severe drought of 1949 when street standpipes were erected around Huddersfield to save water. At the time, his family lived in Almondbury Bank and it was a fairly short walk across to Som-

erset Rod to fill buckets of water at the spring. The drought was so severe locally that it was even mentioned in the Illustrated London News of 15th October 1949 which depicted Blackmoorfoot reservoir 34 ft below its normal level and still dropping. Across the road from the spring is an old stone horse-trough which would have been refilled from the spring to refresh thirsty carthouses as they made their way up Somerset Road. Nearby is Penny Spring Wood, suggesting that a charge of one penny might have been levied at one time on anyone wishing to draw water from the spring. n

DARTMOUTH MEDAL

The day the signwriter called The OAS moves in to correct an error perpetrated 68 years ago which one of our members hoped might one day be put right. It was time to call in Brian the Brush. ber of newly updated honours boards now on display in the School. So what could be simpler than correcting a single initial on a board in the Library? Simple? A gold leaf initial at the very top of the highest honours board in the Library, fully 20 feet from the ground? Clearly time to call in an expert. Enter signwriter ‘Brian the Brush’ Scargill. Based in Bradford, Brian spent his teenage years at art college and went on to undertake a long apprenticeship in the art of traditional signwriting and goldleaf gilding. He worked alongside highly skilled artisans in all of the arts and crafts associated with sign writing and gilding, including reverse glass gilding and architectural gilding. After 40 years, his enthusiasn for his job is undiminished. “They taught me well,” he says. “My teachers were, by anyone’s standards, amongst the best in the signage business of that era. I still have the utmost respect for, and very fond memories of, the people who taught me their skills so many years ago.” Barry the Brush’s business grew rapidly and he gained an excellent reputation in his field, initially concentrating just on the Yorkshire area, but eventually gaining

T was an unusual telephone call, and it followed Part 1 of our article about the Dartmouth Medal in the July issue of The Almondburian. The call was from long-time OAS member Donald Richard Sykes (194351) who was awarded the Dartmouth Medal in 1951. He was delighted to see the article but it reminded him of the unfortunate error on the honours board in the Library which gave his name as ‘D A Sykes’. It was, of course, a mistake about which he had complained at the time and on subsequent occasions, but curiously had never been corrected.This was despite the fact that the ever-meticulous Gerald Hinchliffe, in his 1961 History of King James’s Grammar School, had correctly recorded his name as ‘D R Sykes’. Donald wondered if the OAS could perhaps put the record straight. The request came at a good time. With the support of principal Ian Rimmer we have been busy updating honours boards and other displays around the School. In the November 2017 issue of The Almondburian we reported on a new ‘Time Line’ display in the School’s main social area that was produced in time for the annual Heritage Open Day. Last year we produced a num44

a nationwide reputation as one of the country’s finest traditional sign writers and gold leaf gilders. Over the four decades Brian has watched signage ‘fads’ come and go. But the traditional skills and values he holds have always been required and there is currently a huge surge in the demand for quality traditional signage. His countless prestigious clients include such well known names as Marks & Spencer, Caffè Nero and the Tower of London. The task we set Brian was not the easiest – signwriting at the top of a ladder is never a simple task. He immediately made a surprising discovery that the top six inches of the board seemed to have blistered at some stage over the past years, as though affected by fire. We found this puzzling, as we are unaware of any such fire in the library, and the position of the board would not, one would have thought, have resulted in damage from the sun. The process of goldleaf signwriting may be unfamiliar to readers. Brian began by cleaning the area and carefully removing the offending ‘A’. He then applied a clear egg white/water glaze before careRight: ‘Brian the Brush’ sets to work. After 40 years he still loves the job as much as ever 45

fully hand-drawing the correct letter using a special signwriter’s glue. When this had become tacky, he carefully applied an extremely thin sheet of gold leaf which then adhered to the face of the new letter. It’s good to know that the gold leaf, and many other specialist gilding items are supplied by the long-established company Wrights of Lymm, based in Lymm. So, our thanks to Brian the Brush. We

hope that readers will find no further honours board errors, but if you do we’ll n know just the man to contact.

lDonald Sykes also pointed out that we were wrong in suggesting that Gerhard and Wolfgang Schlesinger were the only brothers to receive the Dartmouth Medal. In fact, Ronald’s brother A E Sykes received the medal, as shown on the honours board, in 1954.We are very happy to set the record straight.

