Some class photos of my time at Holy Trinity School in Stockton between 1949 to 1953.
Photograph and details courtesy of Keith Thompson.
Holy Trinity School c1949 – 1953
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Some class photos of my time at Holy Trinity School in Stockton between 1949 to 1953.
Photograph and details courtesy of Keith Thompson.
I went to Medical School in 1954 so I must have overlapped with these classes. Holy Trinity then had a formidable reputation as an 11+ cramming establishment ( I think I was only one of two boys who passed the 11+ from Hartburn Village School ) I failed the Stockton Grammar School entry exam maybe because I knew nothing about decimals ( Holy Trinity wouldn’t have left that gap ) It all came alright in the end ( Stockton Secondary later Grangefield Grammar was a good school).
Where did the school stand exactly? Was it near The Chuggy?
School was immediately next to the Maison dance Hall. Opposite a grocery shop …. cannot remember name think it was Broughs. When waiting to cross Yarm Lane into the school [left side] a man driving “The Pie Man” van used to always stop the traffic, not much in those days but sufficient, by standing in road centre like a ‘lolipop’ man does now. Before that we would go into the grocery shop and buy broken biscuits for one penny old money. Naughty boys would break biscuits they liked in half to get them cheap!!
The school stood where the roundabout is now – what a shame – progress occurs whether we like it or not.
Best wishes & happy days then.
Dave.
Thanks so much! I guess that the long shed like building that was left just on the edge of the ‘chuggy’ was the old dining hall? It stood until the very early 80s I think. I would love to see a picture of the whole school from a a bit of distance.
Cheers.
Hello , I have uploaded two photos and two videos of Holy Trinity school.
One of the photos shows most of the frontage taken from the opposite side of Yarm Lane, the other was taken along the length of Yarm Lane with the school on the left.
The videos are home movies, there is a black and white film of pupils working in the garden, the other is a colour film of a school trip to Whitby.
You can view and download all of these from the following address:-
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ajpj0BgkXQUQpnHvXyUdmOm89jmm?e=ZbZ4m5
Feel free to use any of these items in any way you please.
I don’t have any connection with the school but I have a cousin, Colin Abbott, who went to the school in the 1950s and into the 1960s.
I imagine that the long shed-like building you refer to was actually the extension, further up the road from main school building which housed Senior 3 and 4 classrooms. The former being English classroom under Mr Campbell and the latter being the Woodwork room under Mr Parker. I have a photograph of it which I’ll dig out and post at some point.
mr Parker you say ? Did he go on to teach at Ian Ramsey school do you know ? We had a woodwork teacher there of that name who was rather elderly even in 1982 ! I wonder if it was him?
As you turned into the bottom of the road there was a longish bank of shops on the left-hand side. At the end of these was the wide entrance to the school, through the playground. the front of the building followed on and had a single entrance, but t his was never used by children. Carrying on, then, one came to the modern bungalow extension which housed senior class 3 and 4. The latter being the Woodwork classroom. The entire complex backed onto the Holy Trinity Church grounds. Immediately opposite the main entrance was a narrow street entrance with a music shop on the corner. This street ran parallel with the High Street. Cannot now recall the name, bu I used it to go to and from the school on my bike, as it was quieter than the High Street. It had a number of businesses and also on the left, housed a Catholic Church hall, as I recall.
Remember my childhood best friend Jeffrey Carter and his brother went to Holy Trinity in mid 50’s
I was at Holy Trinty from 1950-1954.
I wonder if the person who posted this is a relation of the S1 Master, Mr. Thompson, who was the teacher whom I very much respected? Sadly I believe that he died at too early an age.
Hi Llewellyn,
I am Mr Thompson’s granddaughter and although his son was called Keith and he attended Holy Trinity school, I can confirm that the original poster is definitely not my dad. Sadly I was born after grandads passing but I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the school pictures of him and reading everyone’s comments about him!
Kind regards
Sarah 😀
Hello, I can confirm that I am not related to Mr Thompson who was one of the teachers at Holy Trinity School.
