Schooldays and Beyond
In 1959 I became one of the first pupils to attend a school that was situated at the present location of the Durham Community Business College for Technology and Enterprise, which for easement I will subsequently refer to as Ushaw Moor School. Since then I have experienced a son and daughter go through the various educational levels in the south of England; in fact they are still in that system at ages 22 and 24 respectively, having had only very short breaks from it. Bearing all of that in mind I hope that the views and memories that I express in this piece are of some use and are perhaps thought provoking for those just stepping out in life. If only one current pupil in Ushaw Moor reads this it will have been worthwhile to write it.
It seems to me that the pupils of the Deerness Valley are currently in good hands at Ushaw Moor School if its use of George Bernard Shaw is anything to go by.I am thrilled that the school is quoting a particular view of his to indicate suitable aspirations for its pupils. I have in mind the following; ‘‘Life is no brief candle to me it is a sort of splendid torch which I have hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations’’. That is very much how I feel. People should never forget how immensely lucky they are to exist and if during their brief span on this earth they can possess ‘the thrill of mortality’ and use it in socially constructive ways - they are truly winners whether they possess so called desirable goods such as a Ferrari or not! Just about the most important and challenging aspiration in life is to achieve quality relationships that are sound and worthy. If such quality is achieved rather late in life - it remains better late than never! It is important to listen to all types of people in daily life because so much can be learnt from doing so.Their dignity should be preserved as a matter of importance although your aspiration to achieve that can be in tatters when you encounter very vexatious people. I am not wishing to speak down to or patronise younger people,I am just an 'old man' - who attended school in Ushaw Moor all those years ago, dispensing advice even if you do not agree with grumpy old blokes!
After the Second World War Britain had little money to invest in education and there were far less stringent educational requirements in order to to secure a job as a school teacher. By 1968 all that was required were three GCE ‘O’ levels [to include English Language] followed by attendance at Teacher Training College, although of course lots of teachers were much more qualified than that. These days a degree and more is required in order to teach in a state school. I believe that many freshly demobbed members of the Armed Forces found their way into teacher training colleges. As a result standards of teaching were not always the very best but some of them were brilliant teachers.
The Government meant well by implementing the 1944 Educational Act, which amongst other things resulted in Grammar, Technical and Secondary Modern schools. Such a system helped to provide for an economy that at that time demanded many unskilled and semi skilled workers; Secondary Modern pupils were deemed ideal for such work; in contrast the Grammar Schools gave pupils the opportunity to, for example, join the Civil Service or carve out a career in the professions - although not all of them took advantage of that.Some Secondary Modern pupils did better at examinations than Grammer School pupils although a large majority of them did not [often they did not have the opportunity to do so]. These days the Government recognizes that the economic need is to compete with the likes of China and that is one of the reasons why they are trying to enable 50% of pupils to benefit from higher education. That is a mind boggling aspiration but good luck to them. Pupils should not be afraid to fail: they should go for the ceiling – it might be higher than they think. I always think that if you seldom fail in life then it hinders your learning about life.I am sorry if I sound like a very mediocre sage!
The standard of the GCSE is criticized when results come out. This is unfair to pupils. You cannot easily compare GCSE to the GCE. They are so different in their approach. It is true that some of the GCE papers demanded more of your memory [for example formulae were not usually provided] but in the real world you can refer to formulae anyway. Issues regarding coursework are being attended to.
The current Ushaw Moor School uniform looks smart. We did not have a uniform during the period 1954 to 1960! Can you believe that!
On a lighter front I wonder whether Ushaw Moor School teachers invite their pupils to write an ‘autobiography’. Our local school in the south did ten years ago and it was much to my embarrassment! No, actually on reading it I laughed and laughed again. My son, at the age of 12, revealed in his ‘autobiography’ that on a putting green, during a family holiday in the Bristol area, he accidentally hit me on the head with his golf club. He explained that his sister was in hysterics [not laughter I can assure you] and an ambulance was called. He described how the ambulance took me to Frenshay Hospital whilst my family drove a few yards behind it.It sounds a bit like a scene from 'Last of the Summer Wine'. He went on to say ‘my dad is so boring – every day he reads Ceefax on the TV and goes ballistic about Derby County - but my mum is a good cook’.
