The Old Bordenian Association

This is an article from ‘The Bordenian’ 1961-62 written by ‘KGW’ [Ed - K G Wood(Vice Captain of Swale House?]).  In addition to the early history of the school, it gives an insight into the move from the old school to the present school – see earlier article about the old school.

““The original Borden School, or as it was then known “Barrow School,” was housed in what is now the Kent Farm Institute in Borden Lane. [actually it is on the corner of College Road and Riddles Road that leads to Borden Lane. The old school is now the Sittingbourne Adult Education Centre – Ed] 

“In the early days the School was privately administered and most of the boys were boarders whose school life must have been much different from that which the present generation of scholars are familiar.  During the early years for instance, every Wednesday was a half-holiday, but there were lessons on Saturday mornings.  As a result of the 1902 Secondary Schools Act more day boys were gradually accepted and the final exodus of boarders came in 1906 when the first Headmaster, Mr J. W. Thurnham, M.A. (Cantab.), left the school.
[The first Headmaster was Rev. W H Bond, MA (1878 to 1893) so Thurnham was the second (1893 to 1906) as the copy from the files indicates – Ed]

 “The next Headmaster, Mr W. Murdock, M.A. (Oxon), B.Sc.(Lond.), saw the number of boys increase from 60 to 250  [The Bordenian records the April1929 figure as 179 – would anyone like to count the heads in the 1929 photo?-Ed]  and in 1929 the school moved to its present site in the Avenue of Remembrance.  In the new red brick buildings which were then regarded as the latest thing in school architecture, old traditions were upheld.  The majority of the boys attended the “grammar” because their parents paid fees for that privilege.  Prefects still wore caps, complete with tassels, and caps were still touched.

“When war broke out in 1939 Sheppey was declared an evacuable area, but as Sittingbourne was a reception centre life at the school continued much as before.  Soon, however, Sittingbourne was termed a ‘neutral’ area and in June, 1940, the Sheppey boys (65 of them in all) were evacuated to Pengam in South Wales, accompanied by Mr. Highton, Mr. Snelling and Mr. Miller.  These boys stayed in Wales for the duration of the war and attended Lewis School.  The Sittingbourne boys stayed at Borden, although considerable changes in the school time-table were necessary to combat the problems of having fewer boys and fewer staff.

“Since the war the School has been drawn further into the account of national education policy.  There are now over 400 boys, coming from a large area around the school, who take examinations to get in and further examinations to get out again.  Well lit modern classrooms, including a woodwork room and a biology laboratory have been annexed to the old building, the library is larger and the curriculum broader.

“I have tried to summarize here for anyone who is unacquainted with it, the history of Borden Grammar School.  I hope that those readers who are familiar with it will not have been too bored by what is, of necessity, a somewhat formal, straightforward account.

“It has not taken me long to find that Borden School cannot, of course, be summarily dismissed in this manner.  Nobody thinks of his schooldays as part of the history of a school; rather one remembers the abstracts, everything one experienced, pleasant or painful, from the morning when one entered the school gates for the first time to the evening when one left the building for the last time.

“Thus the Old Bordenians who were at school before 1930 remember primarily the family atmosphere which prevailed there.  In the upper school, and especially in the Sixth Form, studying was very much a do-it-yourself business and the few really brilliant scholars produced by the School in this period apparently thrived in these conditions.  Similarly the school sports teams prepared their own pitches and the umpiring and refereeing of school matches was not organised by the masters as it is today.  But apart from these aspects the material conditions existing at the old Borden School also went a long way towards the development of this family atmosphere.  Mr. Howard summed up the situation admirably for me when he told me “The old school was a schoolboys’ school.”  The boys were free to run wild in the school grounds well away from the staff room which was a small room hidden away between the dining hall and a disused kitchen in which the fowl food was boiled up.  The boys built camps in the dense shrubbery and held initiation ceremonies there.  One prank practised in those days which was guaranteed to create havoc without entailing any serious repercussions was to untie the white pony which was kept in the school grounds for pulling the mower and roller.  Once untied the ‘moke’ would wander off in search of adventure.  Then the boys would have to leave their lessons in order to recapture the poor animal.  Another much more cruel trick played by a few ruthless individuals had the Headmaster’s chickens as innocent victims.  A boy would tie a piece of bread to one end of a short length of string and fix a scrap of paper to the other end.  One of the chickens would eat the bread and start to swallow the string leaving the paper fluttering from its mouth.  The other chickens would be attracted by this paper which they must have thought was food and they would attempt to snatch it.  The chicken with the string in its mouth would then run away with all the others in hot pursuit and they would all run around until they dropped from sheer exhaustion.  It cannot be doubted that life was often tough at the old Borden School.

“Pupils who were unable to eat at home had to take packed lunches because no school meals were provided.  During the late ‘twenties the washing facilities were most unhygienic; there was only one tap in working order which was situated close to the lavatories and was shared between the 200 boys and the Headmaster’s chickens.

“No survey of Borden Grammar School would be complete without some mention of the staff.  An outstanding personality on the staff during the days of boarders was Mr. ‘Pammy’ Maynard, who was O.C. the Cadet Company.  The cadets enjoyed frequent skirmishes at the bottom of the school field where for many years there was a miniature range.  A popular and respected member of the staff during the early days of the ‘Murdock period’ was a Mr. C.H.Lees.  His pupils remember him for his quotes from Gilbert and Sullivan, his frequent explanations of why coal would be found in Kent, his ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’ on the subject of cricket.  He could also be relied upon to relieve the boredom of a lesson by referring to an article in the latest edition of ‘Punch’.  Masters like him provided the sound general education which most of Borden’s pupils at that time were seeking.  Two other masters who for a long time have been part of Borden are Mr. Dawkins and Mr. Tempany.  Mr. Dawkins’ reign in the Physics Lab. started in the old school and lasted until his retirement a few years ago.  Mr. Tempany is still a frequent visitor to the school and he regards it as his duty every year to umpire the School versus Old Bordenians’ cricket match.

“We must remember too that a large proportion of the School’s population has always come from the Isle of  Sheppey.  The journey to and from the old school used to be quite a hazardous one at times, but it only appears that in recent years have there been any extraordinary events to add variety to the daily trek to the present building.  The East Coast flood of February, 1953, brought an unexpected holiday for the islanders, although a few made a five-hour voyage to Sittingbourne by Sheerness Dockyard and Gillingham Pier and stayed with friends on the mainland.  When the King’s Ferry Bridge was put out of action twice within a month in October, 1956, the problem was more acute because on both occasions the accident occurred during school hours and all the Sheppey boys were, of course, on the mainland at the time.  On the first occasion several islanders were billeted out with Sittingbourne boys, but on the second everybody returned home early – or rather, they left school early – via Gillingham Pier and Sheerness Dockyard.  Since then, of course, a new bridge has been built and the railway has been electrified.

“Recently there has been speculation concerning the possibility of a grammar school or comprehensive school being built on the Isle of Sheppey.  A question has even been asked in Parliament on this subject.  Perhaps this is the first sign of a new chapter in the story of Borden Grammar School.”

KGW, The Bordenian’ 1961-62