Left: the original honours board wrongly listing ‘D A Sykes’ Right: the corrected board. Note the name of Donald’s brother Alan Sykes, who was awarded the Dartmouth Medal three years later.

Dartmouth Medal is set to return in 2020 E’RE delighted to report that the prestigious Dartmouth Medal is to return as the School’s top award with effect from 2020, after a gap of 50 years. The medals are jointly funded by the OAS and the Earl of Dartmouth and we are particularly pleased that, in the year in which we celebrate our centenary, the Dartmouth family name, with its long and distinguished history, will again be directly linked with the School. Two medals will now be awarded each year, to the boy and girl students who have contributed most to the success and development of the School in their final year at School. We will be formally launching the new award at the OAS Annual Dinner on 23rd November.

PAVILION UPDATE

New use for cricket field: rugby league COLIN BAMFORD A surprise approach from a local rugby league club has led to a plan, launched in September 2019, to use the cricket field for the training of aspiring young players

OLLOWING the folding up of ion will be used for refreshments, with the Old Almondburians’ some hopefully for the referee. In summer the club train young aspirCricket Club, we have tried for ing rugby league players up to the age of over three years to seek out other local clubs looking for a home to play cricket. 13. They do not play serious games and There have been two features in the Ex- the intention is that they will use the aminer and I have had contact with the cricket field for this training. The trainsecretaries of local cricket leagues…all ing is well organised and it is great to to no avail. It has also become very clear watch boys and girls enjoying themthat the School will never be likely to selves. We have been very pleased that the use the pitch other than very occasionclub members, one of whom is a buildally. This is disappointing. It was a surprise to us therefore when ing contractor, have improved the we were approached by a local amateur shower facilities inside the pavilion, rePennine League rugby league club who placed the guttering and rebuilt the steps were looking for a new home from at the front of the pavilion. The Club Kirklees-owned facilities in Dalton. Af- have received financial support from ter two meetings with them, the Princi- many businesses in Almondbury. The launch was on Saturday, 28th pal and Trust members agreed that they could use the School and Trust facilities, September. The weather was diabolical but it did not affect the enthusiasm of all initially for a one year trial period. The club which has re-named itself concerned. An exhibition match was Almondbury Spartans will use the School’s played between the Spartans and a visitupper football field for their Saturday ing team drawn from the rest of the fixtures. They have purchased remov- league. The Spartans’ captain is a former able goal posts so as not to interfere KJS pupil Jason Southwell and I underwith School football. The players will stand there are others who are either use the School’s changing facilities and past students or in the lower school. The event was attended by former Engthe referee is to be locked away in the land and Leeds captain Garry Schofield cricket pavilion! This is to comply with OBE who has said in League rules. After Colin Bamford is chairman of the King James’s School Foundation. his Rugby League the match, the pavil47

(Above):The Almondbury Spartans at the exhibition match on 28th September (Below): Former top professional rugby league player Garry Scholfield (left) with Colin Bamford

newspaper column that he intends to keep in touch. The Trust members are keen for this initiative to succeed, not least because it demonstrates our commitment to the community of the an-

cient parish of Almondbury. I must also add that the Head and other King Jamesâ€™s staff have been very helpful to the club in being able to move to the School in what was a very short period of time. n 48

Every picture tells a story

Martin Harrison (1962-69) remembers ‘Nude with Violin’ 50 years ago were outside our comfort zone. The play was a rarely-revived 1950s satire on modern art and the social and financial business surrounding it. Playing its stylised and class-based caricatured roles was challenging for our fledgling acting skills. I was asked take on a suave role way beyond my limited life experience previously embodied in the West End by the author, Noel Coward and Sir John Gielgud, so that speaks for itself! The technical team of Graham Walker, Steve Bates, Jim Dale and Edward Brook were highly competent. We all mucked in where we could. For example, I remember painting the version of the eponymous masterpiece used as a prop in the show (which can be partially seen at the back of the photograph). It was based on a rudimentary knowledge of cubism and the following lines from the text: “The

