Your memories

Glynis Avis

Glynis was never a pupil at Poundswick, but she was associated with it by virtue of being the daughter of Trevor and Betty Owen, both of whom taught at Poundswick in the sixties and seventies.  She contacted me in March 2018 to tell me the sad news that her mother, Betty, had recently passed away.  Her email is so poignant that I'm reproducing it, with her permission, here in full:
"Just to give you the sad news that my Mum, Betty Owen, who used to teach French at Poundswick Grammar in the sixties and seventies, passed away on 8th March 2018.  My Dad, Trevor, who taught Physics there, died in 2012.  Although I was never a pupil there myself, I have fond memories of attending school fetes and plays there, and going on school trips to France with my parents and some of the pupils.  After Poundswick, Dad taught at Cheadle Hulme High School and Mum at Macclesfield Girls’ School.  They both had a long and happy retirement in Deganwy, North Wales, where they joined in everything going, and only two years ago did Mum come and live in Surrey nearer my brother, where she was the life and soul of the care home until quite recently.
I would be happy to hear from anyone who knew them."
If you would like to get in touch, you can email Glynis at:
glynis(dot)avis(at)icloud(dot)com
 

Anthony Edwards (1970-1975) remembers:

• Being one of only three Black pupils (of Jamaican parentage) at Poundswick.
• Seeing the famous Hovercraft 'parked' outside the woodwork shop.  He couldn't believe that it had been built by pupils!
• Admiring the teachers dressed in their black gowns.
• Mr. Gilpin, Mr Blackwell, Mr. Ryder, Mr. Rigby and Mr. Russell (who unexpectedly entered Anthony for Physics 'O' level, which he passed!)
• Mr. Levine, who encouraged Anthony to study metalwork and technical drawing, which he also passed, and went on to study City and Guilds mechanical engineering.
  (Anthony is also a qualified cricket coach and umpire, and still works as a part-time cab driver in Stockport!)

Sue Moore (staff, 1975-76) remembers:

• Starting her teaching career with a year at Poundswick as a graduate music instructor before completing her PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) qualification at university the following year.
• Having the support of experienced colleagues such as Chris Holmes (Upper School) and Margaret Higson (Lower School), and also of many wonderful and enthusiastic pupils.
• Commuting by taxi between the Upper and Lower schools.
• Working on productions of 'Oklahoma' and a Kurt Weill school opera.
• The Headteacher (Mrs. Joan Leighton) suggesting that Poundswick pupils might recreate a 'Nymphs and Shepherds' choral performance similar to the one made by Manchester schoolchildren in the Free Trade Hall in 1929.  The Music Department staff talked her out of it on the grounds that 1970s pupils might not respond in the same way!
• Dividing a class into two parts for singing 'rounds' on the basis of City and United supporters!
• Just how much she owes to Poundswick staff and pupils of the 1970s for setting her off on her teaching career.

Mike Chapman (1971-74) remembers:

• Living in Dover when he passed his eleven-plus, and expecting to to be sent to Dover Grammar School.  However, Mike's father was in the Army and was posted to a base at Failsworth at the crucial moment.  The family came to live in Wythenshawe, and so Mike came to Poundswick.
• Challenging Mr. Redpath to a duel (fought with rulers!) - and losing!
• Regular visits to Manchester Airport to watch the planes, and rapidly becoming a keen plane spotter, along with several of his pals.  Recognising this interest, one of Poundswick's teachers organised a day trip to Heathrow by mini-bus.  An early start and a late finish, but a memorable day!
• Having to leave Poundswick in 1974 before his education was complete, when his family moved to the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, and being presented with a chess set by his pals as a leaving present.

