Retford Grammar School with Photos and History

Link to SECTION Description of section 1 Introduction Pictures of the school, and webmaster's memories 1 2 School History Extracts from published works about the near-700 year history of the school 2 3 School Photos A collection of photos of the school, inside and outside. 3 4 Panorama 1947 Pupils and masters of the school in 1947. 4 5 Panorama 1954 Pupils and masters of the school in 1954. 5 6 Panorama 1957 Pupils and master of the school in 1957 6 7 Panorama 1960 Pupils and masters of the school in 1960 7 8 Panorama 1963 Pupils and masters of the school in 1963 8 9 Masters in 1954 Masters who taught the webmaster 1951-58. Pictures, subjects and nicknames. 9 10 Retfordian An outline of the school magazine 1950-60 10 11 Retfordian on CD Scans of each page of the school magazine 1914-61. (Because of memory size, this only works on CD). 11 12 Speech Day on CD Scans of the booklet issued for each Speech Day, containing details of prizes, examination results, sporting cups, and exam results of Old Retfordians at the Universities. (Because of memory size, this only works on CD). 12 13 School from the Air Two aerial photos of the school, 1973 and 2004. 13 14 French Trip The webmaster's first published effort. 14 15 David Dickinson 1940-47 David Dickinson sends a description of life at RGS during the War, and a list of some boys and masters he remembers. 15 16 Joe Almond 1941-49 Joe Almond sends pictures and description of life at RGS during the war, with women teachers and sharing the school with evacuee Yarmouth G.S. 16 17 Gerry Brooks 1941-43,47-49 Gerry Brooks sends a description of life at RGS during and after the war. 17 18 Roy Cordall 1942-49 Roy Cordall (1942-49) sends pictures, description and exam papers of his stay at RGS, during and after the war. 18 19 John Palmer 1951-58 John Palmer (1951-58), the webmaster, writes what he can remember of a vivid 10% of his life at RGS. 19 20 Peter Burton 1953-60 Peter Burton (1953-60) sends memories of his stay at RGS. 20 21 John Dernie 1955-62 John Dernie (1955-62) sends memories of his stay at RGS. 21 22 John Olsen 1959-63 John Olsen (1959-63) sends form pictures of his 4 years at RGS, with many names. 22 23 Geoff Hughes 1960-65 Geoff Hughes (1960-65) sends scans of teams, form photos, the School List and Prefects Duties. The List dated Sep 1964 has all 419 pupils with their form, age and House. 23 24 Exam papers 1949 Exam papers set for the 1949 Higher School Certificate, taken at the age of 18 at the end of Secondary Education. (Because of memory size, this only works on CD). 24 25 Exam Papers 1958 Exam papers set for the 1958 Scholarship Level, taken at the age of 18 by some pupils at the end of Secondary Education. (Because of memory size, this only works on CD). 25 26 Robin Hood "The English schoolboy's Epic" by P.E. "Boss" Hammond, Art master at RGS 1916-1949. There are over 800 lines of verse. 26 Link to SECTION Description of section

For sale: this CD containing all my RGS stuff, costs £10, but FREE if you send me images or text for use on this website and the CD. It just needs a browser to read, and contains over 2,000 pages of scanned Retfordian magazine and large-size version of the 1954 panorama.

Hello Folks, I was raised in Worksop and passed my 11+ exam in 1951. Only 5 passed from 60 at my Primary school. There was much joy in the family when they learned I was going to Retford Grammar School, but I was scared stiff on the first day. Almost everyone was bigger than me and there were no girls at all. The prefects were unsympathetic and frightening near-adults. In 1958 I left RGS to go to University. I was now the tallest pupil at RGS, a prefect, the best at Squash and throwing the javelin, and even the best at Physics as well. My whole physical and mental condition had changed out of all rcognition in just 7 years. From being bullied by everyone few now dared to touch me. I sharpened my wits by competing academically against my peers and betters. The masters and pupils who filled much of my waking day are shown in this panoramic photo taken in July 1954. I had been addicted to steam-train spotting and so did poorly in class. In 1954 my parents told me to give up train spotting and work hard at school instead. When the photo was taken, I had just come near the top of the class, and with ten more boys skipped the 4th forms entirely and moved into "Junior Fifth" as an experiment. We got individual tuition in the class of only 10, and did well academically as a result. We made fun of our masters behind their backs, but respected them for the knowledge they had. They all wore collars and ties and academic gowns. They were the 'source of all knowledge' for us. These odd-looking men introduced us to some of the great secrets of life: how calculus works, the language of Shakespeare, how carbon atoms join, and discovery by inductive reasoning. Today all the masters have gone and most of the boys are contemplating retirement. Many have raised families and some are now grandfathers. The great wheel of life has turned and a new generation feels the thrill and despair of Youth. I look at this photo of my life 53 years ago and say to myself "What I owe you is beyond compare". John Palmer now living in Dorset, England contact me on: Updated 20 May 2007

Compiled, formatted, hyperlinked, encoded, and copyright © 2007, All Rights Reserved.