Isleworth Grammar School



Like most Old Boys of Isleworth Grammar School, I would say that my attendance there had quite a formative effect on my character and abilities.

As an 'all boys' school established in 1939 on Ridgeway Road, Isleworth and being well known in the London area for its academic achievements, it was a fairly strict but encouraging environment for academic and sporting development. The English language was, of course, of prime importance for a grammar school, as was respect for history and tradition 





This is a fairly recent photo of the school building and main entrance, which has changed very little since I was there from 1971 to 1978







The photo on the right appears to be from around the 1970s, from the cars in the car park, including the school bus bottom left, which I once drove back from a basketball match















The grammar school traditions  were very evident at IGS,  a vision of which I can only describe to a modern audience as "like Hogwarts", exemplified by the fact that the masters wore black gowns a great deal of the time, shown in this photo on the left of the assembly hall (from a few years prior to the 70s, from the short trousers)








The view of the hall towards the stage is exactly as I remember it
in this photo of the school orchestra














The library was equally unchanged from this photo by the 70s - I used to start my homework here during private study periods and my future interest in university level physics (click here for more on that) was at least partly fuelled by the very good books in the science section, which I remember even included works on 10 dimensional super gravity... a very new subject at that time!




Here's the Geography room, which was also my form room for the 2nd/3rd year
I remember an article I wrote on particle physics being pinned to the boards at the back of the room here

I also remember falling asleep to the ticking of the cine projector, when watching movies in here, with the black blinds drawn down.... it was almost impossible to stay awake! 






 




Click on the Report Book on the left to view all my yearly reports from the 1st to 4th year

We took O Level English Language in the 4th year, one year earlier than all other O Levels... well, it was a grammar school!

All my results are further down the page but first some sports team photos - below is the all conquering basketball team (we played in the league a year above and won all our games!) -

I think this is the 4th year - I'm at the back far left
























Here's out athletics team photo, I think of the 5th year
I'm far left at the front - I competed in javelin and pole vault













This photo shows the entrance to the gym from the front of the school and the covered corridor leading to the hall, where I once left a trail of dripping blood after an encounter between my head and the wingnut on a springboard. I was a regular visitor to A&E at West Middlesex Hospital!














On the left is the route of the annual school walk, which was always a very challenging 25 miles long and included a very long stretch along the River Thames from Chiswick Bridge to Hampton Court Bridge, passing Kew Bridge, Twickenham Bridge, Richmond Bridge, Teddington Lock and Kingston Bridge - this section alone is 12.4 miles, as this google maps route shows

Here are the sections, from IGS to Chiswick Bridge 5.2 miles and Hampton Court back to IGS 9.2 miles, totalling 26.8 miles - allowing for my mapping inacuracies, it still seems likely we all covered well over the 25 miles!




















Now back to academic studies and my form master's comment from the 3rd year in 1974 - really quite glowing











Below, there's a contrast in my 4th year report from 1975, where I'm unsettled and the standard of my work dropped off somewhat - I think I may possibly have been distracted, after all I was 15 years old and I'd discovered girls!

Actually, I'd started dating Cathy, the daughter of the Headmaster's secretary, so it was an interesting situation if I was called to his office...










My drawing on the right has been quite well known since my school days, I even have it as my mobile phone background to this day - I drew it for Art homework in about 1975

  I didn't take Art lessons very seriously and actually it was the only Art homework I ever did but the subject matter caught my imagination - when I presented it to the Art Master, he was very surprised... that I'd done any homework... and at the quality, which he marked at 10/10 

It represented the dangers facing our planet, which were very much to do with the Cold War and the threat of "mutually assured destruction" from nuclear war when I drew it but could be other factors today...










