Re: Accy grammar student?
 

I was in the same year as the Portno's daughter, and my brother in the same year as the son. Yes, Mrs. Portno did teach French there; made sense really, think she was French herself.

Did your brother ever have one of those panoramic photographs that were taken every 5 years of the whole of the school? My brother was in the Vl form so a good chance your brother was on it too. If he has one, let me have the row and number and I will look him up. He is now 67 so don't think you will be on it.

Last weekend, my brother went to an Annual Reunion they do for their year. This year was at Wrightington, next year in the Lakes. Includes a 'lad' called Michael Cordingly (his father taught there too) and the runner Ron Hill, whom I am informed still does a decent 10 mile run daily.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Sam Wignall was not a man to get on the wrong side of. "Pop" Cordingly was firm, but kindly, as I remember. I was similarly useless at woodwork - the coffee tray I'd attempted to make was such a mess that Pop fished another out of the cupboard which had been made by a lad who'd left. He gave it to me, saying "here you are, just varnish this one up and tell your parents you made it." It lasted us for years!

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Can just imagine that was the sort of kind deed 'Pop' would do. I was also at school with his lovely daughter Judith. She now lives in Texas and a couple of years ago (or thereabouts), Judith was in Accrington visiting her father, got in touch and her and her father invited me to their house for lunch.

He was still very much the gentleman, so kind, polite and what impressed me the most that he had on his suit, clean shirt and tie and not his houseslippers. I was very impressed that he knew how to treat a visitor.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

any one remeber jock bentley p.e teacher and p h simms scienceteacher also the teachers rest room halfway up the leftsteps as you entered the main entrance,also rolo rawlinson(he got done a few years ago for molesting young kids) also the famous mr roberts a.k.a SPIKE.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

I remember Jock Bentley all right.........he could never understand why I couldn,t shin up a rope like he could.........when I slyly suggested that he,d probably given up using his equipment at his age and that I wanted to preserve mine........he sent me to the head for the dreaded .......PUMP..:eek:

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Spike was the complete opposite of Jock. He simply couldn't control a class of boisterous lads to save his life. More often than not, his classes descended into noisy chaos and a teacher from an adjoining room would come to investigate and admonish us. I think he eventually left teaching and became a travel agent or something similar...I hope he was happier there because he was a really nice bloke.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Don't forget Flossie Ferguson, Winkie Barrell and Cordingly.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Jock Bentley was a psychopath.

Spike was a nice guy but we were kids so we did what kids do...
...made his life hell.
That's what kids do.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

It is indeed and I was as guilty as anyone else in the class. Looking back on it now, though, I can't help feeling sorry for the bloke when I remember the look of embarrassed humiliation on his face as he stood there helplessly while a "proper" teacher brought the class to order.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Dave Ratcliffe is my uncle.I to went to Accy grammar but not until much later(71 to 76).Our Dave asked me to tell you (if you did'nt know) that my grandmother Lucy sadly passed away in June.She was 99.

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Spike left the year before i started but i had the dubious honour of being "taught" by some of the following......Jock,Simms,Mrs Wallwork,Harry Roberts,Baggy Shaw,Pinky White,Mrs Scull,Michael Dennison,Mrs Rushton(Bio),Pop Cordingley& a posse of others whoes' names have began to fade with the passing of time.Ralph was headmaster,no one knew i was there,& it did me no good what so ever!

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

I attended the old pile between '57 and '62. Gobbin I remember, and the chemistry teacher RP Owen .. Welsh he was ... used to get him to say Avogadros Hypothesis, anyone who remembers him doing it might still get a laugh. Jock was not a psychopath, he was a sociopath. And Sam Wignall "Oi laddie, cap". Mrs. Scull was cool, anyone remember trying to get her to bend over a physics expt. to get a better view of her ........

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

Ah fond memories from all of you, thank you so much. Was there myself from 60-65 in the 's' forms 1 through 5, Mr English was a new boy in my time, do remember Mrs Ferguson and Mr & Mrs Scull. Anyone remember the Ban the Bomb strike the school went on? Probably Stewart Hartley and his cronies came up with that idea. All very brave then fizzled out in the end. What about Mr Whittaker the janitor with the gammie leg? Pinkie White and the Biology teacher, can't remember his name. We also had a chemistry teacher who's experiments never semed to work quite like they should

Re: Accy grammar student?
 

It was actually a Hands Off Cuba protest during the Cuban missile crisis of October, 1962. It started off as a petition organised by Stuart Hartley and his beatnik-type buddies which escalated into a full-scale march to the Town Hall. I well remember Gobbin standing in the middle of Blackburn Road trying to persuade the lads to turn back to school. They just swept past him like the tide, although I think most of the lads regarded it as a bit of a lark, without really knowing what it was all about.