Circular 10/65 (12th July, 1965)

 

To Local Education Authorities and the Governors of Direct Grant, Voluntary Aided and Special
Agreement Schools.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE, CURZON STREET, LONDON, W.1.

All communications should be addressed to THE PERMANENT UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE.

THE ORGANISATION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

I INTRODUCTION

1. It is the Government's declared objective to end selection at eleven plus and to eliminate separatism in secondary education, The Government's policy has been endorsed by the House of Common's in a motion passed on 21st January 1965:
'That this House, conscious of the need to raise educational standards at all levels, and regretting that the realisation of this objective is impeded by the separation of children into different types of secondary schools, notes with approval the efforts of local authorities to reorganise secondary education on comprehensive lines which will preserve all that is valuable in grammar school education for those children who now receive it and make it available to more children; recognises that the method and timing of such reorganisation should vary to meet local needs; and believes that the time is now ripe for a declaration of national policy.'
The Secretary of State accordingly requests local education authorities, if they have not already done so, to prepare and submit to him plans for reorganising secondary education in their areas on comprehensive lines. The purpose of this Circular is to provide some central guidance on the methods by which this can be achieved.

II MAIN FORMS OF COMPREHENSIVE ORGANISATION

2. There are a number of ways in which comprehensive education may be organised. While the essential needs of the children do not vary greatly from one area, to another, the views of individual authorities, the distribution of population and the nature of existing schools will inevitably dictate different solutions in different areas. It is important that new schemes build on the foundation of present achievements and preserve what is best in existing schools.

3. Six main forms of comprehensive organisation have so far emerged from experience and discussion:
(i) The orthodox comprehensive school with an age range of 11-18
(ii) A two tier system whereby all pupils transfer at 11 to a junior comprehensive school and all go on at 13 or 14 to a senior comprehensive school.
(iii) A system under which all pupils on leaving primary school transfer to a junior comprehensive school, but at the age of 13 or 14 some pupils move on to a senior school while the remainder stay on in the same school. There are two main variations: in one, the comprehensive school which all pupils enter after primary school provides no course terminating in public examination, and normally keeps pupils only until 15; in the other, this school provides G.C.E. and C.S.E. courses, keeps pupils at least until 16, and encourages transfer at the appropriate stage to the sixth form of the senior school.
(iv) A two tier system in which all pupils on leaving Primary school transfer to a Junior comprehensive school. At the age of 13 or 14 all pupils have a choice between a senior school catering for those who expect to stay at school well beyond the compulsory age, and a senior school catering for those who do not.
(v) Comprehensive schools with an age range of 11 to 16 combined with sixth form colleges for pupils over 16.
(vi) A system of middle schools which straddle the primary/secondary age ranges. Under this system pupils transfer from a primary school at the age of 8 or 9 to a comprehensive school with an age range of 8 to 12 or 9 to 13. From this middle school they move on to a comprehensive school with an age range of 12 or 13 to 18,

NB The terms 'junior' and 'senior' refer throughout this Circular to the lower and upper secondary schools in two-tier systems of secondary education.

4. The most appropriate system will depend on local circumstances and an authority may well decide to adopt more than one form of organisation in the area for which it is responsible. Organisations of types (i), (ii), (v) and (vi) produce schools which are fully comprehensive in character. On the other hand an organisation of type (iii) or (iv) is not fully comprehensive in that it involves the separation of children of differing aims and aptitudes into different schools at the age of 13 or 14. Given the limitations imposed by existing buildings such schemes are acceptable as interim solutions, since they secure many of the advantages of comprehensive education and in some areas offer the most satisfactory method of bringing about reorganisation at an early date. But they should be regarded only as an interim stage in development towards a fully comprehensive secondary organisation.

5. Against this general background, the Secretary of State wishes to make certain comments on each of the systems described in paragraph 3:

(i) Orthodox comprehensive schools 11 to 18 (see paragraph 3(i)

6. There is now a considerable volume of experience of all-through comprehensive schools; and it is clear that they can provide an effective and educationally sound secondary organisation. If it were possible to design a new pattern of secondary education without regard to existing buildings, the all-through comprehensive school would in many respects provide the simplest and best solution. There are therefore strong arguments for its adoption wherever circumstances permit.

7. In practice, however, circumstances will usually not permit, since the great majority of post-war schools and of those now being built are designed as separate secondary schools and are too small to be used as all-through comprehensive schools, There is of course some scope for building new schools of this type; and it should be borne in mind that such schools need not be as large as was once thought necessary to produce a sixth form of economic size. it is now clear that a six or seven form entry school can cater properly for the whole ability range and produce a viable sixth form. In rural areas or in small towns where only one secondary school is needed its size will inevitably be determined by the number of children for whom it must cater; and this may well not support a six form entry school. But wherever a six form entry is possible, within the limits of reasonable travelling for secondary pupils, it should be achieved.

8. It will sometimes be possible to establish a single comprehensive school in buildings designed for use as separate schools. But any scheme of this type will need careful scrutiny. If buildings are at a considerable distance from each other, or separated by busy roads, the disadvantages are obvious. Even where they are close together the amount and type of accommodation available may cause groupings of pupils which are arbitrary and educationally inefficient. It is essential that any such school could make a satisfactory timetable, deploy its staff efficiently, economically and without undue strain, and become a well-knit community.

9. There are examples of schools which function well in separate buildings, and there will often be advantages to offset the disadvantages mentioned above. For example, the sharing of different premises by a single school may ensure that all the children enjoy at least part of their secondary education in a new building. Moreover additional building already approved or likely to be included in an early programme may help to overcome the drawbacks of the initial arrangements.

(ii) Two-tier systems whereby all pupils transfer at 11 to a junior comprehensive school and at 13 or 14 to a senior comprehensive school (see paragraph 3(ii))

10. Two-tier systems consisting of junior and senior Comprehensive schools, each with its own head teacher, and with automatic transfer of all pupils at 13 or 14, have two clear advantages over other two-tier systems. They avoid discrimination between pupils at the point of transfer; and they eliminate the element of guesswork about the proportion of pupils who will transfer to the senior school. They may, it is true, produce problems of organisation, particularly where a senior school is fed by more than one junior school. If pupils are not to suffer unnecessarily from the change of school, the schools involved will have to co-operate fully and positively in the choice of curriculum, syllabus and teaching method (see paragraph 34). In the interest of continuity all the schools will have to surrender some of their freedom. But this system is attractive in that it will often fit readily into existing buildings; and it can develop into an all-through system of orthodox comprehensive schools in the course of time as new buildings become available.
(iii) A two-tier system under which all pupils transfer at 11 to a junior comprehensive school and at 13 or 14 some pupils move on to a senior school while others remain in the junior school. (see paragraph 3(iii))

11. The two main forms which this system may take have been described in paragraph 3(iii) above. That in which the junior comprehensive school keeps pupils only until 15 can clearly be no more than an interim arrangement; there must eventually be automatic transfer of all pupils from the junior to the senior school.

12. If local circumstances rule this out for some years then at the very least there should be a reorganisation of the junior schools to make satisfactory provision until 16 for those pupils who do not transfer at 13 or 14. Such provision will certainly have to include courses leading to the C.S.E. examination; whether it should also include G.C.E. Ordinary level courses is a more open question. Where staffing permits, there is much to be said for including G.C.E. courses in the junior schools. This gives an added stimulus to the work and to the teaching; it gives intellectually able pupils who do not transfer an opportunity nevertheless of gaining the qualifications which they would have won if they had transferred; it makes it easier for them, through gaining G.C.E. Ordinary levels, to transfer in due course to the sixth form in a senior school or to a college of further education; and it reduces the danger of creating social differences between junior and senior schools, with the junior schools regarded as 'poor relations'.

13. Whatever dividing line is drawn between the junior and the senior school, the Secretary of State will expect certain conditions to be observed:
(a) It is essential, if selection is not to be reintroduced that transfer to the senior school should be at parents choice.
(b) Guidance to parents on transfer should be given on an organised basis and should not take the form of advice by one teacher only.
(c) Guidance should ensure that children who would benefit from a longer or more intellectual course are not deprived of it by reason simply of their parents' lack of knowledge of what is involved. The parents must have the final decision; but parents from less educated homes in particular should have a full explanation of the opportunities open to their children.
(d) The junior school must be staffed and its curriculum devised so as to cater effectively for the whole ability range in the first two or three years. This is of great importance whatever transfer age is chosen; but with a transfer age of 14 it becomes critical. The more able children must not be held back or denied the range of subjects and quality of teaching which they would have enjoyed in a grammar school. Equally their needs must not be met at the expense of other children.

14. If these conditions are met schemes of this type have the merit of fitting comparatively easily into existing buildings and of taking full account of parental choice at the point of transfer. They are therefore acceptable as transitional schemes. But eventually, as paragraphs 4 and 11 will have made c1ear, the Secretary of State expects that all two-tier systems involving optional transfer at 13 or 14 will give way to systems under which transfer is automatic.

(iv) Two-tier systems whereby all pupils transfer at 11 to a junior comprehensive school with a choice of senior school at 13 or 14 (see paragraph 3(iv))

15, These differ from the schemes described in paragraphs 11 to 14 in that the junior comprehensive school has the same age range for all its pupils. No children remain in it beyond the age of 13 or 14. All pupils then have a choice of senior school: one senior school will aim at Advanced level and other sixth form work, while the other will not take its pupils beyond Ordinary level, although the dividing line between the schools can be drawn at different points and they may overlap. The comments made in paragraphs 12, 13 and 14 above apply equally to schemes of this kind.

(v) Comprehensive schools with an age range of 11 to 16 combined with a sixth form college for pupils of 16 and over (see paragraph 3(v))

16. Two conceptions of the sixth form college have been put forward. One envisages the establishment of colleges catering for the educational needs of all young people staying on at school beyond the age of 16; the other would make entry to a college dependent on the satisfaction of certain conditions (e.g. five passes at Ordinary level or a declared intention of preparing for Advanced level). A variation of the sixth form college pattern is that which attaches the sixth form unit to one school; under such an arrangement pupils from schools without sixth forms can transfer to a single sixth form at another school.

17. A sixth form college may involve disadvantages for the lower schools; there are few obvious arguments in favour of comprehensive schools with an age range of 11 to 16. Children in this age group may lose from a lack of contact with senior pupils of 16 to 18. There is a danger that the concentration of scarce specialist teachers in the sixth form college will drain too much talent away from the schools. Some teachers may find unattractive the prospect of teaching the whole ability range in a school offering no opportunities for advanced work and many teachers express a preference for work in schools catering for the whole secondary age range.

18. But the possibility of loss to the lower schools has to be weighed against possible gains to pupils in the sixth form colleges. The risk of draining away teaching talent from the lower schools may be outweighed by the concentration of specialist staff in the colleges, thus ensuring their more economic use: a point of particular importance while the present teacher shortages continues. The loss to the younger pupils from lack of contact with sixth formers may be outweighed, not only by the greater opportunities for leadership which the younger pupils themselves will have in the lower school, but also by the gain to the sixth formers from their attaining something of the status and freedom from traditional school discipline enjoyed by students.

19. It is essential that no scheme involving the establishment of a sixth form college should lead to any restriction of existing educational opportunities for young people of 16 to 18. Where authorities are considering the establishment of sixth form colleges they should review all the educational needs of the 16-18 group in their area and the provision they have hitherto made for them, both in sixth forms and in colleges ol further education. Where, in the light of this review, it is proposed to establish sixth form colleges, the relationship between these colleges and colleges of further education, and their respective functions, will require careful consideration to avoid unnecessary duplication of resources and to ensure the best use is made of the educational potential of each.

20. In this country there is so far little experience on which to base final judgements on the merits of sixth form colleges. Nevertheless the Secretary of State believes that the issues have been sufficiently debated to justify a limited number of experiments. Where authorities contemplate the submission of proposals, he hopes that they will consult with his Department at an early stage.

(vi) An organisation which involves middle schools straddling the primary/secondary age ranges (see paragraph 3(vi))

21. Section 1 of the Education Act 1964 makes it legally possible for new schools to be established which cater for an age range covering both primary and secondary schools as defined in Section 8 of the Education Act 1944. The establishment of middle schools with age ranges of 8 to 12 or 9 to 13 has an immediate attraction in the context of secondary reorganisation on comprehensive lines. In the first place such schools seem to lead naturally to the elimination of selection. In the second they shorten the secondary school span by one or two years and thus make it possible to have smaller all-through comprehensive schools.

22. Notwithstanding the attractiveness of middle school systems, the Secretary of State does not intend to give his statutory approval to more than a very small number of such proposals in the near future. This is for reasons relating to the age of transfer from primary to secondary education; see paragraph 30 below.

III SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

(i) Buildings

23. The disposition, character and size of existing schools particularly of the schools built since the war which must be assumed to remain in use for a considerable time, must influence and in many cases go far to determine the shape of secondary organisation. Sometimes the existing buildings will lend themselves readily to a new organisation; in other cases they will exhibit marked deficiencies if they are used, with little or no modification, for purposes for which they were not intended.

24. During the next few years growing demands for new schools arising from the increase in the school population, new house building and the raising of the school leaving age are unlikely to permit any relaxation of the criteria for inclusion of projects in building programmes. It would not be realistic for authorities to plan on the basis that their individual programmes will be increased solely to take account of the need to adapt or remodel existing buildings on a scale which would not have been necessary but for reorganisation.

25. Where existing buildings cannot easily be adapted to a new pattern authorities, in drawing up their plans, must balance against each other the following factors:
(a) the consideration mentioned in paragraph 24;
(b) the educational disadvantages which may attach to schemes designed to make use of existing buildings where these do not lend themselves adequately to a comprehensive system;
(c) the possibility of recasting building programmes announced but not yet implemented (see paragraph 44(b) below).

26. It is for authorities to weigh these considerations and to devise the most satisfactory plans in relation to local circumstances. In doing so, they should appreciate that while the Secretary of State wishes progress to be as rapid as possible, he does not wish it to be achieved by the adoption of plans whose educational disadvantages more than off-set the benefits which will flow from the adoption of comprehensive schooling.

(ii) Staffing

27. The changeover to a comprehensive system should not affect the numerical demand for teachers significantly. But the short term plan called for in paragraph 44(b) will have to be devised against the background that the secondary schools will still be short of teachers in 1969 (though their staffing standards will be better then than now) and have still to face the staffing strain of a higher leaving age in 1970-71. The Secretary of State will not be able to modify the quota arrangements to take account of individual authorities' proposals in response to this Circular.

28. It will be clear from Section II above that reorganisation can have other important and complex implications for staffing see, for example, the comments on staffing of particular types of scheme contained in paragraphs 13(d) and 17. Authorities should consider carefully how best to effect any redistribution of teaching staff which their plans may entail and, in particular how to ensure that specialist staff in scarce categories are deployed and used as efficiently as possible.

29. Plans to reorganise secondary education are bound to affect the pattern of higher posts in the schools, especially headships. The Secretary of State is glad to note that the Burnham Primary and Secondary Committee has under consideration the question of safeguarding teachers' salaries in the event of school reorganisation.

(iii) Age of transfer to secondary education

30. Pending any recommendations which the English and Welsh Central Advisory Councils for Education might make on the age of transfer from primary to secondary education, the normal age of transfer should be regarded as eleven plus. Except where they have agreed a limited departure from this principle with the Secretary of State, authorities should prepare their plans on this basis. Decisions taken by the Secretary of State when he considers the Councils' recommendations may have a bearing on secondary school organisation but this situation is not likely to arise in the near future. Authorities will appreciate that there is bound to be a considerable period between the making of any recommendations and the implementation of Government decisions on them; these would be reached only after wide consultation and careful consideration of all the factors involved.

(iv) Transfer from junior to senior secondary schools in two-tier systems

31. With a school leaving age of 16, authorities adopting a two-tier organisation, including organisations of the type described in paragraph 3(iii), will have a choice between a three-year course in the junior secondary school and a two-year course subsequently, or vice versa, Two years is not ideal as a period in one school at any stage; but a choice has to be made, and the balance of argument seems to favour transfer to a senior school at 13.

32. If the age of transfer were 14, pupils would enter the senior school at a stage when the number of subjects studied was being reduced and the course began to focus more narrowly on examinations. Some subjects would never be begun, either because they needed a course of some years or because they were not subjects which the particular pupil needed to offer in an examination. Although for subjects such as history and geography the age chosen for transfer might not be very important, for others, such as science and modern languages, delay of transfer until 14 would probably be harmful. A two-year course geared to an external examination would be likely to be planned on the basis of giving a large amount of time to comparatively few subjects; this is the very reverse of liberal education.

33. With 13 as the age of transfer the senior school could afford to introduce specialisation more gradually, and there would be more likelihood of effecting a smooth transition. Arguments in favour of a three-year run in the junior schiool apply with even greater force to the senior school where the pace is accelerated and the course reaches its climax both for pupils who have to face examinations and for those about to enter the world of work.

34. A change of school is a stimulus for some pupils but for others it means a loss of momentum; the break imposed by transfer therefore calls for a deliberate effort to bridge it. To achieve continuity close co-operation between the staff of the different schools will be necessary, particularly where several junior schools feed one senior school, in the cnoice of curriculum, syllabus and teaching method. If a two-tier system is to function efficiently, there will also be a need for systematic and continuous guidance and observation of pupils' development, together with careful recording of findings and a regular exchange of information and views between. junior and senior schools.

35. In two-tier systems which allow a choice of school during the secondary course (see the forms of organisation described under sub-headings II (iii) and (iv) above), it is importeat to ensure that children whose parents choose the lower school for them when they are 13 or 14 should be able to transfer to the senior school at the sixth form stage as a matter of right, if by this stage they find that they wish to continue in full-time education at school. But, as has already been made clear, the Secretary of State expects that optional will eventually give way to automatic transfer.

