A January morning, 1966: at a desk near the piano at the front of the hall, I turned the first page of the test paper. Inside were shapes and symbols, the like of which I’d never seen before; row upon row of odd one out and next in sequence questions. Before the test was over I’d got the grasp of it, but it was too late by then.
Paul Parker on the
Eleven Plus: “I remember little of the eleven plus other than it was held in the
school hall and I failed. This is another of those turning point events in my
life that I often think back on and wonder what the hell happened there. I have
no recollection other than of arriving for a normal school day to find myself
ushered into the hall with lots of other kids to do an exam called the 11 plus.
But I have no recollection of anything leading up to the exam, no preparation,
no discussion, nothing. I don’t recall that it mattered much to anyone that I
failed.”
Graham Wilson (Class 4/1) on the Eleven Plus: “At school I was fairly quiet and just got on with it; at home I lived in fear of my father. It was interesting to read Paul Parker’s comments about the 11 plus; that he received no preparation and just turned up. My experience was totally different. My father actually coached me after school, so that I would pass. He wanted me to have the start in life he never had; I can’t criticise him for that but, at the time, it seemed unduly harsh.”
Graham Wilson (Class 4/1) on the Eleven Plus: “At school I was fairly quiet and just got on with it; at home I lived in fear of my father. It was interesting to read Paul Parker’s comments about the 11 plus; that he received no preparation and just turned up. My experience was totally different. My father actually coached me after school, so that I would pass. He wanted me to have the start in life he never had; I can’t criticise him for that but, at the time, it seemed unduly harsh.”
~
January 23rd: Nigel Robinson’s 11th birthday party was attended by many of the 4/2 boys. At the Robinson home on Begonia Avenue we tucked into the usual party fare and had a thoroughly good time under the supervision of Nigel’s mum, who made everyone welcome. Though I liked Mrs Robinson I’m not sure we made a good impression on her.
On January 29th I celebrated my 11th birthday. Michelle by The Overlanders was top of the pops but my favourite song at that time was a novelty song called Witches’ Brew by someone called Janie Jones. I was no expert on pop music but I did like that one, as did a lot of people my age. Three weeks later on February 20th, it was Paul Parker’s 11th birthday. Paul must have been impressed with my King Kong model because he got one himself and asked my Mam if she could paint it, just as she’d done mine.
Most of 4/1 passed the eleven plus, which was no great surprise. Nor was it a great surprise that most of 4/2 did not. One exception was Colin Clifford. Colin’s success amazed me, as barely a problem solving lesson (in Arithmetic) passed without him whispering for help.
‘Psst! What do you make number 11?’
Along with Peter Stephens, Colin had the choice of Gillingham Grammar or Gillingham Technical School. The rest of us got an information pack in the post about various secondary modern schools in the area: Rainham, Napier Road, Upbury Manor, Richmond Road, St. John Fisher and Woodlands Road, which I quickly discounted. Bad memories of a skirmish with the natives out there was one consideration, but a bigger problem was hearing Woodlands only played rugby, which was no use to me at a time when I was showing an interest in football and was looking forward to the World Cup. With no leanings to any of the other choices, I set the information pack aside. Knowing the schools my friends had in mind would surely help, but Nigel Robinson complicated that idea when he said his mum was thinking of sending him to private school.
‘What’s private school?’
Though Nigel did his best to explain, I remained confused.
In due course our class went on a coach trip to Upbury Manor; to view it as a prospective secondary school, at the behest of someone in the education department, presumably. Strangely, there were no visits to other secondary schools.
Choosing a secondary school was a tough decision but in the end I opted for Upbury Manor. Not because of the visit and not because this modern school of a thousand pupils had a lot of things going for it. My choice was swayed entirely by the amount of friends that were going there. Graham Deaville was going to Woodlands; Stephen Browning and Kim Erswell to Napier Road; Bimbo Hollands, Nigel Robinson and Brian Stammer to Rainham. I’d miss them all but with Kevin Garlick, Paul Parker, Clive Ward and John Greenland all opting for Upbury Manor, their choice became mine.
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