Doncaster Star 05 October 2005

Old pals reunited

THREE centuries of education in Thorne were celebrated at a reunion which
brought together old school friends from past decades in the town's newest
place of learning.

Trinity Academy, which opened only three weeks ago, hosted a celebration to
mark the 300th anniversary of the Brooke's Trust and the 75th anniversary of
Thorne Grammar School.

Guests came from Australia, America and locally to renew acquaintances, to
meet up with classmates and to share memories of their old school dating
back as far as the 1930s.

The current generation of students, from Year Seven and the Sixth Form at
Trinity Academy, played their part by performing a guard of honour for the
rededication, by the Venerable Bernard Holdridge,of the war memorial, which
was moved from the Grammar School to the Academy.

The students also acted as the guests' hosts for the afternoon, taking them
on guided tours of the Academy.

Heather Lyon (nee Overton), who was a pupil at the Grammar School from
1943-1951 and later taught PE there, travelled from her home in Canada. "I
came back specially for the reunion. When I heard about it and thought 'I've
got to go'."

Hilary Blamires (nee Bowler) travelled from New Zealand, where she has lived
for two years, after her sister told her about the reunion.

Other former pupils who travelled from around the globe to attend included
Barbara Rothwell (nee Timmins) and John Skelton from the US, Margaret Morrin
(nee Barron) from New Zealand and Matt Blackham from Australia.

Some old boys and girls took along 'souvenirs' of their time at the Grammar
School - Les Watson unearthed his old rugby shirt, Eddie Cooper found his
old school cap and Mavis Butterworth (Stanley) found her blazer was still a
perfect fit.

Former deputy headteacher James Lawson, 90, gave a history of education in
Thorne and Moorends beginning in 1705 when William Brooke agreed to provide
a school room where 10 poor boys would be taught for free in addition to
fee-paying pupils. He has has written a book recording the history of
education in Thorne.

The reunion took three years to organise through a website managed by Keith
Williams, with particular help from Tom Lewis and Janice Waller.

Mr Williams also launched the Thorne Grammar School Alumni Fund, which will
be used to provide an annual award and prizes across all disciplines for
Trinity Academy students. The first award was presented by Sir Graham Hall
to Victoria Gibbons, who achieved the Grammar School's best AS level results
this summer.

Sir Graham, a Grammar School old boy of 1954-59 who went on to become chief
executive of Yorkshire Electricity Group plc and inaugural chairman of
Yorkshire Forward, was special guest at the celebrations. He is current
chairman of Northern Way and a non executive director of the Bank of
England.

He said: "This is a vital moment in time for this school, for us as past
pupils and for those who are yet to enjoy it, linking our history and our
future."

After the speeches, the guests were served dinner in the Academy's main
hall.

Principal Ian Brew said: "The Academy is new and modern but we consider
ourselves as part of a proud tradition stretching back 300 years in Thorne.
We were delighted to host the reunion and anniversary celebrations which
were a wonderful joining together of the past and present."

James Lawson will donate proceeds from the sale of his book, Teacher's
Tales, to the TGS Alumni Fund. Copies can be obtained from
http://groups.msn.com/thornegrammarschool

Doncaster Star News (9 Nov 05)

Sales of book helping talented youngsters

A TEACHER'S memories of his old school recorded in a book are helping to support talented young pupils from a former Doncaster pit town.

James Lawson, who joined Thorne Grammar School as head of history in 1947 and rose to become deputy headmaster, wrote down his experiences and memories after he retired in 1978.

His handwritten notes were put into a book called Teacher's Tales by grammar school old boy Keith Williams and then sold.

Now 90-year-old Mr Lawson has handed over more than £1,200 from the book sales and extra donations to Thorne Grammar School Alumni Fund.

The money was accepted on behalf of the fund by Trinity Academy principal Ian Brew and headgirl Victoria Gibbons.

The academy replaced the former grammar school this year with a £20 million new site.

Mr Lawson, who still lives in Thorne, said: "I wrote my notes shortly after I retired 20 years ago and it was just a series of sheets of paper until Keith took it on.

"The Academy is going forward and there are things that are quite different to what they were in my day, but the fundamentals on which a good school is based have been revived here."

Former grammar school pupils bought copies of the book at a reunion in October to mark the 300th anniversary of the Brooke's Trust and the 75th anniversary of the school, hosted by Trinity Academy.

The TGS Alumni Fund, launched at the same event, currently stands at almost £5,000. The money will be used to award annual prizes to Trinity Academy students in recognition of excellence.

Mr Williams, who as well as editing the book organised the reunion, said: "Recognising that the Academy does not cater for children pre-selected for their academic ability, we want to ensure that there are prizes for academic, artistic, sporting, community service and other achievements.

"If we are generous enough it will run not just to prizes, but to bursaries to help the needy make the most of their opportunity at the Academy," he added.

Eileen Gerrard, from Moorends, has helped sell the book and posted copies as far as Canada, Australia, Malta and France.

"We had only 29 out of 200 copies left after the reunion."

Anyone who is interested in ordering a copy should contact Mrs Gerrard on 01405 81xxxx or by emailing eileen@gerrard6.fs life.co.uk