A FORMER teacher who taught English at George Ward School has shared his thoughts on the imminent demolition of the old school building.
Peter King, who was director of English between 1969-1990 said, “When I first heard of the demise of the George Ward School I was shocked and dismayed and felt as if the last 21 years of my teaching career had been taken away from me.
“Similar feelings arose when I read in the last issue of the Melksham News that the buildings are finally to be demolished. I still feel a sense of unfairness that the school that served so many thousands over the years is to be taken away from its former Melksham pupils and staff. On reflection, however, I realised that one’s memories can not be taken away.
“I remember the warm welcome we received from the staff of the Shurnhold School that we were replacing when it became the GWS; they thought of us as the whizz kids who would stay for a few years and then move on. In the event, almost all of us who became the new directors of the seven academic departments remained in place until retirement, a tribute to the fine school we built up. We established a new Sixth Form and sent increasing numbers to university. I remember my pleasure at teaching my first “A” level English class, all of them eleven-plus failures, but successful at this demanding level. Similarly our first comprehensive intake of 1969, with Paul Missen going on to be awarded a ‘First’ at Imperial College, London. Those were exciting days when I took theatre parties to Stratford and Oxford and other far-flung places, whilst enjoying Keith Moody’s excellent musical productions and outstanding Christmas concerts. One final memory: I still have the letter that a Lowbourne class sent me after they came to our Dickens Evening. The weather was diabolical, with thunder and lightning, and they told me how I frightened the life out of them with our reading of the horrific murder of Nancy by Bill Sykes in ”Oliver Twist!”
“One final thought: as the building crumbles around me, will the ghost of Room 39, so long my teaching domain, be seen hovering overhead? I hope so.”
Builders hope to start demolition work on the site as early as September.