The following extract appeared in the “Woking News and Mail” in November 1961

 

WEST BYFLEET SECONDARY SCHOOL SPEECH DAY 1961

 

SCHOOL FOR 900 CHILDREN IS PLANNED

 

 

                There is no real answer to the problems of lack of accommodation of West Byfleet C.S. School short of having a completely new school, “and this is exactly what the Surrey Education Committee is proposing to provide”, said Mr. A. M. Baird, Chief Education Officer for Surrey, at the school’s annual prize-giving on Wednesday week.

 

                <Photograph here shows the Head Boy at West Byfleet C.S. School, David Hawksworth receiving his prize from Mr. A. M. Baird, Chief Education Officer for Surrey, at the school’s prize-giving last week>

 

                Mr. Baird said the committee is proposing to put into its building programme for 1963-65 a project costing about £270,000, which would provide a new school for about 900 children on a site at West Hall Estate, Parvis Road.  “Whether the project will be accepted into that building programme I don’t know” he continued.

 

                Of the 900 pupils at the new school provision would be made for about 90 children to go beyond G.C.E. ‘O’ Level education.

 

                Mr. Baird referred to the fact that in this country 69 girls out of every 100, and 53 boys out of every 100, get no further education after the age of 15.  “This is very, very bad indeed”, he said.   But he was delight that so many pupils were staying on for further education at West Byfleet.

 

                He paid tribute to the work West Byfleet School was carrying out and said that we must look for good knowledge, good standards and good ideas in education “and you do this in the school”.

 

                Mr. Baird said that at the many speech days he attended “it is easy to be full of praise for everything one sees and that is wrong”.  He did not intend to do this, he continued.

 

                There was a lot of muddled thinking about secondary education in the country, said Mr. Baird.  “I am a very strong supporter of the Grammar Schools but I am not prejudiced enough to think that the only kind of secondary education worth having is to be found in a grammar stream.    This school is doing a good job.

 

                Addressing the pupils, Mr. Baird said that in the future there would be a great many more people over the age of 65 than there had been in the past and because of that we will have to work doubly hard.

 

                To the girls he said that in this rapidly changing world more and more married women were doing two jobs, maintaining a home and undertaking an outside job as well.   Almost a third of all the married women in the country were working full time.  Girls would have to be well equipped to undertake a role like this, continued Mr. Baird.

 

                To those who did stay on at school he said, “Make the most of your opportunities because there are not enough of you”.    In this sphere West Byfleet School was a pioneer, he said.

 

                Speaking once again to the girls, Mr. Baird said it appeared to him that they had a very rosy future.  There were at present, he said 94,000 more men of marriage age than women.   “In the next 20 years or so there will also be about one million more men of working age than women.   Men will be competing for jobs and will not want women setting in their way too much”.  He urged girls to qualify themselves as well as they could in readiness for this period.

 

                Mr. F.W. Goodger (headmaster) spoke of the growth of the school.  In 1954 there gad been 370 pupils, he said, now there were 630.     This had been achieved by pacing moveable classrooms in the outer reaches of the school and it was virtually a flourishing African village.

 

                He spoke of the growth of the school in other directions. In 1957, 37 boys stayed beyond the age of 15.  Today there are 100 pupils over 15, 16 or even 17, he said, with 142 more to do so.    “This is nearly treble what it was in 1957”, said Mr. Goodger.  It was a part answer to the people who all too readily criticise that type of school.

 

 

                Mr. Goodger described the varied activities carried out in the school and by the school clubs, about 20 of them.   He also described the many achievements in sport attained by school reams and by individuals.

 

                “It was a report of which pupils and teachers could be proud”, said Miss B. Payne, presiding in the absence through illness of the Rev. A.J. Costin (Chairman of governors).

 

 

PRIZES LIST

-------------

 

FORM PRIZES

 

Bruce Sherpherd, Susan Rye, Douglas Palmer, David Benham, Rosamund Gee, Veronica James, Brian Durkin, David Whitfield, James Gladdis, Celia Scott, Ralph Bell and Janet Shepherd

 

PROGRESS PRIZE

Malcolm Gent, Jean Clarke, Angela Rodwell, Robert Stanford, Maureen Hall, David Bovington, Anthony Watson, Alasdair Provo, Patricia Austin, Stephen Brown, David Charman, Susan Floody, Lesley Hopkins, Roger Anderson, Diane Taylor

 

 

SUBJECT PRIZES

 

Senior English

Barbara Simms

Art

Louise Newton

 

Junior English

Veronica James

Needlework

Mary Christian

 

Senior Maths

Keith Rose

Domestic Science

Pauline Hill

 

Junior Maths

Maureen Fowler

Woodwork

Phillip King

 

Science (Girls)

Linda Peachey

Metalwork

Anthony Whitburn *

 

Science (Boys)

Keith Rose

P.E. and Games (Girls)

Mary Christian

 

History

Malcolm Gent

P.E. and Games (Boys)

Richard Mills

 

Geography

Michael Mann

Gardening

Barry Hellard

 

Music

Jean Clarke

R.I.

