JRGS Stephen Lander Images
JRGS Alumni Society

Historical JRGS Images from 1965/66

 JRGS Alumni Society

 

We have uploaded here a number of images of the Shirley Road school site taken in 1965/66 by Stephen Lander , and scanned by Paul Graham (JRGS 1959-65).
Simply click on the graphic or caption to download a larger image. Or here to view a PDF file of all 12 images.

Paul Graham writes: These wonderful photos of the JRGS building and sports fields date from 1965-66 and are courtesy of Stephen Lander, who lent me them for this purpose. Black and white, of course, but they bring memories flooding back. If you wonder why there are no people at all, you have to imagine a warm summer afternoon when the whole school was down at the Arena in South Norwood for sports day, with just Stephen wandering around with his camera, having managed to opt out of Sports Day to stock take in his role of school librarian.
JRGS Art Room & main bloc JRGS Gym, wood & metal rooms from sports field JRGS Main block, Hall, Music room, Mill
Art Room, playground and
main schoolroom block		 Gymnasium, wood and metalwork classrooms from sports field Main block, Hall, Music
Room and The Mill
JRGS Rear of Science wing JRGS Science wing & greenhouse from rear Quad JRGS Science wing, library & 6th form rooms
Rear of Science wing Science wing and greenhouse from rear Quadrangle Science wing, Library
and Sixth Form rooms
JRGS Jumping pit, sports field JRGS Oaks Road playing field JRGS Oaks Road sports pavilion
High-jump pit and Mill Pitch Oaks Road playing field Oaks Road sports pavilion
JRGS The Mill

In the early Seventies a series of portable schoolrooms was erected in the JRGS playground to accommodate the raising of the school leaving age from 15 to 16.

Paul Graham adds: "ROSLA [Raising Of the School Leaving Age in 1972/73] meant that schools had to face a bunch of fifth formers who had been expecting for some time to leave at the end of the fourth form, often with no extra teaching space. Things were a bit messy for a few years."

Cliff Cummins (JRGS 1956-62) adds: "The Ruskin ROSLA block was of a light-weight structure and may have only had a 20-year design life. It was re-designated eventually, I think, as the Ruskin Sixth Form block.
Many new buildings erected in the Sixties and Seventies were of cheap pre-fabricated system builds (MACE and SCOLA buildings!) and have not lasted well. Only one ROSLA block - more substantial than the others - exists today in Croydon, at what was the Selhurst Boys Grammar School site. The only other ROSLA block built in Croydon was demolished at the ex-Heath Clark Grammar school."
The Mill

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©2008 JRGS Alumni Society. All Rights Reserved. Last revised: 04.05.08