South Yorkshire Times February 13th 1965
Plea for Accommodation at Conisbrough School
The problem of accommodation at Conisbrough Northcliffe High School may become so acute that headmaster, Mr. A. Young, foresees classes being held in corridors and cloakrooms. At the school’s Speech Day on Friday he sent out an S.OS. to the Education Authority for the completion of promised extensions as early as possible.
Addressing a crowded assembly hall while nearly 100 prizewinners sat in the corridor, Mr. Young said the school’s progress last year had been hampered by lack of accommodation, and added:
“Consider that you are sitting in the only hall for a school of close on 1,000 children, and that it is used for two sittings of meals every lunch hour and you can see what a plight we are in.
Last Time
This is the last time we shall be able to hold our Speech Day here. The increasing number of G.C.E. and Duke of Edinburgh Award winners will mean that I shall have to ask the Governors to hire Denaby Baths Hall.”
Mr. Young underlined that despite the “accommodation predicament” the school was pressing forward with next year’s “mushrooming of fifth forms as an act of faith, trusting that the Authority will perform some sort of architectural conjuring trick. Otherwise it looks like classes being held in corridors and cloakrooms.”
Mr. Young said later that the school hoped to gain a science laboratory and woodwork and metalwork shops shortly. “It is the provision of special facilities like these that we are lacking – not so much classroom space. We have extra buildings from the Authority for class use.
Amalgamated
Mr. Young began his report on Friday by recalling that just over a year ago the former boys’ and girls’ schools were amalgamated to form the High School and it had been his rewarding task to steer it on its course. When the integration was completed in September there would be eight mixed forms in each of the first four years and three mixed forms in the fifth year, two studying for G.C.E. and one for C.S.E. examinations.
He commented on the recruitment of 14 young teachers straight from college and universities and said the average age of the staff of 42 was 32 years. Consequently “the youthful enthusiasms and abundant life of the group has had an energising effect on the whole school and has resulted in the happiest staff room I have ever known. I have more volunteers than I really need, and instead of having to urge them forward I have felt more the need to restrain them.”
The link with Mexborough Grammar School Sixth Form College continued to do well. Three boys had been transferred to start “A” level studies; three boys who passed ”A” levels there were now at Teachers’ Training Colleges and another four had been accepted for September.
FULL IMPACT
“I estimate that the number going forward next year will be 18 (12 boys, 6 girls) and there will be at least 30 in September,1966 when the full impact of our double G.C.E. streams and single C.S.E streams comes to a head . . . not a mean effort on raising the standards of boys and girls who were “failures” at the 11-plus examination.”
Professor W.H.G. Armytage M.A., Professor of Education and Pro-Vice Chancellor, Sheffield University, talked about the year 2000 when automation would be fully accepted. Not a great deal of manual labour would be needed and this would change the pattern of education completely, but the pupil who left school early would be ill-equipped when automation came.
He added that the teaching force in the country, estimated at about a quarter of a million, would have to be doubled by 1980.
Professor Armytage presented prizes:-
Upper School- Chairman’s prize, best scholar, Stephen Hurd; Headmaster’s prize for best trier, David Bunn; Haigh prize, outstanding Prefects, Kathleen Burdett, Alfred Smalley; Parkgate prize, progress in C.S.E., Christopher Hallam, Eileen Langford; Rural Studies, James Southwell.
Dickinson prize, geography, Neil Peet, Diane Taylor; Stewart prizes, music, Finlay King, David Hare; Brocklesby and Wright prize, history, David Sellars; Urch prize, Woodwork/Metalwork, David Fisher; Housecraft, June Pike; Griffiths prize, camping, Elaine Short; Doncaster Co-Op prize, Duke of Edinburgh Expedition, William Webb; Senior Mistress’s prize, attendance, Pamela White, Noreen Blakemore; Deputy Head’s prizes, attendance, Alfred Smalley, Robert Armstrong.
Lower School – Head of Lower School’s prize, best scholar, Alan Sturdy; Limer prizes, art, Kathleen Somers, Michael Meanley; Warren prizes, English, John Hedly, Catherine Clyde; Tyas prizes, Mathematics, Pauline Davis, Stewart Peters.
N.C.B. prizes, science, Christine Riley, Alan Sturdy; Woodwork, Stephen James; Metalwork, Daniel Wileman.
Brocklesby and Wright prize, geography, Douglas Hemmingway; Needlework, Diane Thirkell; History, Linda Robinson.
Award Scheme
Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards – Gold: Keith Williams; Silver: Gerald Herbert, Stephen Hurd, Michael Rhodes.
Bronze awards: Lynn Beasley, Averil Boot, Kathleen Burdett, Gwendoline Brown, Valerie Coot, Patricia Cross, Jennifer Curtis, Kathleen Davis, Rosaline Dawson, Christine Emery, Diane Farrer, Christine Groves, Janet Haigh, Dorothy Hallat, Carol Hardeman, Christine Knight, Christine Leonard, Judith Longley, Susan Nicholson, Jean Poole, Elaine Short, Janet Simms, Betty Simon, Pamela White, Keith Andrews, Stephen Boulton, Stanley Croot, Malcolm Freeman, Raymond Godber, Maurice Hemingway, Antony Hulse, David Jones, Terence Kelly, Hugh McCoach, Neil Peat, John Tuffrey, Geoffrey Turner, Stephen Weaver, William Webb.
SWIMMING
Medallist Award: Ian Butterfield, Anthony Dawson, Stephen Longley, Garry Pearson, Phillip Weston.
Bronze Awards: Alan Draper, David Foers, Malcolm Goodwin, Brian Gough, Gerald Hadlos, Alec Hardy, David Pearce, Stewart Peters, David Riley, Michael Sutton, Terence Topham, Martin Wall.
Silver Award: Brian Goodlad, Stewart Peters, Terence Topham, Martin Wall, Barry Whitehead.
Advanced Swimming Certificate: David Parry.
General Certificate of Education: David Bunn (4), Neal Fitzgerald (3), Robert Foley (2), Phillip Hare (2), Gerald Herbert (3), Stephen Hurd (6), Michael Rhodes (3), Michael Riley (3), Roy Ripley (2), Timothy Trout (2), Anthony Tyas (4), Stephen Tyas (1).
Music, Pianoforte Step 1 (1st Class): Pauline Davis, Gwyneth Jones.
Head Boy, Christopher Springthorpe, proposed and the Head Girl, Carol Baxendale, seconded a vote of thanks to Professor Armytage.
The chairman was Coun. J. Stewart, vice-chairman of the governors.