(v) The school community

36. A comprehensive school aims to establish a school community in which pupils over the whole ability range and with, differing interests and backgrounds can be encouraged to mix with each other, gaining stimulus from the contacts and learning tolerance and understanding in the process. But particular comprehensive schools will reflect the characteristics of the neighbourhood in which they are situated; if their community is less varied and fewer of the pupils come from homes which encourage educational interests, schools may lack the stimulus and vitality which schools in other areas enjoy. The Secretary of State therefore urges authorities to ensure, when determining catchment areas, that schools are as socially and intellectually comprehensive as is practicable, In a two-tier system it may be possible to link two differing districts so that all pupils from both areas go to the same junior and then to the same senior comprehensive schools.

(vi) Voluntary schools

37. In a number of areas, which have already introduced or planned a comprehensive organisation, the voluntary schools have not been included, but the plans which the Secretary of State is now requesting authorities to prepare should embrace them. Authorities which have already devised their plans for county (and sometimes controlled) schools alone should take the initiative in opening discussions with the governors of the aided and special agreement schools which they maintain and, where appropriate, with diocesan authorities, with a view to reaching agreement on how these schools can best be reorganised on comprehensive lines. Other authorities should proceed with consultation and planning for voluntary schools as part of their general planning. It will clearly be of great assistance, particularly in areas with a large number of voluntary school places, if negotiations can lead to the early integration of voluntary schools into a reorganised structure. The Secretary of State asks that local education authorities and the governors of voluntary schools should enter into discussions to this end at the earliest practicable stage in the preparation of plans.

38. It is not essential that the same pattern should be adopted for denominational and other voluntary schools in any given area as is adopted for that area's county schools. The disposition and nature of the existing voluntary school buildings may dictate a different solution; voluntary schools of a particular denomination may serve the population of more than one local authority area, and the school or diocesan authorities may be able to devise an appropriate and acceptable scheme which does not coincide directly with that adopted for the authorities' county schools; or a denomination may at present rely heavily on direct grant schools for its selective places. There will not be a single and easy solution to these difficulties, but the Secretary of State hopes that where they occur, the schools, denominational authorities and local education authorities will be able to negotiate solutions which ensure that while selection is eliminated, parents are not deprived of places which meet their religious wishes, and on which they have hitherto been able to rely.

(vii) Direct Grant schools

39. In a number of areas, and especially in large towns, direct grant grammar schools make a substantial contribution alongside the maintained schools to the provision of secondary places. The proportion of such places paid for by local education authorities is in the case of many schools, particularly those of a denominational character, very high. The Secretary of State looks to both local education authorities and the governors of direct grant schools to consider ways of maintaining and developing this co-operation in the context of the policy of comprehensive education. He hopes that authorities will study ways in which the schools might be associated with their plans, and that governing bodies will be ready to consider changes, for instance in curriculum and in method and age of entry, which will enable them to participate fully in the local scheme. The Secretary of State asks that authorities should open discussions at an early stage with the governors of direct grant schools in which they take up places; it may be appropriate for such discussions to be in consultation with any other authorities taking up places in the same schools.

(viii) Consultation

40. The smooth inception and continuing success of any scheme of reorganisation will depend on the co-operation of teachers and the support and confidence of parents. To secure these there must be a process of consultation and explanation before any scheme is approved by an authority for submission to the Secretary of State. An authority should take all those concerned into its confidence at as early a stage as possible.

41. The proper processes of local government must leave initiative on matters of principle and the ultimate responsibility for decisions with the elected representatives of the community. But the Secretary of State believes that once the principles and main outlines of a possible plan of reorganisation have been formulated there should follow a period of close and genuine consultation with teachers. The precise methods cannot be prescribed and will necessarily vary from one authority to another. On the general character of a plan and on matters affecting an authority's teachers as a whole, consultation with teachers' associations would normally be appropriate. Working groups composed of local education authority officers and teachers have also been found successful in some areas. Individual teachers or school staffs affected by particular schemes should always be taken into consultation, to whatever extent is reasonable and practicable, at the appropriate stage. The arrangements must strike a balance between the fundamental right and duty of the authority to take decisions and the practical good sense of accepting that teachers have a very real contribution to make from their knowledge of the children and their needs. In the last resort only teachers can make any educational system work well.

42. Parents cannot be consulted in the same way as teachers; but it is important that they should be informed fully and authoritatively as soon as practicable in the planning stage. Explanations by elected members and officers can be given at meetings, in schools, in booklets and through the press. A scheme may easily arouse anxiety and hostility among parents if they are dependent for information about it on unreliable and incomplete reports spread by word of mouth or partisan reports of any kind. The early and widespread dissemination of information will help to strengthen parental confidence and should avoid the risk of the submission of ill-informed and unnecessary objections where schemes involve the publication of notices under Section 13 of the 1944 Act.

IV PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF PLANS

43. In the light of the considerations mentioned above, local education authorities are requested to submit plans to the Secretary of State for the reorganisation of secondary education in their areas on comprehensive lines.

44. Plans should be submitted within one year of the date of this Circular, although the Secretary of State may exceptionally agree an extension to this period in the case of any individual authority. Plans should be in two parts (15 copies of each) as follows:

(a) A general statement of the authority's long-term proposals.
This should indicate the type or types of comprehensive organisation which it is intended to establish; should cover all parts of the authority's area and should embrace in its scope both county and voluntary maintained schools. It will be clear from paragraphs 37 and 38 at that voluntary schools should in due course be as fully part of any scheme as county schools, though they need follow an identical pattern and it may take longer for necessary adjustments to be achieved. Authorities which at present supplement their maintained provision by taking free or reserved places in direct grant schools or by paying fees in whole or in part for pupils at independent schools should indicate their future intentions. They should also indicate the extent to which direct grant schools are participating in their plans.

(b) A detailed statement of the authority's proposals whether not they have already been discussed with the Department covering a period of three years starting not later than September 1967.

This part should describe what it is proposed by the authority should happen to every secondary school affected by this first stage of their plan. It should be made clear whether what is proposed for this period is an instalment of a long-term plan or whether it represents interim arrangements designed to be modified or superseded. Each school affected should be identified by name, present size, status, denomination, sex of pupils and type. Its short and long-term future should then be described.
The arrangements proposed for the admission of children to the comprehensive schools should be explained. This explanation should cover initial admission to schools recruiting at the normal age of transfer from primary to secondary education and any later transfer which is involved in two-tier systems.
This three-year instalment of the plan should include a statement of estimates of costs of all major and minor building programme proposals which will be involved in carrying it out. The Secretary of State does not intend to amend of his own initiative the major school building programmes already announced for 1965-66, 1966-67 and part of 1967-68. But authorities may themselves wish to recast some of their programmes in order to bring secondary school projects into line with their plans for reorganisation; in this case proposals for recasting programmes should made at the time of the plan's submission. When preparing such proposals authorities will need to bear in mind the building needs created in their areas by the raising of the school leaving age in 1970-71. The total cost of a recast programme must not exceed that already authorised for 1965-66 and 1966-67; there may however be some scope for increase in 1967-68 since the full programme for that year has not yet been settled.

45. The Secretary of State hopes that local education authorities, voluntary school governors, denominational representatives and direct grant school governors will consult freely with the officers of his Department at any stage in their deliberations at which they believe that informal discussion would be helpful. He would in particular ask that local education authorities should consult the Department when their plans are at a sufficiently advanced stage but before they are finally approved for submission.

46. The Government are aware that the complete elimination of selection and separatism in secondary education will take time to achieve. They do not seek to impose destructive or precipitate change on existing schools; they recognise that the evolution of separate schools into a comprehensive system must be a constructive process requiring careful planning by local education authorities in consultation with all those concerned. But the spontaneous and exciting progress which has been made in this direction by so many authorities in recent years demonstrates that the objective is not only practicable; it is also now widely accepted. The Government believe that both the education service and the general public will welcome the further impetus which a clear statement of national policy will secure.

HERBERT ANDREW

 

Discussion in The Monovian

 

The scheme proposed is known as a "two tier" system, i.e. all children irrespective of their ability will, on leaving their Primary School, go to a Junior Secondary School for three years-presumably the school nearest their home. The buildings used for this purpose would be the existing Secondary Modern Schools. At the age of 14+ all children would transfer to a Senior Secondary School. As the School leaving age is at present 15, some of these children would leave after one year; some would remain for two years and so could be entered for a public examination such as G.C.E. Ordinary Level whilst the remainder would continue until the age of 18 in order to take G.C.E. Advanced Level.

Under this scheme our School would cease to be a Grammar School and would become a Senior Secondary School. No precise details have been announced but it is clear that we should no longer have 1st, 2nd or 3rd Forms and instead should have about 240 boys of all abilities entering what we call our 4th Form. After the School leaving age is raised to 16 in 1970 we shall have all these boys for two years, but until then we are likely to have only about 130 in our 5th Form and we estimate that of these rather less than 50 will continue into the lit year 6th Form as compared with our present 1st year 6th Form of 80.

After many years in which the standard of education in this school has been raised and maintained as high as possible, it is deliberately to be lowered. The high standards which ensure that only the most academically able entrants are admitted are to be abandoned.
Thus, although the Monoux tradition may remain (after all, the school was comprehensive for 350 years even if the curriculum did include Latin and Greek) the school's academic reputation, which attracts boys to Waltham Forest from the surrounding areas, will be destroyed. It may be that the high standard of education is a major factor in slowing the drain of population, especially of young families whose children aspire to come here and whose father may be an old Monovian, away from the area.
This high standard is to be replaced by a broad range of talents, thus ensuring as we are told "a wide cross-section of future society". Surely the idea of keeping the Monoux ivory tower is strong. In spite of the fact that boys of average ability will now find open to them languages and fields of general education hitherto unknown, the specialised staff thus involved will be mainly occupied with 'A' and 'O' level boys. Will it be possible to find staff specialised enough for these, yet still able to teach boys of lesser ability as well? And if there are twenty sixth form courses, such as are available here now, twenty specialised teachers will be needed. This will leave only ten to cater for the needs of the 450 or so boys in the school below this standard. Even in a comprehensive school, therefore, bias in favour of the academic boys cannot be avoided. If staff change between schools every few days, however, this will undermine still further the tradition of the school and their ties to Waltham Forest.
A great disadvantage of the broad range of talents would be that the rougher elements in their last year would disturb or mislead their academic contemporaries. They would spread an attitude of "anti-academics" and encourage able boys to leave too early. Also, boys who would now be in the lower ranks of the school, although still ensured of a good education, would, in a comprehensive school, find themselves well above average, become complacent and waste their talents. Similarly, boys who would now be in positions of responsibility in the academic forefront of a secondary modem school would be eclipsed by the more academic boys and could not aspire to positions of responsibility. Unable to compete with their more intelligent contemporaries they would also waste their talents, effectively splitting the school with a gulf of intelligence, hopelessly impassable by those boys who now find themselves in the lower ranks of a grammar school. Although not so great as the present one, this gulf would still be there. Placing boys of different ability in the same building would not necessarily destroy this gulf.
With no policy of concentrating those boys of high academic ability in one school, these boys would be widely dispersed over a number of schools. This system has obvious disadvantages. Equipment, books, and highly qualified teachers cannot be concentrated in one building. If ten schools run sixth form courses, ten sets of books and scientific apparatus will be needed. There will be much duplication, especially if many schools have to build up, almost from scratch, large non-fiction libraries. True, those boys of lesser ability who come here will have the benefit of the school library, but of what use are its non-fiction books to them? Many boys who would benefit from these books and the equipment of the Monoux laboratories will have to make do with lesser facilities hastily assembled for the starting of sixth form courses in what are now secondary modem schools. With large numbers of talented boys together a concentration of books and equipment can be built up and the excess capitation allowance can be spent on more expensive equipment. In a dispersed system this excess, if any, would be split up into many small amounts, with a relatively small number of boys able to benefit from the best books and equipment in each school, those of average or below average ability would find their needs largely eclipsed by those of the more intelligent boys. Alternatively, money spent on them would not be available for the top streams. In a school of similar abilities this dilemma would not arise. All equipment and books would go to one group or the other. It is impossible to solve this problem by mixing the pupils' abilities since some sort of system of teaching those of above average, average and below average abilities separately would be essential, if only for the sanity of the staff.
This dispersal of the talented boys, and especially the fifth and sixth form boys, would also effectively kill any attempt to form school societies such as the Senior Circle or School Council. With small numbers of boys to whom these would appeal in each school they would not have enough support. Societies would survive in a more popular form (such as the Film Society or Model Railway Society) but the enthusiasm (if any) of the lower streams would hardly be enough to carry on such institutions as the History Day, School Council or the Senior Circle. It is to be doubted whether the lower stream boys, nearing the end of their years a school, would be at all keen on school societies. Normally the more able boys, confident of several more years at school, would attend these with enthusiasm but with the new system, these would be in a minority of about 20 per cent. With the limited numbers of sixth form and highly specialised boys, minority subjects would tend to be squeezed out, especially if these did not appeal to the average ability group. The stricter guidance and discipline of the lower groups might also tend to restrict the freedom of the sixth forms, especially if the fifth formers (after 1970 in their last compulsory year) were unruly.
The comprehensive theory is a good idea to raise the standard of average boys by giving them some of the advantages now confined to grammar school pupils. This admirable aim must not, however, be allowed to stand in the way of the education of the most intelligent and able boys, who as professionals, managers, and administrators will benefit the others later in life by reaching the highest possible standard of education.
A.J. Slade, VI 1G.

The issue of comprehensive school education is controversial, and the discussions concerning Waltham Forest's proposed reorganisation are likely to be no exception. Arguments about comprehensive education are not noted for their factual objectivity. Most of them indeed appear to leave out any consideration of the people most affected by changes in the education system, pupils.
Before the debate on the Waltham Forest proposals degenerate into a battle of half truths and political mudslinging, some attempt must be made to outline what the debate is about. First of all, what do we mean by a comprehensive school? It is a school which covers all the educational requirements of a particular age group in a certain district. By definition it contains the full range of abilities now dispersed among secondary, grammar, technical and modern schools.
Supporters of comprehensive education claim that its chief advantage is the abolition of the present system of selective education at eleven years old. This system they attack on three grounds:
Eleven plus selection is unfair, works badly and in any case is pure1y arbitrary. It is unfair because of the unequalness of opportunity with regard to grammar school places. The proportion of children given grammar school places varies immensely between one local education authority and another. In the county of Essex only ten to fifteen per cent of eleven-year-olds are offered grammar school education. In many county boroughs it is much more; take for instance the most extreme example. Merthyr Tydfil has a grammar school intake of nearly forty per cent. Even in the same area a boy may have a better chance of a grammar school education than his equally intelligent sister. Again, his younger brother may fail the eleven plus because there are more children in his age group, but the same number of grammar places. Thus entry into grammar school is not limited by the ability of the pupil, but by the number of places available.
The selective education system is said to work badly because even by its own standards it is not efficient. Many cases can be quoted of pupils leaving grammar school with only one or even no 'O' level passes in G.C.E. examinations, while some pupils in Secondary Modern schools are able to pass five or even more 'O' levels. If the eleven-plus examination were an accurate selective procedure, this simply would not happen. In 1959 the Crowther Report said, "a fair number of people in modern schools are incapable of reaching academic standards that have in the past been confined to grammar schools". The fact that a few secondary modern pupils are able to transfer to grammar school sixth forms and even go to university is a condemnation of the present system, is not an argument illustrating its "flexibility". Quite apart from these considerations, there may be psychological effects in those who fail to pass the eleven-plus. Recent studies have tended to suggest that some pupils may possess a sense of failure all their lives, others, told in effect that they are second-class pupils, will begin to act like second-class pupils.
The selection procedure of the eleven-plus is arbitrary because if the great number of borderline cases. It is based to a large extent on I.Q. Although it is relatively easy to divide people into groups at both extremes of the I.Q. range, the great majority of people are near the middle of this range. Any division between those with, for example, an I.Q. of above 110, who would go to grammar schools and those with an I.Q. of below 110, who would not, is arbitrary. In any case the I.Q. test is increasingly being exposed as a faulty measure of ability.
The supporters of comprehensive education say that a comprehensive school has positive advantages to offer. It can offer a large variety of courses at all levels from classical Greek to metalwork and typing. Its size means that it will have more specialist teachers. Perhaps its main advantage, they say, is that a comprehensive education allows each pupil to develop fully those subjects for which they have an aptitude, without struggling out of their depth in those for which they are less gifted.
This is facilitated by a system of sets, rather like that existing at Monoux. In practice this means that every pupil who has the ability to pass a subject at '0' or 'A' level will be given the opportunity to do so. Figures published after the 1962-3 G.C.E. results showed that while 13 per cent of all school leavers in local authority schools in England and Wales passed five or more subjects at '0' level, 16 per cent of leavers in 22 Comprehensive schools attained this standard. Even more striking figures were published for 'A' levels.
Other advantages of comprehensives include greater mobility between different levels of academic attainment, and the provision of more expensive equipment in a larger school unit. In addition many people believe that much might be gained by the mixing of children of all sections of the community in a comprehensive school.
The arguments against the comprehensive system emphasise the disadvantages of the mere size of a comprehensive school. They argue that personal contact between master and pupil cannot possibly be maintained in a school of 1,500 pupils. They also say that the high academic standards and traditions of the grammar schools would be reduced by the influx of pupils of a lower standard. Supporters of comprehensive schools reply that if a school adopts a House system with Tutorial groups, then a master can follow the progress of twenty or thirty boys throughout their school careers.
We have outlined the justifications for the introduction of comprehensive schools. How far has the movement already gone? In fact no less than 70 out of 166 Local Education Authorities are implementing comprehensive schemes and a further 21 are considering what changes they can make. The Minister of Education has asked authorities to return details of comprehensive schemes to him by late 1966. Although he has no legal power to impose comprehensive education, the Minister has a great deal of financial power over Local Education Authorities.
Introduction of this type of education does not mean that the system will be the same over the whole country. Six separate schemes were in fact outlined to authorities in a Department of Education circular. They are: (1) the orthodox comprehensive school dealing with all children from eleven to eighteen. This is the system in London. These schools normally have over a thousand pupils. (2) Comprehensive education to sixteen and then sixth-form college for those taking 'A' levels. This system is being considered by Croydon. (3) The method adopted by the West Riding: schools divided into the age ranges five to nine; nine to thirteen; and thirteen to eighteen. (4) a system whereby all pupils transfer at eleven to junior comprehensive schools and then at thirteen or fourteen to a senior comprehensive. This is the system proposed by Waltham Forest. (5) A junior comprehensive to fifteen or sixteen, with a minority moving at fourteen to a senior school leading to sixth form work. (6) A method with all pupils in a junior comprehensive until all move to a choice of senior schools at thirteen or fourteen.
There are many systems because of the difficulty of fitting the system to the buildings available. This difficulty appears to have influenced Waltham Forest's choice. At the time of writing a plan has been put forward for consideration and as a basis for discussion, The twenty-one secondary modern schools in the borough will become junior comprehensive schools. These will admit all primary school leavers. From these, pupils will move to senior comprehensive schools at fourteen. At this school the 'O' and 'A' level examinations would be taken by those who reached that that standard. These senior schools would comprise the eight selective schools, including Monoux, now in existence. All pupils who are already at selective schools would complete their course. The transition from selective to comprehensive schools in the borough will be gradual.
This scheme has not yet been finally adopted. Its advantages and disadvantages will be examined and discussed by the borough council, teachers and parents. The education committee hopes to receive a report early in 1966.
The scheme's chief advantage is that all existing school buildings would be used. However, some of the selective schools would have to be enlarged to accommodate an anticipated extra 1,400 pupils every year. Also, all existing schools would retain their identity, their head teachers and in a large measure their staff. Yet there will be problems that will make the scheme less attractive.
For instance, how can pupils do 'O' level courses in just two years if the senior schools will have little or no control over the curricula at a junior comprehensive school?
P.D. Rodwell, VI 2G.

