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#175

 

Enjoyed your post, Stan.  It's a terrible shame when a school destroys a pupil's confidence instead of building it. You've largely recovered from it, as you say, but the resentment is still, to some extent, there inside.

 

During my time at The Manning, we were frequently told that we would emerge from that establishment able to converse with anyone on any subject and on equal terms. This was good as it boosted the self esteem of more reticent girls but the ethos of anti-male philosophy backfired to some extent. Certainly, after I left, I was guilty of what can only be described as arrogance, a sense of female superiority (which, if I'm honest, remains with me to this day!) and had to learn not to speak in a condescending manner to anyone male.

 

I hated the place and its regimentation but, in common with public schools, it did instil confidence and self esteem into its pupils and that is something which is sadly lacking at present.

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Sorry TBI. I really don’t understand why the system was junked - unless it was to bring “ equality”, meaning mediocrity, to every kid. We are NOT equally academically gifted, and thank God. I went to

I think the difference between Grammar and secondary education was vast,,, Qualifications GCEs etc were hardly in our vocabulary at Padstow............i soon realised after a visit from the ''Youth Em

I for one loved school.  Grew up on a Council Estate, passed the 11+ and went to Grammar School.  Not a perfect school but always grateful for a good education.  Both my Mum and Dad passed to go to Gr

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I didn't attend the Mellish, but I did find many of the same issues with the Chandos secondary school.  I guess some of us square pegs will just not fit into the round holes they expect us to.  Maybe the lesson that they teach us if anything is how to maintain a low prifile until we can find our niche elswhere.

 

If I may say so Jill, your posts give no hint of female superiority or arrogance.  Neither do you speak in a condescending manner.  Yer must be doing summat right.  :)

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#177

 

I'm not 18 any more, Loppy! When you're young, you think you know it all...well I did! Took some years to filter through the grey cells that I didn't really know very much and that pouncing on other people's weaknesses was not a nice thing to do. The 'women are superior to men' message propounded at The Manning took hold and was probably reinforced by the mutterings of my paternal grandmother, Kate, whose dealings with misguided males I wrote about in the Strange Neighbours thread!

 

Most of the blokes in my life aren't too bad...but it has to be said that a fair number of em are cats!  ;)

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One thing I DO know.  The older I get the more I realize that I don't know much at all so its better to shurrup!  One of the most mature genuinely superior ladies I ever knew was my late wife.  I wish I'd realized it more at the time.  She had a superior education to me.  (Nottm Girls high school)  She could tell you that you were wrong in such a gracious way that you thought it was your own idea.  A great compromiser.  She wouldn't just issue a hard NO!  Rather she could come up with another idea that this poor old hound had never even thought of.  Thats how come I ended up in Canada, rather than Australia.  I only ever saw her get mad a couple of times.  That was enough for me.  Probably like your grandmother, Kate.  :rolleyes:  If more women were like that this world would be a better place.  Sorry!  not really relevant to the Mellish, but her dad was a teacher there. 

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I also had a bit of luck simply by going to Mellish, Stan. I went for an interview for a job as an engineering apprentice early one morning before school. When I got there I found that there were five lads chasing two positions so the odds were not brilliant I thought. As soon as I went into the office the guy doing the interviews looked up, saw the badge on my blazer pocket and set me on! Mind you, it was the princely sum of one shilling and tenpence ha'penny an hour, but it was a start and in 1967 it wasn't too bad.

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6 hours ago, philmayfield said:

Who was her dad? Might have taught there when I attended.

 

He probably did Phil.  He was there a long time right up to retirement.  Bob McCandless.  Head of the physics department.  I notice some on here have referred to him as 'Danny Mac'

 

The way I heard it explained was that his daughter (Janet) always referred to him as "Daddy'  No doubt a lot of the boys heard it when they all went along with a school trip to the Rome Olympics.  I think it was 1960.  So he became known as 'Daddy Mac' and the name stuck.  This was before I came on the scene in 1963.

 

When I met Janet he had just bought his first new car.  Morris 1100.  Neither he nor Janet had yet passed their tests so they needed a licensed driver to ride shotgun.  Cue for Loppylugs with a shiny brand new license just a month or two old.  Now they had a licensed driver to ride with.  Teen-aged boy's dream, new girlfriend, new car!  She often said I only married her for the car, but it was more than that really. :biggrin:

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I remember him well as I took Physics at A level. He was the senior science master. A very kind man. I had a lot of respect for him. He was was a strong Methodist and ran the Christian Union at the school although that was not an organisation I subscribed to! 

