Author Topic: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich  (Read 54471 times)

Mike Rush

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #45 on: 11:11:31, 10/09/17 »
I was at St Peters from 1969-1975, I remember all the names of Teachers who are mentioned. I also remember the Miss Heslop affair. She taught us English. I also remember a small fire under the assembly stage and running for the buses into town for those of us who lived on the other side of town. I remember a good pottery and art teacher but not his name. And watching lads standing outside Walkers office waiting for the strap and standing there myself sometimes. There were plenty of scraps outside school and sometimes in the woodwork room. Heaton Park, rugby league, it had an air of The the loneliness of the long distance runner about it. I remember Stairway to Heaven being blasted out of the 6th form common room where you could make toast and tea a the first lads to wear kaftans and a few northern soul lads always dressed natily.

mikegahan00

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #46 on: 15:24:28, 10/09/17 »
The Brewer

To me (1970-1977), he most memorable teacher at St Ps was (Antonio?) Levaggi, aka 'The Brewer'. Rumours of a dark past in mobile Ice Cream retail abounded. His legendary platoons of Wombles made detention a fun, outdoor experience. Many of his lessons would commence with a lengthy tirade against one of his (many) pet hates. These were wide ranging, and included the comprehensive education system, residents of West Gorton ('guttersnipes'), students of sociology at Essex University (to him, the very nadir of academic achievement) and the modern Catholic liturgy. I remember during school masses, when the time came to 'offer each other the sign of peace'. While the rest of the congregation were offering limp hanshakes, little waves or even (god forbid) HUGS, the Brewer would stand resolutely immobile, arms folded, immense nose pointing skywards, until the ordeal was over, muttering about 'Lutheren heresy'.

I remember, though I was not present at the incident, when an ampoule of pure bromine, a powerful and corrosive oxidising agent, fractured in his hands. The liquid ate through the flesh of his forearm, to the bone. He was rushed to hospital, but returned to work, heavily bandaged, the following day, full of praise for one of his brighter students, who had rushed to douse the wound with an equally powerful reducing agent, thus avoiding more serious injury. The hero of the hour was, if memory serves, one Mark Peikos. I heard that this was the only half day Levaggi ever missed in his career.

I hear the man is dead now. God rest him in the Great Fume Cupboard in the sky.

Twoboatsman337

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #47 on: 15:36:28, 27/10/17 »
I went to St Peter's from '69 to 75. Remember a lot of the teachers names on here, we had Slade as our form teachers, Finnegan for RE, Levaggi for Chemistry, FPL for Maths, Miss Heslop for English and others.  Hated Levaggi with a passion, FLP was a legend, he went on Mastermind whilst I was there and we always used to distract him from the Maths by asking about it.  Mallaleu was just an obnoxious bully.  I remember that we went on 'strike' one day and the woodwork/ metalwork teacher Ramsden came and threatened to batter us all ... Mr Hermolle was the headmaster but then changed and the Deputy was the famous Jack the Strap walker .... also Sutty Sutton for Geography ...
Didn't enjoy my time there and was always disappearing down the sports field and through the fence at the bottom.
Who else remembers the 'Colonel' from lunctimes ....
I remember that on final report the headmaster, can't remember his name, just wrote anti authority on it and was dumbfounded when I went back 2 years later and said I was joining the police and needed a reference.   ;D ;D ;D    I'll never forget his face, "You won't last 2 minutes"  40 years later I can look back and say, 'I enjoyed my 32 years in the GMP, RAF Police and then Leicestershire Police', so much for those 2 minutes!!!!    O0 O0 O0

Coley

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #48 on: 14:53:45, 12/11/17 »
Hi folks, I was at St Peter's, 66-70, seems a long time ago now. All these memories are fantastic to read now. Does anyone remember a school dance, probably 69. There was a girls school invited, first dance they organised. I played guitar up on the stage with Dave Egan on sax, Tony Corrigan on drums and Frank Ridley on guitar too.  Then Dave Green's band came on after. Does anyone remember any of these guys? Even better, how to contact any of them? I remember Walker saying we were a horrible noise!! Healey used to let us practice in the music room at dinner time and after hours.

