R2OK!

iwarburton · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 2133 Location: Northumberland

This was prompted by a request on SOTS on Saturday but, as it's slightly off at a tangent from the programme itself, I thought this was the right place to post it.

Just before 9am BM mentioned a reunion at the former Rutherford Grammar School, Newcastle, and played the Shadows' Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt, featruing two of the school's Old Boys, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch.

Despite my long period living in the area, I couldn't place the school mentioned.

Yesterday I was talking to a young woman who is in our pantomime group and she mentioned that her boyfriend had been to the reunion in question.

Apparently the school became Rutherford Comp and then Westgate Community College but it's closing at the end of this academic year and the land is going over to housing. It'll be replaced by a new college in West Newcastle.

The lady's boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed the reunion and, I'm told, got home very drunk!

Do any of our Geordie posters have any related memories?

Ian.

Red Baron · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 120

Ian,

Rutherford school has been on the West Road in Fenham for many years. It's beside the 'aerial' that's visible for many miles. That was the original boys grammer school - which was originally placed in Bath Lane, Newcastle (that became the Bath lane College)
The Girls High School was built with an entrance on Grange Road. Not far from the Fox and Hounds pub.

It was the best school in Newcastle for many years. Until it became a comprehensive.
Then they merged it with Slatyford - a school with which the pupils at Rutherford had always had a hate relationship.
Then they merged it with John Marley - from the Cowgate area. This meant it was now taking about 2000 pupils from disadvantaged areas of Newcastle. It has been in Special measures and is now closing to be replaced with an Academy - which will obviously do away with all the problems - and make lots of money when they sell the land for housing.

I do know quite a bit about it, my Dad went to the Bath lane school. My sister and brother both went there and I worked there as a technician when I was 17. I was there when Princess Margaret visited to celebrate it's Centenary - the Headmistress, Miss Kirkby, wouldn't invite Hank and Bruce along - "Not common Popstars"

If we had stayed in Fenham, it would have been the school my children were allocated. We moved.

RB

iwarburton · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 2133 Location: Northumberland

Many thanks, Red Baron, for the extra info.

Your Headmistress's comments made me smile. When I was a Lower Sixth former, in 1964/5, we acquired a new Headmaster who, on hearing that we normally booked a group for our school's Christmas dance, asked, "do the Beatles or Rolling Stones hire themselves out for this sort of thing?"

I think we might have struggled a little bit to afford them at that stage!

Ian.