Memories of Lady Lumley’s School, Pickering, Yorkshire 1958-65

Lady Lumley’s School in Pickering, Yorkshire, has a rich history. It was founded by Lady Elizabeth Lumley who died in 1657 and bequeathed her estates for the creation of a school and two alms-houses. The stone building of Lady Lumley’s Grammar School was built on Middleton Road in Pickering.  The School was taken over by the County Authorities in 1908. Mr. Francis Austin Hyde was the Headmaster for many years during the 1920s and 30s.

Post-war an exam called the 11+ was introduced for final year Primary School students. It aimed to sort students into academic streams for their secondary schooling, Grammar school for the more academic pupils or Comprehensive school for those aimed at more vocational courses. The local area catchment for Grammar pupils was from Helmsley to the west and Allertson to the east, Lockton/Levisham to the north and the River Derwent was the southern boundary.  

In 1953 a new comprehensive school, Ryedale School was opened in Beadlam. In 1955 the North Riding Education Authority also approved new school buildings for Lady Lumley’s School in Pickering to be built in Swainsea Lane. The Headmaster was David Baxendall.

When the new, larger school opened in September 1958, it was initially called a bi-lateral school as it took all the current Grammar students of Lady Lumley’s, from Form 2 through to the Upper Sixth. The new students in Form 1 that first year were all the children in that area who had passed the 11 Plus examination. In addition, it became school to children who had not passed the 11+ but came to Lady Lumley’s if they lived in the Pickering end of the catchment; those at the Helmsley end went to the already established Ryedale School in Beadlam.

In September 1958 there were 480 students in total at Lady Lumley’s, but the new buildings in Swainsea Lane were inadequate to house them all, so students in Form 1 continued to use the old stone school building on Middleton Road. With the increase in student numbers the dual house system of Feversham [gold] and Acland [green], introduced by Mr. F Austin Hyde, was inadequate. A new house, Highfield, was established, with the colour red.  

The School uniform for the girls at Lady Lumley’s was a dark bottle green jumper and tunic (skirt for the senior years) with white shirt, tie and ankle socks; the boys wore grey trousers and the green and gold striped tie with a white shirt… only the prefects had their role distinguished by a thin red stripe added to their tie.  Hockey shorts were allowed to be just 4 inches above the knee.

On 15^th May 1959 the new school buildings were officially opened by HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. The Head Boy and Girl, Michael Bainbridge and Kathleen Ainsley, had to give a vote of thanks. Jane Thompson was the youngest girl in the school and presented Princess Marina with a bouquet. The visitor asked the Headmaster to grant an extra  two days of holiday to the students, which he did! The school song was then sung .

School on the hillside ‘twixt moorland and wold-land

Whence shone the light of the Beacon of old;

Take now the praise of thy sons and thy daughters,

Ne’er shall the flame of their fealty grow cold.

Homage we yield to thee, loyalty vow to thee,

School on the Beacon, our home on the hill.

School of our work, of our play, of our laughter,

Memories are stored for the years yet unseen;

Friendships cemented, games stoutly contested,

Feversham! Acland! The Gold and the Green

Homage we yield to thee, loyalty vow to thee,

School on the Beacon, our home on the hill.

When we go forth to the world and its duties,

Done the last task, our last “Khairete” sung;

Grateful and proud shall we gladly look backward.

Keep through our life’s work this song on our tongue.

Homage we yield to thee, loyalty vow to thee,

School on the Beacon, our home on the hill.

After the formal “Opening” the Headmaster escorted Princess Marina on a tour of the school and to plant a commemorative tree.

In 1958-59 the students in Form 1 spent their year housed in the Old School buildings on Middleton Road and Mr. William Proctor was the Master in charge. It was a transition into secondary school as there were more teachers than in Primary School but not a great variety. Most of the lessons were at the Middleton Road campus but sometimes students stayed at the Swainsea Lane buildings after lunch and used the specialised classrooms, gymnasium and library. A short-cut foot path was constructed between the two schools to make communication easier, and children walked up there each lunch time to eat in the modern dining hall which could also be opened up to enlarge the assembly hall.