 

Old Monovians Discussion

 

OLD MONOVIANS' ASSOCIATION 1965
The face of Monoux is changing, or rather-the faces. They constantly come and go-the latest to depart being of course Mr. Rayner. But on a wider scale, there are more than just faint rumblings that Monoux as we know it will be no more-judged by local plans for comprehensive education. It is with a sad sense of possible loss that we speculate on the fate of the school and of course of our own association. Past memories automatically gain a higher, more exclusive value when they are unrepeatable for more reasons than that time has passed. There may no longer be quite the ghme old Monoux carrying on whether we are there or not. The new system may combine with time in endeavouring to sever our links with the school.
Enough of nostalgia. Let's change the subject, since at this stage what we have to be nostalgic about is not too clearly defined. Meanwhile the same old "donkey work" has to go on to make the
O.M. Association possible at all. Since my particular responsibility is this section of the school magazine, may I put in a plea for news and other contributions from Old Monovians. This section is a vehicle for you to make known news about each other, and it cannot function fully unless each member plays his part.
M.J.I.

MONOUX AND THE FUTURE
Your Committee met at the School on 8th November, 1965, to consider the proposals put forward by Waltham Forest Education Committee for the reorganisation of Secondary Education within the Borough.
In the course of explanations and discussions the following specific points emerged.

1. It is not known exactly what our intake at 14+ would be (somewhere between 240-300) but in view of the fact that we are likely to remain a boys' school, it would as a minimum be drawn from two Junior Secondary Boys' Schools and could come from as many as four or five Junior Secondary Mixed Schools. This increases the difficulty of integrating syllabus so that the 14+ boys coming from different schools could go straight into their studies for public exams such as C.S.E. or G.C.E. with minimum delay in settling down.
2. In our experience a second foreign language needs to be started in the Second (Form (12+). It seems extremely unlikely that all Junior Secondary schools will be able to offer the range of second languages at present available at Monoux, namely Latin, German, Spanish and Russian. Admittedly a few of our boys (between 5 and 10 per cent) start a third foreign language in the 4th Form (14 +) but even these exceptional few generally need three years to reach 'O' Level G.C.E.
3. The same sort of problem arises in Science where we find it desirable to begin more specialist study in Physics, Chemistry and Biology in the 3rd Form (13 +) to ensure that our average boys achieve 'O' Level in the separate sciences by 5th Form (15 +).
4. Assuming that the School is not to be expanded to hold more than at present, the likely size of our lst Year 6th Form after the school leaving age has been raised to 16 is unlikely to be greater than 50 so that unless the staffing ratio is increased we could not provide so many 'A' Level courses and would not be able to offer such a wide range of 'A' Level subjects (In the present lst Year 6th we are preparing boys for 20 different 'A' Level subjects).
5. There seems to be a considerable danger that we would become what is known as a neighbourhood school, i.e. drawing pupils only from the near vicinity of the School, thus reducing the variety of social background of our pupils which we believe an important feature of our School (Our present 1st Form is drawn from 26 Primary Schools). This also removes the possibility of parental choice which is embodied in the 1944 Education Act.
6. The objections to the present method of selection at 11 + were accepted as justification for change. We are fortunate in having on the O.M. Committee a member who is a Headmaster of a Primary School in the I.L.E.A. who was able to explain how their system works and how successful it was proving.
7. The age of transfer from Junior to Senior Secondary School raises many problems. The M.of Ed. Circular 10/65 recommends age 13+, Waltham Forest propose 14+ largely, it seems, because it involves the minimum alteration of existing buildings. This may be sound economics but is a poor criterion for important educational changes. In any case the Plowden Committee, set up by the Government to consider age of transfer from Primary to Secondary School is quite likely to support the recommendation of many educationalists that the transfer should be at 12 or 13. It seems pointless to make the proposed changes now, when in a few months time further changes are initiated.
8. Since the Government motion of 21st January 1965 approving reorganisation on comprehensive lines an investigation has been called for by the Government into the working of the Comprehensive system. Admittedly such a vast piece of research is likely to take several years but it seems not merely stupid but even criminal to adopt at this stage a system as proposed by Waltham Forest which even in the M.of Ed. Circular 10/65 is regarded as an interim measure until it can develop into an all-through system of orthodox comprehensive schools in the course of time as new buildings become available.

After considerable discussion on these points your Committee felt unable to recommend to the Association that it should support the Waltham Forest proposal.
The following motion was proposed nem, con.:
"The Old Monovian Association, having carefully considered the proposed scheme of reorganisation find that it is likely to involve undue restriction of the curriculum, to cause unnecessary and undesirable dislocation of pupils' secondary education, to impair the good work achieved by all secondary schools in the borough and the development of all children; it recognises that there is a need to overcome the difficulties of selection and suggests consideration of the I.L.E.A. Scheme whereby parents have the choice at 11+, after advice from the head of the primary school concerned, to transfer to a specific secondary school; it suggests that Waltham Forest could do the same, with transfer to the present selective schools for children intending to stay at school to 18, and to the present non-selective schools for those wishing to stay to 15 or 16, with transfer either way at any age after consultation and agreement between heads and parents, and that this scheme might well be a compromise until reports of the Committee on Comprehensive Schools and the Plowden Committee are received and considered".
In view of the fact that our members are literally scattered throughout the world, it was considered unsatisfactory to summon an Extraordinary General Meeting to consider this proposal. It was agreed to send a copy of the motion to all members of the Association asking them to express their opinion by post.
It was agreed that the Governors of the School, the School Staff and the Parents' Association should be informed of the action being taken. It was agreed that if this motion was approved by a majority of our members as expressed by their postal vote, the resolution would be presented to Waltham Forest Education Committee.
B. Perry and D. J. Ashen, Hon. Secretaries.

 

Old Monovians Supper, 1966

 

In a year which has been full of alarums and excursions, the setting of the Supper seemed unchanged. There were the tables with their familiar coloured runners, so tastefully decorated with Mrs. Curl's flowers; the usual menu cards with the words of the School Song tactfully printed on the back for those who might falter at the crucial moment. Then there were the many familiar faces, with some new ones, in their allotted places: Peter Couch and Harry Hyde upon whom so much of the work falls; J. S. Arthur, sadly without Mrs. Arthur to whom kindly messages were sent; "Colonel" Ninnim, looking a younger-than-ever credit to the life of physical fitness; Fred Davis, the oldest member present; and John Payling, efficiently conducting the evening from the Chair. Over one hundred and twenty friends sat down to an excellent meal served by boys of the School, the whole superbly organised by Mrs. Lee, and as on all previous occasions time passed too quickly.
The toast of the School was proposed by J.G. Jamieson, who recalled the rigours and pleasures of schooldays long ago, proving what an intangible thing true education is. The response by the School Captain, M. A. G. Holtham, was a masterpiece of after dinner speaking. I cannot recall that any Captain has equalled his standard in the past twenty years, though there have been some good speeches in that time. The School should be proud of this young man.
E. S. Williams, a former School Captain and now a local Headmaster, proposed the toast of the guests, combining this duty with a presentation to two retiring members of Staff-Messrs. Rayner (thirty-six years' service) and Brobyn (thirty-three years' service). From these two much-loved masters came speeches of wit, humour and fun, which appropriately closed the more formal proceedings on a note of hilarity and grand climax.
So the evening passed joyously, yet with a shadow felt by all but to which even passing reference was scarcely made, Reorganisation. One could only guess the thoughts of S. N. Chaplin who has devoted so much of his life to local education, or for that matter the thoughts of the Headmaster, or of P.J. Curl, A.E. Holdworth and L.A. Moules, of past and present members of Staff, and of so many O.M.'s who have given so much to Monoux.
Those in authority must bear a heavy responsibility if what one anticipates comes to pass: the first five years of reorganisation, during which time many thousands of children will be receiving their only secondary education. The politicians and administrators might consider the Chinese proverb : "He who goes to kill an enemy should first dig two graves", for in supposedly ending one alleged evil they may well be creating two real ones.
Even so, none of this Should endanger our enjoying many more Suppers together when O.M.s will be able to greet their friends. Our grateful thanks are due to Peter Couch, Harry Hyde, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Curl, Mr. and Mrs. Tomlin, many boys and to the Committee for hard work which was most assuredly crowned with success.
D. C. Pettegree

 

Walthamstow Guardian; Two-Tier Education Decision May, 1966

 

THE first positive step towards the introduction of a comprehensive education two-tier system was taken this week as Chief Education Officer Dr Wilfred Stephens began preparing a detailed scheme for submission to Secretary of State for Education Mr Anthony Crosland.
The new system may be introduced in September of next year. But, if physical difficulties make this impossible, the major reconstruction of the secondary schools set-up will take place in 1968.
Greatest virtue of the scheme now being drafted is that it will make use of existing secondary school buildings with the exception of Mark House and George Gascoigne Schools, due to close at the end of this term.
Main fallout of the scheme, this is acknowledged by the scheme's supporters, is the demise of eight grammar and technical schools.
The system means an end to the much-criticised 11-plus selection examination: children of all abilities, from the brightest most backward, will be taught at the same schools.
The 28 secondary schools will be reshaped into groups of schools,
This is how the system will operate:
oOn completion of their fourth year at junior school all children will enter a neighbourhood junior secondary school for three years. .
o At the age of 14 the children will transfer from the junior secondary school to a senior secondary school where they will complete their secondary education.
o Those children who want to leave at the minimum-permitted age - now 15 but likely to be raised to 16 in the near future - will be able to do so. Some may continue their studies at a further education college.
o Children wishing to do so will stay on at the senior secondary school until 18 or 19 to take their G.C.E. A level examinations mainly in preparation for university entrance.
Instructions for Dr Stephen to begin detailed planning for the scheme, long favoured for Waltham Forest by the Council controlling labour group, went out from Monday's meeting of the Education Committee.
Before the Plan is submitted for Mr. Crosland's approval it will be considered by the Education Committee. But this will be largely a formality.

 

Walthamstow Guardian; Council Discussion May, 1966

 

Last Ditch Ratepayers' Association Move is Crushed May 1966

A minority move to defer a final decision on the two-tier comprehensive secondary school system now being worked out for Waltham Forest failed - a victim of the Labour majority steam roller - at Monday's (May 2nd) Education Committee meeting.

But during the long debate many members expressed reservations and misgivings about the system - with all children transferring from junior secondary school to senior secondary school at the age of 14.
Council leader Cllr. H.J.E. Palethorpe admitted that he was not 100 per cent convinced that 14 was the correct transfer age. But there would always be chance to amend the scheme at some later date.
From the Ratepayers Association front bench, Cllr. H.J. Berry proposed that the Department of Education and Science be told the local authority was not_convinced the existing comprehensive systems in use hat other parts of the country had proved themselves completely and that it would prefer to retain the present selective system, suitably amended, for the time being.
Cllr Berry assured the Committee that his was not a political move: he had always kept an open mind on the "comprehensive" question and had been impressed by the many divergent views advanced by outsiders.'
"The break of schools at 14 does not make for continuity," said Cllr. Berry. "I also have doubts about the sixth-form college which comes from a system where children transfer at 16."
Many Doubts

"Because of the many doubts in my mind, I would prefer us to mark time," Cllr. Betry continued. "1 don't think we will be 'missing the boat' as much as we would be waiting to ensure that the boat we board is the best one for us."
Support for Cllr. Berry's view came from R.A, colleague, Cllr. John Corder, who pointed out that many councils up and down to country had asked for, and been granted, an extension of time for the submission of their commprehensive school proposals.
One advantage claimed for the comprehensive education system was that it broke down the class barriers. But Cltr. Corder feared the reverse would result from all children living in a particular area attending the same school.
The lone Conservative spokesman, Cllr. Harry Fulton, made seven major points against comprehensive education: ',
(1) the grammar school, having proved itself over many years, still had a part to play;
(2) comprehensive education might be suitable for some areas but not other,,,
(3) any reorganisation should allow for the co-existence of comprehensive and grammar schools;
(4) that the thin spread of the top academic level children over all schools will be helped was a suspect view;
(5) Single sex schools should be part of the new system;
(6) parents should retain thcir right to insist on church school education for their children, and
(7) A dislike of any attempt to force through political ideologies in the form o any educational system.

Opportunities
Taking up an earlier point in the debate, Cllr, Garner Smith (Lahour) pointed out that the parents of only 25 per cent of the children in the town were able to select their youngsters' schools; the 11-plus failures went where they were sent.
"We must consider the majority of children" he went on; "The 25 per cent who pass the 11-plus will get there anyway. But we want to give the other 75 per cent greater opportunities,"
Cllr. Smith's wife, Cllr, Mrs. Violet Smith, pointed out that no child would be deprived of attending a church school.
Council leader, Cllr. H.J.E Palethorpe pointed out that if Mr. Crosland did not like the scheme, he would be able to reject it or send it back to the Council.
Free Churches' spokesman on the Committee, the Rev. Charles Dawes, feared certain rights were being taken away from the local education authorities by the Government imposing its will on them. "We are in danger of being ruled by remote control" he said.
Inadequate
"We know too that the money available for the changeover is inadequate to deal with this revolutionary move and so, for too long, we must try to make a system work without the necessary financial backing," Mr. Dawes continued.
Council deputy leader,Cllr. Terence Messenger, claimed that the R.A, members' demands for deferment of a decision cloaked their actual opposition to comprehensive education in any form,
"With this scheme we are aiming to give every child, at every stage, the opportunity to fulfil himself," he added.
Teachers' representative, Mr. G.W. Cordrey was anxious that children should retain the right to transfer from the senior secondary schools to further education is soon as they were permitted to leave school.
Only three members supported the deferment proposal.

 

Monovian Editorial 1966

 

Editor: O. A. SWAN

Winter 1966

SPEAKING EDITORIALLY
Snobs! This is what the Minister for Education and Science recently implied about the grammar school pupils. This kind of generalisation is exceptionally dangerous to make, as welt as the fact that the word snob has many different meanings to different people. The one general impression that it leaves on most people is one of unpleasantness. It is one of the most important things in life that one must avoid; one can become socially better than someone else, but on no account must one become a snob. The Minister's exact words were "We know that the grammar schools do inculcate into their pupils the moral altitude that encourages snobbery?' Never in my seven years at this school has anyone ever even suggested that as a pupil here I was better than someone who went to a non-grammar school. The suggestion of snobbishness does not come from within the school, but from outside sources. Parents whose children have reached the age of eleven place far too much emphasis on what the neighbours will say when their child goes to a certain school. The selection at this age is to give the form of education that will best suit the particular child. It is not out to make a child feel socially inferior. The only thought that should be in parents' minds when they make the selection, of schools that they would like their child to go to, is what school will give their child the best education. This does not always mean that this will be the school with the best name locally.

On the first day of the new school year the first formers are told, and the rest of the school reminded, that they have in their possession the good name of the school, and that their deeds and actions will reflect upon this good name. This is where the word pride has to take the fore. It is the sense of pride that one has in the school and its academic and sporting achievements that is the important thing. Unfortunately, this sense of pride can be interpreted as snobbery when viewed by an outsider. If a person is not proud of his school, there must be something radically wrong with either the child or the schools, with our school I can say without any shadow of doubt, that the wrong would lie with the child. To summarise what the Head master said on Speech Day, it is not the moral attitudes that encourage snobbery that are inculcated into us, but the attitudes that encourage the condemnation of the cheap, the nasty and the shoddy, whether of morality, courtesy, graciousness, sportsmanship or learning, and those in public lire who accept low standards, or by their silence condone them. I find it very difficult to understand why this sense of pride is changed into one of snobbery. However, in the eyes of certain politicians, snobbery is equated with grammar schools, and thus since snobbery is to be condemned, s~ too are the grammar schools.

