Sutton High School For Boys Closed In 1962

Of Course I remember. I was the youngest boy in the school for 3 years, having joined at age 7 just a Mr.Smith announced that the junior classes were being phased out.
My teacher at first was the Irish Miss Hare, but I well recall Mr Plumber, who had been in the Camel Corps in WW!,, Mr Stone, latin,Mr.Follett, the pipe smoking History teacher, and of course Mr Smith the head.
I often wonder,was Mrs.Pankhurst anything to do with the Suffregettes?.
The owner, Rev Lawton would visit once a term, hold morning prayers and then find a sniggering older boy to report to the office for caning! Was that why he came?
PE in the church hall with Mr.Berks, who told us he has been in the Olympics,,if so would have been in the infamous Berlin Olympics.

Prize giving at Cheam Baths, where I saw my first electric guitar when some boys performed some of the new Rock and Roll music! I believe one ex pupil went on the perform in The Average White Band, was he one of the blazer wearing rockers?I remember they played Red River Rock and Living Doll!

Alan Avis (Avis Minor) alanavis@saqnet.co.uk

Yes,I was also at Sutton High School from Sept.1952 to July 1958.
Several teachers names come to mind including Mr Bulbeck(French),Mr Price(Latin),Mr Walker(Eng.Lit),Mr Mahon(Maths), MrMaguire (Eng.).I recall that Mr Coulter(Science) was always known by the boys as "Old Bill".

The boys who formed an after school Jazz Band (The Delta City Jazzmen )were led by Dick Morrissey (clarinet then, but later on tenor sax ).Dick, who died in 2000, was to become one of the finest jazz musicians of his generation. He led his own bands and also worked with many stars including Paul Mcartney on The Long and Winding Road.

Sadly, an old boys association never got off the ground

Trevor Townsend (retired Bank of England)

Thanks, Alan and Trevor, for that feedback.

Most of the teachers both of you mention had already left by the time I joined the school in 1961.

Incidentally, I - retired to Vienna - am using my non-Sutton wife Dagmar’s Austrian email address.

To answer Alan’s question, Mrs. Pankhurst had got fed up (with/ of) being asked about her possible connection with the famous suffragette Emmeline (vs. Emma), but Mr. William ‘Old Bill’ Coulter did confide in me that she had indeed married into that family, rather than being a direct descendant, whilst the intellectual tradition and forceful character had certainly rubbed off on to her good self.

On phoning her up from directory enquiries in my graduation year of 1973, and in retirement from her last school move to Wallington, I had been alarmed to learn from her the bitter complaint that the generally traumatic closure of the school had been ‘totally unnecessary and down to a petty squabble between (the school’s headmaster and) the school governors’.

As mentioned, there had been a school alumni blog, but the ‘hard core' of us 4 or 5 survivors had not been enough in number to warrant carrying on with the site.

Yours nostalgically,

Adrian MM., London & Vienna

Dear Dagmar further to my earlier comment I forgot to say the Dick's younger brother Chris played the tea chest Bass. also there are a couple of typos !! Cheers for now Robin Mayhew

I was at SHS from 1950 - 1955 initially under the leadership of Rev Lawton and then O J Smith. Michael Frayn the famous novelist/playwright spent some time there before me and his autobiography 'My Father's Fortune' has a hilarious chapter about his experiences there. Teachers in my day were Mrs Harris, Mrs Pankhurst, Miss Whitton, 'Bill' Coalter, Mr Gavin,. Mr St John Claridge Lockhart, Mr Hallett, Mr Plummer, Mr Seymour Smith ( famous author/poet in his own right), Mr Bulback. Each year I organise an OB's luncheon (usually in October) at The Bridge House Hotel on Reigate Hill and will post details here nearer the time, virus permitting.

Sandy Catanach (retired advertising agent)

Thanks for that, Sandy. (I think you mean popular Anglo-Irish teacher by the name of William 'Bill' Coulter) and for the Michael F. autobiographical tip-off.

It seems many of us Old Boys (the girls' school is still going strong, further along Cheam Road) have - or, if alas no longer with us, had - done relatively well in life, with a surprising number going into the music business.

I have heard about the reunion that I thought had been traditionally held at the (Mercure Box Hill) Burford Bridge Hotel in the village district of Westhumble and I am familiar with, but it seems it is not.

I am usually back in Blighty, often down in Dorking and Betchworth, end of November every year, so - Coronavirus permitting, cough, cough, splutter, splutter ! - am unsure I can make the next gathering, if in October.

Anyway, it is certainly reassuring to know there has been a well-organised one, namely to save me an otiose Sutton Baptist Church hall-hire booking....

Yours truly,

Adrian Maitland-Melman in Vienna, the 'classical music capital of the world'.

