Blogscrape

Let us hope others discover this blog and keep it going; and apologies to David Littleproud in not correctly crediting him for the teachers names. How did you remember so long ago? amazing, I can’t remember what day of the week it is!

Further reminices: A school dance, can’t think we had that many. Since no girls toilet, Doig donated his private one. On Monday morning when he went to use it, found a condom in there-perhaps that was the last dance we had. What would now be called a pipe bomb, place in a crevice in the playground wall, loud noise but not much damage. At least someone was paying attention in the chemistry class. As Robin Hendy said the grounds were truly magnificent-probably wasted on us neanderthals. The older boys and therefore bigger ones were placed together in the same stream-probably when in the L5, they loved to line up and clear the grounds of all us smaller fry-prefects just watched.
Seem to remember that Turner got his nickname because when we wound him up in RI, which was as often as we could, he would bounce around the class calling us a “bunch of filthy scum”
What memories-keep it going.

Only in contact with one friend from those days-and that was because the blog got me to do some detective work. Keith Piggott, a year behind me, but a friend before Surbiton. Went to Camborne School of mines, and of course had to leave the UK when he was finished at college. Years in Zambia (think still Northern Rhodesia when he went there), then OZ, up in Cairns gold mining. Now a successful gold mining executive in Mexico, with interests in other countries as well. We hope to meet up in Tucson, Az in the near future. We can the reminisce about our favorite pub, The Swan in Thames Ditton, now a shadow of its former self. Then a free house (rare), with 2 full sized snooker tables, a parrot and wonderful sausages. The good times!!

Colin Munday

My goodness … stumbled on this blog from Cyprus one balmy evening in November. So many names, so many memories, not many that good unfortunately. No good at rugby or opera so that left me a bit of an outsider. Fortunately could run fast so managed to avoid the ‘holly bush’ initiation!
Now just about retired but hanging in there to keep my brain ticking over. Still in touch with Tony ‘Tufty’ Hall after all these years. Any ‘Old Surbs’ in Cyprus?

My goodness … stumbled on this blog from Cyprus one balmy evening in November. So many names, so many memories, not many that good unfortunately. No good at rugby or opera so that left me a bit of an outsider. Fortunately could run fast so managed to avoid the ‘holly bush’ initiation!
Now just about retired but hanging in there to keep my brain ticking over. Still in touch with Tony ‘Tufty’ Hall after all these years. Any ‘Old Surbs’ in Cyprus?

I arrived in September 1964, was allocated to Villiers House and a form room in the “new” science block. We all decamped to Long Ditton in September 1965 and a new and progressive Head to go with the wonderful new buildings.
Dave Littleproud’s list of staff brought back some memories…to add a few more…

Hackett (Chopper) Chemistry
Bas (Ek) Hunt, Latin
Colin “Tree” Attree, ? Biology
Jo Turner, Art - from the Stables
“Herr Pfifer” - German and the subject of a nasty bit of racist abuse in the summer of 65 when one day all the dinner money (collected at the table every day) was offered in pennies and halfpennies, just because he was Jewish.

Well, I left in 1970 with reasonable A Levels, went up to Uni and managed a vaguely respectable degree. Still in contact with a hand-full of my year.

Re “I’m not so sure if parents of children at Maple Infants would welcome a move to Ewell Road”

I don’t think that the extra distance from maple Infants to the back of Surbiton station is a huge obstacle. Its certainly pales into insignificance when considering the distance from Chenye Hill / Hill Avenue to Malden manor or Knollmead.

The reality is that the Maple Infants site can not be expanded to meet the extra demand that exists in the locality. It has outlived its usefulness.

RBK missed a trick by not buying the vacant site next door. Yet more evidence of a lack of vision / strategy.

Redevelopment of the Surbiton Station car park could be predicated on improving over-railway connectivity, eg new footbridges, or even better, a road link from Victoria Road. This would make the Surbiton Hospital site even more accessible.

A school and nursery with enhanced capacity (and flexibility to expand in future), so close to Surbiton Station would be a hugely popular development for working parents across the whole of Surbiton.

Re “more be done with money raised locally in Section 106 planning agreements to provide extra places in Surbiton schools. Grand Avenue was one which had been mentioned from the floor of the meeting.”

Hopefully the intellectual agitilty exists to realise that we have two separate issues here:

1. Provision of extra places in time for Sep 2009, located closest to the areas of unmet demand(ie Surbiton & Berrylands).

2. Permanent expansion of primary and nursery school provision in Surbiton. This problem has been ongoing since 2004, and is getting worse every year.

It beggars belief that RBK Schools Admission section has now unilaterally declared that Surbiton, Berrylands, Tolworth and Knollmead are all now located in Surbiton.

For when they say that local places are being provided for Surbiton children, what they really mean is that places are being provided 4km (or one and a half hours round trip, if you prefer) away in Knollmead.

Funny that RBK Schools Admissions don’t bother consulting RBK itself, given that RBK in 2002 decided to preserve the distinct historic names, an dto refer to Surbiton as Surbiton, Berrylands as Berrylands, and Tolworth as Tolworth. Maybe RBK Schools Admissions should contact David White of RBK, who might be able to clarify exactly where most people regard as Surbiton is actually located.

Me thinks you are rather too cavalier with the educational needs of the youngest Surbiton residents, however.

The concerns most commentators have raised with me are that
(a) RBK officers and councillors have allowed a situation to develop whereby Surbiton can not provide sufficient school places for Surbiton children.
(b)it is either too costly or time consuming or both for parents to get to Knollmead from various parts of Surbiton and Berrylands ON A DAILY BASIS (ie not sporadically as per hospital vistis).

On second thoughts, the Rose theatre is actually a hell of a lot closer to Surbiton than Knollmead - let’s convert the Rose into a primary school.

Re the questions at the neighbourhood meeting.

The reports I received were that NOT ONE COUNCILLOR could look the worried parent in the eye when he challenged them as to what they proposed to do about RBK’s outrageous decision to force Surbiton and Berrylands kids as far as Knollmead to get an education.

Lots of furtive downward glances and incoherent mumbling when the questioner then highlighted that only a couple of councillors had even bothered replying to emails on the issue.

What sort of public representatives have we got here, when they can’t recognise the seriousness of a situation where people may be forced to give up jobs/move house in the current economic climate?
All because RBK has failed to provide enough primary school places in Surbiton?

I missed the open questions at the start of the meeting, but arrived to see you guys entertain yourseleves with self-congratulatory jocularity about minor issues, eg what constitutes Tolworth.

You didn’t have much to say about your lack of action re the impending schools crisis.
How could this situation have been allowed to develop on your watch?

I’ve been told that primary school children in the Cheyne Hill area have been getting offers of places as far away as Malden Manor as far back as 2005.
What have you guys done to try and rectify this situation?

In the last three weeks, I’ve been in contact with the DCSF, have presented Ed Balls with notice that we are seeking a formal Determination of the legality of RBK’s actions, have been in touch with Liberty, British Humanist Association, Human Rights solicitors, the Office of Schools Adjudication, our local MP, oh and RBK’s Alice in Wonderland-esqu Admission section.

In that time, I haven’t received a reply from a conservative councillor that I contacted, nor from Helen Whately, whose office I contacted. That says it all frankly.

Not a penny more until RBK provides enough primary school places, close enough to where demand is located.

Schools not lovies!