Stuart Yearsley (1957-62) remembers:

• The first school holiday to Rothesay going horribly wrong on the night of the disco.  This ended with everyone singing an improvised ribald version of The Quartermasters Stores.  The music was promptly turned off and everyone was sent to bed early!
• Hutch doing mathematical requests in the last maths lesson of the year.  The favourite was proving that 1 equals 2 by some devious simultaneous equations.
• A bizarre 'Dare' game invented by some of the lads, which involved boys visiting every girl's lavatory in the school, accompanied by an official observer to tick the 'proof sheet'.  The big challenge was the girl's changing room at the top of the gym block.  If you had the bottle, this could be combined with a trip up through the trapdoor onto the gym block roof, which was always full of balls and other kit which had been thrown up there.
• Finally getting his hands on the Strand Electric stage lighting controller with its open rheostats, big control wheels and levers.  He'd wanted to be in charge of it ever since he first set eyes on it.  This was one of two reasons why he joined the Dramatic Society, the other being that Jean Goodwin also wanted to join; she and Stuart were picked to play opposite each other in The Lost Prince.

Steven Cussell (1976-84) remembers:

• Mr. Rigby, as Careers Officer, suggesting that he apply for a job with Ordnance Survey.  Steven did this, and he has worked for O.S. ever since leaving Poundswick.
  (Recently BBC Radio 5 Live did a survey on listeners' experiences of advice given by school Careers Officers.  Steven responded and soon found himself on-air telling his tale to the Nation.  The presenter asked him if he'd ever contacted Mr. Rigby to let him know how valuable his advice had been.  Steven had to confess that he hadn't done this, but would dearly like to do so.  Does anyone have any contact information for Mr. Rigby?  You can
  e-mail me at the address on the Contact page, and I will pass it on.)
  Postscript: an ex-BBC colleague of mine, Mike Jones, did some detective work and located Mr. Rigby, who now lives in Lymm.  I subsequently phoned him and had a nostalgic conversation about our respective times at Poundswick.   I duly passed on his contact details to Steven.

Rob ('Eddie') Edwards (1958-63) remembers:

• Playing Football, Rugby, Cricket, Athletics and Basketball for Peel House and for the school; 'they were the best days of my life' he says.  He went on to play Rugby for both Manchester and Lancashire, so I guess he must have been pretty good!
• Playing Rugby against Burnage, and winning 58-0, and against Chorlton, winning 43-0.
• Various teams from other local (but all-boys) schools visiting Poundswick and standing in awe as Poundswick's young ladies served them tea and sandwiches prior to a match in which the visiting team was invariably thrashed!  One very competent player from Manchester Grammar School confided to Rob that he would willingly swap all his rugby prowess for a week of schooling in Poundswick's mixed environment!
• Carol, the barmaid at the Silver Birch pub on Poundswick Lane, insisting that boys remove their school ties before she would serve them beer!
• The school rugby team being coached by Mr. Herbert on Saturday mornings in exchange for them working on his garden in the afternoon (for which they were further rewarded by tea and sandwiches by Mrs. Herbert!).

Peter Firth (1957-65) remembers:

• The Wythenshawe Schools Music Festivals in which Poundswick wiped the board in almost every category.

• Ambitious school plays, especially playing Macbeth to David McKendrick's Macduff.  In the dramatic finale one evening Peter's leggings fell down round his ankles but the pair still managed a dramatic final fight in which McDuff's head was parted from his body and reappeared as a plastic model on the end of a broom handle.

• A camping holiday on the Isle of Skye when it rained heavily all week.  A local farmer took pity on the soggy party and lent them his barn to sleep in.

• The School Orchestra and (thanks to Mr. Welton) its ambitious programme of concerts which included Beethoven, Mozart and Holst.

• His lifelong love of cookery, thanks to Mr. Herbert, the games Master.  
  Mr. Herbert hated the thought of his talented young rugby players spoiling their game by playing football, so he negotiated cookery classes for them with Miss Bolsover during the football season!

