George Stephenson High School
Encyclopedia
George Stephenson High School is a large secondary school
in the English
town of Killingworth
, North Tyneside
.
, Backworth
, Shiremoor
, West Moor
,and West Allotment.
The school is situated opposite The Killingworth Centre (Morrisons
)
The headmaster in 1970 (and probably since the opening in 1953) was Tom W. King, BA, a highly-respected and popular man known to all pupils as 'The Boss' (and who had to be avoided at all costs if, as a boy, your hair was over your collar). He became headmaster of the new school and finally retired around the end of the 1981-1982 school year, saddened by a collapse of discipline that came about in the transition from grammar to comprehensive, as he communicated to a couple of pupils engaged in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, and as was characteristic of the straightforwardness and honesty for which he was rightly respected.
In the mid-to-late 60s the school had many noteworthy teachers. One such was PE master the late Mr Don Broughton, known to all as 'Basher', and someone one learned not to mess with. As well as taking the lads for rugby (no cissy football at this school) he taught many new prefects how to deal effectively with particularly unruly, sometimes very large, pupils. Twin deputy heads at the time were "Pokey" Joe Henderson and "Ma" Riley. Other teachers whose names will reside permanently in many pupils' memories for varying reasons included John Poll, "Chewy" Hewitt, Miss Wadell (later Mrs Cousins), Miss Sargeant ("a sargeant say "Attention!", Miss Sargeant says "Detention!""), Mrs Cummins, Mr Danskin, Mr Birtwhistle, "Jack" Shields, Mr "back to your skillet, woman" Mitcheson and Miss "Grappler" Gordon. Oh, and the lab assistant Tom Caisley plus the caretaker Mr Rendall. Punishments handed out on the spot in those days (in addition to detention and lines) included pulling of the hair or ears and a knuckle on the head.
Many of the staff, of all disciplines, and some of the pupils, took part in the school's highly popular annual Gilbert And Sullivan productions. The senior Physics teacher Mr Mitcheson and a couple of his pupils were responsible for the stage lighting and timing of explosions which invariably went hilariously wrong.
The school's annual cross-country run in the 60s was more or less mandatory for all male pupils. The route passed through the picturesque nearby Gosforth Park, in the foliage of which some would halt for a sly smoke. Gender roles were emphasised in other ways typical of those days, such as boys doing Metal Work and girls doing Cookery and Needlework. Boys were known by their last names, girls by their first names. Girls were allowed to remove their school blazers on hot days without asking permission. Boys could only do so with a teacher's approval.
Each year group in the grammar school had 3 streams, L, G, and F. The L stream studied 3 years of Latin, 2 of German, and 5 of French. The G stream took German and French. The F stream took only French. Unlike a lot of headmasters these days, Tom King was a hands-on teacher who personally knew every pupil in his school, and taught many of the Latin classes himself. The school motto was Praesis Ut Prosis.
The popularity of the grammar school was such that it had expanded over the years from about 350 pupils (the capacity of the original main building) to about 600 (by the addition of prefabricated classrooms at the rear of the school).
Until 1970 the school had regular morning assemblies for all pupils. The school hymn was Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer.
In the transition to the new school building, a team of 4 sixth-formers volunteered to pack and unpack science lab equipment. Without this effort during the summer holidays, the school labs would not have been ready for the new term. Each of these sixth-formers wired up about 60 items of equipment with 13 Amp mains plugs (the old school having used the older 5 Amp and 15 Amp round-pin plug standard), something which would never be allowed today.
Throughout much of his tenure at the new comprehensive school Mr King was supported by his very able secretary, Mrs Leithead, known as 'Peggy' to her friends. Mr King continued to teach Latin whilst Head until his final year in 1982, still wearing his Gown and using his silver chalk holder. His final 3rd year Latin class were not allowed to continue their studies under new head Neville Palmer.
in 1970 with the move from the West Moor site to the Killingworth site. From 2004-5, the headteacher, Anne Welsh, was President of the Secondary Heads Association
(SHA).
This year the selected charity is the toma fund raising money to help children battling through cancer.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
town of Killingworth
Killingworth
Killingworth, formerly Killingworth Township, is a town north of Newcastle Upon Tyne, in North Tyneside, United Kingdom.Built as a planned town in the 1960s, most of Killingworth's residents commute to Newcastle, or the city's surrounding area. However, Killingworth itself has a sizeable...
, North Tyneside
North Tyneside
The Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England and is part of the Tyneside conurbation. Its seat is Wallsend Town Hall....
.
Admissions
The school provides education to pupils from KillingworthKillingworth
Killingworth, formerly Killingworth Township, is a town north of Newcastle Upon Tyne, in North Tyneside, United Kingdom.Built as a planned town in the 1960s, most of Killingworth's residents commute to Newcastle, or the city's surrounding area. However, Killingworth itself has a sizeable...
, Backworth
Backworth
Backworth is a village in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, about west of Whitley Bay on the north east coast. It lies northeast of Newcastle and north northwest of Sunderland...
, Shiremoor
Shiremoor
Shiremoor is a large village in the Metropolitian Borough of North Tyneside. It is located approximately inland of Whitley Bay and approximately north of The Tyne Tunnel. A mile or so north of Shiremoor, the extensive built-up areas of North Tyneside change abruptly into green belt stretching...
