Former Brigg Grammar School pupils and staff are waiting to see whether they feature in part two of a BBC documentary this Thursday.
BBC4 screened part one of Grammar School – A Secret History on Thursday, January 5, without Brigg getting a mention. Programme two will follow on this Thursday (9pm).
A number of former grammar school boys from North Lincolnshire, including Brigg, were approached by researchers from Testimony Films for the two-part series.
They were asked for memories of grammar school life and their views on the sort of education provided.
Brigg Grammar School proved unique, as a group of pupils produced a documentary film about it in the late 1960s, as celebrations were planned for the 300th anniversary of its foundation.
Testimony Films say: “In this two-part series we hear from a mix of less well-known ex-grammar school pupils and a cast of some of Britain’s most well-known and well-loved household names - all from humble working class or lower middle class backgrounds, many of whom passionately believe they owe much of their success in life to their grammar school education.
“They include Sir David Attenborough, who, for the first time on TV shares some heart-warming anecdotes from his grammar school days, Dame Joan Bakewell, Lord Neil Kinnock, Lord Paul Boateng, Sir Roy Strong, Michael Portillo, Edwina Currie, Michael Wood, Roy Greenslade and Bob McCartney.
“This is the story of Britain’s grammar schools. They have been regarded as Britain’s most illustrious schools. Amongst them, many can boast a long and successful history.
“Their founding principle was based on providing otherwise unattainable opportunities of a top class education to the very brightest pupils from some of the poorest families in the country.
“From the early days of grammar schools they were seen as a vehicle for upward social mobility and continued in this vein until their demise in the late 60s/early 70s.”
Programme one looked into the history of these landmark schools and how they paved the way for many children from less advantaged backgrounds to enter into top professions and for some to reach the very peak of their professions.
The company adds: “The second programme this Thursday focuses on the swift and brutal fall of Britain’s best-loved schools. By the late 1970s, three-quarters of the old grammar schools were gone, despite their proven record of success as an instrument of social mobility for working class children.
“They would be replaced by the untried, one-size-fits-all, non-selective, mixed ability comprehensive school which were pioneered in the post-war years.”
Brigg Grammar School and Brigg Girls' High School both disappeared in 1976 when the Sir John Nelthorpe Comprehensive was established by Humberside County Council.
PICTURED ABOVE: Brigg Grammar School cricketers lined up near the Boarding House. Could we be looking at John Holland and Roger Holmes (front row, left and second left)?
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3 comments:
I can remember my first cricket bat; it was a plank of wood that my Dad had sawn into a rough shape resembling a bat. The ball was number of old knotted socks, wrapped in one of my Mum's nylon stocking.
I was only a toddler - about 5 or 6 ..and the back garden game of cricket was going splendidly.
When it was my Dad's turn to bat, he took a good swipe at the ball, but the bat broke with the main portion flying off over the garden wall and resoundingly smashing into Mister-Next-Door's cucumber cold-frame.
That's when I learnt grown-ups tell fibs!
'Don't tell anybody - Mister-Next-Door will think that somebody has lobbed a piece of wood from the side alley', said Dad...
It was also the time when I started to question the existence of Father Christmas...If Dad tells fibs, then perhaps he tell fibs about Santa.
I can remember my first cricket bat; it was a plank of wood that my Dad had sawn into a rough shape resembling a bat. The ball was number of old knotted socks, wrapped in one of my Mum's nylon stocking.
I was only a toddler - about 5 or 6 ..and the back garden game of cricket was going splendidly.
When it was my Dad's turn to bat, he took a good swipe at the ball, but the bat broke with the main portion flying off over the garden wall and resoundingly smashing into Mister-Next-Door's cucumber cold-frame.
That's when I learnt grown-ups tell fibs!
'Don't tell anybody - Mister-Next-Door will think that somebody has lobbed a piece of wood from the side alley', said Dad...
It was also the time when I started to question the existence of Father Christmas...If Dad tells fibs, then perhaps he tell fibs about Santa.
See, I've got an excellent memory - I can remember things twice OVER !
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