In Form 1 the classes were streamed, so 1A was the grammar stream and the students in the other classes, 1B to 1F, were streamed on their primary school results. Several of the pupils who started in 1B and 1C had joined the A classes by the time the more senior years were reached, there was no formal 12+ or 13+ exam, they’d done it on academic merit within the school.

Mrs Giggall taught English classes as well as Scripture, Mr Flood taught Art, Mr Proctor taught both Maths and Science. Mr Rush, the rural science teacher taught History.

French lessons were with Mr. Placket.  He organised exchange students with a school near Nantua in France. Their students visited and stayed with local families for a month in summer and the next year it was the turn of Lady Lumley’s students to be hosted over there.

In the later school years after Form 1, teachers all taught their own speciality. There was Dorothy Addinall and John Lyddon for English, Mary Ackroyd taught Latin. The Science teachers were Arthur Stirling for Physics, Clive Jackson did Biology, and Fred Dews for Chemistry. Languages were taught by “Fritz” Taylor and Harry Plackett; Domestic science and needlework by Helen Watson and Miss Oliver. Other teachers were Alan Daniels and Mike Wandless for History, Mr Flood for Art, Ken Rockett for Music, Judy Maxwell and Mr Knight and Mr Tate for Geography and Mr Baldersera taught the boys Physical Education and Judy Lancaster taught the girls.

Form 1A, 1958-59.

Back Row: Michael Cass, Dennis Heath, Geoffrey Webster.

Third Row: John Read, Anthony Law, Martin Magson, Adrian Hill, David Barton, Philip Hornby, Colin Ruston  

Second Row: Stuart Dowson, Barry Roger, Stephen Feaster, Caroline Ford, Pam Jefferson, Shirley Husband, Patricia Wake, Margaret Tain, Mary Aldridge, Antony Lowery, Richard Bradley, David Letby

Front Row: Eileen Thompson, Susan Braithwaite, Carol Wright, Joan Simpson, Angela Bolam, Mr W Proctor, Valerie Waind, Pat Davies, Jane Thompson, Lelsey Hill, Fiona Brown.

Absent: Ian Askin and Kevin McCauley

The School had a House system for competition purposes. The newest house was Highfield (red) formed because there was such an influx of new students. The original houses were Acland (green) and Feversham (gold).

Prior to the new buildings being completed, Form 1 was located on the Middleton Road campus, so initially were not part of the Swainsea Lane campus roll calls. However on the Swainsea Lane campus there were Tutor Groups rather than year groups for Roll Call, each House had two each across all years for girls and another two for boys, so four per House, making twelve in all. The Sixth form had their own morning roll call.

During these years it was in Form 3 that subject choices were made e.g. Biology or Art, Domestic Science or Chemistry.

Students sat the General Certificate of Education, the GCE, set by the Northern Universities Joint Matriculation Board. Ordinary or ‘O’ levels were sat in Form 5, with  English Language and Maths being compulsory subjects. Then there was two years of study in the Lower then the Upper Sixth form before sitting Advanced or ‘A’ levels. After Form 5 many students left school, those staying on wanted to sit for their ‘A’ levels to be able to attend university or college.

Extra school activities included the Junior Dramatic Society, the Trampoline Club and Natural History Society. There was plenty of sport with soccer, tennis and hockey, and studying for things like the hockey umpire’s course, and plenty of lunchtime Staff and Student tennis doubles games in those years.

In sixth form ‘Use of  English” was a compulsory exam for those who wanted to attend university. It was also compulsory to do sport and a ‘creative’ class such as domestic science, metalwork or  woodwork.

