Caludon Castle School

Does anyone still have their Caludon Report? Came as a book, I still have mine, makes interesting reading.I have a photo of Talbott House new entries in 1955, did send it to the Telegraph a few years ago, was printed, did get quite a bit of interesting response, but not enough to do anything about. Thinking about punishment, I certainly had my share of that, always my own fault of cause. Hard to say what I think, only that it never did me any harm. Swipes around the head from a geography teacher, lots of cane from Mr Tilley and Mr Cook (deputy head, I believe). Good conduct cards also, would never dare take them home for signing though, so had to forge my dad's signature. Did think that Caludon was a good school though, I just wasn't ready for education though, so school for me was for fun. Like others, started off in set 1 and ended up in 3. Of course, the world was a different place then, those of us in set 3, whom all left at age 15, most went into apprenticeships, and consequently had good working lives. After a job at E.Laxon & Co. for a year or so I joined the Royal Navy, and by then I was ready for education. They not only educated me, providing me with my lifetime's employment, but they paid me handsomely whilst I did it.

I`ve still got mine, but I can`t remember who the house master was. I`ll have to dig it out!!

Do you remember the chits for merits and detention you had to hand them in to the housemaster.

I remember those so well. The teachers had a cheque book and wrote out a slip for a merit or a punishment, which was detention or corporal punishment. This was handed by the pupil to the Housemaster. The teacher kept the counterfoil so that he could confirm that the slip had been handed in. If you received two detentions you got the stick as well. My father had suffered a very serious accident early in my Caludon career so I needed several small jobs to supplement our very large family's meagre income. I couldn't attend detentions because I needed to be out earning so automatically received one on each hand and a further detention. This meant I had the stick very often even though Taff would rip some of my slips up. One fateful day when I was in my final year I received seven detention slips, possibly a school record and for which I am perversely proud. I also received a merit for coming top in a history exam. I genuinely couldn't bear to see the disappointed expression on Taff Davies' face so I placed the merit slip on his desk, threw the detention slips away and never went back. Coincidentally, a few years later I met a lad from Caludon who was attending an officer's selection board in Portsmouth. He recognised me and said that he couldn't wait to tell Taff he'd met me because Taff always cited me to the sixth form as "the one he lost". Sometimes you can't stop the tears but it's true that life is a series of forks in the road.

I was at 'Cally' in 1973 (Clifford House) before new headmaster Rupert Inness changed the whole system. Back then it was Clifford/Preston - 1st year pupils Talbot/Seagrave - 2nd year pupils Chester/Berkeley - 3rd year pupils Mowbray/Greene - 4th year pupils Howard/Morgan - 5th year pupils Mr Inness changed it all around so after initial 1st year, pupils went to their next academic year with 2nd and 3rd year pupils in their house class before lessons... which was good as you hung out with more mature lads, which was an insight of how to act less immature. At this time, 1st year pupils went to Chester/Berkeley and the following house names were dropped; Clifford, Talbot, Green, Howard Some great teachers, my favourites being Derrick Siddle (Seagrave housemaster/History), Bob Pollett (Physics... a genius) and Aiden Every (English)... and some truly nasty ones as well. I was never caned, but did get the dreaded 'Card' that related to work or discipline that your teacher had to sign after every lesson with a Satisfactory. If you got an 'Unsatisfactory', you got the bamboo stick. Our class in Seagrave was upstairs over the dinner room, and every Monday, you'd get a few lads lined up to get a caning... plenty of 'hard lads' coming out in tears.

I went to 'Cally' as the first intake of girls! That was scary! I was in Berkeley house and Mr Inness was the Head Teacher. I do not remember many teachers names as we moved to Nuneaton during my 2nd year. I never really enjoyed my time at Caludon - as a 'geek' I was a target for bullies. My form room was in Block 2, and I just remember the dreaded toilets! My favourite teachers were Mr Hughes (Science) who I still see as a member of my local swimming club! Also, Mr Maddox, a really lovely chap!

There has been an attempt to establish a Caludon Castle old boys' type association. Are there any readers out there that could be interested. Apologies if this is not an appropriate place for this, but efforts have been made elsewhere, but to little avail. Many thanks.

In 1955, which I think was the second full year of the school, unless anyone knows better!! the first year went into Talbot and Seagrave, where we stayed for 2 years, after that we were split 3 ways, I think, Talbot going to Greene, Howard and possibly Preston, whilst Seagrave went to the other 3 houses. At that time, Berkeley and Chester blocks were just being built. Our Housemaster in Talbot was Mr Geoff Bennett, a very well respected teacher. In Greene it was Mr Cooper. Living in Sewall Highway, beyond the Devon, and not having a bike I would always walk to school. Being very small, left school at about 4'6", I would very often get picked up and given a crossbar. Very, very happy days.

