Foxford Schools

Kaga, I attended both the old Foxford School and the new. The school I joined when I was five was what was known as an elementary school. I laboured there for a long while, sat my Eleven-Plus there, but it was clear for the longest time that Foxford School, the elementary school, had a younger, more modern, brother who was determined as a comprehensive in replacing the elementary school. The process of change began in 1952, when many of the younger kids were told that they would - the following year - be moving to Alderman's Green or other junior schools around the area. Foxford was to be a comprehensive school with students at one end who would be taught how to use a hammer without killing anyone (one extreme) and at another to argue the merits of postwar poets like Philip Larkin again without killing anyone (the other extreme). By good fortune (and innate talent) I was placed in the Larkin and poetry stream of the school because I had been able to demonstrate that I already knew how to use a hammer, though not (and this I hid from the examiners) without killing anyone. The students who, in 1953 became ten, remained at Foxford for the 11-plus. The entire coterie entered the comprehensive school the following year in streams from the purely academic (Set 1) to the less-obviously academic "couldya gimme a hand wi' this, mistah?" (Set 6). I was placed in Set 3, the lower of the academics, despite my glorious performance in 11-pluserooney. I was offered a place at a grammar school, but the cost of the uniform was such as to rule out such a prospect. On this website, few indeed are those who admit attending Foxford - before the flood/after it - but you will observe, Kaga - I am sure - how bright these folks are.

I went to Foxford School. Around 1960/61 to 1965/66 Gilly

I always thought that in my day at school, Foxford was in fact a grammar school. I went to Windmill Road school, I do remember in about the 1954/5 time we took an exam in the canteen, I remember it being very hard and beyond what we had been learning. I did learn later that this was the 11plus exam and those that passed would go to Foxford school. From what Longford Lad writes I might have been completely wrong.

You were not entirely wrong in your assessment, johnwright, the academic streams of Foxford (sets 1 through 3 with 4 as the borderline) were - more or less similar to grammar schools. Perhaps to set your mind at rest, nobody was sent to Foxford from outside its immediate cachment area that was not grammar school or much the same as grammar school material. If memory serves, Windmill Road became - as Longford Park - a secondary modern school. Your attending that school before the change, had you been less than academic material, would have placed you outside the catchment area for Foxford. In other words, if you lived in Longford village, or close thereto, the only way you might have moved on to Foxford Comprehensive was by dint of your performance in the 11-plus exams. The young people in the practical sets - 5 & 6 (later 5, 6, 7 and 8) - were not academically inclined. I had friends in school from Coundon, Wyken, Radford, even Styvechale and Cheylesmore. Many of the students at Foxford - had there been no Foxford - would have attended fee-paying schools because the parents were well-heeled. Now, having told you how innately bright you were because of your attending Foxford alongside the like of me, be prepared to be called upon when the Longford Park crowd give me a hard time. By the way, should you need to talk to someone closer to home about the merits of comprehensive schools, drop Rob Orland a line. There were people back in the day, johnwright, who attended a comprehensive school to enrich - intellectually - what was there already. Needless to say, I was not one of those, but I was a local that might have attended the school because of an accident of birthplace, but actually attended the school because of intellectual wherewithal. I suspect, johnwright, that you and I attended Foxford for the same reasons, but had we both been less blessed in the dome, I would still have gone to Foxford, you would not. Does this help? A warm day beside Lake Ontario - merely minus 2 Celsius. A bright sky has given us a clear view across the lake. Not that we might have seen anything - it's 45 kilometers wide at this point. There are a few miles of west end of the southern lake frontage that is Ontario - chiefly the towns of St Catherine's and Niagara-on-the-Lake - the rest is upper New York state, no major urban area, though, until you reach Rochester, some many miles to the east of us.