Form 4: 1962 Visit to Flamingo Park  

Back Row: David Barton, Barry Roger, Colin Ruston, Peter Boothroyd, Geoffrey Webster

Front Row: Ruth McGregor, Richard Bradley, Cathy Wyndham, Elspeth Burnett

Form 5: 1963

Back Row  David Kirkham, Barry Roger, Michael McNally, David Barton, Clive Blenkhorn, Colin Ruston, Peter Boorthroyd, Colin Westwood, Ian Jennings, Tony Cooper, ?, Stephen Feaster, Stuart Dowson, Richard Bradley

Middle Row Caroline Ford, Ann Luddington, Martyn Magson, Geoffrey Webster, Dennis Heath, Ian Askin, Michael Cass, Nicholas Cass(?), Kevin McCauley, Adrian Hill, Janet Brown, Pat Davies, Sheila Cass

Front Row Carol Wright, Joan Simpson, Cathy Wyndham, Lesley Hill, Pat Wake, Angela Bolam, Cass, Valerie Waind, Susan Braithwaite, Ruth McGregor, Jane Thompson, Mary Aldridge, Fiona Brown

The Prefect photo below was taken May 1964 when Angela Bolam, Pat Davies, Caroline Ford, Joan Simpson and Colin Westwood  were in the Lower Sixth…. more prefects were needed as the school grew in size, so at this time students were appointed when in the Lower Sixth.

Back Row: Robert Macdonald, Robin Houlston, Alan Clemmitt, David Hutchinson, Antony Pryce, Colin Westwood, Michael Vasey, Philip Fisher, Martyn Ibbotson

Middle Row: Jennifer Dealtry, Pat Davies, Joan Simpson, Caroline Ford, Ian Lewis, Janet Suggitt, Angela Bolam, Wendy Wilson.

Front Row: Jim Boyes, Christine Brewster, David Cram (Head boy), Deputy Headmaster Fred Dews, Headmaster David Baxendall, Miss L Hopps (Deputy for Girls), Ruth Leadley (Head Girl),  Christopher Brown, Rosamund Atkinson.

On 29^th January 1965 the then Head Boy Dennis Heath and Head Girl Caroline Ford, along with Mr Baxendall and student John Clark, represented the school at the Lying in State of Sir Winston Churchill, queuing for over an hour in bitter wind and rain, slowly wending their way from Lambeth Bridge to Westminster Hall to file silently past the catafalque. This was on a bier seven feet high, covered in black velvet with silver trim; the carpet was garnet coloured; the Union flag draped the casket with his Knight of the Garter insignia and medals atop a black velvet cushion. Five soldiers stood as a Guard of Honour, with heads bowed and hands on sword pommels. The Pickering group saw a changing of the guard which was done every 15 minutes with much precision yet with no audible commands.  

The Head Boy and Girl also represented the School at the funeral service of former Headmaster Mr. F. Austin Hyde.

Prefects 1964-5:

Back Row Sue Dealtry, Julia Woodhouse, (?), Nicholas?, Richard Bradley, Tony Cooper, Geoffrey Webster, Ian Askin, Ralph Bainbridge, John Clark, Isobel Heap, Cathy Wyndham, Helen Plackett, Mrs Houlstone.

Front Row ?, David Kirkham, Angela Bolam (Deputy HG), Dennis Heath (Head Boy), Miss Hopps, Mr Baxendall, Mr Dews, Caroline Ford (Head Girl), Colin Westwood (Deputy HB), Julia Woodgate(?), Barry Roger

School Council was held each week, chaired by the Head Boy with notes taken by the Head Girl. Here the tutor group representatives would ask for various issues to be raised with the Headmaster and it was the job of the Head Girl to have the regular meetings with Mr Baxendall to hear his responses. Many things were recurring issues during this period… the re-tarring of the playground to try and overcome the inevitable gravel rash was one problem, the location of the tuckshop was another. Through the Entertainment Committee, various social functions like the school dances were arranged.

After their final years of school, the students spread across the country as they ventured forth from Lady Lumley’s to go onto apprenticeships, employment or further study at Technical or other Tertiary institutions. From there they scattered to all corners of Britain, some even travelled to more distant parts of the globe, all carrying the legacy of Lady Lumley’s School.

Reference: Reminiscences of a student at the time