OMEONE in the School – possibly a teacher in the English Department, as profits of the performance went to the Library – came up with the idea that putting on a show was a good way to keep creative sixth formers occupied after ‘A’ levels at the end of the summer term in 1969. It was an excellent idea and really helped us to become an independent and energetic unit. The director was an enthusiastic and very focused Martin Wood who was going up to Christ’s, Cambridge that autumn to read Law. The cast and production team was mainly made up of 2nd year sixth formers (with others like Andy Taylor slipping in from the year below) and organisationally we were pretty much left to our own devices. The previous year we’d done The Importance of Being Earnest with me as Jack Worthing and Martin Wood as Algernon and that was the success on which we were building. It was a real team effort. and it needed to be. It wasn’t a natural choice of play for 18-year-old schoolboys. We

Left to right: A D Johnson, A R Cape, Janet Nash, D H Roberts, M J Harrison, J A Taylor, June Hey, Pauline Hill, Jadwiga Agater, Jean Uttley,T Charlesworth 49

left breast is wrong” to which my character, Sebastien, replied “All the breasts are wrong!” We rehearsed and performed it on the stage in the Gym, as we did the School plays, but apparently according to the review it only had a run of one night. We must have had a fair audience to make a profit of £50 quid (200 at 5 bob a head?) I seem to remember it as being great fun and getting a lot of laughs, but I would think that wouldn't I? I'm not sure how we got the girls from Greenhead. Was anybody ever sure how you did that? I suspect it was was some inter-school loan arrangement, I have much clearer memories of the girls in the cast the year before which suggests they might have been better actors! I think staging of a show like Nude With Violin was very ambitious and I look back on that and other theatrical experiences at KJGS with great fondness. Right: this review of ‘Nude with Violin’ appeared in The Almondburian in July, 1969

WORDPLAY

Malapropisms and paraprosdokians

“That nasty man had carnival knowledge of that poor young girl” My own mother-in-law, an avid reader of salacious court cases in the News of theWorld “Whatever they say I don’t believe an aorta of it” Australian farmer, responding to election promises lTo be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target. lTo steal ideas from one person is plagiarism.To steal from many is research. lYou do not need a parachute to skydive.You only need a parachute to skydive twice. lI used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure… John Bradley 50

Classroom commentary LAUREN NUTTON (staff) Some thoughts on this year’s ‘Prom’ and our participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards programme The night itself was a roaring success. Winning Prom King, one student was widely celebrated by his peers with a standing ovation and his very own chant. It was emotional to see

ULLING into the car park of the Holiday Inn in Brighouse, I could see a mass of astonishing dresses and some extremely dapper suits. Year 11 truly outdid themselves at this year’s Prom on 28th June. Throughout the year, there has been a whisper of colours of dress and an infectious excitement around ‘what to wear’and ‘how we are going to arrive’. Having spent months and months telling students to concentrate on their work and stop mentioning ‘the P word’, I now fully understood why they struggled for so long to contain themselves and concentrate on anything other than the Prom. Prom: the biggest and best night in the School calendar for every student at King James’s School. From year 7 onward, students are preparing themselves for this night and year on year, staff are able to celebrate the achievements and success stories that King James’s School produces.

Lauren (centre) poses with two of her glamorous GCSE students Alex and Chloe before they leave King James’s School for their new adventures 51

how supportive and celebratory our pupils were of each other. After numerous photographs; a delicious three course meal and an emotive rewards ceremony, the students and teachers were able to dance the night away in their wonderful attire. To see year 11 looking so mature and formal was an experience that I won’t forget. Saying goodbye to my first ever GCSE class at King James’s was incredibly hard. We laughed about silly things the students had done over the two years: the tears, the tantrums and the time-outs. We also reminisced the wonderful lessons that we have had and year 11 moved on to pastures new. I do hope they remember not only what I taught them about inferencing and analysing language but, what I taught them about being kind, caring and happy people. I aim for this to be my first Prom of many. Hopefully, this year’s year 11 will make it bigger and better (it will be hard to beat).