Have you looked back to post #5 in this thread?

I went to John Gulson in 1953, Mercia House, before transferring to Caludon Castle in 1954. I do recall that the announcement was made by the then headmaster "Pip" Le Quesne before he retired with HH Tilley greeting us at Caludon. I was firstly in Mowbray House with Dai Davies as housemaster then moved to Howard after 2 years, Mr Titt as housemaster. As other members have noted, being quite short was always selected to be hooker in the scrum, not my favourite position, many good memories particularly on my last day in 1958, as the swimming pool had just been completed and we were allowed to go for swim.

All you clever people out there, anybody who went to Caludon Castle in the 1950's. My recollection is that on our school uniform, the jacket had a lot of red braid on the edges and also on the sleeves. Is that correct? Is that still the uniform, if not when did it change and what to? I started in the 1st year in 1955.

Slash, I started at Caludon in September 59. The uniform jacket was black but there were still a few older boys in the old blue jacket with red piping. I must say I preferred the original.

I well remember my Caludon uniform. As you say, the jacket was mid blue with red piping with the school badge on the breast pocket. we had to wear grey flannel trousers and, from memory, the tie was red and blue stripes and I think the stripes were edged with gold.

This is really a response by "walrus", from a much earlier post that I have just re-read. Like you, albeit a few years previous, myself and my best friends, all started in set 1 and slowly slipped down to set 3. I thought that the school was brilliant, my lack of interest in education at that time was no fault of theirs. Pick left in 59, worked in civvy street for a year or so then joined HMS Raleigh on November 1st 1960. I was very lucky, as I believe that I escaped Ganges by a month or so. Pick do remember, when the Ganges lads joined us at Raleigh for Part 2 training, they had had to sew their names in everything in red wool, or something similar. Did you have to do that? Anyway, back to Caludon, Geoff Bennett was an inspirational figure, and have never forgotten him. So too was Ken Cooper, our housemaster in Greene. We had a young chap for French, Mr Shipperley, I think. We had another young chap/new teacher for English, a Welsh gent, lodged in a house near the top of Sewall Highway. Shall have to check my School Report to get his name. Someone mentioned Mr Murray, I remember him now, can picture him. My memory would say that he seemed rather old and slightly quaint, can't remember what he taught us though. Mr Lingard for PE. The names are all coming back now. Sadly I was not a model pupil, had the cane in front of the school, also many times in Mr Tilley's and Mr Cooke's office. I will always value my time there though, clearly planted some seeds. Later in my Naval career, with a lot of brilliant training I had a real love and yearning for learning. School came too soon for me. Just wanted fun at that time in my life.

It has been most interesting to read through this thread and it`s with relief, I haven`t seen the name George Turner mentioned as one of the "hard case" teachers, although, I am sure he was pretty strict. Don`t know dates from and to, but he was there as a housemaster (I think Preston) under Headmaster Tilly from day one, having been recruited by him from Whitmore (previously Hen Lane), along with I think Ben Vickery and Dai Davies, both of whom I think played rugby for Kenilworth, The only other name I knew was John Knight who had come from John Gulson. My father taught maths and possibly he had a hand in rugby somewhere, as he had played for the Guild and I think Coventry seconds before the war, anyway "silly soccer" was banned in our house and he only ever taught me rugby, although I believe it was the tradition amongst rugby players to go to watch Coventry City play on Christmas Day. I never heard much about the running of the school and the "Comprehensive" context, i.e. the mixture of Grammar and Secondary Modern under one roof and the taking of all pupils from one catchment area, or how it all worked out in results form. I have a feeling Caludon might have been the first in Coventry and perhaps was very early in the whole country. I do know he had problems with the concept of an "Eight Day Week" that Tilly introduced. Perhaps somebody may remember the "Martin Walther Conversion" Bedford Dormobile he and my mother used to take to the continent and which he took me home in when I picked him up at school - we lived by then in Long Compton from where he commuted every day. A couple of snippets to end... He was deadly with the chalk, he could skim from one side of the room to the other with great accuracy, and I hear he was not averse to hurling the wooden board rubber. I picked him up one day when, as we say in Scotland, he appeared pretty "Wappit". I asked him what was the matter, it appeared he had been teaching set "?" last period, apparently he gave up trying to teach them anything and told me he "read to them" - any truth in this statement? I`m not trying to start a political war - but would any of you recognise the "original" Caludon in what they turn out today?