The Ramsden School for Boys

This   is   our   tribute   to   a   former   local   school.   ‘Ramsden   Boys’,   at   one   time   was   the   largest   secondary/comprehensive   state   school   in   the Orpington District and for over a decade over 1200 boys were attending the school each academic year.

After   the   2nd   World   War   there   was   an   urgent   need   for   housing.   Orpington   had   already   been   expanding   at   pace   in   the   1920s   and 1930s   and   the   war   years   only   interrupted   an   existing   huge   wave   of   new   local   authority   and   private   housing   developments   that   were   to continue   into   the   1950s   and   1960s.   Priority   for   the   Orpington   Urban   District   Council   (ODUC)   was   the   continual   development   of   local   or ‘Council   Housing’   for   all.   Many   estates   had   been   previously   built   in   the   district   but   one   of   the   biggest   was   to   be   the   ‘Ramsden   Estate’. Designed   in   the   very   early   1950s   the   estate   took   advantage   of   excess   farmland   becoming   available   to   the   council   in   the   south-eastern area   of   the   town.   The   OUDC   town   planners   started   work   on   a   plan   to   gradually   develop   the   estate   in   phases.   The   first   phase (Ramsden   Road,   Brow   Crescent,   Petten   Grove,   Dyke   Drive,   Tintagel   Road,   Westbrook   Drive,   Brow   Close   and   parts   of      Quilter   Road and   Rye   Crescent)   was   in   place   by   the   early   1950s.   Ramsden   Primary,   Ramsden   Secondary   School   for   Girls   and   Ramsden   School   for Boys   were   also   built   in   this   phase.   The   two   secondary   schools   were   designed   with   shared   playing   fields   which   formed   an   ‘island   of green’   surrounded   by   the   suburban   sprawl   of   the   private   and   council   built   residential   properties.   As   the   1960s   came,   more   housing was   required   and   planned   by   the   OUDC.   As   the   LBB   took   over   the   OUDC,   plans   changed   from   building   more   houses   to   high   and medium rise flats & maisonettes, mainly located in the middle and to the edge of the estate. As   part   of   the   development   of   the   estate,   work   on   the   building   of   The   Ramsden   School   for   Boys   started   in   1956.   The   land   was amongst   the   oldest   in   the   district   to   be   fully   developed   and   this   attracted   a   lot   of   archaeological   interest   at   the   time   and   it   wasn’t   long before   Deneholes,   Iron Age   and   Prehistoric   artefacts   were   being   found.   In   fact   an   iron   age   farmstead   was   found   under   the   land   being developed for the school. Some of these are displayed in the Bromley Museum at the Priory in Orpington. The ‘Ramsden Boys School’ opened in 1959. The   school’s   ‘catchment’   grew   with   the   thriving   occupancy   of   local   housing   and   other   developments   in   the   late   1950s   and   early   1960s. The   school   quickly   needed   to   be   expanded   to   cater   for   the   demand   so   in   1962   a   Technology   and   Art   Block   was   built.   In   1974   the school   expanded   again   and   a   large   annexe   was   built   to   cater   for   science,   humanities,   music   and   a   library   was   opened   for   the   autumn term. The   school   was   the   ‘catchment   school’   for   the   local   council   estate   and   as   a   secondary   modern   and   then   comprehensive,   it   catered   for all   children   of   all   abilities. As   such   Ramsden   Boys   was   well   invested   in   and   boasted   purpose   built   technology   facilities   for   Craft,   Design and   Technology.   There   was   a   language   laboratory,   music   rooms,   a   technical   drawing   studio,   a   building   studies   area,   motor   vehicle studies   workshop.   The   school   had   a   suspended   wooden   floor   gymnasium,   a   large   sports   hall,   tennis   courts   and   plenty   of   playing fields. A   field   study   centre,   ‘Ramfield’,   in   Glenavon,   South   Wales   was   purchased   in   the   early   1980s   and   1000s   of   pupils   enjoyed   many weekends there. From   the   1970s   through   to   the   early   1980s,   each   form   year   (1-5)   had   8   form   groups   of   approximately   30   pupils.   1200   pupils   were taught   at   the   school   in   any   one   year   and   this   made   Ramsden   Boys   one   of   the   biggest   single   sex   schools   in   the   London   Borough   of Bromley. Now to take you back down memory lane.....

