COMMENTS :

Ivan (Spadger) Sparrow - 1957 to '60

One of the ‘Old School’ of teachers – a true gentleman – took no nonsense – very fair minded. I Had him for Maths – very methodical and helpful – a very good teacher. I think he should have been made Head when Mr Davies left and moved over to the H W College of Further Education – perhaps it was that he appeared to have only one suit – a green coloured tweed one. My favourite memories of “Chick” were formed during the year I was selected for Bell Ringing duties, when I had to go to his study on the second floor to collect and return the hand bell. Knock on the door, and if in, he would reply with a loud, “COME”. In I would go and say “Bell, Sir”. Without taking his mind off whatever he was doing at his desk facing the window overlooking the quad’, nor missing a single ‘puff’ of his pipe, he would wave a hand in the air as permission granted, although this was sometimes difficult to see, especially at the Four Thirty end of day ring, due to the thick smoke haze. Although the bell was kept just inside the door, on the floor, to the right, thus only taking a few seconds to pick up and put down, it was sufficient time to breathe in a lung full of aromatic pipe smoke, enough to satisfy a craving for a sneaky Weight or Woodbine. Today, school children would find it difficult, if not impossible, to even ‘start’ to imagine, what “abuses” we had to suffer with having teachers smoking at school (Humph!!).

Thank you “Chick”, not only for what you taught me, but for providing me with a supreme example of a person that is due respect.

John Warner - 1961 to '66

I totally agree with Spadger and Mike Pusey. Mr Fowles was everything that Harry Ward was not

Mike (Mick) Pusey - 1957 to '60

Mr. Fowles - a true gentleman and a very good teacher, he was always calm whatever happened. I agree totally with Spadger that Chick should have been made head when Mr. Davies went. I'm certain the treasures school artefacts would not have been destroyed if that had been the case. He commanded respect from everyone without ever raising his voice and I can't recollect him using any form of corporal punishment. The pipe and the green tweeds were his trademark.