Sadly demolished in 1984, this building stood in Nelson Terrace. It was called (The Higher Grade School) later to become a Secondary Technical School. I believe the building dated from 1896 and was used up until 1983. Another lovely building gone.
Image and details courtesy of Derek Buttle.
I WENT TO THE COMERCIAL ART LESSONS THERE IN THE EARLY SIXTIES
Ridley Scott still identifies with it 60 odd years later: “RS: I was so obnoxious. The BBC then asked if I wanted to do a director’s course for six weeks. The others were all Oxbridge. I’m Nelson Terrace Secondary Modern”
What was the name of pub next door?
The Regent think it was known as the Little Regent
The pub next door was known as the BIG REGENT, the LITTLE REGENT was on the other side of the road towards the High Street
When I passed the 11 plus and went to the Nelson Terrace School the Tech was in a hut at the back of our school; After starting an apprenticeship I attended evening classes in my old school which,by then, had moved to Grangefield.
I was a pupil at Stockton Secondary School for Girls from September 1944 to July 1950 and remember the building and the playground well. We used to have gym (PT) lessons in the boys’ assembly hall so there were climbing ropes slung from the ceiling and wall bars against the window wall. Occasionally, we would have a lesson in one of the top floor classrooms which were strictly out of bounds under normal circumstances. My older sister who was four years older than me went to the same school. We have been trying to recall whether there were any air-raid shelters there but neither of us can visualize any or work out where they might have been. Any answers out there?
I’ve been wondering too where the boys had their games field. The girls had to go out to a field up near Norton to play hockey and got changed behind a “Dutch? barn. It was a windswept site and once or twice we were obliged to share it with a small herd of cows, which might have kept the grass moderately short but they left the surface very uneven and not always very pleasant.
Brenda, I have replied to your previous message, which you have obviously not seen, I went to the Sec. 1945-50. There were no air -raid shelters, and we went to the Ropner playing fields, in Fairfield, every Thursday afternoon, we made our own way there generally by bike or the No.4 bus which terminated at the Avenue leaving about a mile to walk
Hello Brenda, The playing fields for the boys was in Grosvenor Road – top of Oxbridge Lane almost at Ian Ramsey School corner. My father, who attended 1922 – 1927, refused to walk all that way as he hated sport. Instead he stayed at the school whilst classmates walked to & from the playing fields. He spent his time making a replica set of tools used in the woodwork & metalwork rooms. I have a few examples of these, as he made a few extra for himself. On leaving, he became an apprentice Plater at Furness shipyard, Haverton Hill, and rose to very senior management before retiring in 1964.
Best wishes,
Dave.
I remember one of the teachers there for the night school subject of English as part of my Northern Counties examination. He was the typical English Gentleman both in dress and the way he taught English. He was very proud of the fact that here he was at the peak of his career teaching English to these ruffian apprentices of the working class. He informed us his father was a BOILERMAKER. So he had reached the pinnacle of the teaching profession with a very working class back ground… I think he may have been trying to tell us the sky was the limit if you worked hard and passed your examinations. I thought at the time as I was an apprentice BOILERMAKER, where does this leave me for the future, could I ever reach the heights of this English teacher? Thankfully no, fate took me in a different direction and I often thought about this teacher in later years, and wondered how life treated him later in his life…
I remember it as part of Stockton and Billingham College and was used for night classes as part of our ‘day’ release studies at Head Wrightson where I was employed as a Commercial Apprentice. I especially remember the race down the stairs from the top floors to get a beer in at the pub next door after classes had finished !
This school nearly did not get built! In the 1890s it was possible for residents to call a public meeting to discuss any contentious decisions of the Council. There were two such public meetings, chaired by the Mayor, which voted to scrap the scheme for a Higher Grade School as the financial burden would be too great for the ratepayers. Fortunately the local councillors proceeded with the scheme, and the school was officially opened on Saturday 18 January 1896.
Nelson Terrace Tech’ provided myself and many like me a second chance to go on to degree level studies. If you failed your ‘O’ Levels for whatever reason (health in my case), then the Tech’ gave the opportunity to take the five necessary O Levels for acceptance by Constantine in Middlesbrough. There, you were on a par with the A Level students, just a year late.
I remember the place fondly, we were all good pals, had many goods laughs, worked hard and I think that we all passed.
Yes, I went there in about 1971 on a years engineering course when I left school. I think it was called Stockton and Billingham technical college then.
Loved this building. I lived very close to it in Russell Street and passed it many a time. I attended night school there around 1969 studying ONC Business Studies Law, one night a week. It was full of old fashioned character and I loved going there. From memory there was a gym in the middle, ground floor I think. Would have been excellent for five a side football. Never had the opportunity to use it.
Yes, it was used for ONC in Business Studies, which I did there 65-66. I also think it was used as a forerunner to Grangefield Grammar School as it became when opened in 1953.
It was Stockton Secondary School which moved to Grangefield Grammar School as our fellow contributor Gran Cooper has talked about elsewhere on this web-site.
I attended this school 1945-1950, you had to pass the 11 Plus to go there, its official name was then Stockton Secondary Grammar School,commonly referred to as Stockton Sec..It moved to Grangefield in Sept.1950. Grangefield had stood empty throughout the war and until that date.
Stockton Sec. was split into two halves, Girls and Boys.The right hand side of photo being the Boys. There was indeed a large gym below ground level which was also used for morning assembly and short daily Prayers.
It was a Rugby playing school, and football was frowned upon by the Staff.
It became Stockton Tech in Sept 1950, where you could attend nightschool to get up to O.N.C. levels.
Anon will be interested in some of the footballers who went there in my age group,Kenny Monaghan, Ken Tiffen, Ernie Lynn, Tony Carrigan, Brian Anthoney, John Goodchild and a few years older Norman Brown and Ken Furphy
Anon, you recently mentioned Roy Crallan, Denis Johnson, and Eddie Graham,are they still around?
Bill Jeffs took Eddie and I to Whitby from Heads and we both finished up playing for South Bank a couple of seasons later.
I notice Ray Earley on the Heads photo, we went in his car to the Spurs-Leicester final. Peter Ambrose played in same Heads team as me,and I also knew Eddie Dunn very well as we went to Oxbridge Lane at same time
I believe Ray Crallan has passed on, but Dennis Johnson is still about he is one of the contributors to the book Life At Heads which has been published recently and Eddie Graham was champion last time I saw him, he has had both his knees replaced.
It’s sad to realize this has gone after so many years. I used to pass it everyday and played there as it was just across the road from Milbank Street where I lived.