At the same time the Minister did not wish to say anything against the academic achievements of the grammar school. Snobbery is what is thought by some people to accompany the good academic records of this type of school, then it must be considered as one of those unfortunate secondary factors, comparable with the fact that radiation is a by-product of an atomic reaction. If as he said, he wishes to extend "the conditions of the grammar schools to the benefit of the many who have been previously denied these privileges." they cannot be considered a bad thing.

As long as the school continues to achieve its high academic record, and attainment in sport, as well at teaching its pupils the highest moral values, the problem of the "side effects" must be considered of little import.

Graham A. Swan

 

Monovian Editorial 1967

 

SUMMER 1967

No. 90

Editors: G. A. SWAN, C. C. POND
Sub-Editors:
School Notes-S. J. BREAME School Visits-T. W. HUTCHINGS

School Societies-D. GILMORE

Sports Section-A. D. CLARK, R. MANN Literary Section-C. C. POND

SPEAKING EDITORIALLY

Change, it would seem, is the only constancy of our time; a paradox one might say, but nonetheless true. Change, provoked not only by the forces of circumstance, but the result of the labour of vast numbers of planners, or perhaps, the fulfilment of mere wild hope, affects all of our lives to an unprecedented degree. it is, seemingly, always for the good. and never regressive. We are given the impression that reaction is always evil, that there is some great inherent virtue in making changes and innovations, despite the very valid evidence of tradition and experience.
We of the generation which has grown up under the uneasy peace of the 'fifties know of change only as a word. We have no first-hand knowledge of the period before that decade, and therefore can have no means of adjudging the violence of the effects of the changes that characterised those years. Yet we have lived through a time which has seen momentous upsurges of the previously-accepted order, on a world basis, nationally and to the personal lives of us all.
Evolution rather than revolution has been typical of our time but evolution is by no means the less potent agent of change. Our lifetimes have contained the appearance of nations, cast from the still firmly-established colonial order of fifteen years ago. A new great power, in the form of China, has risen to prominence. Europe, so long dominant in world affairs, has diminished in importance to the status of "having certain aspects of its security" discussed by an American and an Asian power at a Summit Conference.
The Britain of today differs radically from that even I can remember. We dispensed with ration-books, identity-cards and clothing-coupons. We entered a period of affluence, to use the description of the times. We magnanimously gave our colonies their independence. Affluence merged into national impecuniosity, The rest of our colonies took their independence, perhaps rather more with malevolence than in servile gratitude.
And why shall I remember the 'fifties and early 'sixties? The first two decades of one's life are always reckoned to be the most formative, and thus, in common with most others, I shall remember childhood becoming gradually replaced under the mass of problems that could be no longer accepted without question, or glossed-over in blind trust. I shall remember the long years at school, perhaps with nostalgia, perhaps with mild contempt for my own personality at that time.
I shall remember. That is certain. Whether I shall regret, approve or remain indifferent to the changes that will have altered my life, and my environment-only the future can tell. Wild progressivism may be my attitude, or just as likely, total reaction. But whatever one's standpoint, change must be accepted. A Russian says "Why not ?" while the British ask "Why ?" we are told. But on occasions and this decade is one of them-this attitude is not the mood of the vast majority. It seems as if the British public, having gained a standard in a particular field by one means has now decided to seek to improve it by another.
It is therefore pointless to resist planned change when it is so considerable a part of the pattern of things, and when the overwhelming mood of the many is inclined to search for betterment in the unknown. So, the individual must if his views do not happen to concur with those of that majority, adapt to that which is inevitable. There is little room for continued resistance or to merely sustain the injury to the pride of one's own philosophy by sulking petulantly and bemoaning the harshness of fate.
Internationally, it is useless to think that Britain's former status of an Imperial power will ever return. We cannot hope to witness the decline of the new powers, as events stand. In years to come, membership of, and perhaps union with, the Common Market will be accepted just as the concept of the United Kingdom is now.
Impending internal reforms - decimal currency, criminal justice, law amendment, revision of county boundaries, the law on abortion-may seen unnecessary, inappropriate or otherwise distasteful now. But they are, in their context, much less revolutionary than many that are now accepted as a normal part of life. They will change the pattern of life of the nation to an extent, but their effect will not be drastic.
And we must not ourselves forget that changes must take place. We have twelve months before a semi-comprehensive educational system replaces that we have known. We must use these
months, not in remembering our past pride and achievement, but in preparation for what is to come, It must be the duty of every Monovian-from the First Former to the School Captain, to ensure that the transition is effected as efficiently and dispassionately as possible.
Given this co-operation due to it, the new system will not fail. Just as in the nineteenth century, the school was reorganised for boys only, just as in this century, it accepted the rule of the County authorities, in place of its previously-independent status, just as it developed from a village school in one room to an urban establishment in a dozen acres, so will its spirit, its traditions and its standards accept this change-a change which is much less radical than George Monoux's original decision, four hundred and forty years ago, to provide for the education of the children of Walthamstow-itself an innovation, which, after all, was the start of it all.
Why, therefore, must we be bound to distrust change . . .?

C.C.P.

 

New Schools Planned, May 1966

 

A £600,000 schools building programme for Waltham Forest, for next financial year, has been submitted for Government approval by the Borough Education Committee.
Top priority, in the list of projects, is given to a new primary school in the Hall-Lane area of Chingford, designed to serve children who will be living on the 800 homes estate planned for the Chingford Hall site. Cost £75,000.
Alterations and additions to two High Schools - Leyton Boys and Chingford High--are also listed. Both schemes will cost £80,000,
Three new schools are planned - to replace Church Mead Infants, Leyton (£75,000) Henry Maynard Junior Boys and Girls Walthamstow (£100,000) and Thomas Gamuel Junior, Walthamstow (£100,000).
Also in the suggested work schedule are two new church schools to replace St. Joseph's (R.C.) primary, Leyton, and St. Mary's (R.C.) Primary, Walthamstow. Both projects will be financed by the Roman Catholic authorities,
Missing from the proposed programme for 1967-68 is the long delayed plan to rebuild Waltham Forest's "Cinderella " school - Chingford (C.of E.) Primary, in Kings Road.
But the Education Committee has called for a detailed report on the future development of the Church of England school to be considered at its next meeting.
The local committee is also seeking Ministerial approval to spend the £250.000 included in last year's building programme for a new school in Verulanam avenue Walthantstow - and at Tom Hood Technical School Leyton.
The replacement of Joseph Clark School for the Partially Sighted in Pretoria Avenue Walthamstow, by a new building close to Brookfield House School for the Physically Handicapped in Woodford Green, has also been suggested for the 1967-68 building programme.

 

Minutes of the Education Committee 20th June 1966

 

PRESENT:-
Chairman: Councillor Mrs. W. M. Palethorpe;
Vice-Chairman: Councillor A. L. Chamberlain;
Aldermen: Mrs L.D. Gum, W.J. Pearmine and Mrs E.V. Pearson;
Councillors. C.G. Abley, H.J. Berry, Mrs. E.M. Dare, M.C. Fish, C.W.G. Foxton, H.F. Fulton, T.C. Messenger, F.C. Newman, T.H. Oakman, A.M. O'Reilly, H.J.E. Palethorpe, G.R. Smith, Mrs V.A. Smith, Mrs. J.C. Ward and Miss D. Wrigley.
Messrs.: G.W. Cordrey, A.R. Summers and A. Watson,
The Very Revd. Canon John Walsh and Rev. Chas. E. Dawes.

THE ORGANISATION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Circular 10/65 (12th July) from the Department of Education and Science affirmed the Government's declared objective to end selection at eleven plus and to eliminate separatism in secondary education. The Government's policy had been endorsed by the House of Commons in a motion passed on 21st January, 1965;

"That this House, conscious of the need to raise educational standards at all levels, and regretting that the realisation of this objective is impeded by the separation of children into different types of secondary schools, notes with approval the efforts of local authorities to re-organise secondary education on comprehensive lines which will preserve all that is valuable in grammar school education for those children who now receive it and make it available to more children; recognises that the method and timing of such reorganisation should vary to meet local needs, and believes that the time is now right for a declaration of national policy."

The Secretary of State accordingly requested local education authorities, if they had not already done so, to prepare and submit to him plans for re-organising secondary education in their areas on comprehensive lines. For their guidance, the Circular gave details of the six main forms of comprehensive organisation which have so far emerged from experience and discussion, and contained observations on relevant general considerations.
The authorities were asked to submit plans to the Secretary of State for the re-organisation of secondary education in their areas on comprehensive lines within a year of the date of the Circular, although exceptionally an extension of this period might be agreed.

Following the consideration of the Circular by your Committee, through its Schools Sub-Committee on 13th September, 1965, we accepted the main conclusions of the Chief Education Officer that -
(1) Owing to the relatively small size of the existing secondary schools and the very limited sites available, comprehensive schools of the 11-18 age range were impracticable.
(2) Of the other comprehensive schemes, Scheme II of the circular, consisting of junior secondary schools from 11-14 and senior secondary schools from 14-18, appeared best to suit conditions in the Borough and also to have educational advantages over any other possible scheme,
and we decided that -

(1) Scheme II of Circular 10/65, with transfer of all pupils from junior secondary school to senior secondary school at 14 years, be adopted as a basis for discussion.
(2) The Chief Education Officer be authorised to hold discussions with teachers and others on the advantages and disadvantages of the scheme and to work out the implementation of his proposals in greater detail, particularly with respect to the transitional period.
(3) The Chief Education Officer be instructed to report again to us early in the New Year and that the whole question be then further considered.

On 28th February, 1966, the Chief Education Officer reported to our Schools Sub-Committee that he had addressed a considerable number of meetings of parents, teachers, governors and others, and on the representations received, as a result of which special meetings of the Sub-Committee were held on 5th and 6th April, 1966 to receive a number of deputations. The Chief Education Officer was also asked to draft a leaflet for circulation to parents.

Following consideration of a report on these two meetings, on 2nd May, 1966, we approved the recommendation of our Schools Sub-Committee that the Chief Education Officer should prepare for consideration by us prior to submission to the Department of Education and Science a scheme in detail on the lines previously submitted to us and accepted as a basis for discussion, i.e., Scheme II of Circular 10/65, with transfer of all pupils from junior secondary school to senior secondary school at 14 years.

Both we and our Schools Sub-Committee have now considered the detailed scheme prepared by the Chief Education Officer (set out in the Schedule to this Report and comprising a Statement and Appendices A, B and C), and we recommend its approval by the Council for submission to the Department of Education and Science in accordance with the requirements of Circular 10/65, together with any factual information required by the Department.
We wish to make it absolutely clear that our proposed re-organisation will come into force gradually and that all pupils now at Grammar or Technical Schools will be able to finish their courses in their present schools Similarly, all children admitted to Grammar and Technical Schools in September, 1966, will finish their courses in the schools to which they are admitted.

Through our Schools Sub-Committee we have also considered the Chief Education Officer's report on the consequences for certain schools which follow from the acceptance of the Scheme, and we recommend that -

(i) That no 11-year old children be admitted to Goodall School in September, 1966.
(ii) That the Chief Education Officer be authorised to inform the teachers and parents of Goodall School of the reasons why the Committee consider that the school should be discontinued in July, 1967, and invite their co-operation in bringing this about with the minimum of interruption to the education of the children.
(iii) That the Headmaster of Goodall Secondary School be invited to accept transfer, at a date to be fixed, to the Headship of the George Mitchell School.
(iv) That the Chief Education Officer be authorised to inform the Headmasters of Sidney Burnell and Heathcote Schools of the proposals for the future of their schools and to explain to each of them the reasons why, when re-organisation takes place, they may be required to accept other posts of comparable status, and to assure them that their salary position will be fully safeguarded.

We have decided that consideration of the general question of the safeguarding of teachers' salaries under re-organisation be deferred pending the outcome of national negotiations or the next Burnham Report, but that the Waltham Forest Joint Consultative Committee of Teachers be informed that the Council is fully alive to the importance of this matter and intends to implement fully any agreement that may be reached by the Burnham machinery.

SCHEDULE
A. GENERAL STATEMENT
The Council propose to establish as their long term solution a two-tier organisation with transfer at 14, i.e. at the end of the third secondary year. This would extend over the whole of the Authority's area. There is one aided Roman Catholic Secondary School within the Borough: discussion with the Roman Catholic Authorities has taken place informally, and those Authorities have agreed to re-organise on the same lines provided the Council assist them to find a site for a second secondary school. The Roman Catholic Authorities suggested that the Council might be able to make available to them a school building and site surplus to the Council's needs, and a proposal to this effect is made later in the detailed statement.
There is one independent school in the Borough (Forest School), but the Council do not take places there, and they assist with fees only in exceptional cases, The Council at present take about four places a year at Bancrofts School which is a Direct Grant School just outside the Borough (in fact in Redbridge). It is not thought that so few places are a significant factor in the Borough's plan for re-organisation since there will, for some time to come, be persons who have some special connection with the school which the Council would not wish to break at present.

B. DETAILED STATEMENT
(1) Appendix 'A' shows the proposals for individual schools. Although the Council wish to bring in re-organisation as quickly as possible, they do not think that this can be done in 1967, even though the age group which enters secondary education that year will be at school until 16+. The reason is that the present selective schools which are to become senior secondary schools will, with one exception, need to be expanded and improved since (a) they are old and inadequate for the present purpose and would need remodelling even as selective schools; (b), these senior high schools will bear the whole effect of the raising of the school leaving age; (c) to be satisfactory as senior secondary schools they need modifications to meet the requirements of an older age range of pupils.
(2) Until the Authority can be sure that there will be adequate and suitable accommodation in the senior secondary schools for the 14+ age groups on the conclusion of their junior secondary school course, they cannot put into force the transfer without selection from the primary schools to the junior secondary schools. There would be advantage in making the change in September, 1967, but unless the Department can assure the Authority of satisfactory Building Programmes for 1967/68 and 1968/69, it will be necessary to postpone the first year of the change to September, 1968.
Appendices 'B' and 'C' show the Building Programme proposals which are considered necessary.
(3)Apart from the need to meet the problem of transition from the present selective system to the new organisation, the Authority do not propose any interim arrangements. They regard the two-tier system they propose as a sound long-term solution [and as having advantages over a system of "all through" comprehensive schools with their long age range and largenumbers]. *NB part in square brackets crossed out in the bound copy of minutes.
(4) The Council (as the Department is already aware) wish to re-allocate the sum included in the 1965/66 Building Programme for a new secondary modern school in Verulam Avenue, Walthamstow. Their proposals for this re-allocation are included in the Appendices. There were no secondary school projects in the 1966/67 Building Programme.

(5) Although the Council attach great importance to the linking of particular junior secondary schools to particular senior secondary schools, and indeed, so far as is practicable, to the linking of particular primary schools with particular junior secondary schools, they intend to allow individual parents to "opt out" of the normal progression within linked schools at both 11 and at 14, insofar as places at other schools are available. Some elasticity in regard to under-age and over-age pupils, as has always existed in the transfer from primary schools to secondary schools, will be permitted where the interests of a particular child make earlier or later transfer appropriate, but the general principle that all children will move from the primary school to the junior secondary school at 11 years and will move from the junior secondary school to the senior secondary school at 14 years will be maintained.

(6) In order to ensure continuity in those aspects of the curriculum where it is essential and to bring about discussion and thought on both content and method in all fields of education, the Authority will encourage regular meetings of Head Teachers and subject teachers within each linked group. This will be in addition to any programme of curriculum discussion which may be set up for the Borough generally.

(7) In Appendix 'A' the term "VI Form" is used as defined by the Schools Council, that is, as embracing all pupils continuing beyond their fifth secondary year, together with any other pupils who have begun courses leading to 'A' level.
(8) The age groups for 1957-58, 1958-59 and 1959-60 at present in Primary Schools as follows:
In Catholic Primary Schools In all other Primary Schools
1957-58 230 (8 forms of 30) 2303 (77 forms of 30)
1958-59 260 (9 forms of 30) 2452 (82 forms of 30)
1959-60 233 (8 forms of 30) 2565 (86 forms of 30)

Using the normal basis of 30 per form, these figures justify an organisation which will accommodate an entry of 86 forms of non-catholic children, and of 8 forms of catholic children.
Growth beyond the 1959-60 age group must of course be allowed for, but the provision of accommodation for such growth must be left for later building programmes.