wards achieving their Duke of Edinburgh certificates. There has been a real sense of achievement buzzing from the classrooms as each student has slowly but surely ticked off each section of their award. Eve Haigh, our head girl (whose speech you may remember from the July issue of The Almondburian) has written a few words about her own experience: The DofE Award was introduced to the students of King James’s in 2018 and has had a large uptake and success already. DofE encourages students to learn new skills, volunteer in the community, participate in different sports and physical activity and adventure to new places during expeditions. A large group, of then year 10’s, started the Bronze Award last September. The skills, volunteering and physical skills had to be completed over a period of three months for two of the sections and six months for the other sections. The two-day overnight expedition, involving; orienteering skills (sometimes getting a little lost), independently learning how to read a map and camp craft was difficult.Walking with extremely heavy bags on our backs through treacherous conditions of rain, mud and humidity made us almost want to give up. However, against it all, every group passed with flying colours and had many stories to share. In the second part of completing the next section of the expedition we had to deliver a presentation to teachers and students of

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards According to the DofE website, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards scheme offers A life-changing experience. A fun time with friends. An opportunity to discover new interests and talents. A tool to develop essential skills for life and work. A recognised mark of achievement; respected by employers.’ – Many of our students have been working tirelessly at King James’s to52

Head Girl: Eve Haigh

Writer: Harry Shaw

what our experience was like.This was quite daunting but having experience delivering speeches as head girl, I managed to deliver my presentation with no hiccups. Many pupils have now completed their Bronze Award and will be presented with their award in the town hall later this year. Some students have gone on to try and complete their Silver Award. This similarly includes a learnt skill (knitting, sewing, skiing), volunteering, learning a physical skill for two sections of the award (which should be done for six months) and a threeday overnight expedition. We have not yet completed our expedition but have done training for our silver award. This meant we spent a day walking around Marsden Moor practising our navigation skills in preparation. I am thoroughly enjoying DofE and I can’t wait to

complete my silver award and progress further with the scheme. Some memories of Year 10 Rewind time (we’d all love to). Rewind back to two years ago, I had a wonderful Year 9 class, with some fantastic writers in there. One student: Harry Shaw has been writing articles for the school magazine for some time so I asked him to write about his experience of Key Stage four (so far) and what he is looking forward to in year 11. Here is what he has to say: Year 10 was a very different experience for me and I’m sure it was for everyone else in my year. For the last three years, we registered in the same form, had classes with the same form and the people in my classes 53

InYear 11, I am looking forward to writing my college applications and visiting colleges on open days. I am also looking forward to prom at the end of the year as I feel like it’s a reward for all of the hard work and effort that each of us have put into our revision and our GCSEs. It is also a nice way to say farewell to our teachers and the students in our classes that we may never see again. However, the one thing that I am feeling nervous about is taking my GCSEs and getting the grades that I need to get into the college that I am wanting to get in to, although I feel like I am prepared to do my mocks and eventually my real GCSEs, I am still nervous and at the moment I can only hope for the outcome that I need.

didn’t really change from year to year. This year however, I found myself in a new form, with new classes and, in some cases, doing subjects that I had never done before. It all seemed very daunting for the first week or so but then suddenly, I got into the swing of things and by the end of the first couple of weeks, it feels like I’d been doing it the whole time I had been at this school. The good thing about doing the subjects that I picked for my GCSEs is that I’m doing subjects with people that are there to learn and enjoy the lesson rather than people that see that lesson as difficult and may distract me sometimes. My favourite part of Year 10 was doing my work experience, I really enjoyed doing it because it gives students the chance to develop skills that they might not necessarily learn within the school curriculum and gives students a chance to get out of school to practise doing the job that they are wanting to do in the future. Learning about and doing the statistics GCSE was also an experience to prepare us for taking our GCSEs in the coming year and nearly all the students in my year left Year 10 with at least 1 GCSE. Overall, I found that Year 10 was full of new experiences which helped me prepare for passing my GCSEs and moving on to the next stages of my life.

2019: a busy year As you can see, it has been another extremely busy and rewarding year for students and teacher here at King James’s. Another year of striving for success; building relationships; enriching our lives with passion and new adventures and most importantly: demonstrating what amazing people create our community. I’m sure you would agree, we are lucky to be a part of a school with such an amazing history that we can continue to celebrate. n

Writing for The Almondburian The Editor is always delighted to receive articles and letters for inclusion in The Almondburian. Articles are typically 1,000-1,500 words in length and should preferably be accompanied by good colour photographs with captions. If emailed, photographs should be at least 300 dpi resolution in jpg or png format. Editorial email address: almondburian@oas.org.uk.