, West Moor
West Moor
West Moor is a small place in Tyne and Wear, UK.West Moor began as a colliery village around the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was so-called because it lies to the west of the ancient Killingworth Moor, which has now disappeared under development. It was at the colliery here in 1804 that...
,and West Allotment.
The school is situated opposite The Killingworth Centre (Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
)
Grammar school
It was called the George Stephenson Grammar School in 1953, at which time it was built on the west side of Benton Lane in West Moor. (George Stephenson lived nearby in a cottage when he worked at Killingworth Colliery.) The current school site in Killingworth is a replacement that opened in 1970, and was originally known as Killingworth High School, a comprehensive, but eventually took the George Stephenson name from the old school. The old school no longer exists; it has been demolished.The headmaster in 1970 (and probably since the opening in 1953) was Tom W. King, BA, a highly-respected and popular man known to all pupils as 'The Boss' (and who had to be avoided at all costs if, as a boy, your hair was over your collar). He became headmaster of the new school and finally retired around the end of the 1981-1982 school year, saddened by a collapse of discipline that came about in the transition from grammar to comprehensive, as he communicated to a couple of pupils engaged in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, and as was characteristic of the straightforwardness and honesty for which he was rightly respected.
In the mid-to-late 60s the school had many noteworthy teachers. One such was PE master the late Mr Don Broughton, known to all as 'Basher', and someone one learned not to mess with. As well as taking the lads for rugby (no cissy football at this school) he taught many new prefects how to deal effectively with particularly unruly, sometimes very large, pupils. Twin deputy heads at the time were "Pokey" Joe Henderson and "Ma" Riley. Other teachers whose names will reside permanently in many pupils' memories for varying reasons included John Poll, "Chewy" Hewitt, Miss Wadell (later Mrs Cousins), Miss Sargeant ("a sargeant say "Attention!", Miss Sargeant says "Detention!""), Mrs Cummins, Mr Danskin, Mr Birtwhistle, "Jack" Shields, Mr "back to your skillet, woman" Mitcheson and Miss "Grappler" Gordon. Oh, and the lab assistant Tom Caisley plus the caretaker Mr Rendall. Punishments handed out on the spot in those days (in addition to detention and lines) included pulling of the hair or ears and a knuckle on the head.
Many of the staff, of all disciplines, and some of the pupils, took part in the school's highly popular annual Gilbert And Sullivan productions. The senior Physics teacher Mr Mitcheson and a couple of his pupils were responsible for the stage lighting and timing of explosions which invariably went hilariously wrong.
The school's annual cross-country run in the 60s was more or less mandatory for all male pupils. The route passed through the picturesque nearby Gosforth Park, in the foliage of which some would halt for a sly smoke. Gender roles were emphasised in other ways typical of those days, such as boys doing Metal Work and girls doing Cookery and Needlework. Boys were known by their last names, girls by their first names. Girls were allowed to remove their school blazers on hot days without asking permission. Boys could only do so with a teacher's approval.
Each year group in the grammar school had 3 streams, L, G, and F. The L stream studied 3 years of Latin, 2 of German, and 5 of French. The G stream took German and French. The F stream took only French. Unlike a lot of headmasters these days, Tom King was a hands-on teacher who personally knew every pupil in his school, and taught many of the Latin classes himself. The school motto was Praesis Ut Prosis.
The popularity of the grammar school was such that it had expanded over the years from about 350 pupils (the capacity of the original main building) to about 600 (by the addition of prefabricated classrooms at the rear of the school).
Until 1970 the school had regular morning assemblies for all pupils. The school hymn was Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer.
In the transition to the new school building, a team of 4 sixth-formers volunteered to pack and unpack science lab equipment. Without this effort during the summer holidays, the school labs would not have been ready for the new term. Each of these sixth-formers wired up about 60 items of equipment with 13 Amp mains plugs (the old school having used the older 5 Amp and 15 Amp round-pin plug standard), something which would never be allowed today.
Throughout much of his tenure at the new comprehensive school Mr King was supported by his very able secretary, Mrs Leithead, known as 'Peggy' to her friends. Mr King continued to teach Latin whilst Head until his final year in 1982, still wearing his Gown and using his silver chalk holder. His final 3rd year Latin class were not allowed to continue their studies under new head Neville Palmer.
Comprehensive
It became a comprehensive schoolComprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in 1970 with the move from the West Moor site to the Killingworth site. From 2004-5, the headteacher, Anne Welsh, was President of the Secondary Heads Association
Association of School and College Leaders
The Association of School and College Leaders , formerly the Secondary Heads Association , is the British professional association for leaders of secondary schools and colleges.-History:...
(SHA).
Charity
The Charity that the school is fund-raising for in 2010-11 is 'The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation'. This charity raises money to help fund new Cancer treatments. The charity is based in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, EnglandThis year the selected charity is the toma fund raising money to help children battling through cancer.
Buildings
The school is split into several "blocks": the A block, C Block, F Block, G Block, and P.E. Block. G block, F block and P.E block are freestanding buildings; C block and A block are attached by a small corridor containing two music rooms and a drama room.George Stephenson Grammar School
- Kenneth Morris, Managing Director since 1999 of Nirvana Europe
- John SadlerJohn Sadler (historian)John Sadler is a British historian specialising in the Anglo-Scottish Border conflicts during the Middle Ages. Saddler is a regular contributor to military and historical journals and has published a number of books on the subject...
, historian