Leavers' antics

I left school in 1968 and, sadly, missed the last day of school because I had left early to take up a summer job. I regret it to this day! (The job was rubbish) I heard afterwards about the various antics that the departing sixth formers – well, the boys anyway – got up to and what you say sounds familiar. I certainly know that something was attached to the flagpole. In fact, most of my memories of school are of tricks we played and how appalling we were to certain teachers. Most of it doesn’t bear repeating!

The sixth form common room was, firstly, Miss David’s old office, off the main corridor of the old school towards the far end. Various old armchairs and bits of furniture were put in there and one memory is of playing ‘off ground tag’ over the furniture. The common room was later transferred to one of the houses facing Cider Mill Lane that had been built for the groundsman and other staff, and it was our refuge. We had a radio and used to ‘Listen with Mother’ at 1.45 (I think) and then have to race back to the main building for the first afternoon lesson at 2.00pm. Giving us free run of a house like that was a recipe for disaster and within a year it had been vandalised by exuberant 6th form boys.