Once I started attending Priory School in September 1977, I had very little contact from, seen or heard about ex-pupils.
Kevin Miller was the only person who rang me at home once not long after I started secondary school. I didn't know anyone from my year group who attended Priory. Between 1977 and 1981 the only times I passed through Paulsgrove were occasional journeys along Southampton Road.
Tracey Goodall at Priory knew Donna Hillyer as a fellow athletics competitor.
Otherwise things were quiet until 14 March 1981 when I attended the "Child Art" exhibition at the Mountbatten Gallery, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth.
I saw works by Helen Drain (then at King Richard) and Neil Gray (then at City of Portsmouth Boys School) on display there. That sparked an interest in wondering what happened to my fellow ex-pupils ever since.
During all that time, mum taught at Mayfield School. She brought home a copy of their 1981 school year book. Richard Devine gained 4 CSEs and Helen Sampson was also mentioned, I don't think she taught either of them because her focus was on pupils with special needs.
Paul (now Ashton) Keiditsch transferred to Priory School's sixth form in 1981 from City of Portsmouth Boys School. His mum, Dora, worked in the special unit at Westfield which I attended when I first arrived when it was then known as Greenfields. My only regret was I never picked his brains on how he got on with Neil Gray!
It wasn't until the reunion which I organised in 2002 that I met significant numbers of ex-pupils. For some perverse reason I actually kept records on who I recognised or read about because it was extremely rare where I lived in Southsea to encounter them.
The only ex-pupils who I've confirmed as seen and/or recognised since July 1977 are listed below, in chronological order of last known appearance (unless indicated all locations are in Portsmouth) :
August 1977: Donna Hillyer, Lawrence Road
January or February 1978: Diane Crabbe, near South Parade Pier
21 April 1981: Carl Fisher, Commercial Road
26 August 1982: Richard Devine, Southampton Road
17 June 1989: Neil Gray, Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London
2000: Darren Scott, Almondsbury Road
21 June 2002 (reunion): Bruce Baker, Donna Bendell, Jayne Dollery, Richard Egerton, Tony Fisher, Jackie Gibbs, Victoria Gibbs, Jeanette Gray (nee Hawkins), Karen Jefferies, Mark Jones, Sharon Kirk, David Lawrence, Darin McCloud, Kevin Miller, Judy Lucas (nee Mould), Robert Moth, Phillip Pinhorne, Alf Wiltshire, Angela Wyatt, all at Westfield Junior School
Incidentally the only ex-pupils who I saw and/or recognised outside Portsmouth were Kevin Miller in London (twice between 1985-1986) and Neil Gray in London (five times between 1986-1989) and Birmingham (once in 1989).
Out of the 100 or so ex-pupils, apart from myself, I only currently know four who gained higher diplomas/degrees:
Jayne Dollery (psychology), Tony Fisher (hotel management and catering), Neil Gray (social work) and Kevin Miller (chemistry). I suspect there were more but never asked.
Similarly, apart from myself, I'm aware of very few ex-pupils who currently live outside Hampshire:
Tracey Coppard (now Webley - lives in Bristol), Richard Devine (Bristol), Tony Fisher (London), Neil Gray (Bournemouth) and Alf Wiltshire (Brighton).
A few months ago, Tony Fisher won a season ticket from Fulham FC after topping a public poll of the club's superfans https://blog.grosvenorcasinos.com/grosvenor-name-meet-fulham-ultimate-superfan/
I've also joined the Paulsgrove, Portsmouth Nostalgia closed group on Facebook and made contact with several ex-pupils who didn't attend the reunion which I organised https://www.facebook.com/groups/260603590787929/
[Revised 8 October 2018 incorporating Neil Gray's current residential location from his Facebook profile]
[Revised 10 October 2018 after Neil Gray personally clarified his current location]
[Revised 22 November 2018 to update Tracey Coppard's current location and membership of Facebook closed group]
No comments:
Post a Comment