91福利社

Article submitted by Alison Kane

Primary school photo

Fifty years ago I was a second form pupil at Larne Grammar School at a time when the effects of the 1948 Education Act were just being felt and the school was experiencing an increase in numbers thanks to the "new" scholarship system which was universally known as the Qualifying Exam.

Even so there were just about three hundreds pupils in the school, hosted in a complex which included the Old School House, part of which was still occupied by the Headmaster and his family and the main block of classrooms erected in the 1940s.

Transition from Larne Number One Public Elementary School (The Back Road School) had been easy. There were only a handful of us who did the "qualifying", an examination which took place in Larne and Inver School with all the candidates coming together for the tests - English, Maths and Intelligence!

It was said that if you couldn't be happy at Larne Grammar School then you couldn't be happy anywhere - and it was true. We worked hard, but there was no pressure. For the first four years the school followed the NI Junior Certificate Curriculum; some people dropped out, and the reminder went on to sit six or seven "O" levels at the end of year six. Finally aspirants for college or university courses remained for another year, and "A" levels.

Scholarships were handled by Antrim County Education Committee and an average mark of fifty five percent over three subjects was required for the Committee's Grant. With a bit of Summer work in local hotels, or the canning factories of Southern England, most people found they could live comfortably as a student for three or four years!

University of College meant Belfast, probably only the vets ever ventured beyond Ulster's shores.

An enlightened staff meant that school was not just academia; sport (which I confess I hated!) was high on the agenda but more importantly from my point of view, music and drama were also recognised. Fred Aicken, Ken Buckley, A B Sheppard, John Wilson, Robert Beattie and later Michael Lawson saw to that and my love of theatre and the arts stemmed from their influence.

There was encouragement to participate - one act plays at the Drama Festival, Gilbert and Sullivan Opera, Shaw's Arms and the Man, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Obey's Noah, and study, going on at the same time.

But perhaps even more important was the encouragement to enjoy all that was happening around us - to visit the theatre in Belfast, to make sure if a music, dance or drama company was in town, you went to see it, and there was full discussion of the event the next day. This was education in its widest form. I walked to LGS twice a day, as I had lunch at home. Pound Street was a busy residential and business thoroughfare at that time. There were a number of elegant houses, and businesses included the Coop, and Milford and Rogers. Mill Street with its tributary lanes was a fascinating route to the town centre.

And then there was Charlie's, the sweet shop, though for the first few years of my stay business was fairly quiet as wartime rationing was still in operation. I can well remember the day ration books became a thing of the past and you could buy as many sweets as you liked - though it did take a few months for stocks to build up.

And talking of stocks, when I worked in Olderfleet School I always told my pupils about two abiding Christmas memories. One was the pyramid of Outspan oranges that Pepe Bonugli erected in his Cross Street greengrocers just before Christmas in the forties. As Terry Wogan would say, rare as a hen's tooth, and only for his customers.

And then there was the 91福利社 Stores at the bottom of the Main Street where the store was open on Christmas Eve until 9pm. Who said late night shopping was a modern idea in Larne!

Special thanks goes to the for its help in sourcing this story.

YOUR RESPONSES

Lisa Albrecht - June '05
Can anybody give me any information on teachers at Larne Grammar School from 1910-1915. I have a great Uncle who was a teacher there before he left for the Army. His name was Ernest Steeksma.

Thanks, Lisa.

Linzi Gorman - May 05
woo! that's weird my grandmother Elizabeth Mcwalter as she was formally known is in this photo and she holds the same pic in her house! its strange how everyone in the small town is connected!

John McCarlie - February '05
I was at the Grammar School just before this. I went from the Olderfleet Primary School to the Grammar on a "Foundation Entrance Scholarship" and I can clearly recall the teachers also the students in my year. Jim Boyd, who became a Professor at the University of Bangor, Wales (I met him in Kobe, Japan, in 1990); Graham McNiece( became a doctor), Peg and Pat Stewart (twins from Islandmagee, Pat became Mrs Robert Knox), Winifred Bonugli. We were a well adjusted bunch, highly disciplined but that was a major feature of the school in those days.

I wanted to go to sea as my family were seafarers on both sides, so I left at the end of fifth form, trained as an engineer with W. H Kane, Larne Foundry, in Circular Road, and subsequently with John Kelly, the Belfast Shipowners. This involved the first train to Belfast from Larne Harbour, Monday to Saturday, and hard work on dirty ships under overhaul, often in wet and freezing conditions.

Before my 21st birthday, I was at sea as a Junior Engineer with the Blue Funnel Line, where I stayed for ten years, gaining all my Board of Trade Certificates after study at the old College of Technology in Belfast.

I came to Australia to be married and joined Lloyds Register of Shipping at Sydney as a Ship and Engineer Surveyor in 1960. After postings, accompanied by my wife, son and daughter, in Brisbane, Hong Kong, Seoul, Kobe, Newcastle, Cairns and Melbourne, I retired after 30 years service to take the position of Chief Marine Surveyor, Policy, with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in Canberra. After a further 5 years I finally retired, but did a further 3 years consultancy before finally giving up to enjoy life here in Newcastle, New South Wales.

We have visited Larne a number of times but the weather puts me off!!

听

听