• Friendly rivalry between 'zwei x' (the Latin stream) and 'zwei ypsilon' (the German stream) in year 2. (Yes, I remember it; 'zwei x' mostly came out on top, 
  I seem to recall! - Jim)

• The rousing finale to the Christmas Trifles review; words by Mr. Fisher:

  There'll always be a Poundswick While there's a Greenwood Tree* To Wythenshawe the Britisher Must catch the 103

  There'll always be a Poundswick While England still expects If Russia beats America They'll have to face us next!

  * The 'Greenwood Tree' was a local pub in which Peter remembers having his first drink at the age of 16, and being violently ill afterwards!

Diane Howard (1963-70) remembers:

• A room being acquired for use as a sixth-form common room.

• Pots of paint being brought in and Hutch himself volunteering to help with the decoration work (sounds uncharacteristic to me, but I'm willing to believe almost anything of the man!)

• Part of the re-vamp included installing a record player, and the Rolling Stones album  'Let it Bleed' was duly played to death on it!
  

Margaret Carman (1964-69) remembers:

• Miss Champness checking the length of the girls' hair (which had not to be too long) and the length of their skirts (which had not to be too short!)
• Mr. Brown - a great teacher - playing The Beatles in Music lessons. But if you misbehaved he gave you the option of the slipper or walking round the hall at break time with a placard round your neck to let everyone know you had behaved like an idiot. Most people chose the placard!
• Miss Hemp's after-school girls' gymnastics class performing a well-rehearsed routine in front of the Lord Mayor. Unfortunately the venue was an all-boys school and they were all hanging out of the windows for a good view!
• Singing in "The Daniel Jazz". She can even remember some of the words:

  Daniel was the chief hired man in the land he stirred up the Jazz in the palace band he whitewashed the cellar, he shovelled in the coal and Daniel kept a-praying: Lord save my soul!

David Bird (1957-62) remembers:

• Being caned by Hutch for playing cards.
• Mr. Stansfield (the woodwork teacher) shouting "Hands behind the cutting edge!"
• Mr. Herbert (P.E./Games), who played for Sale RUFC, making us tackle across muddy holes.
• The Silver Birch pub on Poundswick Lane. (Which is still there!)
• The annual school trip being a choice between Rothesay on the Isle of Bute or Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
• Being in love with Marilyn Barker and it taking him five years to pluck up courage just to say "Hello".
• The School Hymn (he can still sing it!), green dinner tickets and school milk in one-third pint bottles.
• The inspiration of Mr. Fisher's English Literature lessons.

Mike Noke (1959-64) remembers:

• Being caned by Hutch for being in a group throwing snowballs. The irony was that Mike was the only one not throwing them! His plea in defence was not accepted!
• Mr. Fanner standing on the window ledge and threatening to jump during a lesson with very unruly 3X.
• A visit to the school by Brian Statham in about 1961.
• Dinner tickets were definitely a medium greenish colour!

Dave Crozier (1963-70) remembers:

• Suspending a member of staff's bicycle from the upper limbs of the Statue and being severely slippered by Mr. Herbert for his efforts; Dave was supposed to be on a cross-country run, rather than "modifying the architecture"!
• Losing his Hymn Book and being charged 10/- for a new one.
• The disgusting pink blancmange that the kitchens used to serve up only at Christmas.
• Locking your best mates in the fume cupboards and turning on the gas.
• Mr. Brown arranging the "Daniel Jazz" song in the second year.

• Miss Williams' inspirational English lessons, particularly on Chaucer and the seventeenth-century poets.
• Mr. Blackwell's green swimming trunks.  He took swimming classes at 'Wivenshaw Baffs' and taught Sue to do high-diving.  He was less successful at teaching her maths!
• Mr. Hutchinson's barn dances and his jolly green and yellow sweater worn only on special occasions such as the Rothesay holidays.
• Mr Welton in his black academic gown standing on the windowsill in the Music Room wrestling with a recalcitrant window.  The Ride of the Valkyries thundering in the background and his gown billowing as the window opened and the breeze caught it.  Quite magnificent!