I went to Windmill Road infants & juniors 1955-1961. I sat my 11 plus at Windmill Rd and my 3 preferences were King Henry VIII, Bablake & lastly Foxford. I didn't achieve a high enough grade for my first two choices so I went to Foxford Comprehensive. Many old Windmill Rd schoolmates disowned us and called us Foxford snobs. I always went to school by bicycle and cut across Longford Park via the old bridge. I was regularly pelted with all sorts of paraphernalia especially on the way home. As I remember it in those days, if you lived on the Longford side of the New Inn Bridge, you could automatically go to Foxford. Those of us that lived over the bridge (I lived just over in Arbury Ave.) had to pass our 11 plus. I also remember a few from Windmill Rd aka Longford Park school passing a 13 plus exam and coming to Foxford although I believe they had to drop back a year. Foxford school celebrated 60 years as a comprehensive in 2015 and I went along for the event/reunion. There were only two people that I recognised as former schoolmates. I picked up a souvenir mug & blazer badge and we had a group photo taken (I have a yellow spear in my head).

I found this interesting as I lost touch with Foxford after 1942 so thank you one and all.

Foxford school in the thirties The headmaster was named 'Cook' - so we called him Chef A teacher named Coleman we called Mustard A teacher named Branson we called Pickles. Thought you might like to hear that!

I attended Foxford School from 1965 to 1970. The headmaster was a well-liked gentleman named Mr Knight who I believe lived out Bulkington way, I also remember a sports master called Mr Mills who was married to the swimming coach Miss Phantom. I was in Mercury house and hung around with a chap called Nick Chamberlain and another lad called Ray Frost, there was also the lovely Sue Lynes if I remember correctly. Having recently worked at City College Coventry where I was a student assessor of motor vehicle engineering I am still constantly amazed when I think back to the level of engineering we were taught as school kids. I have fond memories of starting up one of the lathes with the chuck key still in the chuck and watching it ricochet around the room to the consternation of the engineering teacher and making sand moulds into which we poured molten aluminium to cast the handles for our screwdriver project, I wouldn't sayHealth and Safety didn't exist, it was just that you were allowed to make mistakes because how else would you learn! I am not advocating those levels of H&S today but when I look at the level of skills young people display when they enter an engineering field today I do wonder, Last year I helped Arriva buses in their apprentice selection programme and during one section morning of the twenty hopefuls vying for the trade apprenticeships available only six could correctly name a flat bladed screwdriver, it begs the question just what are we preparing our young people for as they move out into the big wide world.

