Woodlands School

Hello Folks - my first post as a new member! Only just seen this topic, I have a crazy-good memory so as a "Coventry kid" and old Woodlands boy so I'll offer this. Apologies for any duplication. My time there was 1968 - 1973, and on my first day, 2nd Sept, I met a lad who is a very close friend to this day! From Broad Lane entrance, there was: Perrens House, House Master Les Harris (taught 6th form A level maths) Malins House - "Lofty" Lee, also Jim Wilkinson (Art) Gibson - "Bill" Newton (taught English) - my brother-in-law's cousin! Smith-Clarke - The great, pipe smoking "Bernie" Tranter - also "Sooty" Corbett - I agree with everything written here, bit of a "Taffia" going on with Welsh masters there! BUT....does anyone remember Sue Underwood? - 1st female teacher at Woodlands, I s**t you not!! Stringer - my house! WH Edney ("Jock") House Master, later became a vicar at a church in Coundon,, Clive Bentley (Geog.), Tony Belton (Eng.), Sid Howe (Eng & French), Mark Cryer (Metalwork), Mark Twiselton (Art) John Williams (Eng.) Ellis - ? Williams , miserable git who taught 2nd year English Cresswell - W Tickle was HM, known as "Tes" then, his son was in the house, (?Peter) Hall was the other Cornish PE teacher (see below), one of our lads was caught throwing mud at his door, recognised, and got 6 of the best from RES Jones - the schools hardest caner! IIIRC, the great Jack Pilbin was also a master here. (Pete Rossborough was also, can't remember which house). McLachlan - H Jones - utterly brilliant, flamboyant French teacher, wore frilly cuffs, silk suits, rhinestone cufflinks and rings, and strong cologne. Spoke about 7 languages (fluently) and had Japanese young man as a partner, I'm told! Harvey Wyatt taught Geography, was a great bloke and hadn't changed a bit when I saw him in the pool at Warwick Uni in 1988. Brook House - always remember Dave Moorcroft running around the 440 yard circular track Sparks - PT Walke (Terry) was PE teacher, ex-Army, very Cornish, really strict bugga! Don Thompson was the headmaster (RES Jones was deputy), who banned the use of ball-point pens, fountain pens only! He also found 2 sweet wrappers in the grounds one day, so banned wrapped sweets in 1969! I didn't like my time there, I could've gone to Bablake or Henry VIII, MUCH closer to Radford! But then I wouldn't have met a life-long friend. Regards and best wishes to all, Steve

Still with no teeth, I'll bet! Did he still refer to pupils as "Friend", as in "Friend Greene" ?

That's him. "Tony" Burdett - think we've got them all now, heritage (and Tom Long for Sparks)! BTW, did anyone go to this?

IIRC (Steve1957), it was TIM Hall who was the PE master with the SW burr. Also, I'd give the 'hardest caner' sobriquet to HG Jones. (Flamboyant? Maybe. Utter b.........? IMO, yes). Maybe memory fails, but I don't remember Jack Pilbin being in Cresswell, but I definitely remember his 'mark of the beast' trick with a plimsoll! I definitely remember Bernard Tranter. He was my form tutor in '65, and did so much to ease this shy (petrified) lad into the school. Lovely man. Moved on far too quickly! I think Peter Rossborough is an Old Coventrian. Pretty sure he never attended Woodlands. I was in Cresswell from '65 to '70 BTW.

I may have posted this photograph showing the staff of McLachlan House before, so apologies if I have. Taken in September 1956 it will be too early for many of you but some staff stayed at the school for many years. I'm in there, lot shorter than I am now. Can anyone remember any of the names? I went to the 50th reunion in 2004, very embarrassing that no one seemed to recognise each other. Strange that I didn't know about the one refered to a few posts ago.

Hi, well some of you may remember me, I was in Gibson between 1969 and 1974, I have mixed feelings about Woodlands, on the whole I did pretty well out of it but in hindsight some of the teachers were pretty nuts! of Course Don Thompson was the prime nut, do you remember when half the school ended up in reception due to missing buttons or custard stains on their uniform? or the white underpants rule? or even the bizarre haircut rules, ok to have it long at the sides but short at the back? The bloody cross country runs that I hated, the sarcasm and board rubber flying? the outright bullying by some teachers if you got on the wrong side of them, especially Corbett!! I remember Bob Horn was a good bloke and Jim Wilkinson, my housemaster Jim Newton saw my potential and nurtured it, I seemed to annoy a lot of them though, Boggy Greaves didn't like me much, Pete Rosborough was ok Mrs Underwood and those short skirts was a bit of light relief from the relentless tedium of some of the lessons by the old guard who used to fall asleep snore fart go for a fag and call that a lesson, those were the days!