Dave Eastwood (1957-64) remembers:

• One of Mr. Sparks' Latin class getting minus 4 out of twenty for Latin homework (I suspect that he may be referring to me! - Jim). "Spartacus" used a marking scheme which deducted one mark from twenty for each mistake - or, at least, for each mistake that Spartacus decided! (These things having
  been said, may his citizens for ever hasten to the Forum!)
• Botelarius: the Latin name for a sausage vendor. (Hmm!)
• The disconcerting sight of a double bass case walking down the corridor towards him with a pork-pie hat wedged on top and two shoes poking out underneath. It was, of course, Mr. Mitchell and many people believed that there really was a double bass in the case. However, those that were aware of his Mafia connections (the pork-pie hat was the giveaway) knew that it actually contained a sub-machine gun.
• Two slackers coming in very late at the end of an 880-yard race being encouraged (by someone who wanted to go home) to make it a race for last place. It's still not clear which which of the two responded first to this encouragement, but the other, not wishing to be left behind, inevitably gave chase. The ensuing race has surely gone down in the annals of Poundswick Athletic Folklore as the most exciting ever. The result was a dead heat. The identitiy of the two slackers? Dave Eastwood and Jim Cook! It has put Dave off athletics (other than the armchair variety) ever since. (I'll second that!)
• An "A" Level Geography Field Trip to Buttermere in 1963: "Geogger" Smith's VW beetle (UXJ 36 - I remember it well!) ferrying luggage first and then the girls over Honister Pass. All the lads had to walk (1963 was well before the days of Equal Opportunities!). Derek Watkins (the school long-jump champion) taking a giant leap across an impossibly wide stream (I recall that it was more like what most people would call a river) and landing in the middle of it. Having witnessed this, everyone else took the alternative half-mile detour upstream.

Ian Jones (1961-67) remembers:

• Fred Herbert (the Games and P.E. Master) lining up all the lads (including Ian!) who were still clean at the end of a Rugby game and using them as tackling fodder for the school giants in the muddiest part of the playing field. Not surprisingly, it put Ian off Rugby for ever!
• Mr. Scargill coming to the rescue in his German exam year by taking over from a less-proficient teacher and getting just about everyone through their "O" Level. Ian describes Mr. Scargill as "an inspirational teacher who, in sixth-form General Studies, introduced me to a whole raft of great modern literature and helped to shape a lot of my political and social beliefs"

• How lovely it was at school! She would like to say hello to some great teachers: Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Smith, Mr. Griffiths, Mrs. Parkins, Mr Reed and the rest - they were all "Brill"!

• Lacking confidence at school and being grateful to a number of teachers for helping him to get over this. In particular he'd like to thank:
• Mr. Murray, who made Geoff realise that teachers were just ordinary people.
• Mr. Gilligan, who gave him the drive to succeed by saying (among other things) "Davies, you'll end up as a bin man if you don't pull your socks up!"
• Mr. Evans, who fed his thirst for Physics and Mr. Redpath, who got him moved from the lowest Physics group to the second highest.
• Mr. Nicholson, who gave Geoff a set of old scales which he cleaned up and sold, thereby triggering an entrepreneurial spirit that has remained with him.
• Mrs. Evans, Mr. Hole and others who could see beyond the "fat kid".

• Duping a cleaner into lending him keys to the sixth-form common room to start the infamous "smoking sit-in". Geoff now wishes to send his sincere apologies to that cleaner!
• Making harmless impact explosive (which made loud cracking noises when you walked on it) and spreading it outside Mr. Gilpin's office. He came out and disappeared like a genie in a panto - in a cloud of blue smoke! Geoff can still see Hutch "moonwalking" around outside the office to remove it. Mr. Nicholson was, Geoff thinks, quietly pleased that his Chemistry pupils had been able to make it, but had to give Geoff and his colleagues in crime a rollocking anyway!
• The enthusiasm that teachers had for their subjects - they really cared, but they were good shots with board rubbers if you weren't paying attention!
• Carol singing round the local pubs during the run-up to Christmas; everyone had a good time and collected money for good causes.

