Halliford Memories
Eight Feet Tall by Stephen Bechervaise, Old Hallifordian (1964-1969)
Have you ever met anyone who is eight feet tall?
I most certainly have! I remember the event very well. It was 1964, and I hadn’t long started at Halliford School as a first year student (that’s Year 7 in today’s language) and had found myself in the very dark narrow corridor which led to the Prefects Room, situated deep within the Main House opposite the front of the then gymnasium-cum-hall.
Whether I had been summoned to this forbidding place or whether sheer curiosity had led me there, I cannot recall, but what I can remember with incredible clarity were the Prefects who towered above me – they were eight feet tall! At least!!
I became a Prefect myself in late 1968 as a Fifth Former (now Year 11) when the Prefects Room was in exactly the same location! Thankfully, eight-foot-tall fellow Prefects were no longer a threat, and I felt incredibly proud to hold the office until I left the school in July 1969, shortly after the Prefects Room had been moved to a somewhat less foreboding location within the Main House.
The encounter detailed above is my earliest recollection of my five very happy years at Halliford School (provision then was for 11-16 year-olds only.) My mind is brimming with others, too numerous to mention them all, but allow me to put to paper just a few other memories which I hope will be of interest to current students (and their parents) at the school and, of course, my fellow Old Hallifordians.
- I remember well the woodwork shop set away from the remaining buildings along a path. The teacher was Mr Anderson, and one or two of the items he helped me make are still in my possession – these include a toast rack and a plant holder. I was taught well.
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My English teacher, Mr Taylor Mr Warren (nicknamed Bunny!) was our PE teacher, and he helped me excel in various sports, including gymnastics and athletics. I vividly recall gymnastics displays (dressed in white) at summer fetes and always coming second in the 440 yards race at sports days.
- I also did fairly well at cross country running. We used to walk to nearby Walton Bridge, where our route began, which took us around Desborough Island and back to the bridge. I recall coming around sixth in the field on tournament days when the whole school would cheer us to the finishing line, my legs turning to jelly as I sprinted to the finish.
- Cooked lunches were taken in a large room in the Main House, with the teaching staff seated at a separate table in the same room. Following lunch, Mrs Lane (the Matron) would appear at the door at the side of the Main House where she would sell ice lollies!! A real treat!!
- Most of my lessons took place in the Quadrangle, a rectangular block of six classrooms, where I received teaching in History, French, Maths, Latin and English. Geography, Science and Art lessons took place in an adjacent building next to the main side entrance gate to the school. My English teacher was Mr Taylor – I understand his brother was the renowned historian, A.J.P. Taylor. I always remember the Maths lessons with Mr Crawford (Biccy was his nickname) – he was an excellent teacher but very strict!
- There were two streams in each year – A and B.
- We used to have what were called Three Weekly Tests. We faced these assessments every, you guessed it, three weeks, and there was great trepidation as we entered the classroom – we never knew exactly when the tests would take place. Our test results featured heavily in our term reports.
- My music and drama teacher was Mr Lewis, who taught us in the Main House. How can I ever forget the superb production of Henry V (I think late 1968) with its huge array of colourful costumes? (See photo). Nor would others (including the audience!) let me forget the cloud of powder which exploded from the top of my head when I removed my headwear, the consequence of an over-enthusiastic application of make-up!
- Our uniform at school included a bright red blazer which I was incredibly proud to wear. As I recall, this was replaced with a navy blue blazer in the Fifth Form. I wore short trousers in the first year (as did others but not all) but relished the moment I was able to wear long trousers once I started in the second year!
Allow me one final recollection. Periods and breaks were marked by the sound of a bell, the switch for which was located just inside the main door to the Main House. One of the duties of the Prefects was to leave lessons in good time to ring this bell. I relished that responsibility!
I cannot complete this piece without acknowledging the personal sacrifices of my late parents, who dug very deep to send me to Halliford School. I shall be forever grateful to them for allowing and enabling me to study there for five very happy years. A Levels were not catered for while I was at the school, so, following the GCE’s I gained at Halliford, I finished my secondary education at nearby Hampton Grammar School.
The years 1964 to 1969 were very happy years for me as a child, and this was in no small part due to the outstanding education and care I received at Halliford School. I wish you all well in this centenary year, and I, for one, am extremely proud and thankful to have been part of such an outstanding school.
Reminiscences of Halliford School in the Early Sixties by Geoff Barker, Old Hallifordian (1960-1963)
I have happy memories of being at Halliford School from 1960 to 1963, aged 13 to 16.
I lived in Twickenham, so I got to Shepperton by train – my Dad drove me to the station every day, and I walked from the station street to school. Morning assembly was in the rickety old wooden gym that only just fitted all the students, with prayers, a Hymn and announcements, then off to classes. The school must have been through hard times because the new classrooms were clearly built somewhat economically and were in a U-shaped layout, with an open sided roof covering the interconnecting path.
The only musical activity was choir, which I was not at all keen on; I was ‘volunteered’, but the choir master soon identified my vocal shortcomings, and to my relief, I was dismissed. The gym had the usual ‘wooden horse’ and other contraptions, but I broke my wrist jumping over one of these in my first term, returning from hospital with a cast that was soon signed by everybody, I think I earned some respect for keeping my cool when this happened, several boys fainted when they saw my ‘zigzag’ arm.
We had good teachers who did their best for us. I especially liked the Science teacher, Mr. Spens, and my Maths teacher, whose name I cannot remember—an ex-artillery officer. I did well in maths, took my O Level early, got a high mark, and progressed to Calculus. I felt so privileged to be taught this powerful method.
The new science lab was equipped with benches and sinks bought from another school and had unprotected glass bottles of acids and gas outlets – we never had safety glasses, but I don’t remember there ever being any accidents. Above the lab was the woodwork shop, I remember noticing a tiny bunch of dried flowers nailed to a roof beam – part of an ancient builder’s good luck tradition, I recall thinking.
At break time I had a little packet of ‘munchies’ wrapped in greaseproof paper, usually cheese and crackers. Mum was fed up making me pack lunches, so I had school lunches, which were served in the large front room, now the staff common room. The food was OK, but I remember everyone else hating the rice pudding, which I loved. I think talking was ‘verboten’ during lunch and at least one teacher would be on duty.
Some of the facilities were primitive such as the dilapidated sheds we had to change in for sports, these looked as if they were left over from WW1, with broken windows and wooden benches. My main sporting activity was cross-country running, mainly on paths around gravel pits – one of which was called ‘Sheep Walk’.
There was a disused tennis court on the grounds where a mob of boys would play a kind of ball game during breaks. Like many others, I could never get anywhere near the ball, so many of us gave up and did something else during break. But I did get to fly my model aircraft once a week in the field after school.
Every year, textbooks were issued. These were not new and often had pleasant musty smells, different for each title. I remember feeling somewhat of a connoisseur of these. I wrote an article for the 1961 school magazine about a visit to the British Museum; re-reading it brought back happy memories.
I went on two school trips to the continent, the first to Brussels in 1961, the second to Paris in 1963. These broadened my horizons greatly and I recall travelling about on the Metro, seeing Napoleon’s tomb, Notre Dame Cathedral and Gendarmes with sub machine guns.
Just at the end of my tenure, a new woodwork shop was built. I remember looking at it wistfully since I would never have a chance to use it. But how much more has the school changed! I saw all the wonderful new facilities for study and new emphasis on music and artistic pursuits on my recent visit to the school. May you flourish for a long time Halliford School.
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