What has "Rosey" done to be disgraced?

google it

Can't see him having been found guilty of anything! (unless I've missed it - which is why I asked the question)

After finding this forum I thought I post some brief recollections of my own experiences whilst attending Woodlands in the late fifties early sixties. I was a member of Brook House located next to Spark house under the control of Bill Cleaver who managed the school Morris Dancing team and played a mean squeezebox. It is interesting to read the very mixed experiences encountered by the contributors to this web site. My own attendance at Woodlands was a good experience overall and it is mainly happy memories. I remember Fred knocker West and some of the others of his teaching staff including his second in command who was I think called Jones? I was fortunate living locally being to walk back and forth to Woodlands. Brook House, the Tuck shop accessed during morning break, which sold cakes as well as sweets, pupils taking in turns to carry out cup washing and tuck shop sales duties. I recall for some years we were taught Maths by a gents called Wally Carlisle and a chap called Harris who I think was house master of Gibson and who was a disciplinarian second to none and who used the cane on a regular basis. Biology was I recall taught by the only female teacher whose name I cannot recall. Mr Boland taught Physics and I do recall his son who was also a member of Brook House and during his first year sat with myself at one of the school lunch time tables. I wonder where this little chap ended up! it was only reading the web pages that I was reminded about young Mr Boland. I played rugby for the School during several years and Sooty (another Brook House member) was the Welsh controller of the first fifteen. I recall another Brook House teacher who sadly passed away during the school year whose name I cannot recall, He was bald and had a moustache. I attended his funeral with some other boys in Balsall Common or maybe Knowle, he was a very keen cricket coach and I think taught English. He was a really approachable and nice person. As for Metalwork, Woodwork, Art, etc, I cannot remember individuals but I do remember the head of the Music dept who I seem to remember ran the Coventry Silver Band, I remember seeing him in the Coventry carnival a couple of times, a really funny man located next to the main school hall. As for other memories, the "smokers club" locations shall we say were dynamic, I was not a member, the almost continuous efforts to obtain a swimming pool for the school and the enormous Coke machine arriving at Woodlands, located in one of the PE buildings. It's amazing what rubbish you remember!!!

Welcome to our forum BHS and thank you for those memories. If I recall, the Coke machine was installed in the entrance to Gym 3, and it was Newton who was Housemaster of Gibson House, Harris - who caned me once (along with most of the class I hasten to add) for not handing in homework on time, was Housemaster of Perrens.

I was "lucky" enough to be at Woodlands from 1970 to 1975, in McLachlan House. For the first few years our housemaster was H Jones, who I always remember as being relatively ok with me but had a terrifying psychopathic nature when annoyed, literally frothing at the mouth! He was a keen caner, and I recall him caning the younger boys in front of the entire house, and after one particularly excessive episode I believe he was "replaced" as house master. The new head was probably the most ineffectual teacher I ever came across, so lacking in leadership qualities that the house descended into total anarchy (such a drip that his name totally escapes me). He once tried to cane me in the fourth form for shouting near his flat in Mount Nod - I didn't even know he lived there! He was replaced by Morgan the TD teacher - a total thug and bully who once nearly decapitated me by throwing one of those metal TD squares at me in his class. Thanks to Jones and Morgan I developed a dislike of the Welsh which lingers to this day. An honourable mention for Peter Rossborough, who even out-thugged Morgan. He was England's International Rugby full-back at the time, and used the skills he had learnt in his sport to batter our 3rd year class of 14 year olds into submission, cracking boys round the head and once punching me so hard I skidded across his classroom floor on my back. From what I hear, the rest of his educational career carried on in much the same manner. The best teacher I remember was Mr Bateman, who took me for History from 3rd to 5th year, and was so passionate about his subject that I retain a life time passion for it.

My brother in law Paul Haynes went to Woodlands, think he left about 1967-68 ish, was very sporty and played in goal for the school team and Cov schoolboys along with fellow pupil Bob Stockley.

I,ve not seen him mentioned but the housemaster of my house (Smith Clarke) was Fred Aldridge. After I left in 64 he became the headmaster of a school in Rouncil lane in Kenilworth. It was rumoured that he was decorated for heroism in WW2, how can I find out ?.

Just found this forum and with it some memories of my time at Woodlands, which was 1972-1976. I was in Stringer house, where the Housemaster was Jock Edney (later to become some kind of spiritualist minister) and his deputy Clive 'Batman' Bentley, a former Head Boy who just couldn't leave, or get the underarm stains from his shirts, ISTR. Others branded into my memory are Mr Hottot (hot tempered French teacher), English teacher Peter Rossborough (an England rugby player who smacked misbehaving kids around the head, very hard), Maths teacher Sue Underwood (absolute goddess and a fantasy figure for hundreds), the inspirational art teacher Jim Wilkinson, another art teacher called Flitcroft (who also wrote for the Two Ronnies), Mick Wilkinson (a viking like Games master), and my House Tutor, the amiable Mick Twistleton. Not forgetting the Headmaster, Don Thompson, who was said to sign his letters THM - Tile Hill Mafia. I also heard, and this may be no more than a scurrilous rumor, that Thompson was later made to resign on grounds of mental instability?