• Names of pupils in detention being read out as initial then surname. On one occasion the announcement went something like this: "In detention tonight are A. Howard, J. Smith and I. Littler." At which which the whole school put up their right hands in salute and chorussed "Heil Hitler!"
• Being holed up in the Prefects' room for a free period where she and her colleagues would, of course, be studying hard - in other words playing stud poker, gin rummy or pontoon; the fags would be going strong and then there'd be a knock on the door - it would be Hutch (Liz's dad!) looking for someone. Before the door was opened the fags would be put rapidly onto the dumb waiter and sent down to the Chemistry Lab! The smell of the fags would linger on but Hutch would never notice because he smoked like a chimney himself!

• Not wanting to wear her school hat and keeping it in her bag folded into four. Whenever there was a "purge" on hat-wearing, she would be obliged to get it out and wear it with creases running from front-to-back and side-to-side.
• Thick maroon knickers; the elastic round the legs used to wear out with monotonous regularity and had to be replaced.
• Dinnertime discos in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind.
• Film shows in the Small Hall.
• Getting caught smoking in the girls' toilets on the top floor.

• His first day at Poundswick. John's sister was already in the third year and as they were leaving on his first afternoon, he followed her out through the girls' toilets to the accompaniment of shrieks!
• Suffering concussion during a games session and being whisked off to Wythenshawe Hospital by ambulance.
• Playing in a rugby match on a bitterly cold morning the day after President Kennedy was assassinated. No-one was quite sure how to react.
• Acquiring a supply of blank House Points, forging Mr. Stansfield's signature on them, and stuffing them in the Rylands box. (What a terrible admission! This is the sort of behaviour we might have expected from someone in Dalton, Joule or Peel, but for a Rylands man to do it is inexcusable! - Jim)

• Mr. Hutchinson's ballroom dancing lessons in the Gym. No shoes were allowed because of the precious new wooden floor. Sliding around in stocking feet to the Cha Cha gave everyone a special sense of rhythm!
• Getting his hand whacked with a piece of dowelling in Mr. Stansfield's woodwork class as a reward for cutting his finger. Ron had broken the golden rule: both hands behind the cutting edge!
• Not wanting to wear his cap but putting it on once in sight of the school to avoid the wrath of Miss Champness!
• Wonderful teachers: Miss Wainwright, Mr. Platts, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Owen and many others.
• Mr. Wilson's story of how he rescued his bible from the blitz.

• Mr. Gilpin - a true gentleman. Paul delivered papers to his house in Peel Hall.
• Mr. Hutchinson - pupils were scared to death of him!
• Miss Baddeley, who became Mrs. Siddall. Paul confesses to being totally in love with her!
• Mr. Stansfield attracting pupils' attention by throwing a piece of wood at them - ouch!!!
• Playing football every spare minute on the outside basketball courts using half a tennis ball.
• Winning the House basketball competition for Dalton. "Yes, we were the best", he says. (Hmm!)
• Lunchtime Discos in the Small Hall. Not a lot of dancing went on in the total darkness!

• Miss Champness checking that haircuts were short and that all boys wore their caps on the way to and from school.
• Wonderful teachers: Miss Williams, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Brown (the Music teacher, who used to love playing the theme from Dr. Who) and, his favourite: Miss Linton, who made maths seem so easy to him.
• Mr. Gilpin, the Headmaster, who had lights outside his office labelled "Wait", "Enter" and "Engaged". Woe betide you if you went in on a red light!
• The smell of his new leather satchel in the first year, his first new uniform, being in Rylands House (but not liking the colour) (obviously a City fan!), joining the school orchestra and carrying a cello home on his bike, playing the piano because he had had lessons before.
• Realising too late what a great school Poundswick was and wishing he had tried harder (like it always said he should do on his reports!)