Stuck in Yorkshire

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #49 on: 22:43:59, 13/02/18 »
I see that it has recently been put in special measures by Ofstead  ???

Coley

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #50 on: 12:24:36, 14/02/18 »
Read that too in the MEN. Think it used to be considered a very good school. Sad how things change. Some more names I remember, Dave Green, Dave Egan, Vincent Graffy, Paul Conlon, They'll all be old codgers now, like me  8) Still like the Stones though, Kinks and my guitar hero, Clapton!

endsord

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #51 on: 19:07:43, 24/07/18 »

Just saw this on Facebook

St Peters RC Grammar School for Boys Prestwich 1967-1972
2 hrs[/font] · [/font]
Just heard that our old Woodwork/Metalwork teacher Norman Stainthorpe passed away just over a year ago after a long illness! RIP :(

Nicklaus

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #52 on: 20:39:54, 11/09/18 »
Mr Levaggi died I believe in 2004. I wonder if he realized the impact he had on his classes and that the whole school impersonated him. (I got my Maths O Level, he would say, in 1938 at De La Salle, Weaste Lane, Salford, with the aid of a textbook and Mr Stafford's cane. I know you're from a problem family; I've met your parents. It's only a shame that when you were a small child your mother didn't shove you in front of the number 35 bus as it was gathering speed.) He left St Peter's before it became "'Eaton Park Scruff 'Ole."
 
Other teachers:
Maths - Mrs Price, Mr Pounder, Mr Kylie, Mr Woods, Mr Green* 
Woodwork/Metalwork – Mr Stainthorpe, Mr McVey, Mr Goggins, Mr Ramsden*
Geography – Mr Cummings, Mr Mulroy, Miss Curran, Mr Sutton
English - Mr York (b1950), Mr Berry, Mr Sweet, Mr Langston, Mr Murphy, Mr Brierly
Biology – Mr Fairbairn, Mr Edwards
Chemistry – Mr Levaggi, Mr Moran, Mr Mort
Physics – Mr Clisham, Miss Fulgoni
Art – Mr Mulligan, Mr Wilkinson, Miss Elliot, Mr Burns
Classical Studies – Mr Hollett
French – Mr Sandiford, Mme Manchado, Mrs Moran nee Ross, Miss Lancashire*   
Music – Mr Heslop, Mr Lynch
PE – Mr Handley, Mr Mallalieu
RE – Mr Markland, Miss Berry
History – Mr Bradley, Mr Fitzgibbon, Mr Solomon, Mrs Britland nee Smith
Misc – Fr Coyne, Fr Gallagher, Dr White
Headmasters – Mr McGuire, Mr McSweeney
Deputies – Mr Walker, Mr Hopkins
Others – Mr Mallinson, Mr Singleton*
*denotes a penchant for violence
 [/font]
 
« Last Edit: 20:47:21, 11/09/18 by Nicklaus »

Taff

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #53 on: 22:44:28, 06/12/18 »
I was at St Peters from 76 - 81.
I was in Owens House. I got a lot of mixed memories of this school.
I didn’t do so well their to be honest, i just never really got going.
Being a grammar school every pupil was smarter than the average as to get their  we passed our eleven plus exam.
I had gone from being the smartest at st Malachy’s to being any other kid in the big school.
I had Mr Hopkins for History on day one, by day three he was bouncing a text book on my head but the spine as I hadn’t backed it in brown paper.
That was the start of the down hill for me.


I missed an awful lot of school as my mum was dying and i was her only source of help. The school were quite understanding of my circumstances and gave me a lot of leeway to be honest but i fell by in my studies from day one.