I was at Sutton High School for boys 1956-1961 & still have those memories .
Bill Coulter of course & the Head Mr.Smith. Mr Price & Follett also come to mind - the latter
liked to hit you round the ear ! Mr.Macguire , Plummer etc were all teachers !
I live in Reigate & have a coffee business from Brazil in Dorking.
A meet up locally in Burford Bridge would be good in October ?!! Cheers , Trevor Blashfield

Hello Sandy, your name rings a bell. I left the school in 1954 to go to Rutlish Grammar School in Merton Park. I remember Mrs Pankhurst, who spurred my love of English, and Mr Smith, the headmaster. When the bell went to usher us in to class in the morning, he would stand at the exit from 'the quad' and examine our hands for cleanliness and our shoes for polish. Other boys names I recall were Protheroe and Corner. I have lived in several countries but settled in Sutton in 1985. Beresford Campbell (retired from the Foreign Office and subsequently Waterstone's in Sutton High Street)

OB reunion in Reigate or local areas ?? - Trevor B.

OB reunion in Reigate or local areas ?? - Trevor B.

Needless to say the OB's reunion for 2020 was cancelled. Hope to have one this year and will aim to let you and others know as and when.
Nunquam infidi
Sandy

Recognise your name and remember your swimming prowess Sandy.
I was at the school 1954/7 and would try to attend any future reunion. Was in touch with both Jim Laflin and Howard Simmonds till they sadly passed on and recognise most of the teachers mentioned.
Still working and now live on the south coast near Christchurch in Dorset.
Have a photo of Dick Morrissey in the football team.
Played in the Old Boys football team for several years
Regards,
Michael Wemms

Hi my name is Andy Griggs I was at SHS Fromm 1954 until 1960 or thereabouts. Of the teachers I remember Mr Smith as not only head but also an excellent teacher. Mr Coulter science always good fun. Mrs Hare had not much contact with her. Mr Bulbeck french pleasant fellow. Mr Mahon mathematics,
Mr Follet a distasteful chap as I recall. Mrs Pankhurst by far my favorite teacher at the school.
Of the pupils I recall Lucovic lived at Nork Banstead, Glyn Johns lived in Epsom went on to be a recording sound engineer working on some Beatles stuff, Martin Cairns lived in Sutton and given his interests probably went on to become an engineer in one form or another. Dempsey whose father was a BBC cameraman, Ross Mitchell lived at Drift Bridge and went on to form his own band and up until Covid was still performing, can be Googled, Rodney Lucas lived at Langly Vale Epsom Downs went on to be an engineer, Keith Annis a neighbour of ours in Nork Way joined the school after I left went on to emigrate to Australia and did very well in the tool and equipment rental industry, Bob Leppard became a surveyor and emigrated to South Africa also an accomplished clarinet player. Prothero who became a school hero when, after being clouted by the afore mentioned Mr Follet, he clouted him back. Respect. I went on to own my own tool hire company and moved to Worcester with wife and family. I also remember using the girls school gym and a football field in Wallington which bordered Croyon airport on which one could see the aircraft.. Sorry the recollections are a bit scant but it was a LONG time ago.
Best Andy

Now more or less post-Covid an OB's reunion lunch is booked for Thursday 16th June 2022 at the Reigate Manor Hotel. If you would like to come along please email me on j.catanach@btopenworld.com

Everyone welcome
Sandy

My dad Alan Catchpole born 30 May 1931 went to High school for boys Sutton school year 1941/1942. Rev Lawton was the head master and EF Pankhurst was his form tutor. Sadly my dad passed away recently at the age of 91 and on clearing his house I found his school reports and I am interested to find out more about the school.

Hi, Polly. I suggest you take up Sandy Catanach's suggestion above and read 'My Father's Fortune' by the ex-pupil playwright, novelist and Russian/English translator, Michael Frayn for that hilarious chapter about the school https://biography.jrank.org/pages/4329/Frayn-Michael.html - and not to be confused with fellow-writers and/or editors John P. and David Frayne.

Otherwise, pls. read the above comments with gusto.

As I had mentioned at the outset, the Sutton Baptist Church ex-sports hall wing adjoining Morrisons food store at the edge of old school site is the only virtual part of the school for boys remaining.

PS the surname of Catchpole also rings bells from the retired Registrar of the College of Law - now University of Law - in Guildford, Surrey, I attended all of half a century ago, and whose son emigrated to Brazil, last known working as a Brazilian 'Portuguese' & Spanish (?) / English translator-cum-interpreter.