• Having to remove muddy hockey boots at the bottom of the Gym Block stairs before being allowed up to the changing rooms.
• Being awarded a prize in the third year and choosing D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers. She was summoned by Miss Champness who thought that her choice was "inappropriate" for a 14-year-old!  Margaret persisted and got her prize!
• Being petrified of Mr. Hutchinson when she had to queue to replace exercise books. You could hear him shouting if someone presented a book that wasn't properly full!
• Sitting GCE exams in the Gym and writing on flimsy folding desks.

• A DIY painting job of the sixth-form centre one weekend.

• Happy times in Latin lessons with Mr. Sparks, English with Mr. Blackburn and History with Mr. Platts.
• Mr. Gilpin persuading her to become a lawyer rather than a historian.
• Miss Champness terrifying the girls by making them kneel down to check skirt lengths. If your skirt didn't touch the floor, she would rap your knuckles with a ruler!

• Being overawed on her first day at Poundswick by the sight of teachers wearing mortar boards and gowns.
• Being treated like adults at lunchtime with tureens and servers instead of just being handed a plate.
• Rylands winning all the sports (I'm glad someone else has, at last, remembered this!). Pauline did her share with the long jump and the high jump - practised daily in the orchard.
• Mr. Fanner (the French Master) refusing to let anyone speak English in his lessons!

• Free milk at morning break and having to play outside, whatever the weather.
• Games of "Pirates" in P.E. lessons near the end of term.
• Annual football matches against the staff and hockey against the girls.
• Dodging Mr. Hutchinson's "chalk missiles" if you were caught talking in his maths lessons.
• Eight "chosen couples" being taught how to dance and being used as "demonstrators" to the entire school at the Christmas dance. Derek's partner was Linda Norman.
• Dalton House dominating most sports competitions. (I could have sworn Rylands did this, Derek!)
• The shock of having a poem he wrote about F.A. Cup Football printed in ARGO.
• Being coached by Mr. Moorby for the Manchester School's Basketball Final.
• Being "volunteered" by Mr. Nicholson to read the lesson during
  Morning Assembly for a whole week - terrifying!

• The 5T repeater year - mostly spent playing 4-card brag in the Library division room!
• Playing shove-ha'penny on the lab benches and, more scarily, "flicksilver"; a similar game played with globules of spilt mercury!
• Peter Blackburn's English lessons; a great awakening.
• Leavers burning their caps at the end of the school year. "Brylcreem" made them highly inflammable!
• Avro testing the Concorde engines slung beneath a Vulcan bomber from Woodford. It flew low over the school every day for weeks; a great source of distraction!
• South Poundswick Farmhouse across the road from the school, inhabited by two old ladies, a couple of dogs and several ducks. Feeling appalled when it was knocked down and replaced by a silly park.

• Being able to turn the subject to football in Mr. Thompson's maths classes in order to lose sizeable chunks of the lessons!
• Playing "deathball" at breaks. This consisted of a football being passed round until someone got fed up and kicked the ball at somebody, "decking" them. On one occasion Philip and his pals could hear a ball being kicked round the next-door classroom and they assumed that there was no teacher present. Eventually the ball noises stopped and they heard the strains of "Werbenuik, Werbenuik, Werbenuik" being sung (to the tune "here we go"); Mr. Wolstenholme, the class teacher, (whose nickname was "Werbenuik") had himself been decked!

• The hot summer of 1976 at the Lower School.
• The Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977.
• Covering the walls of a room with egg cartons so that he and his pals could practise playing the drums without offending the ears of the rest of the school!

• "Slogger" Smith and Mr. Simister sending pupils into each others classes for "long stands", "non-reflecting mirrors" and "tartan paint".
• Mr. Smith's booming voice: "Who wants thrashing!"
• Singing "alternative" words to songs in Miss Evans' music class.
• Meeting the girl who was later to become his wife (Debbie Jefferson) at Poundswick.

