THE FINAL SCHOOL BELL

Omens

1961 to 1968

Events at the end of the 1950s seemed to presage the end of an era. In 1957 the two senior Science masters, Messrs Hope and Gregory retired, both after thirty-six years service. In 1958 Mr Oldroyd died, and the following year two more teachers, Miss Pearson and Mr Howarth, with joint service of seventy-seven years, retired. They were the last of the pre-war teaching staff, and their going, coinciding with the new admission policy, appeared to signal a break with the past.

During the early 1950s some excellent new, and mainly young teachers had been recruited, bringing with them energy and enthusiasm aplenty. When their senior colleagues retired, these teachers, now with some years' experience added to their other qualities, came into their own, and contributed greatly to the school's continued success during the final years of its existence.

Confusion Reigns

The General Election of 1964 brought into power a Government with a firm commitment to comprehensive education, and legislation was introduced to implement the change.

What followed was a baffling sequence of events. In February, 1965 the LEC at last asked the County Council to approve the compulsory purchase of land at Siddal Moor "for the building of a three-form entry Grammar School" to be included in the 1965-66 major building programme. This, however, was despite having already announced in 1964 that comprehensive education would proceed as soon as the details had been decided.

There was much confusion with official statement contradicting official statement, and staff, pupils and parents were equally bewildered. By the end of 1965 the plan was for the three-form entry Grammar School to be "extended" to a seven-form entry Comprehensive School, but by April 1966 it had changed again. The new proposal was for a nine-form entry Comprehensive to replace the Heywood Grammar School and the Bamford Road and Hornby Street County Secondary Modern Schools. The building of the new School was proceeding on that basis.

In the meantime the School had to continue with its business of educating children, and the physical confines under which it was forced to operate were not helping. That the School continued to function successfully during its last years was an outstanding achievement on the part of Mr Farish and his staff. By 1962 there were 527 pupils at the School, sixty-four of them in the Sixth form, and the new method of selection had been in place for two years. In 1963 the number of pupils was 545, in 1964 it was 578, and by 1966 was over 600, with 120 sixth-formers, but by then the fate of the School was sealed.

One of the School's finest moments came very near the end, when in 1967 a team of Fifth and Sixth formers beat off competition from 600 other schools to win the "Science Fair" contest held under the joint auspices of the Sunday Times and the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Their work on peat deposits in the town was featured in two BBC television programmes, and was regarded as a major achievement for the School.

All Over

In November 1967 the inevitable was made official. The LEC announced its intention "to discontinue the existing Heywood Grammar School and establish in the premises a new Junior High School for approximately 360 pupils, mainly aged 11-13, and of establishing a Senior High School for about 600 children, mainly of the ages 13-18 at the new premises at Newhouse Road, Siddal Moor, which originally was to be the new Grammar School."

Mr Farish was appointed Headmaster of the new Senior High School. He officiated at the final Speech Day of Heywood Grammar School on 30th January 1968, but there were no formal goodbyes, and the School closed on 11th July of that year with none of the ceremony which had marked its opening.