Orlando

New web site dedicated to the school can be found here : https://hmgs.home.blog

Oh come on Stan ! I thought maybe you'd been subjected to some traumatic abuse to make you so jaundiced about the place. If that's the worst that happened, you got off lightly ! As for wanting to learn cricket, surely every boy played the game in 1961 ! You must have led a rather sheltered life up til then. Anyway the policing at break times was the job of the prefects not the teachers so please don't blame them ! And anyway where were your mates ? It really is quite astonishing that a man of your years should not have been able to make his peace with the place. From the vantage

Stan, my post was not meant as criticism. I'm genuinely interested in what you have to say and you write so well when reminiscing that I'd very much like to hear all about your time there. In particular I'd like to hear about those first three years that makes you still resent Mellish so.

Hey Stan, if you were there from 61 to 68 you must have carried on into the sixth form. Why on earth did'nt you do yourself a favour and get out afer the 5th form if the place was so traumatic for you ?

I remember that a Mellish boy represented England schools at rugby back in 1978. This is the team sheet from the program of the England v. Wales game for that year. See at No. 5 "J A Taylor". This was probably the highest point of international representation for the school. Anyone at the school at the time remember him and whether his rugby career continued ?.

Someone in this thread mentioned the game of "hand-pill" which was played at breaks and as far as I know was unique to Mellish schoolboys. Seems the tradition carried on through til the end. If anyone needs a guide to the game I find this on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gURWfJakpnY

Only just come back to this thread after long time away - good post Matt. Yes - Driscoll was nicknamed Schultz as he looked like a Nazi skinhead and had a Germanic accent although he taught French. Pig Hutchinson was so called because he was constantly clearing his throat, coughing and picking his nose. Sutherland was nicknamed Sooty cos of his compulsive nicotine habit and 'Pete' Henry as you say was universally liked as one of the more 'liberal' teachers although he failed to instil in me any understanding of the metaphysical poets. He left some time in 75 but touchingly sent us all a good-

I was at mellish from 68 to 75 and also remember Danny Mac although I think he retired before 1975 as Ena Bonsall was already head of Physics by 1972. Other notable teachers were Bates the mild mannered metal work teacher who we delighted in addressing formally as Master Bates and the unfortunately named mad maths teacher Mr Bottoms whose initials incredibly were "R.C." just in case we needed any help in remembering his nickname

Girls finally turned up in the 74/75 academic year of new intakes. This was also the 1st year of fully comprehensive intake after the eleven plus was completely phased out in Notts. This meant 45 eleven year old girls from Bulwell in a school of 500 grammar school boys from around the rest of the county. Must have been very frightening.