• Arguing with Mr. Mitchell (the Art Master) and being made to spend a whole lesson standing on a brick in the middle of the playground as a punishment. (Shirley is now Head of Art at a school in Shropshire!)

• His class buying Mr. Sparks a tankard engraved with the words "Beneath this hard exterior there beats a heart of purest stone" - his favourite phrase.
• Being part of the "sixth form rebellion" to allow smoking in the common room. They barricaded themselves in and rang the local paper and were rewarded with a front-page feature in the Wythenshawe Express, but didn't succeed in getting smoking allowed!
• Breaking three thermometers in Mr. Nicholson's class and getting three detentions plus the job of digging the allotment next to the science block for his trouble.
• Being proud of playing Rugby for the school in one of its most successful seasons, for example beating Wythenshawe Tech 87-0 !

• A school trip to Rothesay in the late 60s.
• Being caught drinking in The Happy Man by Mr. Scargill during his last week at school in 1969.
• Trying to work out Mr. Rigby's christian name when he would only reveal that it began with an "R". (alternatives that have been offered include "Radcliffe" - several people think it was this, "Rac" and "Rach"; does anyone know for certain what it was? - Jim)   ** Update: April 2011.  I can positively state (having spoken to him on the phone) that his Christian names are Thomas Ratcliffe, but he has always been  known as 'Rac'.  So now we know!
• Having a school Rugby team that could not win a game to save its life, but which was awarded "most sporting team" status!
• Taking on the Girls at hockey - he still has the bruises and fractures to this day!

• The smell of newly-varnished wood at the start of the autumn term.
• Learning to cut bread in Miss Bolsover's cooking lessons for boys after school.
• Mr. Welton playing the piano before Morning Assembly (especially Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata opus 27 no. 2).
• Rylands beating Dalton at football (I thought we always beat Dalton at football! - Jim).
• The dismissal Assembly before he left school in 1963.

• Doing the stage lighting for The Matchmaker (1969) and for the Sixth Form Reviews.
• The opening of the Sixth Form Centre in 1971.
• The Photographic Society.
• Some brilliant teachers - and some not-so-brilliant ones!
• Poundswick in the seventies.
• The "pips" which sounded the breaks between lessons - they could be heard half a mile away! They were changed to a bell system in the early 70s.

• "Jammy Dodgers" and "Wagon Wheels" with milk at morning break.
• Latin lessons with Mr. Sparks.
• House swimming contests at the Wythenshawe baths.

• Contriving to get onto second sitting for dinners so that he could get "extras"!
• The annual school cross country competition and the guy who was always last over the finishing line but who got the loudest cheer of the day!
• Being described by Mr. Doherty as the school goody-goody, as he announced Tony's first detention at Rylands House Prayers.

• The fish tank in the Science Block.
• The "staff only" stairs that ran from outside the Headmaster's office to the first floor landing adjacent to the Library.

The "Staff Only" staircase

• Daring each other to go down the staff only staircase!

Dave Hamman (1964-71) remembers:

• "Guide dog for the blind" charity walks from the Cat and Fiddle pub near Macclesfield, back to Poundswick (25 miles). (A certificate was awarded to every Poundswickian who completed one of these walks. Click Here to see one.)
• Visits to the school by Bobby Charlton, Conrad Hunt (cricketer) and Adrian Henri (poet).
• The Cinema Club in 1968, showing 16mm films such as Mr. Hulot's Holiday and The Seven Samurai in the school hall.

• Cold, wet, cross-country runs on wasteland that is now the M56 and hiding in drainage pipes that were stored there until everyone else returned on the homeward leg!
• Playing Rugby, Football and Cricket for the school teams every Saturday morning.
• A school trip to Switzerland; starting a mini-avalanche which engulfed Miss Champness, who was walking below. Also, Mr. Owen being stopped at customs and having to have a whip-round to pay excise duty on his purchases!
• Being a member of Dalton House - the best house for sport during George's years at school.