The Ramsden School for Boys Badge - A traditional heraldry shield divided into quarters. Top Left - A Five pointed Crown- Respect, Honesty, Unity, Knowledge and Love Top Right - A icon of a Rams Head and Horns, Ramsden was a big sheep farm that was the site of Ramsden Estate. Bottom Left - Tudor Rose, This commemorated Queen Elizabeth the 1st Staying at Bark Hart House. Bottom Right - The River Cray, fairly obvious. The Shield is topped by the Kent Invicta. Coloured for each House; Blue for Danes, Green for Romans, Red for Saxons and Yellow for Normans. The scroll that contains the School Motto says 'Veritus Et Virtus' which latin for 'Truth and Virtue'.

1940: The ‘to be’ Site of the school and Ramsden Estate

1970c: Site of the school and Ramsden Estate

The     School     Badge     with     each ‘house’   represented   by   a   coloured Invicta horse.

School Tie

Uniform Black trousers, Black Blazer, white shirt, black shoes. The school tie and blazer badge were very unique.

Lessons Ramsden Boys pupils had to haul an array of exercise books around with them. Here are some examples from the mid to late 1980s.

Contact Book and School Reports Pupils   had   a   ‘Contact   Book’   system   in   place   for   the   communication   between   Parents,   Teachers   and   Pupils.   The   contact   book   was carried   by   pupils   at   all   times,   it   contained   their   contact   information,   their   lessons   schedule   and   two   pages   for   each   school   week   to capture   homework   details   and   a   section   for   teachers   and   parents   to   exchange   messages.   Teachers   could   write   ‘good’   or   ‘bad’   notes and details of detentions etc. Parents could write notes to teachers and reasons for absence etc. ‘Good   Notes’   were   given   as   praise   and   totted   up   each   week   by   a   form   tutor.   The   good   notes   could   end   up   with   an   end   of   term   letter   of congratulation and a number of those could result in the pupil being given a school prize. Like   most   secondary   schools,   Ramsden   Boys   had   term   based   progress   reporting   for   all   pupils.   A   ‘school   report’   was   always   a significant   event   for   a   pupil   as   it   gave   him   details   on   their   performance   and   a   rating   for   each   subject   he   was   studying.   Most significantly it gave his parents the same information.......

1986 - School Report

1988 - School Report

1989 - School Report

1987 - School Report

1980’s Contact Book Cover

The   following   set   of   documents   are   letters   to   parents   congratulating   pupils   on   their   achievements   and   the   documents   used   at   annual prize giving ceremonies. Click on each item to see each description when the image ‘pops up’.

1989 - Student Profile

Click on each item to see each description when the image ‘pops up’.

Click on each item to see each description when the image ‘pops up’.

Sports As   mentioned   above,   the   Boys   and   Girls   Secondary   schools   used   the   same   extensive   set   of   sports   fields.   The   Boys   school   had   a wooden   sprung   floored   gymnasium,   purpose   built   ‘Sports   Hall’, Tennis   Courts.   Swimming   lessons   were   a   brisk   15   minute   walk   away   to the Walnuts Leisure Centre. Here are a collection of school teams. Click on each item to see each description when the image ‘pops up’.

1980s Prefect Badge

Summer 1989 We   owe   Martin   Longman   a   huge   gratitude   of   thanks   and   to   his   son Andrew   for   sending   these   pictures   of   the   School   in   it’s   last   days   of being   the   ‘Boys   School’..   I   am   sure   anyone   that   attended   the   school   will   appreciate   these   and   be   taken   back   to   their   school   days..   (it did for me!).

And finally..... In   1988   it   was   announced   that   the   Boys   and   Girls   School   would   merge   to   become   ‘The   Priory   School’.   This   was,   of   course,   hotly contested.   The   rationale   by   the   LBB   was   that   catchment   pupil   numbers   were   down   and   on   the   decline.   The   view   of   some   was   that   the LBB   wanted   to   cut   costs   and   also   sell   the   school   land   for   development   and   out   of   the   two   schools,   the   prospect   of   that   was   far   better at   the   Gillmans   Road   site.   The   irony   of   this   is   that   within   5-10   years   of   the   schools   ultimate   demolition,   catchment   numbers   went   up and the Priory, using the former Girl’s school buildings, had to significantly expand to accept the rising numbers.... The   School   closed   as   the   Boys   School   at   the   end   of   the   final   1989   term   but   wasn’t   demolished   until   1991. The   last   year   (1990)   of   boys who   would   be   ‘5th   Year’   or   Year   11   in   the   new   Priory   School   wore   the   Ramsden   Boys   School   Uniform   and   were   based   in   the   old school buildings. This meant approximately 150 pupils having full run on a school that was capable of 1200.