APPENDIX 'A' (SHOWING DETAILS OF EACH SCHOOL)
(Note; (1) The list is arranged in roughly geographical order from South to North; (2) Rolls as at January, 1966

Existing School Proposed future in long-term scheme.
1 Lake House Secondary Modern
Roll - 390 Junior Secondary School Mixed.Feeding (4 - Tom Hood) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
2 Goodall Secondary Modern Mixed,
Roll - 419 This school will not be required as a 'county' school. It is proposed to offer the building and site to the Roman Catholic Authorities.
3 Ruckholt Secondary Modern Mixed.Roll - 433 Junior Secondary School Mixed. Feeding (4 - Tom Hood) below. . 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
4 Tom Hood Technical High School.Grammar/Technical 11-18. Roll - 338 Senior Secondary School Mixed 14-18 receiving pupils from (1 - Lake House) and (3 - Ruckholt ) above.10-form entry - 600 pupils 14-16 plus sixth form of 150-200.
5 Connaught Secondary Modern Girls' Roll - 469  Junior Secondary Girls'.
Feeding (7 - Leyton Girls' High) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
6 Leyton Manor Secondary Modern Girls'
Roll - 348  Junior Secondary Girls'.
Feeding (7 - Leyton Girls' High) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
7 Leyton High School for Girls. Grammar School, Girls 11-18.
Roll - 455 Senior Secondary School Girls' 14 - 18.
10-form entry - 600 pupils 14 - 16 plus sixth form of 150-200.
Fed by (5 - Connaught Girls) and (6 - Leyton Manor Girls) above.
8  George Mitchell Secondary Modern Boys'
Roll - 468  Junior Secondary School Boys'.
Feeding (10 - Leyton Boys' High) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
9 Norlington Secondary Modern Boys' Roll - 426 Junior Secondary School Boys'
Feeding (10 - Leyton Boys' High) below, 5-form entry - 450 pupils
10 Leyton High School for Boys
Grammar School, Boys 11 - 18. Roll = 619 Senior Secondary School Boys 14 - 18.
10-form entry - 600 pupils 14-16 plus sixth form of 150-200.
Fed by (8 - George Mitchell) and (9 Norlington Boys') above.
11  Warwick. Secondary Modern Boys' Roll - 317 Junior Secondary School Boys'
Feeding (15 - Sir George Monoux ) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils
12  Warwick Secondary Modern Girls! Roll - 360 Junior Secondary School Girls'
Feeding (16 - Walthamstow Girls' High) 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
13 Chapel End Secondary Modern Mixed. Roll - 466 Junior Secondary School Mixed.
Feeding (15 - Sir George Monoux) and (16 - Walthamstow Girls! High) below, 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
14 William Fitt Secondary Modern Mixed. Roll - 411 Junior Secondary School Mixed.
Feeding (15 - Sir George Monoux) and (16 - Walthamstow Girls' High) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
15 Sir George Monoux School for Boys' Grammar 11 - 18. Roll - 573 Senior Secondary School Boys' 14 - 18.
10-form entry - 600 pupils 14-16 plus sixth form of 150-200. Fed by (11 - Warwick Boys), (13 - Chapel End) and (14 - William Fitt ) above.
16 Walthamstow High School for Girls'
Grammar 11 - 18. Roll - 471 Senior Secondary School Girls' 14 - 18.
10-form entry - 600 pupils 14 -16 plus
sixth form of 150-200. Fed by (12 - Warwick Girls'), (13 - Chapel End Mixed) and (14 - William Fitt) above.
17 Beaconsfield Secondary Modern Mixed
Roll - 319 Junior Secondary School Mixed - ultimately to be replaced by one large school (See Appendix '
Feeding (19 - William Morris) below. 4-form entry - 450 pupils.
18 William McGuffie Secondary ModernMixed.
Roll - 295 Junior Secondary School Mixed - ultimately to be replaced by one large school, (See Appendix ' Feeding (19 - William Morris) below. 4-form entry - 360 pupils.
19  William Morris Technical High.
Grammar/ Technical 11 - 18, Roll - 450  Senior Secondary School Mixed 14 - 18.
9-form entry - 540 pupils 14 - 16 plus sixth form of 180.
Fed by (17 - Beaconsfield Secondary Modern) (18 - William McGuffie Secondary Modern)
20 Willowfield Secondary Modern Mixed. Roll - 336 Junior Secondary School Mixed.
Feeding (22 - McEntee Technical) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils,
21 Sidney Chaplin Secondary Modern Mixed.
Roll - 410  Junior Secondary School Mixed.
Feeding (22 - McEntee Technical) below. 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
22 McEntee Technical School
Mixed Grammar/Technical 11 - 18. Roll - 557 Senior Secondary School Mixed 14 - 18. 10-form entry - 600 pupils 14 - 16 plus sixth form of 150-200. Fed by (20 - Willowfield Secondary) and (21 - Sidney Chaplin Secondary) above.
23 Heathcote Secondary Modern Mixed Roll - 481 Junior Secondary School Mixed
Feeding (24 - Sidney Burnell Secondary) below 8-form entry - 720 pupils.
24 Sidney Burnell Secondary Modern Mixed
Roll - 452  Senior Secondary School Mixed 14 - 18.
8-form entry - 480 pupils 14 - 16 plus sixth form of 120-160.
Fed by (23 - Heathcote Secondary) above.
25 Chingford Secondary Modern Boys' Roll - 469 Junior Secondary School Boys'
Feeding (27 - Chingford High School Mixed) 5-form entry - 450 pupils.
26 Chingford Secondary Modern Girls' Roll - 444 Junior Secondary School Girls'
Feeding (27 - Chingford High School Mixed) 5-form entry - 450 pupils
27 Chingford High School Mixed Grammar 11 - 18,
Roll - 526, Senior Secondary School Mixed 14 - 18. 10-form entry - 600 pupils 14 - 16 plus sixth form of 150-200.
Fed by (25 - Chingford Secondary Boys') and (26 - Clungford Secondary Girls') above,

ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Subject to further discussions with the Roman Catholic Authorities it is suggested that the existing
St, George's R, C, Secondary School (Secondary Modern) and the present County Secondary Modern School of Goodall (No, 2 above) shall form a two-tier system on the same basis as the rest of the Borough, and that the taking of places at Roman Catholic selective schools outside the Borough will then be discontinued.

APPENDIX 'B' - BUILDING PROPOSALS DURING INTERIM STAGE 1967-70. REFERENCE IS MADE WHERE NECESSARY TO PROPOSALS FOR 1970-72 IN CONNECTION WITH THE RAISING OF THE SCHOOL LEAVING AGE,

Schools are numbered as Appendix 'A' ("None" does not exclude the sort of minor improvements which would be required if schools continued in present use).
1.Lake House NONE
2. Goodall
3.Ruckholt Extensions to playground desirable. not possible to estimate.
4.Tom Hood Improvements and extensions £80,000 from Verulam Avenue project 1965/66. Further extensions in 1969/70 or 1970/71 to allow for the raising of the school leaving age. Site extension to 5 acres planned and necessary.
5.Connaught Girls' NONE
6.Ley ton Manor Girls' NONE '
7.Leyton Girls' High Extensions to increase capacity from present 550 to 750/800,
First instalment in 1968/69.
8.George Mitchell The school needs extensive re-modelling to provide indoor lavatories, proper dining facilities, etc., but it does not require extension.
9.Norlington Road Boys' NONE - but some extensions to site.
10.Leyton Boys' High Extensions to increase capacity from 600 to 800; additional specialist rooms; laboratories need re-modelling; lavatories and washrooms also. First stage included in proposed 1967/68 programme.
11. Warwick Boys' Re-modelling Scheme prepared several years ago will cost probably £80, 000 in all. First stage included in Verulam Avenue money 1965/66; probably about £20, 000.
12. Warwick Girls' NONE
13.Chapel End Improvements needed, but not extension,
14.William Fitt NONE
15.Sir George Monoux Extensions to increase capacity and to modernise a 1929 building: laboratories: VI form block and specialist rooms.
16.Walthamstow Girls' High Extensions to increase capacity from 550 to 750/800. Facilities generally satisfactory apart from total size.
17.Beaconsfield ) These two old elementary schools on restricted sites need to be
18.William McGuffie ) replaced by one new purpose-built junior Secondary School of 9-10 form entry. Until this can be done, minor alterations will keep them tolerable within their present deficiencies of site and building.
19. William Morris Technical This old elementary school, on a very restricted site needs to be replaced by a new purpose built Senior High School on a new site. Until this can be done, an improvement scheme using Verulam money will make the situation tolerable within limits. Cost ? £20, 000.
20. Willowfield NONE
21. Sidney Chaplin Some additional accommodation likely to be necessary in view of housing developments - probably £50, 000 in 1969/70.
22. McEntee Technical NONE - existing capacity 850
23. Heathcote Some additional classrooms, say £20, 000
24. Sidney Burnell Some additional accommodation for Science and VI forms, say £40, 000 in 1969/70.
25. Chingford Boys' NONE
26. Chingford Girls' NONE
27. Chingford High Considerable extensions, since this is basically a two-form entry pre-war Grammar School First stage included in 1967/68 ; programme. Second stage must be in 1969/70. Total accommodation number about 550, increase of 200 places necessary.

APPENDIX 'C' - SUMMARY OF BUILDING REQUIREMENTS FOR SECONDARY RE-ORGANISATION - BY PROGRAMME YEARS.
County Projects
1965-66 - Verulam Avenue School provision (£240, 000 net) re-allocated to:
(1) Tom Hood Technical High School (Senior Secondary School)
The school is basically still a 19th century three-decker elementary school, with some later additions. Modernisation is needed. Steps are being taken to obtain extension to site.
(2)Sir George Monoux Grammar School for Boys (Senior Secondary School)
This is a Grammar School of the 1920's under-provided for Science and VI formers. Modernisation and extension of practical rooms, plus VI form accommodation is needed.
(3)William Morris Technical High School (Senior Secondary School)
This is a 19th century elementary school with considerable later additions but on a very small site. Rebuilding elsewhere is the right solution, but some improvements are necessary to make the school tolerable for another five years.
(4)Warwick Secondary School for Boys (Junior Secondary School)
Plans for remodelling this as a Secondary Modern School were prepared some years ago but never carried out. It is basically a 19th century elementary school with some later additions. A gymnasium, modern lavatories, and a staff room are the minimum requirements. An Assembly Hall is also required.

1966-67 - There were no secondary or primary projects for Waltham Forest in this year.

1967-68 - The Authority has submitted a programme including
(1) Leyton High School for Boys
Additions and improvements - Stage I - £80, 000
(2)Chingford High School (Mixed)
Additions and improvements - Stage I - £80, 000
(These two projects are the first stage of adaptions and extensions to enlarge these schools to meet their new role. The second stage will come within the programme designed to meet the raising of the school age).

1968/69 - The Authority will submit a programme which will probably include:
Leyton High School for Girls .
Additions and improvements - Stage I - £80, 000
Walthamstow High School for Girls
Additions and improvements:;(complete and includes provision for the raising of the school leaving age)- £100, 000

1969/70 - The Authority will submit a programme which will probably include:
Sir George Monoux Grammar School (Senior Secondary School) Stage II £60, 000 (approx.)
Tom Hood Technical High School (Senior Secondary School) Stage II £60, 000 (approx. )
Chingford High School (Senior Secondary School) Stage II £70, 000 (approx. )
(These are basic needs to meet the raising of the school leaving age)

1970/71 - The Authority will submit a programme which will probably include: Leyton High School for Boys (Senior Secondary School)
Stage II £60, 000 (approx. )
Leyton High School for Girls (Senior Secondary School) Stage II £60, 000 (approx. )
(These are basic needs to meet the raising of the school leaving age)
(b) Voluntary Projects
There will be need for the following projects by the Roman Catholic Authorities:
(1) St. George's R. C. Secondary School - extension.
(2) Goodall Secondary School - remodelling
Possible figures are £40, 000 for (1) and £100, 000 for (2), but everything depends on the number of Roman Catholic pupils who will be catered for within the Borough, and how many continue to go outside,
The total "county" projects, excluding Verulam, amount to £650, 000 - although the projects are not yet costed, But £650, 000 spread over four years is not excessive since it includes the raising of the school leaving age.
There will remain many other improvement projects, notably the rebuilding of the William Morris Senior Secondary School and of Beaconsfield/William McGuffie, and the remodelling of George Mitchell Secondary School. One major project a year from 1971 onward should bring about a satisfactory position around 1975.

SOUTH WEST ESSEX TECHNICAL COLLEGE - ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATION
The Governors of the South West Essex Technical College and our Further Education Sub-Committee have grown increasingly concerned at the difficulties encountered by the College in matters of accommodation. The conditions at the Hoe Street Annexe in particular are unsatisfactory and call for immediate improvement, especially as the numbers of students in the courses housed there are likely to grow. We do not expect that the proposed new College of Further Education will be in existence for some years at least. Our Chairman and the Chairman of our Further Education Sub-Committee have visited the annexe and have discussed the problem with the Chief Education Officer and the Acting Principal.

July 1st 1966
Change Over Next Year?
A DETAILED plan for the soon-as-possible introduction of comprehensive secondary schooling in Waltham Forest will be submitted for Government approval from the monthly council meeting to-night (Friday).
One of the shock features of the scheme is the scheduled closure, in July, 1967, of another Waltham Forest School, Goodall Secondary. The buildings in Goodall Road, Leyton, will be offered to the Roman Catholic authorities for possible conversion to a Church school.
Two Walthamstow schools, George Gascoigne and Mark House, are closing later this month.
Under the comprehensive plan already approved by the borough Education Committee there will be 17 junior secondary schools feeding nine senior secondary schools. All children will transfer at the age of 14.
The borough's eight grammar and technical schools - Sir George Monoux, Walthamstow High, Leyton Boys High, Leyton Girls High, Chingford High, McEntee Technical, William Morris Technical and Tom Hood Technical, will become the senior secondary schools.
The ninth senior secondary school will be Sidney Burnell School in Highams Park, linking up with a new junior secondary school being created at Heathcote School, Chingford.
Introduction of the comprehensive system in Waltham Forest could take place in September, 1967. But this will be possible only if the Government gives its blessings to the early stages of a £900,000 school improvement building programme planned for the next five years. .
Delay, unless
"Unless the Department of Education and Science can assure us of satisfactory building programmes for the next two financial years, it will be necessary to postpone the first year of the change to September, 1968," the Council will tell the Government, in its detailed plan.
Lion's share of the planned improvements will be in the senior secondary schools, most of which must be enlarged to cope with increased numbers and to provide advanced teaching facilities for a school roll composed entirely of fourth, fifth and sixth- formers. "Until we can be sure that there will be suitable and adequate accommodation in the senior secondary schools for the 14-plus age group, on the conclusion of their junior secondary course, we cannot put into force the transfer without selection from the primary schools to the junior secondary schools" says the Council statement.
An assurance previously given by the Education Committee has been restated this week. All children who have begun a grammar or technical school course before the new system is introduced will be permitted to complete the course.
This means that only in their early years the new secondary schools will be two schools in one catering for a slowly diminishing number of selective scholars who will be "relics" of the old system plus a yearly intake of 14-plus children of all abilities.
Goodall School Leyton, is due to close at the end of next school year. No 11-year-old children will be admitted this September. Headmaster Mr John Binner is being offered a transfer to George Mitchell School Leyton to succeed Mr Frank Bassett, who is retiring soon.

Assurance to teachers

The Headmasters of Heathcote School Chingford, Mt Ronald Woods and of Sidney Burnell School, Highams Park, Mr H.G. Paul are also being warned that they may be asked to take new posts when the reorganisation begins.
Teachers receive this assurance from their employers, the Council: "We are fully alive to the importance of the safeguarding of salaries, under the reorganisation, and we will implement fully any agreement that may be reached by the Burnham machinery.
The Council statement to the government stresses that 1967 would be a desirable time to introduce the changeover. But this is not possible until the necessary work on the new senior secondary schools, they will bear the full cost of raising the school leaving age to 16, has been authorised.
2We regard the two tier system now proposed as a sound long-term solution and as having advantages over a system of "all through" comprehensive schools with their long age range and large numbers," says the Council statement.
The statement admits that the Council attaches great importance to linking particular junior secondary schools to specified senior secondary schools, one will feed the other. But parents are assured that they will be given a chance to state a preference as to which schools their children attend. Wishes will be honoured, if places are available.
The Council will encourage regular meetings of head teachers and subject teachers within each linked group, in the borough as a whole.

Eight Groups
Waltham Forest's secondary schools will be divided into eight groups under the scheme suggested to the Government. Here are the groupings:

Walthamstow
Junior Secondary Schools
Warwick Boys (450 pupils), Warwick Girls (450), Chapel End (450),
feeding Secondary Senior Schools,
Sir George Monoux (600) and Walthamstow Girls High (600)
Junior Schools,
Beaconsfield (450), and William McGuffie (300)
Feeding Senior School William Morris Technical (540)
Junior Schools,
Willowfield (450) and Sidney Chaplin (450)
Feeding Senior School McEntee

Leyton
Junior Schools
Lake House (450), and Ruckholt (450)
Feeding Senior School
Tom Hood Technical (600)
Junior Schools
Connaught Girls (450) and Leyton Manor Girls (450)
Feeding Senior School Leyton Girls High (600)
Junior Schools
George Mitchell Boys (450) and Norlington Boys (450)
Feeding Senior School
Leyton Boys High (600)

Highams Park Chingford
Junior School
Heathcote (720)
Feeding Senior School
Sidney Burnell (480)

Chingford
Junior Schools
Chingford Boys (450) and Chingford Girls (450)
Feeding Senior School
Chingford High (600)

Building Plans
Extensions to most of the new senior secondary schools will form the basis of future building programmes submitted by Waltham Forest Council for Government approval.
But there are more ambitious proposals for William Morris tech where the old group of buildings need to be replaced by a new purpose built senior high school.
Another long term plan is to replace Beaconsfield and William McGuffie schools in Walthamstow with a single purpose built junior secondary school.
Abandonment of the scheme to build an all-age comprehensive school in Verulam Avenue Walthamstow, has left the Council with £240,000 in the education building "kitty."
This money is being spent on immediate improvements to Tom Hood Technical, Leyton; Sir George Monoux Grammar, William Morris Technical and Warwick Boys Walthamstow.
These are the projects due for submission in years to come as part of the reorganisation scheme and the raising of the leaving age to 16.
1967-68 - Additions and improvements to Leyton Boys High (£80,000) and Chingford High (£80,000).
1968-69 - Additions and improvements to Walthamstow Girls High (£100,000) and Leyton Girls High (£80,000).
1969-70 - Stage two improvements to Sir George Monoux Grammar (£60,000) Tom Hood Technical (£60,000), and Chingford High (£70,000).
1970-71 - Stage two improvements to Leyton Boys High (£60,000), and Leyton Girls High (£60,000).

