King Henry VIII Grammar School

Certainly up to 1967 half-term holidays were 2 days except for Whitsun which was 3 (presumably because it coincided with a bank holiday). I also remember we finished school at 4:30 (or it may have been 4:20) not just after lunch as they seem to do now.

Hi all Over the years I suppose that start & finishing times may have changed, but in the prep school in the fifties, I used to finish at 3.50pm & then 3.30pm in the senior school. Maybe my memory is on the blink.

I also recall that Monday morning was a House Assembly (metalwork room for me). Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday was School Assembly in the hall. Friday was Form Assembly in your form room, which evolved to 'tutor group' meeting in the 6th Form.

Spot on, Beesman. My house assembly was always held in a biology lab, B2, for some reason. We used to cram in there, about three deep between the benches, to listen to Ernie Shaw droning on about the bible. He never seemed to have anything remotely interesting to say and I suspect many just didn't bother going after a while. I don't recall ever attending for the last two or three years and nobody seemed to check. In fact, if every member of Hales House had ever turned up, we would have been sitting on each other's shoulders! Other than the metalwork shop for Kings, I have no idea where the other houses met on Mondays. Form assembly was not much of an event and, as I recall, didn't even bother with the usual religious stuff the school was so keen to indoctrinate us all with. It seemed to revolve around collecting dinner money and charity collections. It was the only day when you were likely to be missed as it was a small group.

I was in Hales as well. Ernie (Yawn) Shaw, God he was a boring, boring man. I am fairly sure that Whites was in the old Physics lab and as for Hollands and Sherwyns, I think one was in one of the rooms near the cage and the other was upstairs somewhere.

Hollands met in Foghorn's history room.

Kings was in 110, Piggy's artroom, while I was there (to 1963)

During my time at KHVIII Midland Red, ('67-'74) Kings assembly room was the metalwork shop. I also have no idea where the likes of Sherwyns and whites convened.

Whites house assembly, I can confirm, was in physics lab P3, a drab old place. Even drabber were the meetings, led by Pop Cork, the house master. Just like every other morning assembly, a complete waste of about 20 minutes' time that could have been spent doing something more useful. The property investors' rule of thirds was applied (albeit unintentionally): About 5 minutes on some sort of religious ceremony; about 5 minutes listening to announcements (mostly concerning sport); and another 5 minutes listening to Pop Cork moaning about how we weren't pulling our weight representing Whites in various activities competing with the other houses. I suffered this event every week from fuzzers to sixth form. At one of those latter meetings, Pop Cork realised some lads were "wagging it", so he started a roll call. He called "Wigmore". Silence. Then "WIGMORE!", which prompted one lad to tell us lot at the back "he's gone fishing!". Pop must have heard it, for he went mad, marching to the rear of P3 and shouting "who said that?". The culprit would not own up, adding to Pop's annoyance. I'm still getting over the shock of MBF's recent picture. He doesn't look a bit like the MBF who took us for Latin, even allowing for the years.

Holland's assembly was indeed in 103. You worked your way across the room as you progressed through the school, starting in the row nearest the door when 11 and ending up in the bay by the windows when in the 6th form. This was presided over by Mona, whilst the other masters lined up in front of the blackboard, behind him. I don't really remember what happened there, why we met or what we were told.

"I don't really remember what happened there, why we met or what we were told." You are not alone with that! I can't remember one single thing from those house meetings, yet I can remember quite a lot of form meetings and a few morning assemblies.

Pete Jones was a decent bloke. He had a totally different method of teaching from the stuffy old masters of yesteryear. You could have a laugh in his lessons without detracting from your learning. They were lucky to keep him at KHVIII as he would have left but for Taffy James being 'promoted' to deputy head. This meant that PJ was made Head of Economics, a position he would otherwise have sought at a different school. He went up inestimably in the eyes of me and my mates when, at school speech day, in Central Hall, he walked down the aisle to the stage, in his gown, smoking a cigarette. He gave us lot a crafty grin as he went by! Top man!

I was in school in the 60's, Mr Liddiard used to call me 'incorrigible' in most lessons, and often struggled to retain his composure when under pressure from uninterested French pupils! I met him again at a school reunion many years later and had a really good chat with him. Mr Burrows was a really nice chap, I remember once that a number of us went into the city one evening, and had the new 'French crew' cut, (skinhead) at a hairdressers where trainees were doing cuts for free. My dad thought I'd had my head shaved for nits! Next day, Mr Burrows just looked at me and shook his head ruefully, not saying a word, which was quite cutting at the time. Somebody mentioned a Mr Bellamy, tall guy with glasses. We went with him to on a school trip and he said to us before the trip that he was bringing his niece with him, who just so happened to be Lulu. We turned up on the day, sceptical, but she was a dead ringer, and on the way gave us a song 'sun shines bright on my veranda' and we were completely sold! This was at the end of term, and at the start of the following term Mr Bellamy said, 'sorry boys, she was just a lookalike!' I remember most of the teachers mentioned on this forum, but who was the physics teacher in the late 60's?

It may have been me that mentioned Bellamy, who I do recall as being tall with glasses, and a shock of blond hair. He taught in the junior school but took some lessons in the seniors too, although I'm not sure what subject. The Physics teachers I can remember in the late 60s were Howard 'Pop' Cork, who was head of department, along with AR (Arsey) Chapman, Ron Hough and Bill 'Fairy' Light. Cork appeared to be about 70 even then, but died comparatively recently. Chapman was a strange chap, quietly spoken but with a mean streak. He had grey hair but black bushy eyebrows and always wore a white coat. Hough was a decent sort, a more recent addition who was into electronics and ran the radio club. Light was a newbie then too. I have a recollection of another young teacher called Hardman who was possibly replaced by Light.