Bexley Lane School

My name is Clive Steer and all my my memories of Alma Road and later Bexley Lane were positive. I think I started at Alma Road in 1956 and remember Peg-leg Jones who took us for music. I also have fond memories of Knacker Clarke. From what I remember he said he was Head master there during the WW2 but remained there in a non-teaching roll. He had been an Officer in the Artillery during WW1 and told hairy stories about going into no-mans land to spot where the shells fell. His subject was science which was also my main interest and he gave me inspiration for experimenting. After a couple of years I went up to Bexley Lane. Mr Law took us for carpentry, Mr Shadwell for RI, Alan Stone for English, Strong-man Carter for PE which I was never interested in. I've still got my school reports for the years at Bexley Lane in class 4G so should check out who my form tutors were. Mr Shadwell was an interesting character who I got to know better as later in life his son and I became friends and I ended up dating his daughter for a couple of years. I recently learned from his son that during WW2 he had served at Bletchley Park. I remember that Dad Law organised boys from Bexley Lane to join girls from Alma road in dancing classes at Alma Road. I found this a good way of meeting girls and we were invited to join them for the Christmas party for the prefects and librarians. For all the dance classes the girls were in school uniform but for the party they all were dressed up in high heels, stockings and flared dresses complete with make up. Mind blowing at that age. I remember Abbey the Head Prefect who had a better car than many of the teachers. Can't think why he wasn't at a Eton or such like. I stayed and worked in the area until 1989 when I moved to Sussex. I enjoyed my time there and it gave me the education I needed to have a successful career in Electronics and I still meet up with old school friend from time to time.

I'm Christopher (Chris) Osborn and I started at Alma Road school in 1961 having failed my 11+ exam and coming from Longlands County Primary school.

LOWER SCHOOL (Alma Road)

Mr E.J. Rankin MC MA (Hons) was then headmaster with Mr Jones as deputy. I recall the following teachers: Mr McCaulliffe (Class 1A), Mr Dunmall (Class 2A), Mr Hawker (Geography / Games), Mr Roberts (History/ Games), Mr Stone, later Mr Cook (French), Mr Jones (Music-singing), Mr Bentley (Music-recorders), Mr Carter (PE), Mr. Lawe (Woodwork), Mr White (Metalwork), Mr Glass (Biology). Alas I cannot recall the name of the teacher who took us for Physics.
Dear old Mr Clark was an ancient supernumerary who occasionally took us for metalwork or if a master was absent.
He encouraged the boys to do interesting projects at lunchtimes such as making prisms and crystal radio sets. He had his own little room which was packed with interesting gear.
For a while we had an attractive young lady who took us for Art but whose name escapes me.

UPPER SCHOOL (Bexley Lane)

After the mandatory two years at Alma Road I transferred to the Upper School at Bexley Lane.
Mr Rankin left the school c 1964 and was replaced by his erstwhile deputy My Jones with a Mr Atwell coming in as deputy head.
The teachers that I recall were: Mr Cannon (Class 3G, Geography), Mr Shadwell (Class 4G, Maths and RI), Mr Thomas (Class 5G, English), Mr Jones (Music and later History), Mr Carter (Physics), Mr Cook (French), Mr Setchell (Eng Drawing), Mr Carter (PE), Mr McGuire (Art, Games), MM White and Griffiths (Metalwork), Mr Lawe (Woodwork).

Being in the 'G' stream - for 'GCE' - I took 3 subjects at 'O' level in the 5th year: Maths, Physics and Engineering Drawing. As I stayed on into the 6th year I did a further 6 subjects: English Language, English Literature, French, Geography and History. A few of us also took Art.

I left in 1967 and have only fond memories of the school and staff.
Almost all of the teachers were firm, fair and conscientious in giving us a good education and start in our working careers.

I hate to blow everyone's romantic bubble about Bexley Lane School for Boys in the 70s but it sucked the teachers were seriously rubbish and the individual subjects were boring awful and did not add anything to preparing us for adulthood or teaching us anything of use. You want examples?
Dad Law was a sadistic nasty piece of work who crushed your work in vices if it did not come up to standard and called it ornamental firewood. He hit told me once to put my hand on the workbench and then whacked it with a steel ruler for no reason. I was in 3G and joined after my parents moved house and I went to an amazing school before that. If he had done it again I would have pushed his head through a window and I am not a violent person. He irnonically lived 50 yards from my house
Next Jimmy Lockjaw Hawker had the most boring subjects bascically outcrops of big rocks in the UK NOTHING about the World outside of the UK which I in my life gained an extensive knowledge of by visiting living abroad learning languages whilst half my classmates still live in Sidcup or nearby
Mr Roberts history and football taught simply dates of wars deaths of Kings and construction dates of old buildings. Boring ! Nothing about why things happened and in football he taught no tecnnique tactics ..zero. I as the new boy was told to play in defence but I had a lot of power and accuracy at shooting and when I scored a 25 yard screamer was told to go back into defence no congrats slowly I scored so many goals they had to let me play up front and I was the top scorer in the 5th year
English was a joke just reading outloud the books Cider with Rosie and Flight of the Phoenix no grammar or anything
Barry Hart taught nothing about music just played classical music to us no introduction to the history of modern music he was an angry teacher always threatening the class if anyone dared to talk
I went on to become a self taught guitar player touring etc no thanks to him.
I could go on but will save my last comment for the old bag who was apparently the careers teacher who said well boys you have 4 options
Insurance Banking Police or the Army ...nothing more! I said I wanted to be a comedy script writer and she told me no chance you will need a degree in English. Later in life I got a contract with the BBC freelancing and earned money had my work aired did standup at The Comedy Store just to stick it to that careers woman. I am writing all this not to boast of my achievements but to highlight that the school and its teachers were inept and taught useless information and I despised every day there. So it angers me to see compliments being given to them. I left the earliest day I could.