Yours truly, Adrian M. Maitland-Melman

I stumbled on this site in an idle moment. I attended Sutton High from 1958 till 1961. I remember most of the staff others have mentioned: Mr. Smith (Head), Mr. Plumber (Geog), Mr Follett (History), Mr. McGuire (Eng), Mr. Winter (French), Mr Walker (Lit), Mr. Stone (Latin) Mr (Bill) Coalter (Physics, Chemistry), Mr. Stradwick (biology), Mr. Mahon (Math).
I mostly hung out with David Stephenson, Charles West-Sadler, Colin Bristow,, Farmer-Bowers, Tony Cotsell, Ervine, Richard Wells. I think I also remember Trevor Blashfield although we were not best mates. Somewhere I have one of those panoramic school photos. I too remember gym classes in the church hall next door. We were supposed to walk there, change and be ready for gym in zero time. The same on the way back. I remember awards nights preside over by Rev Lawton. There was one in particular when Peter Thorpe played the electric guitar. Thorpe was a member of the Roulettes which was the backing group for Adam Faith.
In 1968 I emigrated to Canada and eventually touch with everyone except Stephenson.
Nice to know there are still a few "old boys" around.
Cheers,
Tony Kittridge

Thanks, Tony. West (Vancouver BC where a later school mate's outboard boat engine had been nicked from the lake), East Coast of Canada or even in the middle.

It's interesting you use the Amero-Candian 'math' spelling of the BrE / British English spelling of maths. and also that there had once been at least 3 female tachers at the school, namely Mrs. Hare, Harris and Pankhurst.

BTW, it's William 'Old Bill' Coulter whose Anglo-Irish surname seems to escape some of us.

(Re-)posting a panoramic school photo, if techincally feasible, would be welcome.

Hi Adrian, I live in Ottawa, the capital. I didn't mention the women teachers because I really didn't know them. I vaguely remember Mrs. Pankhurst but I think she taught the lower forms. I was there for Remove, 4th and 5th. Mrs. Hare and Mrs. Harris I don't recall at all. The was one that joined the school in my last year and taught Maths. She replaced Mr. Mahon who left rather suddenly, but I don't recall her name. As I remember it Mr. Mahon threw a wooden blackboard eraser at a boy and it found its mark. There was a complaint.
Thanks for the correction on Mr. Coulter's name. Her was my favourite teacher and had a great sense of humour. When he was demonstrating a chemistry experiment someone would blow down one of the gas outlet on the bench and his Bunsen burner would go out. He knew exactly what had happened but he would say "Sure, isn't that strange" in his Irish brogue, and then calmly relight it.
There were three houses at the school, They were Gineva, Hardwick and Lawton I think. I was in Gineva.

I will give some thought to posting the photo.

Can anyone tell me how to post photos to this site? Or even if it is possible. I have not found a way. I tried copying and pasting - no joy. I'd be grateful for any advice or suggestions.

Hallo, Tony. I'm unsure the Frith My Albums feature is the right one for other Old Boys to access: https://www.francisfrith.com/account/albums/44090/edit

- but OneDrive and DropBox can - subject to 'Cloud-based' technicalities that are beyond me - be set up for the purpose to add and download.

Otherwise, open a Twitter account if you haven't already, and just try uploading and adding the school photo(s) to my own Twitter account as 'Adrian's favourite, bully-free school in England' -> https://twitter.com/MaitlandMelman/with_replies

Hi Adrian et al.
Well I scanned the panoramic photo. It took 4 scans because of the length. there is some overlap because i didn't want to risk leaving anyone out. They are SHS1, SHS2, SHS3 and SHS4. The photo is from 1959. I uploaded it on Dropbox and created the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zunte5tcu5gdcf7/AADbfKAYRmJqZVg1qvr0V046a?dl=0
You should be able to access them by copying the link and pasting it in Google You shouldn't need to have Dropbox on your computer.
I am the 18th from the left in SHS2 and I believe Trevor Blashfield is the 3rd from the left also in SHS 2. I can identify about another dozen boys and most of the staff if anyone is interested.

I would be grateful if someone would let me know if it works (or not).
Cheers, Tony

I would be

Thanks, Tony. Pasting the Dropbox link works a treat. You certainly are technically adept and photo-skilled.

I assume 3rd and 18th from the left in SHS2 means top-row standing, rather than the youngest boys bottom-row seated.

I recognis/ze most of the teachers and some of the younger boys who had been there in the school's terminal year of1961-62, but suspect others will have broader sweep of that era.

Yours gratefully,

Adrian

Yes, Adrian, You are right. I was referring to the back row. I wasn't very specific.
Cheers
Tony

Thinking about my time at Sutton High, another amusing anecdote came me concerning 'Old Bill' Coulter, the Chemistry and Physics teacher. It illustrates his subtle sense of humour. He was telling us about carbon tetrahydrate (a chemical used in art restoration). He told us it was used for cleaning the faces of dirty old masters. I wonder if anyone else remembers him saying that.
Cheers,
Tony

I should have said carbon-tetra-chloride. My chemistry is a little rusty.
T.

Well, Anthony (Tony), that's a chemical well remembered from an unusually competent, Irish chemistry & physics teacher after more than 60 years 'any road' (notably Cheam Road). The incompetent and waffling (English/ Sassenach) physics teacher I went on to have at Epsom College had, paradoxically, written the standard, school physics textbook for the UK.