• Playing Badminton to excess!
• Having to have indoor shoes to wear inside the school.
• Getting exercise books signed when they were full and then having to queue on Friday to get a new one from Mr. Hutchinson.
• Bridge classes after school.
• Working at Woolworths on Deansgate to save up for a wonderful school holiday to Austria, travelling across Europe by train and sleeping on a luggage rack!

• Painting the hull of the "Poundswick Hovercraft" during lunch breaks on the stage in the main hall.

• Playing "The Spirit of Water" in The Tree Ygdrasil in 1957.
• School Photographs

• Playing "Mr. Badger" in Toad of Toad Hall in 1962.

• Thick maroon gym knickers that turned her dad's white shirts to pink in the laundry!
• The school trip to Sorrento, departing from Luton Airport.
• School dinners: two sittings, the noise in the dining hall, wonderful dinner ladies!
• Playing in the School Orchestra for the production of Oliver.
• The wonderful Mr. Rigby, who tried so hard to teach her maths!
• Getting ingredients ready to take to school for home economics.
• Bringing cookie tins in wicker baskets home with her prized baking in them!
• Running on the sports field track and never being able to make it to the finish!

• Wonderful teachers, particularly Mr. Rigby, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Gilligan, Mr. Callaghan and especially Mr. Arnold who gave him confidence and made him the best basketball player in the school!

• ARGO, the School Magazine.
• Frank ("Fred") Mitchell (Art) who was an accomplished double bass player. His turgid rendition of the Egyptian National Anthem (!) had everyone in stitches!
• Don Sparks (Latin), who persuaded Dennis and his pal Fred Patmore to dig for Roman coins in the grounds of Peel Hall. Six hours later and seven feet deep they had unearthed only a shard of Victorian glass. Naive? Absolutely! But Mr. Sparks thought the spoof was hilarious!
• Mr. Brown (Music) who had connections with the film industry. He claimed to know the muscle-man who strikes the gong on Top Rank films. Another spoof? We'll never know!
• Dancing with Miss Jean Williams on the last night of a school trip to Rome in 1970 to her favourite record of the day: "Rain and Tears" by Aphrodite's Child, much to the amusement of his sixth-form chums!

• Missing part of his fourth year because of the graffiti dispute.
• Forms being identified by the letters of "Poundswick".
• Kinsey's Cottage being demolished.

• The German Exchanges with the Hofheim Gymnasiumm School in the mid-60s.
• Meeting his future wife (Pauline) at Poundswick!

• Waiting for the bus from the Lower School, outside the Cock-of-the-North Pub.
• Mr. Stansfield's Ten rules of the woodwork shop.
• Being given Spanish names in Spanish class and all the lads wanting Pele or Eusebio.

• The statue of the three gymnasts.
• Playing in the school orchestra.
• Prizegiving ceremonies.
• The lighting console at the side of the stage.
• Bamboo canes at the front of the stage and in the hinged screens between the hall and dining area.
• The grand piano in the hall.
• Third-pint milk bottles at morning break.
• Green dinner tickets; three shillings and ninepence (19p) for five two-course meals!
• Developing films in the dark room.
• Wonderful teachers - and some great friends.
• The Old Poundswickians' annual dinner dances at the Pinewood Hotel.

• The wonderful smell of new woodwork when the school was opened.
• Playing Rugby on a muddy playing field in sub-zero temperatures and a biting-cold wind.
• School Photographs
• Morning Assembly.
• Singing in the school choir - particularly at Christmas.
• Dramatic Society productions.
• School Dinners.
• Latin homework.

• Home Page
• Contents Page
• Poundswick Chronicle
• The Coat-of-Arms and Motto
• The School Hymn
• The Houses
• Poundswick Staff
• Poundswick - the hamlet
• Poundswick in 2001
• Acknowledgements
• Links