Thank you! There   are   many   people   to   thank   for   the   creation   of   this   article   and   for   sending   their   images,   documents   and   memories   to   us.   In   no particular   order:   Duncan   Stanton,   Martin   and   Andrew   Longman,   Tom   Yeeles,   Phil   Waller,   Alan   Treamer,   Tim   Fisher,   Ashley   Chastney and others. If    you    have    any    images,    documents    or    stories    please    visit    the    contact    us    page     and    get    in    touch    via    on-line    form    or    email ( research@orpington-history.org )

Teachers: There   is   probably   a   memory   for   everyone   that   attended   the   school   reading   this   next   section..   We   have   tried   to   list   as   many   teachers names as possible and what they ‘taught’... This list is not in any order or exhaustive.. If you can remember others please email them.. Mr   Lane   (Headmaster   and   Science Teacher),   Mr   Seed   (English),   Mr   Pearce   (Deputy   Head   and   English   Chicken),   Mr   Churchill   (PE   and English),   Mr   Cook   (French   and   Bell   Ringing!),   Mr   Lucas   (Music),   Mrs   Wood   (Science),   Mr   Hughes   (Head   of   Upper   School   and Science),   Mr   Leicester   (Head   of   Year   and   Science),   Mr   Jones   (Head   of   Year   and Art),   Mr   Hoyland   (Head   of   CDT),   Mr   Childs   (Art),   Mr Long   (Music),   Mr   Reynolds   (Science   and   Caveman),   Mr   Pike   (Deputy   Head   and   Science),   Mr   Dean   (CDT),   Mr   Mansfield   Clarke (Motor   Vehicle   Studies),   Mr   Probin   (Head   of   PE   and   Rugby   XV),   Mr   Dyall   (Humanities),   Mr   Robertson   (Head   of   Year   and   Maths),   Mr Harding   (Head   of   year,   PE   and   English),   Mr   Manns   (English),   Mr   J   James   (Technical   Drawing),   Mr   Edwards   (History),   Mr   Coupland (Head   of   Lower   School   and   PE),   Mr   Lang   (PE),   Mr   Wilkins   (PE),   Mr Townend   (Science),   Miss   Williams   (Head   of Year   and   English),   Mr Decruz   (Music   and   French),   Miss   Matussi   (French)   Mr   Lancaster   (RE),   Mr   McQueen   (PE),   Mr   Hughes   (PE),   Mr   Griffiths   (PE),   Mr Davies   (headmaster),   Mrs   Oakes   (English),   Miss   Collhoon   (English),   Mr   Lancastle   (Humanties),   Mrs   Lancastle   (Humanties),   Miss Welch   (Art),   Mr   Clarke   (CDT),   Mr   Vass   (Science),   Mr   Bridges   (Maths),   Miss   Taylor   (English),   Mr   Thomas   (History),   Mr   Gosage,   Mr Bannon   (English),   Mr   Hook,   Miss   Pearson   (French),   Mr   Walters   (French),   Mr   Steele   (CDT),   Mr   Tuelon   (Maths),   Mr   Hicks   (CDT),   Mr Goreski   (Humanities),   Miss   Baines   (Maths),   Mrs   Mantura   (Maths),   Miss   Morgan   (German),   Mrs   Liddle   (Maths),   Miss   Duggleby (French), Mr Humphries (Humanities) Miss Miller (English) Mr Eaglestone (Headmaster), Mr Wooding (Headmaster), Mr. Rankin (R.I.), Mr. Earl (T.D.)

When   the   school   had   8   forms   per   year   there   were   7   ‘sets’   for   core   education   (Maths,   Sciences,   Languages)   and   any   GCE/GCSE subjects   lessons.   The   sets   were   labelled    R A   M   S   D   E   N   with   the   first   three   being   the   top   sets,   S   and   D   being   the   middle   and   E   and   N being the lower. For lessons in non core lessons (Games, PE, Art, CDT, Humanities etc) the pupils would study in their House groups.

Click on each item to see each description when the image ‘pops up’.

School    Badge    in    Danes    House Colours

Lessons There were a number of subjects to learn at Ramsden Boys and most pupils got to experience the majority of what was on offer.

Click    on    the    Pathe    image    to see   ‘Schoolboys   at   Ramsden Secondary      Modern      School make   an   infusion   pump   to   help people   with   kidney   problems.’ This is from 1966!

Ramfield was the school’s field study and outdoor pursuit centre in South Wales. It is situated in the valley town of Blaenavon just outside Pontypool and most of the building dates back to the 1850's and was until the 1950's the town's infant school. Together with the adjacent junior school and the church of St Peters, the centre was very much the nucleus of a thriving community of iron workers and then coal miners. The Ramsden Boys school bought the site in the early 1980s and refitted it. Every boy was offered the chance to go and enjoy outdoor activities with fellow House members. This was also a chance to see teaching staff let their hair down a bit! Ramfield carries on and is owned by the Priory School.