I think it entirely appropriate to finish with the following quote:
‘The past is a foreign place, they do things differently there’ L P Hartley from The Go-Between.
Wilf Bell
It seems to me that the pupils of the Deerness Valley are currently in good hands at Ushaw Moor School if its use of George Bernard Shaw is anything to go by.I am thrilled that the school is quoting a particular view of his to indicate suitable aspirations for its pupils. I have in mind the following; ‘‘Life is no brief candle to me it is a sort of splendid torch which I have hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations’’. That is very much how I feel. People should never forget how immensely lucky they are to exist and if during their brief span on this earth they can possess ‘the thrill of mortality’ and use it in socially constructive ways - they are truly winners whether they possess so called desirable goods such as a Ferrari or not! Just about the most important and challenging aspiration in life is to achieve quality relationships that are sound and worthy. If such quality is achieved rather late in life - it remains better late than never! It is important to listen to all types of people in daily life because so much can be learnt from doing so.Their dignity should be preserved as a matter of importance although your aspiration to achieve that can be in tatters when you encounter very vexatious people. I am not wishing to speak down to or patronise younger people,I am just an 'old man' - who attended school in Ushaw Moor all those years ago, dispensing advice even if you do not agree with grumpy old blokes!
After the Second World War Britain had little money to invest in education and there were far less stringent educational requirements in order to to secure a job as a school teacher. By 1968 all that was required were three GCE ‘O’ levels [to include English Language] followed by attendance at Teacher Training College, although of course lots of teachers were much more qualified than that. These days a degree and more is required in order to teach in a state school. I believe that many freshly demobbed members of the Armed Forces found their way into teacher training colleges. As a result standards of teaching were not always the very best but some of them were brilliant teachers.
The Government meant well by implementing the 1944 Educational Act, which amongst other things resulted in Grammar, Technical and Secondary Modern schools. Such a system helped to provide for an economy that at that time demanded many unskilled and semi skilled workers; Secondary Modern pupils were deemed ideal for such work; in contrast the Grammar Schools gave pupils the opportunity to, for example, join the Civil Service or carve out a career in the professions - although not all of them took advantage of that.Some Secondary Modern pupils did better at examinations than Grammer School pupils although a large majority of them did not [often they did not have the opportunity to do so]. These days the Government recognizes that the economic need is to compete with the likes of China and that is one of the reasons why they are trying to enable 50% of pupils to benefit from higher education. That is a mind boggling aspiration but good luck to them. Pupils should not be afraid to fail: they should go for the ceiling – it might be higher than they think. I always think that if you seldom fail in life then it hinders your learning about life.I am sorry if I sound like a very mediocre sage!
The standard of the GCSE is criticized when results come out. This is unfair to pupils. You cannot easily compare GCSE to the GCE. They are so different in their approach. It is true that some of the GCE papers demanded more of your memory [for example formulae were not usually provided] but in the real world you can refer to formulae anyway. Issues regarding coursework are being attended to.
The current Ushaw Moor School uniform looks smart. We did not have a uniform during the period 1954 to 1960! Can you believe that!
On a lighter front I wonder whether Ushaw Moor School teachers invite their pupils to write an ‘autobiography’. Our local school in the south did ten years ago and it was much to my embarrassment! No, actually on reading it I laughed and laughed again. My son, at the age of 12, revealed in his ‘autobiography’ that on a putting green, during a family holiday in the Bristol area, he accidentally hit me on the head with his golf club. He explained that his sister was in hysterics [not laughter I can assure you] and an ambulance was called. He described how the ambulance took me to Frenshay Hospital whilst my family drove a few yards behind it.It sounds a bit like a scene from 'Last of the Summer Wine'. He went on to say ‘my dad is so boring – every day he reads Ceefax on the TV and goes ballistic about Derby County - but my mum is a good cook’.
I think it entirely appropriate to finish with the following quote:
‘The past is a foreign place, they do things differently there’ L P Hartley from The Go-Between.
Wilf Bell