Badminton/Tennis A N D RE W H A I G H

andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk

BADMINTON HE new badminton season to the Conservative Club for refreshstarted on Thursday, 5th ments. September and, as last Badminton is good fun year, we are being joined by and good for you, so do some of the Year 11 GCSE P.E. come and join us if you students to get some match can! Those who venpractise. Playing regutured on court with us larly with us was a during the early part definite benefit to of the season were: last year’s GCSE l Neil Gledhill P.E. students and we l David Parry hope to introduce l Craig Watts some coaching sessions for this year’s l Lydia Morton students to run before our usual sesl Joe Schewtschuck sion in the coming weeks. l Andrew Haigh We play in the School sports hall l Ian Daffern each Thursday evening during terml Nicky Murphy time, from 7.30 p.m. until 9.30 p.m., l Emily Murphy until Thursday, 21st May The fee, to l Bernie Gately cover the hire of the sports hall, shutl Jake Ling tlecocks and showers, is £5.00 per l Keiran Morgan person per evening if eight people or l Charlie Townend fewer are playing, £4.00 per person l Willow Hunter if more than eight people play and l Inés Gately £3.00 per person if more than twelve l Lucy Walker people play. Afterwards, we adjourn l Matthew Booth

TENNIS No fewer than twelve people played over the course of the season: l Andrew Haigh, l Eleanor Haigh, l David Parry, l Neil Gledhill,

During the summer of 2019, the Old Almondburians’ Tennis Section once again enjoyed the hospitality and facilities of Longley Tennis Club, playing there each Thursday evening from 30th May until 29th August. 55 55

better attendances than usual and on l Charlotte Haigh, one occasion, towards the end l Lydia Morton, of the season, we even l Robin Merchant, managed to have two l Catherine Strachan courts of doubles playl Hannah Strachan, ing simultaneously; a l Jenny Strachan, bumper attendance that l Annabel Haigh inspired Mrs Haigh to l Fraser Burnett. turn up and serve pulled We enjoyed an expork sandwiches! cellent summer this year, Anything can happen at although we did have to retreat onto the indoor court on a cou- Old Almondburiansâ€™ Tennis, so why ple of evenings. We also enjoyed some not come and join us next summer? n

Time for pulled pork wraps: (left to right) Annabel Haigh, Eleanor Haigh, Andrew Haigh, Neil Gledhill, Catherine Strachan, Jenny Strachan, Charlotte Haigh and Hannah Strachan at Longley Tennis Club during a break in play 56

Postbag YO U WRITE â€Ś Wellington bomber article suffers unfortunate crash From: Jack Taylor (staff 1959-1997) refer to the article Relics of battle in the last issue of The Almondburian magazine. The illustration of a Wellington bomber is in fact a Lancaster bomber. This error was pointed out to me by my eight year old grandson, Daniel. He is a keen aficionado of all things relating to World War Two. He points out that a Wellington bomber has two engines; a Lancaster bomber has four engines, amongst other differences. Incidentally I recently, casually met, for the first time a pilot (ninety plus-year old) from one of the last Lancaster bomb-

ing raids in World War Two, over Berlin. He was born in Stainland and later lived in Vancouver, Canada, as his father emigrated. Small World! I remember my father commenting on the glare in the night sky from the crashed and exploding (Wellington) bomber, as I was living at Fenay Bridge during World War Two. In fact, in later years, on occasions I cycled past the gun battery along Hey Lane on my way to Holmfirth Holme Valley Grammar School, as it was known in those days. Halifax,WestYorkshire

From: Barry Livesey (1953-1961) photo of a Lancaster bomber rather than a Wellington was a deliberate mistake to check who was awake! Shefford, Bedfordshire

ITH reference to the article in The Almondburian (July, 2019), it was a good article about some very brave men. Therefore I assume that the use of a l Our apologies for the error; we inadvertently showed a Lancaster bomber rather than the Wellington bomber illustrated on the right. Our thanks to Gerald Stead who also spotted the mistake and kindly sourced the correct photograph. 57

My impersonation of ‘Skip’ Toomey From:Tony Cape (1963-1969)

AVE BUSH mentions the scout camp at Mold in the last issue of The Almondburi-

I used to do a mean impersonation of Skip Toomey and on one memorable occasion did my ‘rounds’ and issued demerits to a platoon for talking after lights out. They duly confessed this at flag break the next day, to the great merriment of we Senior Scouts. Somerset,New Jersey, USA

an. I was at that dreadful camp, among several others. In my recollection, no one took photos in those days, certainly not we scouts ourselves.