I attended Foxford 1962-1967 and was in Mars house. I would probably have been a 4th year when you started, Potters Green Lad. When I left the Head was still Mr Dodgson. Mr Knight was I think housemaster of Neptune. I took the sciences (Biology, Chemistry & Physics) so only took metalwork & woodwork in the first year or two. The metalwork teacher was an old fellow called Mr Barry & woodwork was taught by Mr Linacre. Mr "Stan" Mills was gamemaster but he wasn't married to Mrs Fantom. She was Headmistress of Mars house and was married to Mr Fantom (also a swimming coach). Mr Whittaker was Head of Mars house and supposedly he hardest "caner" in the school. I believe Stan Mill's wife was secretary to the Headmaster and drove a lilac coloured Morris Minor 1,000,000. Head of Mercury were Mr Clayton & Miss Foerckler. Some of my friends & classmates from Mercury House were: Gerald "Ged" Kelly, Martin "Russ" Adams, Dave Prewett, Lawrence Clark, Bill Pateman, Dave Garland, Graham Carrier, David Wilson, Kathleen Whittam, Catherine Chesney, Janice & Jacqueline Rogers, Anne Edwards, Graeme & Mick Cann. In Mars there were Steve Henderson (who I worked behind the bar at the Edgewick club in 1969), Robin Moorcroft, Robert Moore, Roy Adams, Paul Davies, Ramesh Lal, Raymond James, Stephen Rushton, Mick McMahon, Michael Aristides, John Armstrong, Christopher Pusnik, Kevin Hilton, David Crozier, Tony Squire, Alan Pargetter, Alan Bee, Alan Buttriss, Solmon Choudry, Michael Neophytou, Stephen Caldwell, Tony Diston, David Smith, Roy Dumbleton, Nigel Salt, John Winowski, Bernard Brindley Janet Ponting, Elsie Lowe, Julie Benn, Mary White, Terina Ward, Jayne Calvert, Sandra Stoneystreet, Veronica McKenna, Heather Bate. Another Mars pupil was Steve Waugh, son of the then Lord Mayor of Coventry. I still maintain that my main claim to fame is batting in the same cricket team as Steve Waugh. JUPITER Roy Reading, Colin Reading, Bill Gardner, Brian McAllister, Ken Drakeford, David Johnson Yvonne Carter, Marilyn Staff NEPTUNE John Sherriff, Alan Sayers, Keith Leedham, Peter Tunkle, David Turner, Brian Chester, (Keith ?) Lombard, Michael Shirley, Foster Cooper, David Archer, Robert Oldham, Paul Collier Shirley Mutch, Christine Robinson, Lesley Carter, Catherine Jones SATURN Roger Coles, Sindo Singh, John Bottomly, Stephen Hackett, John Hackett, Michael Gawthorpe, Alan Tidman, Malcolm Ingram, Ian Foster Susan Taylor, Sandy McCranor OTHER PUPILS Sohan Singh, Peter Bagley, Louis Holland, Ian Ridley, (Alan ?) Whittingham, Geoff Collins, Alan Bull, Norman James, Norman Wilkins, Clive Elliot, Melvyn Shields, Vic Brindley, Alan Brindley, Glyn Davies, Ken Makepeace, Dave Makepeace, Alan Brick, Alan Quinney, Paul Weightman, Phil Dunkley Leonora Galbraith, Sandra McCranor, Elizabeth Lewis, Susan Adams, Jennifer Bond, Gillian Duncan, Avis Hartopp, Angeline Brindley, Carol Davies, Jean, Pauline & Elaine Moore TEACHERS Headmaster : Mr C Dodgson Mr Ridley, Mr Vernon, Mr Bryant, Mr Gibson, Mr Coles, Mr Mancey, Mr Harris, Mr Hefford, Mr Clarke, Mr Morgan, Mr Linaker, Mr Barry, Mr Head, Mr Hilditch, Mr D Jones, Mr J Jones, Mr S Mills, Mr Fantom, Mr Wyman, Mr Pegg, Mr Leadbetter, Mr Whitaker, Mr Clayton, Mr Hill, Mr Knight Miss Tan, Mrs Brown, Miss Powell, Mrs Fantom, Miss Foerckler, Miss Wilde, Mrs Lee, Miss Hutchison, Mrs Maxwell, Miss James My name is Derrick Oldham by the way

Derrick, if you go to the Sewall Highway topic you'll find a photo of my class at Courthouse Green. Michael Cann is second from left on the back row. He and his brother lived in Armfield Street near The Fleece pub. I wondered where he went after Courthouse, most of us went to Caludon.

Hi Derrick, I too went to Foxford from around 1960 - 1965, so I was probably a year or two ahead of you. I loved my school days. It was nice to remember some of the people you mentioned. One in particular whose name I have been trying to remember for many years was Solomon Chaudry. I remember he used to play 'Shove halfpenny' I think it was called down the back of the classroom with some other boys. He used to wear a bracelet that he said was made out of elephants hair?? and I was so fascinated with it that he gave it to me. A few days later the boys teased me by saying that by accepting it I had agreed to become one of his many wives sometime in the future and I was petrified. I came across the bracelet not so long ago and it reminded me but I couldn't remember Solomon's name. You must have been one of the nice kids as some of the names that you mentioned were all nice kids as I recall. Gilly

Derrick wow what a memory. I remember you very well one of the good ones. My name is Mick Mcmahon.

Remember you very well Mick. Blond hair and an infectious laugh. We were both in Mars A. Bumped into you a couple of times after we left (In Coventry city centre I seem to remember) I was in Halfords yesterday and a guy recognised me from Foxford. He was Ronnie Williams and his best mate was Alan Stokes. They were both in Mars house but I had forgotten both of them.