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Yes, Linden Grove it was.  He lived there until he died in 1998.  Janet died a year later in March 99,. Mary, my mother in law lived several more years after them both.  Nicest people you could wish to meet.  They both treated me like the son they never had.  I spent more hours in their house on the Grove than I ever did at home.  Once we emigrated they often spent their summers in Canada with us until they became too old to travel safely.

 

He was a local Methodist preacher and sometimes preached at Lowdham.  Their local church was Gedling rd. methodist.  The Meths did not seem to have a lot of ordained preachers so they circulated so called 'local preachers' around the churches that did not have a full time minister.

 

I had never heard of the Dannimac.  Learnt something new today.

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#188

 

Harold Wilson wore Dannimac and Gannex raincoats, if I remember correctly. Dannimac garments are still available today, a cheaper alternative to Aquascutum. Probably need to remortgage your house to buy one of those nowadays!

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I can remember Bob McCandless from my days at Mellish. He never taught me but he was generally recognised as a nice man. He stood head and shoulders in respect over the likes of "Ena"  Bonsall and "Pig " Hutchinson who seemed intent of humiliating those of a weaker character. I seem to remember a chap named Bailey who taught metalwork who was calm and even tempered at all times. "Shad"  Adams was another one who got respect because of his calm nature and confidence in his own ability. It didn't seem to dawn on some that if the teacher was calm and positive then the response from the pupil was better. I have found this is a common thing in life in general and have tried to adopt it myself. I like to think even if the likes of Bob McCandless didn't teach me directly I learnt something from just knowing them.

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The night I met Janet I asked her what her dad did for a living.  When she told me he was a teacher, I cringed.  The only teachers I had met were, with a few notable exceptions, sarcastic, sadistic, over inflated twits.  I really liked Janet so I didn't want to bail out even though I felt like it.  I'm glad I didn't.  He changed my thinking about teachers.  I don't think I have ever met a kinder, more reasonable, trusting guy.  His attitude tended to bring out the best.  I didn't want to disappoint him.

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No disrespect to any former pupils of HM, but this topic has certainly drawn an amazing amount of interest, memories and information from what was apparently a rather run of the mill secondary school.

Far more than what mine did (FFGS) An amazing response and although initially of no interest to me, has developed into a good topic. Well done to all concerned.

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I dispute the "run of the mill". It was a first rate grammar school in its day with high academic achievement. Many of my year became lawyers, accountants, doctors, pharmacists, university professors and business leaders and I am still in touch with some of them. It was only in the later years, after becoming a comprehensive, that it went down the pan and eventually into "special measures". A sad end to a wonderful school.

 

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Phil, I meant run of the mill in design, not inhabitants. Sorry for the misunderstanding. 

I also said apparently. 

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Well I've counted to ten several times, and won't get drawn into a pointless argument regarding the relative results of each school.

I'm sure FFGS had its fair share of professionals, and that neither was better or worse than the other in the time period we are discussing. Late 50's, early 60's. 

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I'm not sure what you mean by the design. I thought it was a rather attractive building which was well laid out for its purpose. I attended the closing "ceremony" some years ago and met up with many old school friends. We were all saddened to see how it had fallen into decay. It's was even sadder to see the demolition of the place where I spent many happy years. I had to spend a lot of money to send my two to the Nottingham High Schools to get an equivalent education.

 

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#195

 

I'm sure my friend and near neighbour Margaret Beardsall went to FFGS. She was a couple of years older than I but I don't recall that school being on the list of options given to my parents when I passed the Eleven plus exam. They were Mundella, Bluecoat or Manning.  When did FFGS close?

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Mid 60's I believe Jill. It moved to what is now called Bilborough Academy. In those days, it was known as Bilborough GS. 

 

The design was a bit Art Deco compared with FFGS which was an imposing Victorian structure I believe.

Bu66er me,I wish I'd never started this bit of the thread now. 

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#198

 

Ah, that explains it! The boys in my year had the same choice of co-ed grammars or High Pavement which I have only just realised was in Bestwood. I remember several boys in my year going to High Pavement in 1969.

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44 minutes ago, FLY2 said:

The design was a bit Art Deco compared with FFGS which was an imposing Victorian structure I believe.

Bu66er me,I wish I'd never started this bit of the thread now. 

 

Not at all FLY2. I'm past taking offence at anything but I do feel I have to stand up for the old alma mater! Living in Woodthorpe I had a choice of Mellish, West Bridgford or the new Carlton le Willows. The High School was an option but you had to have top 11+ marks to get a scholarship. It was only a 10 minute walk from home to Daybrook Station and a 4 minute train journey to Basford North so it was the obvious choice. Yes, it was a bit art dec with some Georgian thrown in - quite an impressive edifice. Only in the sixth form could you enter through the hallowed front portal. 

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