Christine Murch

 

Senior French

Janet Shepherd

French (junior)

Veronica James

 

 

 

 

* = (non-engineering course)

 

Commercial course prizes

Rosemary Baker, Jean Evans, Judith Keene, Dawn Middleton, Vivien Moon, Kay Smith

 

Engineering Course Prizes

‘A’ Level work: David Fisk, Stuart Morgan, John Thatcher

Geometrical Drawing: David Fisk, Brian Ratcliff, Keith Rose, John Thatcher

Metalwork:  David Fisk, Stuart Morgan, Brian Ratcliffe, John Thatcher

 

PRELIMINARY COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION

Susan Howbrook and Linda Newill (English, Maths, Shorthand); Mary Morris (English, Shorthand Credit);  Pauline Hill (English Credit, Maths); Jennifer Stephens (English,  Credit, Maths); Belinda Whitchlow (English, Maths, Credit); Jill Lambert (English, Credit); Janet Antony (English, Maths); Mary Doe (English, Maths); Maureen Hall (English, Maths); Lesley Loring (English, Maths); Margaret Mayo (English, Maths); Shirley Ravenhill (English, Maths); Helen Sheppard (English, Maths); Shirley Hargreaves (English)

 

PRELIMINARY TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION

(Passed in all four subjects – English, Maths, Science and Technical Drawing)

Ralph Bell, David Wyatt, Glen Barclay, John Hoatson, John Golding, Brian Blatchford, John Maskell, Leslie Rowe, Ian Evans, Ian Sear, David Wigman, Wayne French, Malcolm Hill, Derek Holmes, Stewart Lindsay, Barry Monk, John Cottington, Timothy Hawke

 

ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS COMMERCIAL SUBJECTS

Shorthand:

Rosemary Baker, Judith Keene, Dawn Middleton, Veronica James, Vivien Moon, Avril Warren

 

Typewriting:

Rosemary Baker, Christine Bullen, Judith Keene, Dawn Middleton

 

Pitman’s Shorthand Speed Certificate Examination

Rosemary Baker (80 w.p.m.), Dawn Middleton (80), Jane Evans (70), Veronica James (70), Vivien Moon (70), Avril Warren (70), Barbara Sims (50), Barbara Mills (50)

 

Pitman’s Typewriting Examination

Kay Smith (Business Stage, 2nd class), Jane Evans (Intermediate Stage, 1st class)

 

R.S.A. SCHOOL CERTIFICATE

Raymond Lacy(5), Alan Lonslow (4), Terence Miller (4), Rosemary Baker (3), Avril Warren (2), Janet Marshall (1),  Howard Brewer (2), Frances Taylor (1)

 

GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION 

(i)  “A” LEVEL

David Fisk(2), Stuart Morgan (2), John Thatcher (1)

 

 (ii) “O” LEVEL

Stuart Morgan(9), Keith Rose(9), Stephen Temple (7), John Owen (6), Brian Ratcliffe (6), David Hawkesworth (5), Maurice Hatcher (5), John Thatcher (5), Richard Mills (5), Anthony Watson (5), Michael Endersby (5), David Fisk (5), Michael Milne (4), Derek Russel (4), David Gander (4), Richard Hale (4), Kay Smith (3), Denise Loring (3), Barbara Mills (3), Louise Newton (3), Simon Millar (3), Richard Dawson (3), Derrick Overhill (3), Geoffrey Stone (3), John Pape (3), Thomas Colley (3), Barbara Simms (2), Madeline Lawrence (2), Veronica James (2), Bruce Thompson (2), Andrew Herrington (2), Raymond Lacy (2), Helen Mandeville (1), Janet Southon (1), David Main (1), Judith Keene (2), Jane Evans (2), David Knight (2), Timothy Lack (2), Peter Hadaway (2), Peter Ryan (2), Dawn Middleton (1), Christine Bullen (1), Terence Miller (1), Janet Shepherd (2), Calerie Simes (2), Susan Platford (1), Janet Reaper (1), Jean Boughton (1), Alison Greet (1), Christine Murch (1), Robert Hunt (1).

 

 

Best Performance in PC Certificate: Susan Howbrook and Linda Nevill

Best Performance in PT Certificate: Ralph Bell and David Wyatt

Best Performance in School Certificate:   Raymond  Lacy

Best Performance in G.C.E.:   John Owen

Chess Tournament  (boys)   David Bovington   (girls) Janet Shepherd

 

Netball Trophy               Stollery House

Football Trophy            Stollery  House

Athletics Trophy    Maclure House

Cricket Trophy     Hamilton House

House Competition Trophy:   Cheverton House

LT Short chess trophy    Stollery  House

 

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD SCHEME

Bronze Medals:  D. Billingby, D. Crosby, T. Doe, R. Everett, J. Golding, R. Griffiths, G. Hollingdale, A. Kaye, S. Lindsay, B. Monk, T. Miller, R. Mills, J. Pape, P. Ryan

Silver Medals:  Richard Mills