Gateshead Grammar School,
formerly Gateshead Secondary School
(Higher Grade School)

then
Gateshead Boys' Grammar School,
The Grammar School for Boys, Gateshead.
Among the many names the school had in its history starting with The Anchorage School

Sister Site to Gateshead History
Gateshead Pictorial History
Gateshead Pubs
The Felling

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The Caprians

presented their 
Farewell Concert

Denewell Avenue United Reformed Church

Low Fell on Sunday 10th December 2017

see pics on the Caprians page


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History, Memories, Old Boy/Girl Updates, Reunions

And on the subject of Old Boy/Old Girl Updates, howsabout hearing from you?

Facebook Page

Have you considered contributing to the GGS Facebook Page ? It's another way to give feedback on /make a contribution to this website. The less public way is Contact


The Mystery of the Missing War Memorials

 In August 2013 it was discovered that the War Memorials were destroyed some time ago on the instructions of an official in Gateshead Education Dept. It was not theirs to make this decision. The Memorials were commissioned using funds raised by public subscription and were placed into the safe keeping of the Local Authority. It is known from many comments to this website in the past 8 years or so that there is much interest in this very special centrepiece to Gateshead Secondary/Grammar School. 

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Go here to read about the pupil who summoned 

Jim Harker Intake Year 1960 is a pet portrait artist. Here's his contact details if you fancy having your hampster painted

G Alan Smith Intake Year 1956 has a book out about his childhood, including time at GGS

available from Amazon

Here's a snippet

'At the age of eleven I was still in short trousers, as was the norm in those days, but now there was a grammar school blazer to wear over a formal shirt and tie. There was even a schoolboy cap, but this tended to fall off or get mocked by secondary modern children, so most boys did not wear it. On the badge was a picture of a goat's head (Gateshead - get it?), with the motto Toil No Soil. Strangely, no one could work out the meaning of the motto. Some boys joked that it was advising us not to become gardeners'.

'Gateshead Grammar School was not really a posh school, except in the eyes of the secondary modern crowd. Anyone properly posh would have gone to the private Royal Grammar School in Newcastle. At the time of the eleven-plus the teacher had offered me the chance of taking the entrance exams for a free scholarship to the RGS, but I refused. Even at that age I knew my place'.

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For your classmates, go here to find your year group and to tell your recollections or just to record your existence (this will be visited by genealogists of the future) and to send your contribution go here



G L R Brown became Head in 1933, this is the earliest photo of him (so far). It's from the long photo of 1937. I'll bet that Hitleresque growth beneath his nose was gone by 1939!

Got any stories of bumping into teachers after leaving school?..go here to see examples
or here if you summoned one to Court

 There is now a Wikipedia entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateshead_Grammar_School

News


Left click the image to enlarge it
From Reg Snowdon we have the first 5 magazines. These are not the first magazines ever but they are the first five of the newly named Grammar School. The first one is dated July 1945 so there was no waste of time after the cessation of hostilities, Mr Brown, not knowing the reason for the name said "It might, with some degree of truth, have been called "The Phoenix" rising from the ashes of its predecessor, decently interred many years ago. From another comment elsewhere it is possible that the expression "many years ago" is a euphemism for 1939.
 We are missing the 6th but we do have the 7th, courtesy of Ken Norton and, as best we know, that was the last before the name was changed to The Caprian.
Stay tuned for there's good stuff to come

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If you haven't seen this, it's well worth a watch!!



edited and published by Hugh Hedley
Available at Gateshead Main Library



 Gateshead Grammar School was coeducational and later became a Boys' School but it began life in1883 as a private boys' school called Gateshead High School For Boys. In 1894, now in the Municipality's hands, it became Gateshead Secondary School and, though most of us never noticed, that was the name carved into the ornate wood WWI War Memorial that was the centrepiece of the Old School Hall and which was transferred to the New School Hall. After WWII it was renamed Gateshead Grammar School. Read about the War Memorial's fate here

See more here

Cast your mind back to the Shipcote area of canny Gateshead in the 40's 50's 60's ... All cobbled streets, short trousers and Syd Appleby's Newsagents shop, or in 6th form, the Springfield Hotel. If spotted in there by a teacher he would politely point out the protocol...masters in the bar, pupils in the lounge 


Photo of badge from Brian Harrison (1958)


Submitted by Alan Jeffrey

If you are a Caprian, an old Boy/Girl this is your website for reunions, reminiscences, nostalgia and a chance to contribute to a piece of living history...and an altogether more friendly place than Friends Reunited
And if, between us, we create not only a fantastic piece of living history but, as is already evident, a sense of real belonging, even after all these many years, to what was a special institution, it might persuade the politicians that there was something of value in the free publicly owned Grammar Schools

On the subject of reunions the intake year that, by a country mile, wins the reunion race
is 1958

Their first one (and they've had three main ones) was in 1987 when most in that year group were celebrating their 40th birthdays and it is presumed that, for the occasion, this magnificent school tie was produced. Lee Hetherington has kindly donated it to the box of stuff eg photos, school mags etc that has accumulated while this website has been developed, starting in 2004. Ultimately it will end up in the archives of the Local Studies Dept of Gateshead Central Library
 
Because in the 40s/50s/60's many career opportunities eg accountancy, insurance, banking were available with O Levels or equivalent many people left at that stage (5 years), while others stayed on to do A levels (7 years). Rather than use the American system of using the end year, each year group is therefore described by the INTAKE or STARTING year


We have

Photos of Gateshead Grammar School

We have many photos of the original school buldings, thanks mainly to Mal Burns.

This is he, Mal Burns. Intake Year 1956. His hair was a different colour when he took the pics

If you've got anything to add to the gallery, please get in touch
What would be fantastic is a picture or a word picture of the 6th form common room. Was it full of rescued road work signs and other street furniture? Or who could paint a picture of the inner sanctum of Mr Doxford's domain

Photos of the Gateshead Grammar Staff
We have photos of most staff but probably not all. Do you have a photo of a member of staff that we don't? 

The Panoramic Photo of 1929

The Panoramic Photo of 1933

The Entire Panoramic Photo of  Oct 1947
This covers those who attended 1941 through 1947

The Entire Panoramic Photo of 1961
This covers those who attended in the years 1954 (2nd year 6th Formers) through 1960 (First Formers)
These are not necessarily the only panoramic photos taken so do any others survive? Is there one in which the same boy appears twice or is this, as suspected, an urban myth?

Famous Old Boys/Girls
Did anyone become Prime Minister? Who made it big as Captains of Industry?
Who are the Famous Academics, Pop Stars, Clergy? We know of some but we need your help

Famous Incidents
Including the Chair Legging


Are you planning a Reunion? Announce it here.
If you've had one, post the photos here


Have a look at 1960 Starting Year Group where current photos and bios have been provided. The same can be done for your
Year Group







A blast from the past..This is a 1960's Gateshead Grammar School Christmas Greeting Card which was finally used, 40 years on, Christmas 2008 sent to all Old Goats


This, the only card ever produced, was designed and produced by Richard Merelie (S/Y 1956)

Do you have any memories of the Springfield Hotel now sadly demolished? We have a page just waiting for your reminiscences


Haversack...a two shoulder strapped bag for carrying school books that had to be carried using only one strap to make it as unergonomic as possible
Why? I think it was a Gateshead Bye Law 



Go thro the former guest book to see entries from Lyndsay Brydon, Leslie Searle, John McKenzie, Philip Latheron, Andy Muir, George Charlton, Lee Hetherington, D. Rice, Dave Hogg, Roger Scholes. Their email addresses are shown in their entries