School Days

Which school did you go to?
Who was/were your favourite teacher(s) and why?
Who was/were your least favourite teacher(s) and why?
Any amusing stories?

I went to Wintringham School. My favourite teachers were Trevor Bailey and Tim Neave.

Mr Bailey came with a fearsome reputation as some ex prison guard who was hard as nails. Funny how Chinese whispers work. Seemed to be bigger in stature than he actually was. Whether that was presence or the fact we were skinny kids I don’t really know. Being sports mad I always got on with him apart from when he stopped me playing football because I refused to do cross country for for the school. I’d only refused as it would stop me playing footy on a Saturday. Anyway I found him to be a really good teacher who made even boring lessons engaging.

Mr Neave was an absolute star. His English and drama lessons were outstanding. He was so engaging and had an element of rebellion to him as he wouldn’t conform to brushing his hair or ironing his shirts. It was cool. He always talked to you like an adult and about subjects other teachers would shy away from. He allowed you to eat and drink and would, if he trusted you, let you complete other work you had not done for other lessons, so long as you caught up his work at home. He was just so out of keeping with the archetypal secondary school teacher. I remember going to watch a group with him called ‘the Nanas’ at the winter gardens. I could go on and on but he is a ‘proper’ legend and someone ill not forget.

Great thread Sandford 👍

I went to Strand street infant school (opposite the flats) (1974) then on to Grange infants as well as Bradley park middle school and then onto Western comprehensive (no longer there unfortunately) best days of my life, I left school in 1986 and then went on to Grimsby college then into the Royal Navy and when I left the Navy in 1994 I had various jobs then ended up working for the Railway 2002 until now (should be doing this job till retirement age) I love my job.

My favourite teacher was Mr Staniforth and Mr Leafe (both from Western school) they were both excellent teachers who taught me a lot of life skills, they was firm but fair, they’d tell us old stories and in doing so we would miss most of the lesson haha good memories.

When we came over from Hull I went to St Peters on the Ave. Mr Boncey was our headmaster and he was a bit of an amateur magician, used to enjoy his shows at school.

The went on to Beacon Hill which became Matthew Humberston while I was there. There was a teacher there that I think most people were frightened of, think his name was Flodman (he never taught us).
Mr Johnson was our headmaster when I started if I remember rightly.

I didn't really like school and was over the moon when the day came to leave in 1976.

Then went on to Grimsby College on day release as an apprentice motor mechanic.

When we moved back to the area I also went to St Peter's Mrs Powers was head then Mr Boncey when she retired.

Also went to Beacon Hill where John Fraser and Peter Kidd were my favourite teachers.

While serving a apprenticeship as a bricklayer went to the College of Further Education one day a week plus night school.

Bursar St. Late 60s-74. Can’t remember many names. Stand out was Miss Over who we had in 1st and 4th year juniors. Pushed us hard but it gave us a good grounding. Had really nice young teacher in 3rd year, name gone from my head.
Oh and Miss Metcalfe, infants headmistress. Very good.

Got sent to Lindsey for secondary school, which was a buddy because nearly everyone else I knew went to Matthew. Stand outs for me were Gordon Taylor, History O-Level. Another one who was firm but fair. But with the added bonus he regaled us with anecdotes and brought the subject alive. Then Tony McCabe for A-Level history and Economics. He was the right teacher at the right time for me. Very sharp and bright Scouser. Introduced us to different schools of thought and deepened my interest in the subject and went on to do history at university as a result. A lifelong passion for the subject.

Some others worth a mention at Lindsey: Yvonne Ellison, English - good teacher and a schoolboy fantasy figure 😁. Misters Minette and Payne, geography - not the most exciting lessons but got the subject across to the extent I can still have a decent conversation 40 years later with my son who’s a geography graduate.

Quoted from promotion plaice

When we came over from Hull I went to St Peters on the Ave. Mr Boncey was our headmaster and he was a bit of an amateur magician, used to enjoy his shows at school.

The went on to Beacon Hill which became Matthew Humberston while I was there. There was a teacher there that I think most people were frightened of, think his name was Flodman (he never taught us).
Mr Johnson was our headmaster when I started if I remember rightly.

I didn't really like school and was over the moon when the day came to leave in 1976.

Then went on to Grimsby College on day release as an apprentice motor mechanic.

You’d have been at Matthew same time as my brother then. Think he left in about 75.

I was at Beacon Hill from 1959-1963.

Just like to add they were keen to give you a wack or two with the cane. ( they would be arrested today )  

Our biology teacher was a laugh if you mis behaved in his class he would march you into his store room.
Get his cane out and wack the bench and say let that be a lesson for you.

You came out rubbing your hand , all the girls thought he had hit you but the boys knew different.  

Well as you know I wasn't born in this area. What I can tell you is that none of my scools were in the "Approved Type category". O and they didn't teach me about the english language or how to spell!

Nunny Infants then to Crosby Infants (as it was then) when it opened. Onto Crosby Middle until the end of the 3rd year when we became upwardly socially mobile and moved house and so I spent the last year of middle school (not juniors, system was different in Grimsby) at Welholme. Senior school was Hereford, which has since been knocked down and replaced by the Ormiston Maritime Academy.

Favourite teacher was probably Miss Duff (Geography), least favourite Miss Gregory (Maths) ironically both of them were at school with my mother at Wintringham, when it was a grammar school dontcha know.

Nothing amusing happened at school.

At Wintringham we had a teacher who was unpopular called Mr Keightley. Owing to the fact he had big lips, he gained the nickname ‘codders’. Cruelly, as was the way back then and in part due to him being a bit of a male private we teased him relentlessly with all fish related scenarios and names.

After school one night a group of us stole a full rainbow trout from a friends mum’s fridge and hot tailed it down to the school under the cover of darkness and preceded to gaffer tape the fish to his classroom window. We even put a ciggy in its mouth as an added bit of humour. The next day we arrived at school expecting a reaction and got nothing at all. Zero. Zilch! It was disconcerting, gutting and to say the least more than a dent to our collective ego. Ah well you win some, lose some.

It wasn’t until we went to our English lesson in the afternoon did we get our recognition. Mr Neave knowing our dislike for our tutor, pulled us aside and began verbally probing us for information hardly keeping a smirk from his face. It was then he asked us why Mr Keightley was walking round the staff room first thing that morning chuntering to himself, carrying a fish around with him!!

Needless to say it was priceless and one of many favourite memories of my school days.