I absolutely despised Levaggi with a passion. He’s seems to have struck a chord with everyone on this forum. At break time. He ran a tuck shop from a small store room to the side of the grass leading to the playground.
Tony Kavanagh launched a snow ball into the tuck shop so Levaggi came out and ripped him a new one. I somehow got dragged into it and ended up at the headmasters office (think it was MacSweeney (Fat Mac). Tony had asked me to give him an alibi so i did, i got the strap for getting some one else in trouble whilst Tony got away Scot free.
[size=78%]As a pubescent teenager i had a real crush on Mrs Lancashire [/size] :smitten: [size=78%]. She taught french but I was not in her class. We had Mr Kervella for French , a nice guy but very nasally french with a boring accent which made it hard for me to get interested in learning the lingo. I was so far behind everyone else in that lesson amongst others. Anyway i went to school the day my mum passed away and i was tying my eyes out in the corridor when mrs Lancashire put her arm around me to console me. Why couldn’t she do that at any other time in my school life than when i was at an all time low.[/size]


I can still recite the class register or pretty much most of it.
I hung around with John Brett and Paul Arthurs (Bonehead from Oasis), George Molloy, I ended up in foster care in Burnage / Levenshulme so used to travel in to school with these three. Good lads , all of them.


Tony Kavanagh was a funny guy, he had been Jim’ll fix it. His footy team played against United on the show. The teachers hated him and with just cause. I remember him grobbing on Mr Mallinsons back. Disgusting thing to do. The teachers knew it was him, they just knew. I remember Mr Handley (P.E) trying to get someone to grass on him but nobody would.



Mr Walker gets a lot of mentions in this topic. He was deputy head at the time i think along with Mr Hopkins. Mr Walkers son was called Richard. I think he got a lot of grief because of who his dad was.


We had another teacher called Mr Green, he was a nice old guy. He used to take Tech Drawing in the Annexe. He could not control a class at all. I used to look forward to this lesson because it was anything but learning. People used to ask him if he had a japs eye and he would say of course he has, he kept it in a glass jar at home. It was boisterous every week. I remember a P.E.teacher coming in to sort us out. It wasn’t Handley or Mellaliue (can’t spell it) some bearded guy.
He decided we were doing P.E. In our underwear as a punishment.


I didnt like Sandiford, beatnik looking in a suit. I remember him making me cry in class once. I was a very dishevelled teenager, came from a very tough upbringing but i was a sensitive soul. I spent a lot of time looking after my mum in her final days but wasn’t looking after myself. He ripped the [censored] out of me in that classroom next to Hopkins office. He had a go at me for not washing . I just lifted the desk lid up put my head inside it and burst into tears.


I really enjoyed reading everybody else’s input into this thread. Thanks guys.





« Last Edit: 01:00:17, 18/06/20 by Chris »

Stuck in Yorkshire

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #54 on: 21:49:13, 07/12/18 »
Whilst I can't remember you we were there at the same time.  I have to say that is a very brave and emotional post. Hope life is treating you well now.

Taff

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #55 on: 22:23:33, 07/12/18 »
That’s nice of you mr Yorkshire.
Life’s been good ever since. I left school and got an apprenticeship at British Aerospace. Married with 2 teenage kids and all turned out for the best for me. I can’t complain.
Paul Kirkham is my name , Taff was the nickname I’ve been trying to shake off since then lol

Davidm

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #56 on: 10:07:12, 07/01/19 »
Was there '72 to '78 in chadwick.   Like others, mixed memories. 
Who was the woman who taught spanish, think for my first three years? Enjoyed that, and living in madrid from 2012 for two years proved it sunk in!


Contray to above i have fond memories of mr green.  Seemed a nice guy.  It's all been said about Levaggi.  What a star!


Memories of the 35, 75, 62 and getting off at cheetam hill to get the 7 back to moston.  Also snooker games at greenhill snooker club there.


I think i remember bryn eithin, also remember Castlerigg Manor in the lakes.  Went in 5th year and then a repeat in 6th.  Second time round it incolved beer and girls too!  Also remember lloret del mar in third year.