It’s an ill wind… From: Prof Colin Robson (staff 1946-1953) was sorry to learn in the last issue of the death of David Aldridge who came to AGS when I did, from the same Highlands Avenue council estate and the same Fenay Lane council school where the formidable Miss Clark drilled us relentlessly in test papers for the Eleven Plus exam. His piece about the war in Almondbury awoke further memories, particularly his mention of evacuees. Mrs Taylor Dyson played an important role in assigning these young Londoners to local homes. In 1941 she had to meet a group of six evacuees due to arrive in Wakefield. Extra transport was needed and Clarence Lancaster, a baker at Fairbank’s in the village, with his essential user petrol allowance, offered to lend his car. Mrs Lancaster had agreed to take one of the evacuees and, rather against the rules, Mrs Taylor Dyson let them choose one. Given Mr Lancaster's

fondness for curly hair, the curliest four-year-old Pat Wells with her Shirley Temple ringlets was chosen. It was a fortunate choice and Pat spent the rest of the war years very happily with the childless couple. After the war, she came back to Almondbury regularly, spending every August with her war-time carers. I got to know her well over the years as the Lancasters lived next door to one of my best friends in Kaye Lane. We would enjoy hanging around there. Almondbury Wesleyan’s cricket ground was just behind their houses. So, most sunny days we played there, or in Penny Spring wood. On a rare wet day, we would play poker in the old pavilion for pop bottle tops. Reader, I married her – and last year, we celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary. It's an ill wind, as they say. Bath, Somerset

Obituary Geoffrey Robertshaw (KJGS 1947-1952) ItinerantYorkshireman who had a long and successful career in the utilities sector `Geoff Robertshaw was a proud Old Almondburian who regularly attended OAS annual dinners over the years. After leaving Almondbury Grammar School, Geoff was called up for National Service which he served in Germany in the RAF as an aircraft technician. On his return he joined GEC as a draughtsman, met his wife Norma and started his family, living in Lea, near Preston. Seeking a career change he studied management services at night school and moved to the Gas Board in 1965, relocating to Leicester. His final move was to the Midland Electricity Board in Kidderminster. Following the privatisation of the MEB in the 1980s he was able to leave with a generous early retirement package when he was only 50.Thus commenced a long and enjoyable retirement although he sadly lost his wife in 1997. Geoff was an active member and onetime treasurer of Kidderminster Cricket Club . He finally returned ‘home’ to Yorkshire in 2001 where he had maintained many good friends, although locals in Meltham considered him a ‘comer-in’ having lost his broad Yorkshire accent.

There was time for one final chapter: he married his second wife Ann in 2014 and moved to Shropshire. Geoff leaves three children, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Geoffrey Robertshaw , born 5th June 1936, died 17th Aug 2019 , aged 83.

Chairman WALTER RALEIGH 15 Thorpe Lane, Almondbury HD5 8TA Tel: 01484 308452 Email: walter.raleigh@oas.org.uk Secretary ANDREW HAIGH 2 Arkenley Lane, Almondbury HD4 6SQ Tel: 01484 432105 Email: andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk Treasurer KEITH CRAWSHAW 5 Benomley Drive, Almondbury HD5 8LX Tel: 01484 533658 Email: keith.crawshaw@oas.org.uk Media Editor ROGER DOWLING Orchard House, Oughtrington Lane, Lymm, Cheshire WA13 0RD Tel: 07810 601447 Email: almondburian@oas.org.uk Assistant Media Editor RICHARD TEALE The Sycamores, 239 Huddersfield Road, Thongsbridge, Holmfirth HD9 3TT Tel: 07810 313315. Email: richard.teale@oas.org.uk KJS Representative ABBIGAIL TERRY King James’s School, St Helen’s Gate, Almondbury HD4 6SG Tel: 01484 412990 Email: abbi.terry@oas.org.uk

Website: www.oas.org.uk

The Almondburian is distributed to OAS members free of charge. Price to non-members: £3.00