Middlesbrough Boys High School

A Memory of Middlesbrough.

I went to MBHS in 1960/64 when it was up at Prissick Base, just moved up from the town adjacent to the Gazette Office and Teesside Poly or Constantine College as it was then. They have knocked down the schools at Prissick, as they did for Marton Road juniors where I attended previously. At least the old clock tower entrance of the original High School still survives.
My teachers at MBHS were Pop Weatherill (English), Johny Greenwood (Maths), Spike Cherry (maybe Physics and Rugby), Harry Lancaster (Chemistry), Gordon Banks (PE), Willie Whatmore (Latin and RI) plus many others.
My schoolmates were Ronnie Dolan, Dave Young, Pete Chapman, Ged Pope, Billie Cummings, Bob Robinson, Mallie Hatton, Colin Brown, Derek Haskins, plus lots of other reprobates ! Happy days with Bertram Ramsey, Brackenhoe, and Girls High School on the same site. Do these names ring any bells ???


Added 22 July 2015

#338134

Comments & Feedback

Mr Cherry had us in English, and rugby. One of the better teachers I've had.
The boss, George Morris, was very ambitious for us. Coxed several of my not very large sixth form into Oxbridge, God help us all (actually it was the local council that helped most of all with good tuition and maintenance grants - those were the days!)
No more till I've rubbed the memory lamp a bit more vigorously.

I was at MBHS from 1959 (entered at age 13 when we moved from Hull to Middlesbrough) to 1964. Prior to Middlesbrough, I was at Hymers College in Hull, where I was good at latin and french but second from bottom in maths. Within a year or two of my time at Middlesbrough I was top or second in maths. I put this down almost entirely to the teaching of Albert Watson, who was the Deputy headmaster as well as head of maths. He just knew how to spark my enthusiasm and drop just enough hints for me to discover solutions. I went on to get a degree in pure maths at Leeds University (Albert Watson tried to get me to apply for Cambridge but I thought it would be too snobby for my liking!) It's a matter of great regret that I never thanked him. I also remember that as I was deciding what to study in 6th form, Willie Whatmore tried his best to get me to take Latin and Greek - but the excitement of maths (yes, really!) was too great. Another teacher I remember are Norman Usher (Physics)
Hello Hugh William Baxter Rodwell,
I have rubbed the memory lamp
I remember you coming to MHS in 3rd year
I was absolutely terrified that you would be better than me at athletics and chemistry
fortunately you were not although you were better at other subjects particularly English
as I think that you studied this at Oxford
John Brown was our form teacher for 3 years and I had him for one more iLVI SCIENCE
keep rubbing the memory lamp
Andy Ward
In the perhaps unlikely event that Alan Oliver visits this page again, then I would hope he would make contact. I was one of the lesser lights in his Further Maths group (with Messrs Dean, Dyer, MacGregor and Warne) and was, after I had left university, able to visit the school and thank those staff who were still there, including the utterly remarkable 'Mr Watson'. Graham Paterson

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