Hello Sarah. I respected your grandfather as a teacher and realised that being ex-Navy he was a ‘different breed’ from others. Particularly in his disciplinary method, which was when forced to use corporal punishment ( which others appeared to enjoy) he adopted a long-suffering,( oh, why do you force me to do this?) bored approach and used an old slipper on the backside – never a cane! His attitude seemed to engender more embarrassment in the offending child than the actual pain of the punishment, which I always thought to be HUMANE, excellent and effective psychology. My happiest memory of Mr Thompson was in 1963 when I was touring with Ruby Murray in Snow White and we played week at the poor (then an Essoldo Bingo) Hippodrome Theatre. Visiting the school it happened to be the morning break and I was pleased to see Mr Thompson in charge, sitting on a bench. He was very interested to see me and we chatted for a while. When I mentioned the show, I was amused to hear him reply, “Oh, Ruby Murray. She used to be my big heartthrob!” This was, of course in the period when Ruby was still a drawing ‘name’, but after her 1950’s being ‘top of the list’ ( holding the record for most recording in the charts for so long at one time). As a child one didn’t really think of adult teachers having such emotions! Unlike another couple of teachers plus the Headmaster, I still think of your grandfather ‘with a smile and a kind word’ and think that you have every right to be proud of his memory.
Hi,
Thank you for your reply, it is lovely to hear such kind comments and nice stories about my grandad as unfortunately my dad didn’t speak about him very often, not through any ill feeling or anything, but it was just too painful for him after losing both his parents at such a young age, especially with grandad passing so suddenly. I’m happy to hear that he was a firm but fair teacher, and he is remembered with lots of respect 😀
Kind regards
Sarah
Hello Sarah,
Your Grandmother, Mrs Thompson the teacher at HTS, visited our house in Hartburn Lane, many times to play Whist with my Grandmother & friends.
As a small boy, I used to serve the afternoon tea for them. Always a great afternoon, as I got some lovely sandwiches & cakes. They also paid me a lot of attention. My Grandmother was Mary Horton who died in 1971, aged 85
Dave.
Hi Dave,
Thank you for sharing your lovely story about your grandmother and her friends, it sounds like they were very kind! I can imagine how exciting it would have been for you as a young boy when they brought such delicious treats with them! I suspect Mrs Thompson may have been my great grandma, she died when I was very young so I don’t remember her (however, I am the current guardian of her Kenwood food mixer, which still works!!) dad occasionally mentioned her but never said anything about her also teaching at the school so, this has been a very educational visit for me!
Kind regards
Sarah
Lovely photo of my cousin Tony Lockwood on 3 of the groups, along with his buddies, Herbie Outhwaite and Alec Fishburn.
I’m in the picture as well. Are they still alive & kicking? Mr. Byrne followed many of us to Grangefield Grammar, Sept 1954 onwards.
David Williams.
Hello David
Not sure who are still around. I also went on to Grangefield and can remember you being with us on a trip to Paris. We stayed in an old school and spent most of the time looking at museums, churches etc.. Still, it probably didn’t do us any harm. Hope you are well.
Keith Thompson
Hello Pam,
I was in the same class as the three you mention. Alec Fishburn lived in Hind Street. Herbie Outhwaite’s Dad had the dirty book shop in Yarm Lane just before Bowesfield Lane corner [from school direction]. Neville Gardner in our class had family shop opposite Outhwaite’s – think it was sweets. I cannot recall where Tony Lockwood lived – possibly Fairfield, as some of us got the N0. 3 bus home for lunch and he never caught it. Very few of us had school dinners for obvious reasons [uck]. Dinner Hall was at Bowesfild Lane side of churchyard on Yarm Lane…. a group of prefabs.
Classes were large in those days. 42 in our class & all but three passed the first half of eleven plus, but cannot remember how many passed second half. Those that did went to Stockton Grammer in Norton Road or to Grangefield Grammer in Oxbridge Avenue [majority to Grangefield. Our Holy Trinity teacher followed us to Grangefield as a Maths teacher which was quite a surprise [Sept 1954]
Are the Cousin & buddies still well?
Best wishes,
Dave.
Outhwaite’s newsagent and tobacconists was on Yarm Lane and “the adult books” were magazines …… Herbert and Evelyn Outhwaite ran the shop, Herbie’s parents and my grandparents. It was a family business started in Norton for those who remember with the Yarm Lane shop passed on to Herbie.
Tony Lockwood eventually ran Lockwoods shoe shop on Silver Street.
Outhwaite connection mum was an Outhwaite her parents ran a fish and chip shop in Stockton
My husband was a pupil there during the early 40’s