Description:It was reported in the Staffordshire Newsletter on 7 August 1954 that when Stafford’s first Mixed Secondary Modern School (apart from St. Patrick’s Catholic School) opened the following month, there would be five classes in operation, all made up of eleven year olds coming from local primary schools. The new school at Rising Brook would be housed in the former Rising Brook County Primary School.
The school’s exterior and interior would have an entirely new face, the frontage in particular being very different. The old entrances would be closed and a new one constructed in the new block and tower being built on the left of the old school building, towards the English Electric housing estate. The new school designed for 600 pupils, eventually could take up to 800 pupils. Considerable extensions were required for the conversion of the school and while the work was going at a pace, it was not expected to be completed for another two years.
The school would embrace an area of around 17 acres, with playing fields and gardens. There would be 19 classrooms, with 15 in an entirely new three-storey block, also two huts used as temporary classrooms would be retained, making a total of 21 classrooms. The new school would have all the advantages afforded by modern facilities and modern planning. There would be abundant facilities for a first-class education in practical and craft subjects. In addition there would be a new innovation for Stafford pupils, who if they reached the required standard would have the opportunity to stay on for an extra year in order to sit for the General Certificate of Education (GCE), normally only taken at Grammar and High Schools. The Headmaster appointed to the new school, Mr H C O Rogers, told the Newsletter that after the conversion he hoped to have about 20 pupils taking the GCE each year.
In addition to the more academic subjects, there would be extensive facilities for practical tuition, including two well-equipped science laboratories for domestic science, two rooms for needlework and crafts, two woodwork and metalwork rooms, and an up to date gymnasium. Also there would be an art wing housed on the second floor of the older building with two art rooms. There would be a large library built in the new three-storey block which would also house two practical rooms. There would be two assembly halls, one being the existing one. The new hall would be considerably larger, with a very large and well-designed stage, suitable for professional productions. Modern kitchens were being built for the cooking of a mid-day meal for those pupils desiring to have school lunches. Sports facilities would include four tennis courts, a cricket pitch, two hockey pitches, two football pitches, and a four-lap mile running track. These were planned for land at the rear of the school, adjoining the Burton Manor estate. Also land was set aside for each class to have its own garden.
This photograph was published in the Staffordshire Newsletter on Saturday 7 August 1954. Reproduced by kind permission of the Staffordshire Newsletter who retain copyright.