Falling at the first hurdle
I failed the Eleven Plus exam sometime during my final year of Primary School. I do not recall the exam or its contents, as I would have been ten years old then. However, this failure had a significant impact on my future. The immediate outcome was that I would not be able to attend the local Grammar School, which put paid to the possibility of a university education. Instead, I was destined to attend the local authority secondary school for the next four or five years.
Instead, I am immensely thankful to my parents for securing a place for me at an alternative secondary school, St George's C of E School in Gravesend, Kent. This school, supported by the church, had a much better reputation than the local authority school. My parents had to attend an interview to secure my admission and presumably speak highly of my potential abilities. Fortunately, with the support of my parents, I had been involved in various activities such as being a member of the Chalk Village Cub & Scouts group, attending church with the Scouts, and even briefly singing in the church choir (although I admit that singing is not my forte!).
Thus, following the Eleven Plus exams in September, I began my first year at St George's. Compared to the primary school I had previously attended, St George's was much larger, necessitating significant adjustments on my part. I still vividly remember standing in the playground with numerous new pupils on the first day. We were approximately a hundred children dressed in our new uniforms and shiny shoes and carrying new satchels. It was also the first time we boys were wearing long trousers. St George's had a rigorous uniform policy, which the headteacher and staff rigorously enforced. I remember all the girls in our year were required to kneel on the school hall floor following a morning assembly to check the length of their skirts. Two inches of thigh showing was the maximum allowed; it was a time when short skirts were the fashion. The parents got a severe warning letter if they had more thigh showing.
Upon arrival on our first day, we were divided into three groups based on our previous school reports: those judged to be of higher ability, those of moderate ability, and those of lesser ability. Unfortunately, given that my surname began with a W, I was called towards the end of the list, and to my dismay, I was placed in the lowest ability group. This judgment was disheartening. Our form teachers led us to our respective classrooms, explaining that the grouping was temporary for a few weeks and that our teachers would assess our abilities. If necessary, we would be reassigned to a higher group. Luckily, I was reevaluated and placed in the group with "moderate ability."
However, this grouping system needed to be more flexible. In those days, there was no recognition that individuals possessed different strengths and weaknesses; it was a one-size-fits-all approach. My main area for improvement was English, particularly spelling and punctuation, which I struggled with then and have continued to have issues with. On the other hand, I was much more comfortable in practical subjects such as art, metalwork, woodwork, and technical drawing. Unfortunately, being in a higher group for the arts and crafts subjects lessons or being placed in a lower-tier English class was impossible.
One of the downsides of being in the middle tier group was not being eligible to take the Ordinary Level Exams when I reached my fifth year at the school. These exams were only available to students in the higher ability group, so my group had to take the lower Certificate of Secondary Education exams. Luckily, I managed to pass all of my exams, and some of my grades were deemed equivalent to the Ordinary Level Exams.
Overall, it was a challenging journey, starting with failing the Eleven Plus exam and navigating through the limitations of the school's grouping system. However, I overcame these hurdles with determination and support and succeeded academically.
When I attended St. George's, several practices may seem strange by today's standards. The school was co-ed, meaning both boys and girls were in attendance, and most classes were mixed-gender. However, there were exceptions, such as Physical Education (PE) classes, where boys and girls were taught separately. Girls did not participate in metalwork, woodwork, or technical drawing classes. Instead, they had classes like "domestic science" and needlework.
Break and lunch times were also segregated, and the school had separate areas for each gender. Being caught in the wrong place could result in punishment, including detention or, in extreme cases, being sent to the headmaster to be disciplined with a bamboo cane. Detention occurred on Friday evenings after school, extending the school day until at least 5 pm. During detention, students sat in a classroom, writing or copying pages from a book.
Corporal punishment was not uncommon at the time. Besides being disciplined with a cane, teachers sometimes smacked a student's backside with a shoe for minor infractions. If a teacher perceived a lack of concentration in class, they might even throw the blackboard wiper block at the students, causing the disruption.
Getting to St. George's School from my parents' home was quite a journey. It was about a three-mile trek each way. Unlike today, I couldn't be driven to school by my parents or take a school bus. The local bus routes and timetables didn’t work, so I had to walk or cycle. Mostly, I cycled to school, even in rainy weather, as the roads were not as busy back then. When it snowed, I had to walk instead of cycling. Fortunately, another St. George's student lived nearby, and we often cycled together.
As my time at St. George's drew close, it became clear to my parents and me that staying beyond my 5th year was not feasible. I needed to enter the workforce and start my career. During that time, school-based career advice was limited and basic. I was encouraged to apply for a job at the Royal Navy dockyards in Chatham or consider joining the Army or Navy. However, due to my enjoyment and aptitude for metalwork and technical drawing, my parents suggested I apply for an engineering apprenticeship at one of the local companies.
I applied to about eight different engineering companies in the Gravesend area, and my surprise, I received interview offers and entry tests from all of them. Furthermore, I was amazed to receive apprenticeship offers from every company I applied. It came down to choosing which offer to accept. While my parents favoured an apprenticeship offer from an engineering company near Dartford that specialised in defence industry work, I had reservations based on my interview experience. Ultimately, I chose an apprenticeship offer from another company that suited my preferences.
Thus, I bid farewell to St. George's School in July 1971, just after my 16th birthday in May, and began my apprenticeship in mid-August.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of St. George's School from that time on the internet. The school campus has since undergone significant changes, with new buildings replacing the old ones. The picture included is one I generated using an AI image generator (midjourney.com)
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