Hopkins was form teacher, history teacher and ultimately joint deputy head.  Hardest strapping of my school career from him!


Looking at prior post on football.  Paul bowles sadly died a few years ago.  Talented player and far too young!   David ryan was indeed a great goal keeper.  His brother john was a great player and played for Oldham Athletic.  Middle brother mike was in my year.  Great player too, although didnt do anything professional as far as i know.


God knows where the years have gone and so fast.  But st peter's set me up nicely and it has been a blast since!


memoryalpha1

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #57 on: 14:32:21, 29/08/19 »
Dredged the old memory banks for (mostly) 1966 intake - Mike Holt ('Irish'), Dave Grundy, Mike Anthistle, John Tickell (-le?), Chris Priestley, Ian Derbyshire, Rob Williams, Chris Coleman, Pete Avery, Pete Adamson, Bernard Mather, John Duffy, Joe Boylan, Steve Beaman (No 9), Pete Jablonski, Steve Whitfield, Laurence Boorer, Tommy Mcloone, Billy Atkins, Mike Morton, Kev Saxon, John Smith, Matthew Coady, Steve Brown, Andy P, Paul & Mark L, Frank Quigg, Aidan Barlow, Mike Mason, Michael Hunt, Alan Keefe, Paul Griffin, Johnny Moxon, Anthony Graham(e?), Martino Libertini, Frank Mullen, Chris Derrig, Steve Semenjuk, Mike Keigher, Paul Knight, The Considine brothers, Bernard Wareham, Rob Giddens, Paul Connolly, Dennis Wall, Victor Snelius, Nigel Cole, Rob ('Ron') Ely, Gary Pilkington, Anthony Dibley, Walt Gallimore, Vincent Graffey, Ged Shorrocks, Chris Conway, 'Basil' Hamen, Barry Harrison, Des Grogan, Steve Mckeown, John Gay, Johnny Harrison, John Lloyd, Mike Grabowieski & John Thornley. Apologies for any dodgy spellings. Accurate summary of Mr L. by MG, as well.

Collegiateboy

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #58 on: 12:04:25, 31/08/19 »
I can still remember some of the names of boys on the roll call in Forms 4S & 5S (Science) & Forms 4T & 5T (Technical) from 1967 to 1969.
John J Walsh, John G Walsh, Peter Horridge,  Big John Ritchie,  Andy Leipins, Koenig , Matuszewski, Stanios, Jack Pears, Paul Lynch, Scott, Paul Wareham , Peter O’Brien,  Peter Childs, David Green, Michael  Chalky White, John Thornley (Head Prefect), John Finlayson, Eddie Murray, Peter Wareham , Berrel, McCabe, McCann, David Egan, David Kelly, Peter Considine, Flynn, Berwick, David Rollinson,  Dunn, Taffy Jones, Ted Carney.   Our football side always lost. The football fields were never used because of poor drainage,
Other boys in lower forms I remember were  Blancheflower, Liggatini, McNally, Jordan, Roman Walon, Paul Perduniak, Rourke, Bickerstaffe, Jonah/Jones, 2 Paul Whites, Burgess, Maynard, McIntyre
Many of the boys lived  in Salford and took the green 36 bus..
There some very good teachers: Esther- English, Ponder-  Maths,  Duffy - French , Mulligan Arts , Cummins- Geography. And a lot of really bad teachers  like Levaggi, Roach, Slade, Hopkins,  who nobody could stand. Walker was also  giving the strap for things like not doing homework and giving detention after classes.
 I remember the dance and David Green's band, oley talks about, the girls from Notre Dame, Cheetham were invited[/font]

St Chads Lad

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Re: St Peters R/C Grammar school, Bury old Road, Prestwich
« Reply #59 on: 12:54:37, 31/08/19 »
Roman Walon and Paul Perduniak were at Chad's with me.