Perhaps the most surprising post on this site is one by my own brother, who is some five years older than me, who like me attended NMGS. He recounts experiences similar to my own, which in over 50 years we have not discussed.
I attended NMGS between 1961 and 1968. However in 1961 the 11+ exams tested three areas intelligence quota (IQ), English, and Math’s, and I am living proof that if you are good at Math’s and have a high enough IQ you could pass the 11+ without being able to write or spell. I am dyslexic, i.e. I have problems with words, both in English and even worse in French, but I do not suffer from dyscalculia, i.e. I do not have problems with numbers, as my “A” level Math’s grades and University courses show.
My problem with Sibson occurred after the Christmas exams in my first year. Sibson set and marked the Religious instruction exam. He seemed unable to believe any boy could get into his school with an inability to write/spell properly, (I still can’t, but word processors, spell checkers, and text aloud programs do help.) I was summoned to his office after school, I believe on a Wednesday to explain my unacceptable exam paper. What followed was an hour of humiliation, threats and upper thigh stroking, but no contact with my genitals. Being told to read my exam paper aloud, caused me problems. Because I knew what I intended to write, I read the paper missing out repeated words, filling in missing words, and correctly pronouncing misspelt words. At the end of this session I was told to choose my punishment for being lazy, to have my bare behind beaten by hand, or be caned while wearing my (short) trousers. I was told to return on Friday after school with my decision.
Friday came, another hour attempting to read aloud, exactly what I had written on my exam paper, while having the back of my thigh stroked, ending with the instruction to rewrite my exam paper over the weekend and revisit his study on Monday with my rewritten exam paper and to receive my selected punishment.
My mother was invited to visit Sibson during school the following Monday, the length and nature of this interview was never explained to me, Mum only said the meeting was brief, though to her dying day she did refer to him as, “that horrible man”. However on visiting Sibson’s study after her visit, his attitude to me had changed, no humiliation, no leg stroking, no punishment threats, only some comments about trying to pick a number of words each night from the newspaper and learning how to spell them, and five minutes later I was on my way home.
Enough said about Sibson, fortunately in my fourth year I selected to study Geology, and came in contact with David (Shoddy) Thompson, who was an inspirational teacher. He did have some problems understanding my problems writing, but also recognised my abilities and enthusiasm for Geology. I left NMGS with good “A” levels in Geology, Math’s and Physics, attended Leeds University where I obtained an Honours B Sc and an M Sc, and went on to work as a professional Geologist/Geophysicist largely for an American oil company for 40 years, before recently retiring.
I did keep in contact with “Shoddy” when he left NMGS and went to teach at Keele University, where he received an award from the British Geological Society for teaching geology for 40 years, and published at least one book on geology. Sadly he recently died; he was certainly the teacher I owe most to. Sibson is just a person I would rather forget.