 

Walthamstow Guardian; New Schools Setup July 1st 1966

 

July 1st 1966
Change Over Next Year?
A DETAILED plan for the soon-as-possible introduction of comprehensive secondary schooling in Waltham Forest will be submitted for Government approval from the monthly council meeting to-night (Friday).
One of the shock features of the scheme is the scheduled closure, in July, 1967, of another Waltham Forest School, Goodall Secondary. The buildings in Goodall Road, Leyton, will be offered to the Roman Catholic authorities for possible conversion to a Church school.
Two Walthamstow schools, George Gascoigne and Mark House, are closing later this month.
Under the comprehensive plan already approved by the borough Education Committee there will be 17 junior secondary schools feeding nine senior secondary schools. All children will transfer at the age of 14.
The borough's eight grammar and technical schools - Sir George Monoux, Walthamstow High, Leyton Boys High, Leyton Girls High, Chingford High, McEntee Technical, William Morris Technical and Tom Hood Technical, will become the senior secondary schools.
The ninth senior secondary school will be Sidney Burnell School in Highams Park, linking up with a new junior secondary school being created at Heathcote School, Chingford.
Introduction of the comprehensive system in Waltham Forest could take place in September, 1967. But this will be possible only if the Government gives its blessings to the early stages of a £900,000 school improvement building programme planned for the next five years. .
Delay, unless
"Unless the Department of Education and Science can assure us of satisfactory building programmes for the next two financial years, it will be necessary to postpone the first year of the change to September, 1968," the Council will tell the Government, in its detailed plan.
Lion's share of the planned improvements will be in the senior secondary schools, most of which must be enlarged to cope with increased numbers and to provide advanced teaching facilities for a school roll composed entirely of fourth, fifth and sixth- formers. "Until we can be sure that there will be suitable and adequate accommodation in the senior secondary schools for the 14-plus age group, on the conclusion of their junior secondary course, we cannot put into force the transfer without selection from the primary schools to the junior secondary schools" says the Council statement.
An assurance previously given by the Education Committee has been restated this week. All children who have begun a grammar or technical school course before the new system is introduced will be permitted to complete the course.
This means that only in their early years the new secondary schools will be two schools in one catering for a slowly diminishing number of selective scholars who will be "relics" of the old system plus a yearly intake of 14-plus children of all abilities.
Goodall School Leyton, is due to close at the end of next school year. No 11-year-old children will be admitted this September. Headmaster Mr John Binner is being offered a transfer to George Mitchell School Leyton to succeed Mr Frank Bassett, who is retiring soon.

Assurance to teachers

The Headmasters of Heathcote School Chingford, Mt Ronald Woods and of Sidney Burnell School, Highams Park, Mr H.G. Paul are also being warned that they may be asked to take new posts when the reorganisation begins.
Teachers receive this assurance from their employers, the Council: "We are fully alive to the importance of the safeguarding of salaries, under the reorganisation, and we will implement fully any agreement that may be reached by the Burnham machinery.
The Council statement to the government stresses that 1967 would be a desirable time to introduce the changeover. But this is not possible until the necessary work on the new senior secondary schools, they will bear the full cost of raising the school leaving age to 16, has been authorised.
2We regard the two tier system now proposed as a sound long-term solution and as having advantages over a system of "all through" comprehensive schools with their long age range and large numbers," says the Council statement.
The statement admits that the Council attaches great importance to linking particular junior secondary schools to specified senior secondary schools, one will feed the other. But parents are assured that they will be given a chance to state a preference as to which schools their children attend. Wishes will be honoured, if places are available.
The Council will encourage regular meetings of head teachers and subject teachers within each linked group, in the borough as a whole.

Eight Groups
Waltham Forest's secondary schools will be divided into eight groups under the scheme suggested to the Government. Here are the groupings:

Walthamstow
Junior Secondary Schools
Warwick Boys (450 pupils), Warwick Girls (450), Chapel End (450),
feeding Secondary Senior Schools,
Sir George Monoux (600) and Walthamstow Girls High (600)
Junior Schools,
Beaconsfield (450), and William McGuffie (300)
Feeding Senior School William Morris Technical (540)
Junior Schools,
Willowfield (450) and Sidney Chaplin (450)
Feeding Senior School McEntee

Leyton
Junior Schools
Lake House (450), and Ruckholt (450)
Feeding Senior School
Tom Hood Technical (600)
Junior Schools
Connaught Girls (450) and Leyton Manor Girls (450)
Feeding Senior School Leyton Girls High (600)
Junior Schools
George Mitchell Boys (450) and Norlington Boys (450)
Feeding Senior School
Leyton Boys High (600)

Highams Park Chingford
Junior School
Heathcote (720)
Feeding Senior School
Sidney Burnell (480)

Chingford
Junior Schools
Chingford Boys (450) and Chingford Girls (450)
Feeding Senior School
Chingford High (600)

Building Plans
Extensions to most of the new senior secondary schools will form the basis of future building programmes submitted by Waltham Forest Council for Government approval.
But there are more ambitious proposals for William Morris tech where the old group of buildings need to be replaced by a new purpose built senior high school.
Another long term plan is to replace Beaconsfield and William McGuffie schools in Walthamstow with a single purpose built junior secondary school.
Abandonment of the scheme to build an all-age comprehensive school in Verulam Avenue Walthamstow, has left the Council with £240,000 in the education building "kitty."
This money is being spent on immediate improvements to Tom Hood Technical, Leyton; Sir George Monoux Grammar, William Morris Technical and Warwick Boys Walthamstow.
These are the projects due for submission in years to come as part of the reorganisation scheme and the raising of the leaving age to 16.
1967-68 - Additions and improvements to Leyton Boys High (£80,000) and Chingford High (£80,000).
1968-69 - Additions and improvements to Walthamstow Girls High (£100,000) and Leyton Girls High (£80,000).
1969-70 - Stage two improvements to Sir George Monoux Grammar (£60,000) Tom Hood Technical (£60,000), and Chingford High (£70,000).
1970-71 - Stage two improvements to Leyton Boys High (£60,000), and Leyton Girls High (£60,000).

Comp-Ed scheme goes to whitehall July 1966 Guardian

Only minor rumblings from the opposition benches threatened the smooth passage through Waltham Forest Council on Friday of the two-tier comprehensive secondary education system planned for the borongh.
There was an eleventh hour "Save the Grmmar School" cry from a lonely Conservative member Cllr. Harry Fulton and Ratepayers members sniped at some aspects of the scheme - notably the delaying effect from a shortage of Government cash needed to finance essential school improvements.
Finally the scheme, received Council approval by an overwhelming majority and now passes to Mr. Anthony Crosland, Secretary of State for Education and Science, for a final decision.
The Council's action sounded the death-knell of Goodhall Secondary School Leyton, due to close in September, 1967, because its antiquated premises have no place in the new scheme of things.
Under the comp-ed. Plan Waltham Forest is split into eight groups, each one embracing junior secondary schools and senior secondary schools.
All children will spend three years in a neighbourhood junior secondary school, transferring at the age of 14 to a secondary school - where they may remain until ready to sit their G.C.E. A level exams.
The scheme could be introduced next year. But the change-over is more likely to come in 1968; a 12-month delay expected to result from the non-availability of money needed to raise the accommodation standards of the senior secondary schools.

A MERE FACADE
Opening his attack on the new system at Friday's meeting Cllr. Fulton came immediately to the point. "We are doing the wrong thing in disposing of the grammar schools."
The Socialists had made up their minds about the system to be introduced six months' ago, and period of public opinion testing by the Education Committee had been a mere facade, claimed Cllr. Fulton.
No good schools should be lost in "a wilderness of comprehension" and the provision should have been made in the new system for the peaceful coexistence of comprehensive and grammar schools.
Many Council members' own children had benefited from the advantages of grammar school education and it was deplorable that these opportunities were to be denied future generations in the town.
With the demise of the grammar school would also go the present quality of attainment in the borough, claimed Cllr. Fulton
The standardisation of education would also result in a decline of interest among children Cllr, Fulton believed. And this would result in more and more children leaving school as soon as they were able to do so.
Calling for a delay in the new system, Cllr. Fulton suggested: "Try out a fully comprehensive scheme when time and money is available." As an alternative he favoured the retention of the present selective system.
"A FALSEHOOD"
Voice of the Ratepayers Association Cllr. H.J. Berry Suggested that the scheme was far too optimistic and took account of too many imponderables - the proposed school leaving age being raised on a given date, the availability of money needed for school improvements, the continuing shortage of teachers, retention of parents' choice in their children's education.
The scheme has been devised to fit the school buildings we have - so we have a built-in weakness from the start<" said Cllr. Berry. "Other weaknesses will show up as the system goes on.
Cllr. Berry also expressed misgivings about the part to be played within the comprehensive framework by church schools.
Anxious to preserve the parental choice of schools for their children, Cllr. Berry mentioned the problems that could result from an inordinately large number of schools being removed.
The suggestion that Grammar schools were being thrown onto the scrap-heap was a falsehood, declared Cllr. Foxton. The tradition of the best schools would be maintained in their new forms by the continuing enthusiasm of the teachers and children matched by that of the local authority.
The suggestion that more children would leave at as early an age as possible was also refuted by Cllr. Foxton. "The system which we are putting forward will encourage children to stay on beyond the age of 16" he said.
Under the present selective system, secondary modern school education ended abruptly at 16, he pointed out. But in the new comprehensive schools children would be encouraged to stay on beyond 16 by the example of others.
On parents' choice, Cllr. Foxton had this to say: "This will be no more limited in the future than it has been in the past."

SCHEME WILL WORK
Closing the discussions, Education Committee chairman Cllr. Mrs: Winrfrid M. Palethorpe said she and her Committee were certain the new scheme was going to work.
On the question of possible staff shortages, the chairman posed a new question. "Why shouldn't a borough with the fine reputation which we have been for looking after our staff be able to attract the right teachers?"
On the possibilities of delay, Cllr. Mrs Palethorpe conjectured: "If we are going to wait, the time will never be right and the money will never be there. This scheme must go through new for the sake of our children."

 

Comp-Ed scheme explained

 

Before they went home for the summer holidays, all Waltham Forest schoolchildren were this week handed copies of a yellow booklet detailing the comprehensive education scheme planned for the borough.

Prepared in question and answer form, the booklet should settle the minds of the many mums and dads who view the educational future of their children with some trepidation.

The No. 1 question inevitably is "Why is reorganisation on comprehensive lines, considered by the council to be desirable?"
The answer is a simple and expected one: The 11-plus examination is no longer an effective method of sorting the clever from the not so clever, nor is the separation of children into different type of schools considered desirable in an increasingly classless society.

What then are the Waltham Forest proposals?
At the age of 11 the primary school children will move to a junior secondary school until the age of 14.

Doesn't this mean that some children might be in the senior secondary school only one year?
No, the scheme will not come fully into operation until the school leaving age has been raised to 16.
Advantages

What are the advantages claimed for the system?
Both junior and senior schools gain by having a smaller age range. The junior secondary school becomes attuned to the interests of the 11 to 14 child, while the upper school can develop into a much more mature type of community.

Wouldn't 13 be a better age, since it would give the upper school more time to prepare for school exams?
Certainly it would give the upper school more time, but at the cost of giving the junior secondary school less. The council feels that so long as the transition from primary to secondary is at the age of 11, the junior secondary course should not be shorter than three years.

Why Rejection?

Why did the council reject the all-through comprehensive school of 11 - 18?
All the existing school buildings in Waltham Forest are too small to be used as such schools without a vast amount of rebuilding. To adopt such a scheme would have meant postponing the introduction.

Will all new secondary schools be coeducational?
No. The council will not change the present balance of single-sex and co-educational secondary schools. Both have their different merits.

Won't the standard of work in primary schools suffer from the lack of an 11-plus exam?
On the contrary the 11-plus is not an incentive. It is a brake on the development of the primary school.

 

Fred Sylvester's maiden speech house of Commons 12th December 1967

 

Education Bill
12 DECEMBER 1967 Second Reading
4.51 p.m.

Mr. Frederick Silvester (Walthamstow, West):
The constituency to which I have just been elected is diminishing in size - the Boundary Commission is constantly looking at it with reforming zeal - but the House will agree that it is showing in its old age a continued independence of spirit. Part of this is due to the work of former Members and candidates, whose work I have the honour to inherit. The House will know that Earl Attlee once represented Walthamstow, West.
I want to say something special about my immediate predecessor, Mr. Redhead. It is appropriate that this occasion should have arisen in an education debate. Mr. Redhead was Member for Walthamstow, West for 11 years. In that time he espoused many causes, but he had a special interest in education, and I know that his period of office as Minister of State for Education was a great joy to him. The House will know better than I the considerable contribution which he made as a Member, and I add my tribute to the work that he did in Walthamstow. He served for many years both on the council and in the House. He was, therefore, in a unique position to look after the interests of his constituents, which he did unstintingly. He was always forwarding their advantage. I suppose that we disagreed on almost every political issue we ever discussed, but it is an honour to recall his service to the people whom I now represent.
This Bill is, in many respects, non controversial. One aspect which particularly engages my attention and receives my support is that it seems to be safeguarding the local involvement in education. The trouble that I find with most debates on education is that it is much easier to discuss the theory than the practice. The strongest influences in education are the state of the buildings, the quality of the staff and the encouragement of pupils in their homes. These are essentially specific, detailed and local matters. It is, therefore, of great importance that we should give maximum emphasis to local opinion in matters concerning education.
I am glad that this Bill recognises, to some extent, the importance of local involvement. It makes clear that public notice will now be required and local objections may now be given where changes in the character of a school are involved. This, I think, is good. However, as I think was said earlier, the important thing will not so much be the legal safeguards which will be operated as a result of this Bill, but the attitude of mind which will govern the administration of education under the law.
One thing of which we can be sure is that quite small groups of people are affected by decisions in education. We should not, therefore, concern ourselves simply with the numbers of people involved; but with the local susceptibilities on quite a narrow scale.
This Bill arises out of the Enfield situation. I will not go into that again. One thing which struck me about the Enfield affair was that the activities of the parents were motivated by a feeling of frustration in that decisions were being rushed through and they were not, therefore, able to play a meaningful part in the future plans of the schools involved. To some extent, this feeling exists in Waltham Forest, where both the Minister's constituency and my own are situated. There have been many discussions, but they have always been in the nature of trying to wring minor concessions from a predetermined plan rather than a debate on the question: What form should secondary education take in this borough bearing in mind its peculiarities, its resources, and its traditions?
I ask hon. Members opposite to believe that when I speak of delay and tireless discussion about schemes of comprehensive education, it is not from a desire to kill them off. The Minister last Thursday said that there was a general tide in favour of comprehensive education. I think he is probably right. I doubt the wisdom of this in many respects, but I accept it. However, I can see no great case for rushing. There is not enough public interest in education.

Mrs. Renee Short (Wolverhampton, North-East) : Nonsense.

Mr. Silvester : I think it is true that there is not enough public interest in education, or at least we can agree that we would like more of it. If we rush too much we may damage any enthusiasm which has been aroused, and demoralise those people who devote trouble and time to education. This is something we should seriously seek to avoid.
There is another danger in rushing. We cannot over-emphasise the importance of established schools for the tradition of education in the localities in which they are situated. For many people - particularly working class families and their children - the schools which have existed over a large number of years have been their first major contact with the importance of education. The parental support which some of these schools get is a very real factor in the enthusiasm which parents can give to their children and to their educational development. New schools will in time develop just that same support - I would not suggest otherwise - but it seems to be a danger to try and do this in one go over the whole of the local authority area. There are advantages in going slowly.
There are plenty of cases where urgency is required in education. Nursery schools in high flats is one. An understanding of what to do with the extra year when the school-leaving age is raised is another. If the Minister would like to celebrate my maiden speech with an act of generosity, I can suggest some capital works in Walthamstow, West which we should be delighted to have.
What I am trying to make clear about rushing is that, even if one is a convinced supporter of comprehensive education, there can be nothing but good to come out of a state of mind which will permit one to take it at a more realistic pace. The corollary is that if one goes at a more measured pace and does not stimulate local offence, it may be necessary to recognise that, for a period of years at least, the organisation of secondary education may not be uniform over a whole local government area.
The Minister's reactions to the I.L.E.A. proposal will be interesting, because this is just such a proposal in which comprehensive, grammar, junior and senior high schools and some other secondary schools, and, I believe, sixth form colleges, are planned to subsist together. I believe that is possible. I do not believe that there will necessarily be any administrative chaos.
It will; be recalled that in 1965 in the I.L.E.A. it was possible for parents to have a free choice of the schools to which they wanted their children to go. I understand that it was possible for the authority to place 85 per cent. of the children in the schools of their first choice. That was arrived at by parents and teachers discussing the matter together. There is a lot more sense than people give credit for in the way in which parents approach the education of their children.
I have taken up the time of the House long enough. I am very glad that this Bill has been brought forward. It will certainly have my support. I would add that, in the carrying out of this massive programme of reform of secondary education, we should be prepared to accept concessions to local feelings both in the matter of the speed with which we take it forward and the willingness to accept variety in the forms of education in local authority areas, at least for a certain period of time.

 

Memories of Monoux in the mid 60s

 

By Chris Abbess, Mathematics teacher, 1963-1969
Teaching was not my original career choice. I had trained as an aeronautical engineer and was working for the Folland Aircraft firm at Hamble and prospects became very dim when cutbacks were announced by the Ministry of Defence in the early sixties. A switch to teaching seemed to be a viable alternative after postgraduate training at Southampton University.

VJ Stirrup was very keen to acquire extra mathematics staff, especially one who would help out with the requirement for scripture teaching, following the pattern of the Agreed Syllabus current at the time. My ambition was just to teach in the lower school and to leave the sixth form work to those with mathematics degrees. I found the first year quite challenging. For all the preparation given in the certificate course, the problem is turning the theory into practice. I was pleased when the year was over since I was able to gain the confidence that was necessary to "earn an honest income" to support the young family I had recently acquired. In retrospect Monoux was a happy place to be - interesting work with some hard effort and a good response from intelligent children who could be cheeky and naughty at times and a source of considerable amusement.

