An Inspector Calls at St Giles Secondary Modern School

An Inspector Calls at St Giles Secondary Modern School Compiled by Peter Harrod From the Garton Archive: Item of Interest No 47 When the City of Lincoln Education Committee made the decision to support the formation of comprehensive schools in 1974, Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School (LCHS) began its life as a result of amalgamating four schools; Lincoln (Grammar) School, Lincoln Christ’s Hospital Girls’ High School, St Giles Secondary Modern Boys’ School (SGS), and Myle Cross Secondary Girls’ School (MCG). Regular reader of my articles over the last six years will know how much I regret the fact that so few items have been retained from the rich heritage of the two St Giles secondary modern schools. Most of the records and other memorabilia were destroyed or have been lost. This has meant that the articles from the Garton Archive have, for that reason alone, been heavily weighted in favour of the grammar and high schools. However, we are fortunate that most of the log books of the secondary modern schools are lodged in the Garton Archive. The present article looks back at an HM Inspection of St Giles Secondary Modern School (SGS), which was a mixed secondary school before separate boys’ and girls’ schools were formed in September, 1958. An inspection, of course, is always an interesting and often controversial part of a school’s history. This particular inspection took place over seven days in November 1952, the year I entered Lincoln School as a fresh-faced youngster! More of that later in the article! The nature, scope and results of the inspection are faithfully recorded in the SGS Log Book in the flowing long-hand of the (unnamed) Chief Inspector (CI). The report numbered 43 quarto-sized pages, and it is evident from other sources that there was a team of four inspectors. In setting the context for the inspection, the CI described the area of St Giles as a mainly residential housing estate, a large part of which was the result of ‘slum clearance’ (the CI’s words, not mine!) from other parts of the city of Lincoln. The sixteen acre campus, which included playing fields, was shared with an infant and junior school, and also a youth club attached to a community centre. SGS educated almost all of the boys and girls from the St Giles estate who were not selected for a grammar school education. The fact that some parents chose to send their daughters to a girls’ school such as Spring Hill, led to an imbalance between the number of boys and girls in the school, which may have been one factor governing the later decision to create the two separate schools. At the time of the inspection there were 201 boys and 158 girls aged between 11 and 15 on roll, and the usual practice was for the pupils to leave school at the end of the term in which they reached the age of fifteen. On leaving school, and following visits from the Youth Employment Officer, the majority of the girls entered the ‘distribution’ trades as did several of the boys. However there had been a recent substantial increase in the number of boys going into engineering, and girls gaining employment in factories. Very few boys, but an appreciable number of girls, became clerical workers. Over the previous three years only 17 boys and 19 girls had entered the Lincoln Technical College on Monks Road after leaving school at the age of fifteen. The School had opened as a ‘council school in 1934, and its premises and equipment were recorded in some detail in the report. In addition to the usual classrooms accommodating an average of about 30 pupils, there was a ‘sick’ room, cloakrooms, store rooms, headmaster’s room, a fair sized hall with a stage also used for gymnastics, and changing rooms with showers for boys and girls. In a separate (incorrectly spelt by the CI!) wing there was a woodwork room for the boys, a housecraft room for the girls, and a science laboratory and art room. A dining room had recently been erected, and there was a hard playing space for netball, and one tennis court. The School at the time of its opening in 1934 taken from a newspaper cutting The accommodation was described as ‘reasonable’, although several matters needed attention including the general appearance and decoration of the buildings, cloakroom accommodation, showers, toilets, art room furniture, and display and storage space. Further equipment was also needed including PE climbing apparatus, biology and craftwork resources, and an ‘electric gramophone’ (also incorrectly spelt!). Many of the books for English were described as unsuitable, and there was a dearth of good quality reading books, and almost no contemporary literature. At this point I am unable to resist making a comparison between the accommodation and resources available for the secondary modern pupils and those taken for granted by the grammar school pupils down the road. Subsequent research has shown how much more money was ploughed into the prestigious grammar schools at the expense of their poor relations – just one of the many inequalities that existed at the time between grammar and secondary modern schools; a topical issue as I write. The availability of books was perhaps one of the most serious. The CI expressed the strong view that pupils should have access to books of quality suited to their age and understanding both for information and pleasure, and housed in an appropriate library space. It was made clear that these were sadly lacking at SGS. Interesting comparisons might also be made between the training and qualifications of the staffs of grammar and secondary modern schools. At that time most grammar and high school teachers were university graduates, and many had also received professional training in teaching, although that was not a pre-requisite. Secondary modern staffs did contain some graduates, but most were trained over two or three years in what were known at the time as teacher-training colleges, and were awarded a Teaching Certificate. In 1952 the Headmaster of SGS, Mr Arthur Frederick Humble, who had served the School since 1941, was a graduate of Durham University. There was an assistant staff of 15 full-time ‘masters and mistresses’, and one part-time PE mistress. The St Giles Boys’ Football team in 1946 with Headmaster Mr Arthur Humble on the top left The CI’s report was highly critical of the organisation of the School which favoured boys’ education over the girls’, and which failed to provide the fullest opportunities for the most able pupils. There was also little recognition of the particular needs of the least able children, and more general criticism of the lack of recognition of the needs of differing capacities. The curriculum was described as ‘traditional’, with ‘basic’ subjects being taught by form masters and mistresses, with some specialisation in other subjects. In general the teaching was described as ‘conscientious’, but not always making sufficient demands on the pupils, who were too often cast in the role of ‘passive listeners’ who failed to learn habits of application to work, or to accept responsibility and to take initiatives. The report gave the following potted summary of the achievements in the different subjects, which is interesting not least for the insight it gives into the nature of a typical secondary modern school curriculum of that era. The order appears as it does in the report. Music was given credit for its achievements ‘in the main’. Science was soundly taught. Woodwork had aroused considerable interest and showed creditable results. Gardening was ‘promising’. Religious Instruction was, as one would expect, taken with great sincerity. History and Geography might have made more vital contributions. Mathematics was ‘painstaking but lifeless’. Biology was attempted without any apparatus. Technical Drawing , (and I quote) ‘as it is at present could well be omitted’. Art was not entirely satisfactory, and Craft was narrow in conception. Physical Education for the boys was limited, but the girls PE and Housecraft were showing signs of improvement. Needlecraft was ‘reasonable’. The standard of work in English was uneven. Much of the written English in all subjects was teacher-dominated, and it was clear that most of the pupils were capable of achieving a great deal more than was required of them. Not what you would describe as a glowing report! Following that potted summary, the CI proceeded to elaborate on some of the issues. The teaching of Religious Instruction was described as sincere and purposeful, but too much reliance was placed on question-and-answer techniques, and a more active role on the part of pupils was recommended, including dramatization and independent research. English, as taught by form masters and mistresses, lacked sound continuity. Too much emphasis was placed on isolated exercises which lacked stimulation, purpose and relevance. Pupils read fluently on the whole, but not always with understanding. Dictionaries and discussions could have been used more extensively than they were. Praise was given to those teachers in the top forms whose techniques might well have benefited those teaching other forms. It was also recommended that pupils should be encouraged to correct their mistakes, and that carelessness should not be tolerated, platitudes which have punctuated inspections over the centuries! It was recommended that thought be given in History to the designing of a syllabus that was appropriate to the needs and capacities of the pupils, and to the development of methods that would stimulate their interest and promote a more active part in lessons. The lessons in Geography were carefully planned and presented in a painstaking way by two highly experienced teachers.

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