STUNTED GROWTH

1919 to 1929

Academic achievement must have been the envy of similar schools, with examination passes well above the national average. The problem was in finding Scholarships to support those students who qualified for university. Board of Education regulations stipulated that one quarter of all places at the School were free, and there were various Scholarships available for those entering the School, but for those leaving, further funding was hard to come by. In his Speech Day address of 1918, Mr Oldroyd requested more Scholarships "to enable our oldest boys and girls to go on to places of higher education so that they may be trained and fitted to help in that regeneration of the world which we are so anxious to bring about." The following year he returned to the subject. "We only desire to give our pupils the same chances that those of other towns possess, so that they may not be penalised for having been born in Heywood."

Student numbers continued to increase, reaching 219 in October 1921, but unemployment was rising ominously in the country, and especially in the town. As the slump in the textile industry worsened, by 1923 the register was back below 200 and still falling. The situation was exacerbated by two edicts from the LEC, insisting that fees be increased to £6.6s.0d per annum, and that parents of new pupils must undertake that their children would remain at the School until the age of 16.

Existing pupils continued to be withdrawn early, admissions fell, despite the offering of free places to the children of fathers killed in the War, and in March 1923, the Board of Education wrote to the School Governors, drawing attention to the reductions in both admissions and the average school life. Their letter read in part:

"The Board takes a serious view of the unsatisfactory condition of the School indicated by these figures, and they feel bound to state that the continued recognition of the School must be seriously endangered unless a marked improvement in the length of school life takes place at an early date. With regard to the number of admissions, the Board feel some doubt whether the continuance of the School can be justified in the absence of more definite support from the area which it is designed to serve."

The Board stated that an essential condition for the continuance of a Secondary School was that at least one per cent of the population should attend, and by that criterion the Heywood Secondary School should have between 250 and 260 pupils. There seemed little prospect that this would be achieved, and the Board hinted that closure was under consideration.

Battle lines were drawn again, with the County this time firmly behind the town. Although there were renewed accusations aimed at the School's original backers, and especially at the people of Heywood, who it was claimed had little inkling of the value of education, in the main there was a consensus that the School must be saved.

The Town Council and the LEC, after much debate, presented a reasoned argument to the Board. The main points were:

1. The slump in the cotton industry meant that Heywood was suffering more from the economic depression than most, as it was very dependent on the one industry. In these circumstances, Heywood should not be expected to match other towns, at least for the time being.

2. Even if the School declined to the point of admitting only thirty pupils each year, it would still have a total roll of 150, and the Board was asked where these children were to be educated if the School were closed. There was little likelihood that they could be accommodated in neighbouring towns.

3. The School was recognised as having a deserved reputation as an excellent place of learning, and should not be discarded lightly.

4. The more the Board put the future of the School in doubt, the more likely it would be that parents would not enrol their children, and numbers would decline further.

By the Autumn, the Board had been given these points to consider, and in his Speech Day address in December Mr G.H.Gater M.A., Director of Education for the County, was fulsome in his support. "Heywood Secondary School can rank with any other school in Lancashire as regards its management, the efficiency with which it is conducted, and the results it has achieved."

The extent of the Board of Education's retreat can be judged by the fact that, although School numbers continued to fall, and did not reach 200 again until 1931, eight years later, the Board, although continuing to grumble, accepted the situation, and allowed the School to continue.

Heywood Grammar School

In the midst of these dramatic events, and almost unnoticed, the name of the School was changed. There was no announcement, and the first that most of the townspeople knew of the change was the new sign in Hind Hill Street giving the School name as "Heywood Grammar School". The name was used officially for the first time on the prospectus for the Autumn Term of 1924. Similar schools all over the country were also incorporating "Grammar" or "High" into their names. This was mainly because other schools providing post-elementary education were now common, and the new names were intended to distinguish the original Secondary Schools, providing education to the age of sixteen and beyond.

Would the change of name bring about a change of fortune?

Only Lacking Numbers

It was not to be. The School continued to stagnate in size, but it shone in academic excellence, as described in the report of the School Inspectors on their visit of November 1924:

"Whether estimated by inspection, or by the results of examinations, the general standard of work is remarkably good. The pupils of ordinary ability work hard and seem to like doing so. This is almost always the case when teaching is well organised and effective. As for those in the Sixth Form, the fact that ten old pupils are now at university, a remarkable number for a small school, and that in the last three years three have won University Scholarships, speak for themselves. Both in and out of school the pupils made a very good impression. Discipline is free and natural, but quite effective; manners and general appearance are good; and there is a standard of articulate, frank and intelligent speech quite uncommon in Lancashire schools."

Extra-curricular activities, which had begun immediately the School opened, were now extensive. The School was divided into four houses, unimaginatively named Blue, Green, Red and White, who competed at a variety of sports, and who organised many social events. After-School societies covered a wide range of sports, games and hobbies.

Despite the Inspectors' glowing report, admissions stubbornly failed to improve. The cotton industry sank ever deeper into recession, and over one third of the town's mills closed, most of them permanently

All through the 1920's the situation deteriorated until in 1929 only 24 pupils were admitted, and the total number of pupils fell to only 169, the lowest for 10 years, although the low number of admissions was undoubtedly due in part to the very low birth rate of 1918.

Still the excellent academic record of the School shone through the gloom. In 1930, out of 27 pupils sitting for the School Certificate, 26 passed, a success rate of 96% against a national average of 70%. The pass rate for the Higher School Certificate was 100%.

The School Inspectors reported again in 1930:

"The decline in numbers is a matter which must cause considerable disquiet to those responsible for the conduct of the School. One of the possibilities which must be considered in such a case is that the teaching might be ineffective, and the School unworthy of the confidence of the neighbourhood. It is satisfactory to place on record the unanimous conviction of the Inspectors that this is not the case. The staff as a whole is competent, and doing satisfactory work deserving of greater support."

The disquiet continued in some quarters, including some members of the Town Council, that the venture into Secondary Education begun in 1912, should not have been undertaken. The School's excellent and continuing academic reputation, however, had by this time made it difficult to contemplate closure.