I was certainly teased about my practice of arrival by bicycle, the car had to be sold to pay off the solicitor's fees after buying a flat in London! I was also teased about my Hampshire accent, by the extra loud 'Amen' after saying grace in the school canteen at lunchtime. One new experience I hadn't bargained for was the request to umpire in a school cricket match. I was only asked once!
Teaching mathematics led me to learn a lot of things properly and I still have a file of notes that I made as I progressed through the teaching process. This was especially important when Mr Rayner persuaded me to take up sixth form Applied Mathematics - he said it would be just right for an engineer! Later on I was persuaded to take on Pure Mathematics because Tubby Taylor had too many students, some of which had transferred to Monoux from local Secondary Modern Schools for sixth form studies. I did not stop lower school work and I also continued with the scripture lessons. I suppose I didn't realise it at the time, but I was telling stories from the Bible that had not been heard before and perhaps I was oblivious of the passage of time or the level of light in the classroom. On one occasion, the deputy head, Mr Jenkins was doing his rounds and observed a class in deep gloom during a scripture lesson. He stopped, entered, switched on the light and uttered the Latin phrase 'Fiat lux' before proceeding on his way.

One thing I was involved with really took off and created a life of its own. I had been intrigued by the use of computers in aircraft design procedures in my former employment and I jumped at the chance to join in a week end computing course for teachers at ICL's offices at Putney. The outcome of my interest was the starting of an extra mural Computer Club - mainly aimed at older boys. There were classes in school and these were followed up by practice sessions at the town hall. Harry Oven who looked after the town hall computer agreed to let the boys from the club punch out their 'programs' and test them on the town hall computer. In fact I was not present at these sessions and the computer club boys grew so knowledgeable about the use of the computer that they were able to operate the computer by themselves. This was regarded, eventually, as a 'risk' and the sessions were brought to a close. This was not the end of the computer club however since we were 'compensated' by the provision of a small 'desk top' Olivetti programmable calculator with which the club members could learn how to program solutions to numerical problems.

Having settled in at Monoux as a fairly traditional grammar school maths teacher you could imagine my concern about the comprehensive education proposal. Not so much the principle involved, but I wondered how my teaching methods would have to change to cope with the changeover. I was particularly concerned by the need for three age bands and the changeover at age 14 from Junior High to Senior High schools. Surely this was the worst age for transfer, right in the middle of adolescence for most of the boys? The interim plan mixing selected boys with some unselected boys from the feeder schools also seemed problematic. I agreed to take on a class of mixed ability pupils from the feeder schools and after six months I decided that I should start looking elsewhere for future employment. I felt that I had been down graded to childminder and that my teaching skills were not being used to good effect. I managed to find a post at Enfield College of Technology to teach Computing and Systems Analysis starting from May 1969 - with arrangements to keep in contact with my current A level pupils approaching their examinations. Perhaps I overreacted to the situation, clearly after the changeover period the new system became established and ran smoothly, at least as far as three of my own children were concerned, though I noted that by the time my fourth child approached secondary age the break at fourteen had been put back to sixteen plus. If I have a gripe it would be that the needs of children are to be put before administrative convenience. Personally, I am in favour of 11 to 18 education in one environment, very strong links are made in these formative years that are important in the community context.

As for me, I remained based at Enfield until retirement. Enfield CoT became Middlesex Polytechnic and later Middlesex University. I retrained, part-time, as a Statistician and took a research interest in Road Transport. I can still be observed cycling through Walthamstow from time to time in connection with my duties as a Volunteer Sustrans Ranger on a small part of the National Cycle Network.

18th August 2004.

 

 

 

Reflections on Monoux, 1966 on

 

Jean-Pierre (Duncan) Kirkland, teacher at Sir George Monoux 1966 - 74.

I joined the staff of Sir George Monoux in September 1966 straight from The Institute of Education. My teaching was principally geography with some economics and one period a week of RE.
When I joined the school, it was a selective three-form intake school. The school was about 600 in number with around 150 in the 6h form. I shall revert to the old pre-National Curriculum years as that is how they were then known. At the end, I have added some personal reflections and memories of staff.

My geography teaching was largely contained to the lower end of the school. Ken Salmond, head of geography, did not like teaching first and second years 'as they were fidgety and kept dropping things on the floor. Very irritating.' So I inherited all the geography in the first year, two of the three second year classes and one on the third year classes. I had one period a week of 6th form climatology. My economics was one fourth year class, one fifth year class and two sixth form groups, plus a second year RE. This gave me a very interesting overview of the introduction of comprehensive education.

Vincent Jackson Stirrup(VJS), BA, JP was head with Arthur Jenkins (AJ), MA as deputy. Peter Couch (PC) was nominally in charge of the sixth form. Harry J Hyde lovingly called these three the 'triumvirate'. VJS was coming towards the end of his career but when Waltham Forest, then only in its third year of formation announced the change to comprehensive education, he announced that it was his duty to see its introduction and implementation before he retired. There was no preparation for staff for what was to come. Waltham Forest had decided on a three-tier system of First schools, Junior High and Senior High, which was what Sir George Monoux was to become. We were to accept approximately 90 pupils into the fourth year in lieu of any first formers in 1967, with the same for 1968 and 1969 until the 'stem' had gone. Many staff expressed reservations about the likely 'quality' of the new intake, and there was a rush to secure the Times Educational Supplement on Friday mornings as staff sought better pastures elsewhere.

The folly of the new comprehensive arrangements really came with hindsight. Monoux was a 'proud' school with a rich and celebrated history and reputation. Many of those who had 'failed' to get a place there at 11 years old were very resentful at 'magnanimously' being allowed to finish their education there. Others just resented the change so late in their education, while others were totally bemused by the whole affair. What was appalling was that the school leaving age was still 15; this meant that approximately 30% of the new intake into the fourth year were eligible to leave after only two terms in their new school, and this was to continue for a further four years until 1971. (pupils whose 15th birthday fell before January 31st could leave at Easter under the regulations then). Many of those coming new to the school had already decided they were going to leave at Easter. The two terms at Monoux were just a joke and they proceeded to disrupt as much as possible. These pupils had no allegiance to the school, resented being 'shoved' here and set out to be as big a pain as they could. Many succeeded and very effectively. They became a great headache for the staff and in particular for that bastion of discipline, AJ, knicknamed 'Nero', of course.
This, however, was the least of the problems. No-one in authority had given training on curriculum modification. Many of these pupils coming in had been following a different syllabus from the Monoux one; there was little if any attempt at co-ordination between the schools in those early days. Those with lower ability were forced to cope with too high an academic diet as staff were largely unprepared. The Triumvirate decision was that there should be strict streaming with those coming in kept separate from those who had been in the school for three years. We thus ran a grammar school and secondary modern within the same building for the first year, gradually changing as the new intake numbers rose and the whole system needed review. Sadly, neither VJS nor AJ had an answer to this, the LEA were next to useless in terms of curriculum development, and PC left to go as deputy to McEntee in summer 1968. His replacement, the indomitable Ian Shaw, did his best, but he at that time was an academic with his sights and energies clearly on Oxbridge for the more able.

There are some amusing anecdotes however. I remember VJS trying to convince Mr Abbess, who taught maths, that it was perfectly feasible to teach lower level maths and succeed. He took over one of Chis Abbess's lower sets. He tried teaching the measurement of area (now in Year 2 or 3 of the National Curriculum!). VJS brought one of his pupils into the office in front of Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Lewis to prove how simple it was to teach area. He asked the boy to show him how to measure the area of the office door to prove his point. The boy stood there gawping with an exasperated VJS trying to make him recall the two forty minute lessons they had spent on multiplying length times breadth. The poor boy, who probably had some form of special learning needs, could not even remember the terms length or breadth. VJS was utterly dejected as he walked back to his office across the entrance hall muttering 'I give up'.

Mr Tomlin was the caretaker and I am sure was the role-model for the subsequent TV Grange Hill caretaker! He interrupted staff meetings that overran by popping his head around the staff room door and abruptly announcing that he was locking up in ten minutes. His array of garden gnomes was the pride of Chingford Road, and long before an episode in Coronation Street, some went missing with accompanying ransom notes. (I wonder if we had a TV script writer amongst the pupils at that time!). Perhaps the most memorable incident was when some fifth formers played a practical joke on him. He had a 'coal hole' at the north end of the school. As he was emerging one lunchtime, the pupils dropped a 2 lb bag of flour on his head. Instead of going back down and brushing the stuff off, he trailed all the way up the stairs, along the top corridor, leaving a long white line of flour behind him, to the old staff room in the south west corner, entered and stood looking like the abominable snowman and exclaimed 'Look what they've done to me'. It was hard not to burst out laughing.

On a more serious note, the introduction of the comprehensive system was nothing short of a disaster. Many pupils failed to learn in those final terms at Monoux because the staff had no experience, there was no proper preparation and the syllabus content was totally inappropriate. Worse was to come. Within 2 years, increasingly large waves of displaced Bangladeshi immigrants stated arriving, along with Pakistanis and some Indians. Many had little or no English language skills. The numbers rose dramatically over the next few years and many were not given any real support or help by the LEA until the mid-70s. Many LEAs were similarly unprepared for this, but it hit Monoux staff hard coming as it did right on the heels of the comprehensive changes. There was a frustration among the staff; many key and very good staff left - Brian Pollard, head of English, Ian Shaw head of sixth form and history, several solid class teachers as well as VJS himself. I suppose I was fortunate in having only recently come from teacher training. In my first wave of new intake fourth years, I spotted 6 good pupils - they, with additional help from extra lessons in the lunchtime or after school, all got 'O' levels in economics the following year. A couple of them still keep in contact with me and two recently said I was one of the very few staff who treated them as humans! I find that very sad. It must have been far worse for them than we realised at the time. Interestingly, the year of my 'O' level success was also the year I got 4 pupils into Cambridge on Economics scholarships, and two of them are still in contact with me. (one was responsible for the flour on Mr Tomlin, by the way!).

It was Mr Brockman who brought the real comprehensive system into being in the school. He appointed a second deputy head and established a pastoral system. He had come from Hackney who were years ahead of Waltham Forest in their thinking.

The anecdotes are sometimes quite powerful metaphors now for our inability to cope. One pupil used to ride his cycle up the front flower beds in the mornings. We laughed at him. No one thought to try to find out why he behaved like this or to explain to him this was wrong. He was simply shouted at and put in detention. He liked the attention, so he kept doing it, and never did his detentions anyway. Mods and rockers with skin-heads were the fashion. Many pupils wore braces and boots. VJS in one assembly, showing how sadly out of touch he was with youth culture said 'I cannot think what possesses any of you to come to school in boots. We are not an agricultural institution'. Equally only a couple of years later, Brockman was to make a similar faut pas by basing the assembly around what he called 'tomorrow men', quoting Shakespeare in the middle. The message was completely lost on half the school who fell about laughing while the rest who understood did not take it seriously. Poor AJ had one hell of a time trying to keep order in those awful assemblies of his.

Looking back on those years, they were pretty grim. I saw a proud and at times very purposeful and meaningful school all but destroyed. VJS saw it as a challenge which was his big mistake; the LEA rushed it through to please Shirley Williams - they did not think it through and it was a disaster. The staff were totally unprepared and it affected many careers dramatically at the time. Worst of all, many pupils suffered from being pawns or guinea pigs in an ill-gotten experiment that was doomed to failure from the start. I was OK - I made it work for me despite timetable constraints, attitudes from above and shortage of appropriate resources, before my illness got the better of me.

There are many happy memories of staff. AJ came to live close to me in his latter years and we corresponded and met. I did go to see him in Suffolk as well, shortly after his retirement. I keep in regular contact with Ian Shaw whom I saw only a year or so ago, Nick Nicholls, who also taught history and Martin Daniels, our drama teacher and play producer. I starred in 'The Importance of Being Ernest' in 1967, produced by Brian Pollard, in 'You never Can Tell' the year after, and in the parents' production of 'Night Must Fall', where I took the lead role of Danny with Martin Daniels as producer. I took the first ever foreign geography field course to Locarno in southern Switzerland, and helped Mike Hodson run the skiing trips before taking a couple myself after he left.

Characters spring to mind. Maude Williams endlessly chattering in the staffroom - she became a good friend and I admired her a lot. I remember once saying 'tovarisch' (comrade) to Mrs Cohen who taught Russian. Unknowingly, I could not have called her by a more insulting name if I'd tried, and I received a very long lecture about the Russian revolution and the Tsars! I remember the autumn warning signs of pending absence by Ken Salmond. He took time off frequently, and in the autumn it was 'throat' - he used to come into the staff room, cough and say 'my throat feels like I've been chewing rusty nails' a week or so after the start of term - then he would take a week off! Russell Smith spent more time walking around the corridors and in the staff room than in the classroom - which is why he volunteered to construct the timetable when PC left in 1968. The sound of AJ's cobbled shoes echoing down the corridors brought instant silence in every classroom. JS Durrant continued to reward enterprising pupils with his 'magic pennies' until he retired, although he would have been able to continue his practice after decimalisation had he worked any longer. He took his lunch daily at the Rose and Crown on Hoe Street, where sadly I was to spend more and more time as my illness progressed. I still managed to stand as one of the Liberal Party candidates for Waltham Forest for the GLC in 1967 and 1970, and for East Walthamstow as the parliamentary candidate in the 1970 General Election.

I left Walthamstow very early in 1975 an built up my recovery and new career in Manchester before becoming a registered inspector with my own company until I retired in December 2004. Those early days are very precious and I have enjoyed writing this short account from my house in Thailand. I hope you will be able to extract something of value and use for those who were around at the time. Through 'Friends Reunited' I keep in email contact with a dozen or so former pupils, and through longer term friendship, with a couple of others.

Jean-Pierre (Duncan) Kirkland, teacher at Sir George Monoux 1966 - 74.

 

Education at Monoux in 1970

 

At a Committee meeting of the Old Monovians' Association on May 7th, 1970 a letter was read from an Old Monovian asking where the school fits into the current pattern of education. The following notes therefore are for the information of Old Monovians who are not sure what has been happening.
The original scheme whereby the school would become a 'neighbourhood school', basically serving the area to the south-east and north-east of our site was the subject of representations by the Old Monovians and others, and the point of view of the O.M.'s Association was most ably put to the Waltham Forest Committee for Education by A.E. Holdsworth, L.A. Moules and B. Perry. Alternative suggestions were made but eventually the Local Authority decided to continue with the original plan.
The boys who had been admitted to the school under selective scheme were allowed to remain here, but nobody under the age of 14 could be admitted after 1970. A high proportion of our intake comes from the Warwick Boy's School, (Old Monovians may remember this as the Barrett Road School), the Chapel End School and the William Fitt School in Cazenove Road. Provision is made whereby parents of boys attending other schools who wish their boys to attend this school can submit an application with this intention to the Local Authority.
As a result of these changes, in September this year we shall have a 4th form of approximately 180, a 5th form of approximately the same number, a_ first year 6th Form of approximately 100 boys and a second and third year 6th form of about 70, The strictly academic training of the 6th form will still be available but we shall also be catering for boys of very different abilities and ambitions, and we are making arrangements for boys not only to prepare for 'A' level but also to prepare for further 'O' level qualifications, and for boys whose training and abilities will not be completely fulfilled with work on an examination syllabus.
New buildings coming into use now allow for a great expansion of work in engineering and project work in the widest sense, while new art, pottery and three dimensional art rooms will enable us to extend and develop our work in the artistic field.
A new science block with laboratories for Physics, two-laboratories for Biology, one for engineering science and one for general science will enable us more fully to integrate the science department and will release rooms in the old building for other purposes.
The new buildings are exciting in their possibilities and we feel very proud that our pressures to develop engineering have given us an initial opportunity in this field.
We hope to have the whole of the new block open and ready for inspection early in September and when a date is fixed I will notify you. Old Monovians who would like to visit us on that day between
2-30 and 9pm will have an opportunity of seeing these buildings as well as the work in certain other branches of the School's life.
Certain Old Boys have at times expressed concern and doubt as to whether in its new form the school will be able fulfil its former functions and endear itself to its members as did the school in the days gone by. We are dealing with boys, just as we always have been, and although they come from a different age range and although we have them for far too short a time, I feel sure that that they will continue to maintain the high standards of manliness and integrity that have been characteristic of the Monoux boys and that they themselves will look back with pride, as other Old Monovians do, on the life and traditions of the School.
V.J. Stirrup
Headmaster.

