Links
This page includes links
to other sites which may be of interest but over which I
have no control.
Wythenshawe's Remarkable History
http://www.wythenshawe.btck.co.uk
A fascinating, comprehensive and well-illustrated history of
Wythenshawe compiled by Old Poundswickian Peter Massey. This site is a real treasure-trove and it reflects the huge amount of
work and research that Peter has put into it.
Set aside an evening; once you start to browse you won't want to leave
it!
St. Augustine's
R.C. Grammar School Old Boys site
http://www.staugs.org
St. Augustine's opened in 1965 and was built on land at
Sharston Mount, at the northern end of Hollyhedge Park.
It was about the same size as Poundswick and cost about
the same amount to build but it had a very short life.
St.Augustine's was led by its charismatic and strictly
traditional Headmaster, Monsignor F. J. McGuiness, under
whose guidance it produced exceptionally good academic
results. It survived as a Grammar School until 1977 when
it succumbed to the inevitable march of comprehensivism,
changing its name in the process firstly to St. John
Plessington High School and then, in 1984, to St.
Paul's High School. The building, then only 22 years
old, was abandoned to the vandals in 1987 and was finally
demolished in 1988. An enthusiastic Old Augustinian,
Peter Fay, has put together this superb website. If
you've enjoyed looking at the Poundswick site I guarantee
that you will enjoy this one, even if, like me, you never
knew St. Augustine's.
409th Manchester (William Temple)
Scouts Group
http://www.409thscouts.com
Parklands High
School Ofsted report - 2001
Click here to
download. It's a .pdf file so
you'll need Acrobat Reader to decipher it.
I thought this document might interest Old Poundswickians
who would like to know how their old school performed during its Parklands
incarnation.
Reading between the lines, the report paints a picture of
a generally competent, dedicated and well-led staff doing
its valiant best against impossible odds to operate an
educational system which had, in my view, been utterly
discredited over the previous four decades. It's hard to
imagine how the trendy educationalists, who in the 1960s
foisted comprehensive education on Manchester's
schoolchildren, can sleep soundly in their beds. Their
achievement, as far as Poundswick is concerned, was to transform it in 35 short years from a jewel in
Manchester's crown to one of the lowest-achieving
comprehensives in the land. On reflection, it is perhaps
no bad thing that Messrs. Gilpin and Hutchinson are no
longer with us for they would have been deeply saddened
to have thus witnessed Poundswick's spectacular decline.
However, you don't have to take my word for any
of this; you were there. Read the report and
make your own mind up.
The Sky Countess
A short winter tinkering project.
Click
here
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