School Days at
Bitterne Park Secondary Mixed School
Southampton
(1959 - 1964)

The School

Bitterne Park School was then housed in Manor Farm Road on the site now occupied by Bitterne Park Junior School [map]. The school had two streams, the Grammar stream and the General stream. The Grammar stream was split into two classes 'A' and 'alpha', as in 4A [fourth year, A stream], and their final exams were O level GCE's. The General stream was split into four(?) classes with CSE's as their final exams. They were labelled B classes, as in 3B1 [third year B stream , first class]. Did they go 3B2, 3B3 and 3B4? Afraid I cannot remember. I was in the A series of classes although had friends in both streams.

The secondary school had been on the site since 1934, although Bitterne Park Elementary school opened on the site in 1901. Here is a picture taken a little before we went there - circa 1910. No Woodwork/Domestic Science block - that was tacked on later.

© Southampton City Council

By 1959 the buildings had been extended, presumably when it became a secondary school. Sometime after the second world war two concrete blocks, each of two classrooms, were added in the playground. Additionally several [2?] Nissen huts, each split into two classrooms, and two wooden classrooms were added.

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Despite the Secondary school moving to new buildings in 1964 the old buildings survive and are in use by the Junior School. All of the external buildings have now gone and the school extended across the area of the old wooden music room. This is a diagram of the school layout as it was in our day from Steve's memory!! (i.e. not very reliable. In particular I have drawn 19 classrooms but there must have been twenty five to thirty classes??) Rooms were identified by letter; in the 4th year we were in Room P - but I have no memory of which that was! Rooms went up to Room U at least - i.e. twenty-one rooms. If you think you know where I have gone wrong then please tell me. Note for the less hardy youngsters - there were no toilets in the main buildings. The toilet blocks were unheated and although roofed were essentially open to the air. Click the map to see the detailed version [65 Kb]. Definitely NOT to scale.

Staff

These are the staff that we have remembered so far:

Form Teachers

1st year	??? [youngish blonde woman! Miss Elizabeth??]
2nd year	Mr K. Robinson [Robbo]
3rd year	Mr K. Robinson [Robbo]
4th year	Mr W.J. Horley [Fluff]
5th year	Mr. W.R. Prevett [Wally]

Subject teachers

Much of this has been derived from Steve's Report Book. Unfortunately Subject Teachers only used their initials - and some totally illegibly!

	Mr R.D. Newton [Slim]	English teacher for our 3rd and 4th years. Played in jazz band out of school hours. Caned me for handing in abysmal homework.
	Mr W.R. Prevett [Wally]	English teacher for our 5th year.
	Mr M.J. Smith	Geography teacher for our years 3 and 4. Physical Education for our years 4 and 5.
	Mr W.J. Horley [Fluff]	History teacher for our 4th year.
	Mr K. Robinson [Robbo]	Mathematics for years 2 [I think - definitely from 3] to 5.
	Miss J.K. Devonshire	Religious Education for our years 3 and 4 and Art in year 4
	Mr T.? Richards	Woodwork
	Mr Chapman	Physical Education for our 1st to 3rd years.
	Mrs F.S. Titmus	Music for all? years.
	Mr Dukes	Physics for years 3 to 5
	Mr Chaplin	Chemistry and Religious Knowledge
	Mr A. Heron	Technical Drawing
	Mr J.H. Masters	Headmaster
	Miss Dunlop	Deputy Head
Other teachers sadly not remembered
	History in year 3
	Art in year 3
	French in year 3
	French in year 4

Pupils

Here is the photo that Wally took of us [5L] in the last term of our 5th year. Still looking for some names though.

My Report Book tells me that our class numbers varied between 33 and 38, [35 in the 5th year].
Where are you all? Who are you all?? and why were we then called 5L and not A or alpha?

School Holiday to Italy

In Easter 1963? the whole fourth year [both streams] had a holiday in Italy. We journeyed by train and boat to Milan and thence by coach to Malcesine on Lake Garda. Lake Garda is approximately half way between Milan and Venice. We stayed at the Hotel Garda [now listed as Albergo Lago Di Garda] which was right on the lakeside. During the week we visited Venice; St Mark's Square was under six inches of water because of the spring storms. We had a boat trip on the Lake visiting Limone. For this holiday I think we paid the princely sum of £32 per head. Sadly we have no pictures of our fellow travellers; have you?

Malcesine Castle	Looking down on Malcesine from the cable car	View looking South from cable car above Malcesine
MORE images from this holiday here		Click on pictures for higher resolution image [30, 53 and 27 Kb]
	Who are the people in these photos? Please tell me.

School Holiday to Snowdonia

We also had a School walking holiday in Snowdonia. Easter 1964, I believe. I remember staying in some sort of hostel in Llangothen, sharing a room with Peter Burr, listening to Beatles music, walking up Snowden and looking in disdain at those who came up by train.

If you feel that you have ANYTHING to contribute then please get in touch. We are particularly keen to correspond with fellow pupils - even if you don't remember us you may help us by remembering other staff and students.

All errors constructed by Steve Adams. Last updated: 8 November, 2006

The Bitterne Park Area has its own website: http://www.bitternepark.info

Steve's other web pages