 

School Captain's Speech 1971

 

In surviving the year which has passed since the last supper the qualities required most by the inhabitants of Monoux School seem to have been Patience, Endurance and Optimism. For it has been a year of continuing transition, the fruits of which may not begin to ripen fully until around this time next year.
The most notable transition has of course taken place in the architectural structure of the School. A whole new science block has sprung up where the old tennis courts used to be and now courts have been made behind it. Structurally, the now science block has six laboratories - two each for Physics, Chemistry and Biology, with one room set aside for the study of engineering science and one for general science. Mr. Groom reports that although the building itself leaves much to be desired in its design and construction, it does have two great advantages over the facilities available in the past. The first of these lies in the convenience of having all the laboratories together instead of them strung out around the school, therefore allowing much speedier transference of equipment and material from one part of the department to another. The second advantage is that in moving into the block we acquire a whole range of new scientific equipment which will henceforth enable every level of experiment. The cost of this equipment runs into thousands of pounds, and it provides a much greater opportunity for practical work, than has been anticipated in the past.
The new metalwork shop which has been built in between the science block and the tennis courts has provoked a similar reaction from Mr Ive. It too, lacks much in its design, and indeed soon after its completion a fire broke out from a crucible furnace and burnt approximately fifty square feet of the ceiling. The defecting furnace took six months to put right, and this occurrence typifies some of the problems that have arisen from the sub-standard construction of some parts of the new buildings. However, these defects must not be allowed to overshadow the immense advantages which the new blocks entail, and in Mr Ive's case the main advantage of his new department is the great amount of extra space with which it provides his students. There are now no other metal work shops as good as ours in the area, and few can match them throughout the borough. At present the boys there are involved in two projects - one to make a sailing cruiser, and. the other to produce a hovercraft, and in the future Mr Ives hopes to be able to begin work on various types of equipment to help the handicapped as well.
The old metalwork shop has had an extension built on, and it has now been converted into a new art block. It is the first tine in the school's history that we have had an art department as such, and the move has enabled Mr. Harrison to concentrate on a far wider range of subjects beside painting and drawing, as well as roughly giving six times as much wall space for display purposes. Here again there are the inevitable drawbacks. The roof leaks in places and consequently a section of the floor has boon ruined. Also there is not enough window space in the painting section and so the fluorescent lights have to be relied upon for a large part of the year, where a little more care and thought in the design of the building could have provided much more adequate lighting without any increase in expenditure. Nevertheless, the light problem is now much less acute than it was in room nine, and the overall advantages of the new block far outweigh its defects. At last the boys have a third section of their own, and a good printing area, and a room for pottery and ceramics. Also, there is a photograph section in which they can get over the initial terror of developing a film for the first time.
The unity of the block is here an even greater room than in the other new buildings, for it means that not only can boys alternate between pottery, 3D and painting during one period if they so wish, but also that they can work alongside and gain experience from students of much higher standards than themselves, rather than being segregated into different classes, and hence feeling that their opportunities are less.
The new blocks took a year to build and it is only just recently that the north side of the school has returned to its normal state, after a long period in which a succession of heavy lorries and machinery had succeeded in giving it something of the appearance of a huge rubbish tip.
However, no sooner had they been completed, hence giving a supply of much needed space in the main building, than the workmen moved in to begin the modernisation of this part of he school, Walking round the school has now become something akin to an assault course, or if you are not showered by falling plaster, tripped up by endless electric cables, or harassed by strategically placed stepladders, then there is always the likelihood that you may fall down an uncovered manhole at some point in your travels. The transformation is due to go on until next September, but we are assured by the Headmaster that work will be temporarily suspended during the 'O' & 'A' Levels, which is a great relief to all concerned
The programme of development will provide us with a new & better equipped library, together with much needed study rooms. There will also be a sixth form common room for the first time ever, which we hope will also eliminate talking in the library, and help to bring the sixth form together more as a unit. The old library is to be converted into a new staff room, with eighteen serving as a working room for the staff and also to be provided are three separate smaller rooms for the sixth form master, the careers section and the deputy headmaster.
When the work is finally over in September, the school will therefore have had a complete and long awaited facelift, and will provide approved facilities for all aspects of school life. It is this target which must be kept in mind as we endure the inconveniences entailed by the work going on - for example there is no room for private study anywhere in the building at the moment. In fact it is the prefects who seem to have profited more than most from the situation, since we have now acquired a coloured electrician who frequently serenades us in the tuck shop at dinner time, and who has one of the best gospel voices that any of us has heard.
It is fitting that next September should also see the completion of the transfer to comprehensive education, which was begun nearly three years ago, as the last of the Grammar School boys leave Monoux. We are promised that the new system will produce overall a better standard of education. Although this is not certain as yet, what is certain is that the conversion has proved arduous at times, and also violent. Each year the fourth form intake has felt itself outlawed by the boys in the higher years, and it has responded on all three occasions by a campaign of aggression which generally lasts until Christmas. This time several members of the second year sixth were attacked in what was nothing less than despair at being rejected from the new society into which the fourth formers felt themselves to have been unfairly plunged. As a result of this one senior boy had a front tooth knocked out and his lip cut so severely that it required several stitches.
One hopes that next September the pattern will change, and I an optimist that it will. It was noticeable that almost all the violence this year was directed at the second year sixth who are of course the last of the original grammar school pupils and that hardly any attacks were made on members of the first year sixth, which was a combination of grammar school and comprehensive boys. It is therefore perhaps not too much to hope that nothing of the sort will occur next year and that the spirit of fraternity which has been stifled during the years of transformation will at last be allowed to re-emerge and develop to the full.
Finally, it is necessary to list what our achievements have been during this year of transition and endurance.
Academically, the year was no more than reasonable, although of course we can make no comparisons with previous years at 'O' level standard because of the new comprehensive intake, However, over 350 'O' levels were gained in the summer, together with 128 'A' levels of which 13 obtained distinctions. Four boys have secured places at Oxford and Cambridge and another two are awaiting the outcome of their 'A' level results to see whether they have qualified for admission. This figure is low compared with the twenty successful entrants of the last two years, but Mr. Shaw has high hopes for the coming year, and it is possible that these Grammar School boys who we are so anxious to he rid of may supply us with greater success than we have obtained for some time.
On the Sports field, however, there was a different tale to tell. Dave Cox head the school cross-country team to one of its most successful seasons for years, and they carried off several major trophies. Meanwhile, the school football team had a good season, although they were sometimes deprived of their best players by local clubs such as Leyton and not such local ones such as Queen's Park Rangers and Fulham. Their main achievements lay in beating the Old Monovians 2-1 for the first time in several years and for providing games for over sixty sixth formers throughout the season.
The fifth form team were the most successful in the schools history, reaching the final of the Lipton Cup, which covers the whole of London and winning both the Alf Woof Cup which is for all Essex and the MacDowell Cup which is for schools in Waltham Forest.
Compared to this the schools basketball team did not have much success, but the first team squad contained only ono member of the second year sixth and so it will consequently remain unchanged next season when, with training, it could do very well in both Essex and National competitions, And it is this optimism for the future to which I feel we must all cling during the present upheavals. The School council has at last been resurrected, and one hopes that this may help add to the new sense of unity which is so imperative for the school's development if it is to operate smoothly under the comprehensive system. Already they plan a regular dinnertime discotheque for later this tern, perhaps in conjunction with the girls school, and it is hoped that a dance may be staged some time during the summer. Activities such as these would go a long way towards inspiring the much needed unity inside Monoux School during the years to come, and it can only be hoped that failures in the past will not deter either the Headmaster or Staff from providing the boys with ample opportunity to develop their new ideas to the full.
John Hodginson.

 

Memories of the Seventies

 

Memories of an Old Monovian from the Seventies.
Bryan Daniels 1974-76
Reds under the beds 1975
Orient had failed to get promotion to the top flight by one lousy point, West Ham were in the cup final, England was a second rate football nation for the first (but not last) time in my life. It couldn't get any worse until - Monoux was being infiltrated by communists! Or so the Waltham Forest Guardian would have it believed. Monoux was one of very few schools that had compulsory sociology. In fact we had to stay for an extra lesson every day to allow for it. And the local rag was on a witch hunt to prove that we were all being turned into little lefties by Comrade Barry Clark and his sociology sect. It was a total storm in a tea cup, most of us felt less than indoctrinated and still didn't know the difference between sociology and necrophilia ( both having to do with "dead boring") - but it made life interesting for a week or so. Coincidentally, I've wound up living in what at that time was hardline commyland East Germany. So maybe the indoctrination DID take hold!!!

Monoux in the mid seventies
Have to answer David Gibbs' comments. Although the school had gone a long way downhill from the grammar school days, it can hardly be laid at the foot of Allen Brockman's door that the Labour government of the time was using Waltham Forest schoolchildren as guinea pigs. There was definitely a sloppiness about the school in that kids who didn't want to learn were left to their own devices and we definitely got away with too much (If I'd ever taken a legitimate sick note, it would've been classified as a forgery). So a lot of "problem children" maybe fell through the net. But I definitely don't see that as being any different from the other local schools at the time, it was endemic of the 2 tier secondary system, not of one or other school.
At the end of the day, when I tried and needed help, there was always a teacher there for me. When I didn't try, or didn't know I needed help, there wasn't. The school gate behind the playing fields was often too inviting and always badly policed - so some of our potential definitely disappeared down that road. But isn't that what they call character-building? One thing I definitely learned from those chaotic 2 years was, if you don't ask, you definitely don't get. I met a lot of good people at Monoux and even if I might have wished it to be different, my time there helped shape my life - and I can't see that it caused me to screw up as and when. I'm pretty sure I've managed that without Monoux's help!!!

Barry Clark
Never had him as a teacher but what a pleasure talking to a guy who was so obviously interested in what you had to say. Had the gift of making whoever he was speaking to feel important and would have been a brilliant politician, had he not been slightly to the left of Lenin.
His moment of true fame came, when refereeing an official school rugby match, he awarded an "own try" against a defending player who touched the ball down behind the try line. To non-believers of the oval ball faith it won't mean much, but it was a major cock-up!

Mr Reeves (Economics)
Had a real passion for his subject and actually held my interest for 90 minutes at a time, which was no mean feat at that time of my life for someone who wasn't talking about football or sex. Could out-abuse any pupil who gave him lip ( "Daniels, you don't know you're born. You're a loud-mouthed rebel and can't even find anything proper to rebel against") , probably due to his spending the school holidays working as a porter in Billingsgate (or was it Covent Garden? He didn't smell of fish.)

Mr Farman
Deputy Head, along with Mr Jenkins. Ex boxer with a bulldog stature - one short teacher I didn't mess with. Uncompromising but totally straight and very fair. You always knew exactly where you stood with him - a pleasure to receive your punishment from him!!!

Maud Williams
Whenever I come across Old Monovians there's one name that always rings a bell. I still can't make up my mind if the woman was a genius or totally bonkers. She hated the "modern" methods she was forced to use in teaching and would far sooner have had us all sitting to attention reciting grammar drill. When she corrected mistakes that voice could strip wallpaper at fifty yards and I can still hear her saying "between two, among many" if I try to find a moment of peace on a bad day. She was - either by accident or design - always a centre of attention, if she wasn't weaving her way, sat very unladylike on a little moped along the centre line of Chingford Road, she was clattering up the stairs in her daughter's platform shoes.
She never watched anything on TV that wasn't produced by the BBC and engaging her in conversation about I Claudius or Monty Python was a guarantee for a better mark.
She tried in vain to teach me basic manners, such as not walking down the high street eating pie and chips.
And oh those fishnet stockings - English on an empty stomach was never a good idea! I always imagined she was in a world of her own but when I met her in Sainsburys 7 years after I left school, she remembered me, my good and bad habits - and those of many others in my class too. Who was fooling who? Sorry, Maud - whom!

Mr Darawala
Short Sri Lankan Physics teacher who gave me my only detention and my only refusal for an O Level exam at Monoux. Couldn't make head or tale of his teaching, so complicated were his explanations - but Neal Jolly could, so the failure was maybe mine! The requirement to take at least one science course was always going to make life difficult for me and I never really got out of the starting blocks with Mr D, another in the long line of vertically challenged teachers I couldn't get on with.

Mr Wynward (Sociology)
Sociology teacher who tried countless times in vain to explain to me that my essays based on personal ideology and experience were worth nothing, if they weren't supported by Empirical Studies, which had to be cross referenced, quoted and generally given homage. This subject could have been so damn interesting, if we'd been allowed to discuss our own opinions - but, as no one had thought to carry out an empirical study of what we thought, it never happened. Got a B in the o level by randomly quoting every study I'd ever heard of ...and a few I hadn't. I learned later that there's only a random check of the quoted sources - had I known it at the time, I would've got an A!!!!
Mr W's moment of glory came one day when he wanted to say the word "organism", and out popped the word "orgasm" instead.

Mr Haslam (maths)
He with the stories about Smart Fred. We were forbidden to refer to him by his colour, although there was another Mr Haslam who also taught Maths and the only obvious difference was that one was white and one......... ;..em.........;.....eh........ wasn't. "Don't play clever Dickie with me" was his battle cry in a very disorganised class. I spent most of the time trying to find the true meaning of the Wombles' lyrics with Paul Rose. Pulled myself together just in time to get an undeservedly good B in the o level, much to Mr H's disgust. I met him at the poly in the late seventies and he seemed more at home with students who had passed safely through their puberty.

Mrs Pashley (French)
Statuesque lady who made the most of the very poor raw material at her disposal. Jeff Buggins was fascinated by her Amazonian proportions and never lost an opportunity to let us all hear about it every time he saw her.

Mr Pashby (German)
Poor bloke never got to grips with the basics of human nature and the psychology of taking control in a class was a closed book to him. Gave his heart and soul trying to break the brick wall of resistance - unfortunately he was using his head as the blunt instrument and got absolutely no thanks for his efforts. Had he got a class of willing students, I'm sure he had a mine of information to impart. I now speak fluent German, but it's despite and not because of these tortuous 2 years. When I think we'd all chosen to be there, I can't believe how badly we behaved as a class. But as Robert Barltrop has also said, the onus is on the teacher to take control, not the class to surrender it.

Comprehensive memories

I joined Sir George Monoux School from Chapel End in 1969 as a 4th former along with many school friends that I had known since infant days. I believe my year was only the second intake from the comprehensive schools so the pupils and staff at that time were a mixed bag of grammar school and the 'new kids' from the comprehensive schools. The comprehensive intake was taken from several local schools - if my memory is correct possibly up to 4 different schools. No doubt this was the new bright idea of the Education Minister of the day. Some of the pupils who came into the Monoux 4th form would have left at the end of the 5th year having spent only 2 years in the school - it would be understandable if those people felt no real affinity for the school when compared to someone who had joined at the age of 11 and left at 18 (as I suspect was the norm in your day). I suggest this is the reason for your observation about the lack of involvement from the 70s/80s pupils. There is no doubt that during my time the Grammar School influence was very strong however the school had been changed forever.
At my time the Headmaster was Mr Stirrup to whom I have much to be grateful. I actually left school at the end of 5th form having no aims or idea of what career I should take up. I spent the summer holidays of 1971 working in a menswear shop in Walthamstow High St and after a few weeks I began to realise what a dead end job it was. Towards the end of that summer break I received a letter from Mr Stirrup giving me the option to go back to school if I felt I had made a mistake. I didn't need any time to consider so having formally left school I then rejoined as a 6th former for the 71/72 year. I worked hard that year and although I could never say I had any specific career aspirations I did at least understand the importance of that step from school life to a working life. I left in summer 72 because I got a good offer from the Post Office (later to become BT). To be honest I was no more than average academically so the timing was just right however without the extra school year and exam results the opportunity wouldn't have arisen. I soon realised the importance of academic achievement within my work area and commenced studying for specialist vocational qualifications - something I did for 6 years which provided the springboard for a successful career. I believe Mr Stirrup passed away some years ago and it will always be a regret that I didn't make more effort to seek him out in his retirement years just to say "thanks - you changed the course of my life".
Once I left Monoux I joined the Old Monovians Football Club and spent many happy years with likeminded souls. My playing days are over now but I still manage attend the occasional Annual Dinner.

Regards
Calvin Bobin
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I joined the school 2 years after the conversion and it was still a mix of pupils from the old Grammar days with the new Comprehensive guys.
The lessons were of the new comprehensive type, but with some old subjects still on the sylabus, such as Greek, Latin and Russian.
We still had "Rag Day" where anything was possible, and the Staff v Boys football match.
The teachers from the old regime still wore their gowns and commanded more respect than the long haired hippie types that were taking over.
The prefects of the "Upper Sixth" were all about 18 or 19 with long hair and beards and I remember the look of fear on the faces of boys from other schools who came to play us at football or cricket, whose pupils were only 15 or 16 years of age.
Sport was very big at the school at that time, and if you were in any way athletic you were encouraged to take part. I believe we got to the final of the All England Schools Football Cup at that time.
I know i made a lot of friends at the school, some of whom I still see regularly, and that I enjoyed being there, even though academically I didn't do so well.
I hope this helps with your research.
Chris Latham (72-75)

I was at Monoux from 1973-77. With hindsight I think the school was going through a bit of an identity crisis at the time with a number of the older teachers still in denial over the change to comprehensive education. I do have warm memories of Mr Chambers (French and Russian), Mr Potter (Biology) and Mr Booth/Crispin (PE). Rather strangely though I remember the teachers from Chapel End better!
All the best
Pete Brown

When I attended the school I had just turned 11yrs in 1968 after the eleven plus, my previous school being Chapel End. I cant remember for sure but I feel the comprehensive system was up and running when I began. It was strange days as most of the older boys ( No girls those days ) were very much the old grammer school chaps and the teachers also, wearing those gowns which flew behind them as they rushed down the stone corridors making crunching noises with the studs in there highly polished shoes. Quite scarry for the new boys who were all labeled as outsiders under the new system, unless you were good at sport or music, I do beleave my name is on some tennis cup during my time at the school. I also remember that the cane was still used and very often in our form, mostly for smoking in the toilets and putting chewing gum into the maths teachers new Ollivette. I believe that not many lasting frendships were forged during this time and the school spirit was lost because of the reluctance on all persons to accept change and accept that the old system would not work with the new comprehensive system.
Having said all that it was the best days of my school life and even after all these years and having lived in many different places, I am still proud to say that I attended St George Monoux. I left in 1972 and joined the Army and lost touch with all my friends from school including my best mate John Pitman ( a very good footballer at that time a boy with Spurs ). I've tried many different ways of finding him but to no avail.
I have many more memories about these great days and in time I am sure I will put them on paper. Nice talking to you Donald keep in touch.
Ian Housham ( housh )

Perhaps the reason why there has been little input from those of us who were there in the early eighties is that it was an appalling school. Not just the sort of place everyone who ever went to school grumbles about but a real shambles, neither a proper inclusive comprehensive nor the old-fashioned grammar that the black-gowned masters obviously thought they were working in. I have fond memories of the rest of my education but none whatsoever of Monoux. BY all accounts it seems to have entered a newly rejuvenated period as a sixth form college after we left, so that is worth being glad about.
Colin Moreton