All's well that ends well though, or should I say Finis Coronat Opus (our school moto, meaning "the finish crowns the work"), as my O level results were good: a total of 9 O Levels, with a clear "bent" to the sciences, as it was always described then



GCE O Levels
A: Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Geography
B: English language, Biology, French
C : English Literature, Art



































You may notice the absence of a history exam here and there is an explanation - I intensely disliked the way history was taught (mindless dates and events, regurgitated without bringing the fascination of the story alive and revealing the lives of the people of the time) and I would be very rebelious at the back of the classroom - this resulted in several heated altercations with the history master, culiminating in his furious comment "do you even want to take the exam Clark?!", to which I replied "No" (knowing it would be a fail and would have tuned out to be my only fail)

My Mother and Father had to come to see the Headmaster but my parents backed up my view and it was agreed that I would not be entered for the history exam and I did private study for every subsequent history period










Now on to the 6th Form and my growing calling to the medical profession, which stemmed from my love of science and biology and was probably also accelerated by my girlfriend being a veterinary nurse on Saturdays, which provided me with direct insights into medical care and operating theatres when I visited the practice










 





I took the 3 sciences at A Level, with a direct view to applying to medical school - I was told it was not possible to take A Level Physics without A Level Maths but I worked hard on calculus in an extra study period (I didn't want to take 4 A Levels!)



Click on the right for all my Upper and Lower Sixth reports

















I used to love to draw during triple "Bugs" Periods, as we called Biology, so much so that I used to spend nearly the whole time on the drawing and catch up on the other work later...

My drawing here, of a Dogfish is a good example

It was a very soothing atmosphere in the Biology Lab, with the window sills covered in potted plants and the rthymic chugging of a circulating air pump aerating the fish tank








Now my friends and indeed even my future employers, would all attest to timekeeping not being the greatest of my talents... I am 100% reliable but when I say I will do something I don't say when (I did work at this in my future career in IT and I can say that I was never late for a customer meeting in my PreSales career - click here for more on that)






The comment from the Headmaster on the left in the first report is "One would prefer one's doctor not to be slothful. He must remember that"

















The Head's words in my second report are "A good candidate - but when we come to write a reference for his application to medical school we shall want to be able to say, truthfully, that he turns up on time"








In truth I was becoming disillusioned with the treatment of junior doctors, in that they were over-worked to the point where sleep deprivation and the pressure of life or death decision making had caused suicides, and I felt that I could probably progress more quickly in a career outside medicine without a degree

Hence, the Head's final words "I think that his work is suffering from indecision about the future. I very much hope that he will decide to try for a place at a university or polytechnic"










The timekeeping issues I wouldn't deny... I don't think I ever saw the clock on the church opposite the school show anything before 9 am when cycled past and then rushed in to make register taking


Finis Coronat Opus again though and I passed all three A Levels, with grades that would have got me into medical school - I was particularly pleased with my A Grade in Biology - I actually went through a rebelious phase in Biology in the 4th year and was told by the Master that I wouldn't pass O Level... I vowed that I would and I would get an A grade but I got a B grade, so I made it my prime objective to get an A grade at A Level
















GCE A Levels
A: Biology
B: Physics
C: Chemistry

Upon leaving school I made the point of saying to myself and to my teachers, that I although I would pursue a career outside academia, I would study science with the Open University and indeed, I did fulfill that promise with OU Physics at the highest level - click here for more on that

 




Much to my annoyance though, I later found out that I was totally omitted from the list of school leavers in the Isleworthian, the school magazine





















All other leavers are acknowledged, including three to medical school and four to Oxford/Cambridge but I clearly didn't exist because of my decision to "take a year off" even though others are present with this comment and some took up careers with banks and retail companies

Well "Whatever", as current parlance has it, my integrity is intact and so is my bank account









Perhaps, although I'm a very multifaceted character with a introvert studious side and an extrovert gregarious side, it's the case that I never shook off my rebellious persona, which was clearly evident in this photo of me "pinching" tea from the machine on the balcony in the hall and being apprehended by a teacher

The photo was restaged by a member of the photographic club but I was actually caught doing it


















Here's my school tie, jumpers and scarf, all of which I still have










Abernethie's was the official supplier of our school uniform and I remember well going there for a big list of items, including sports kit, with my Mum

It was a very old fashioned shop and again, for a modern audience, I can only describe it as like something from "Diagon Alley" in Harry Potter























Proof that I still have the uniform and that it still fits, from a night out to a School Dinners club in the 00ies