The front of the school from 1936 South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys
Westoe Higher Grade School & Westoe Secondary School
South Shields Boys' High School
Harton School & Harton Technology College
  
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A collection of memorabilia

6th Form to return to Harton
Some twenty years ago, educational policies resulted in the move of 16+ education away from many schools and into "sixth form colleges". So it was that the Harton school lost the upper part of the school, and pupils from years 11 to 13 went elsewhere for their "sixth form education".

Now, with the school's continued standards of excellence, and with funding from the Learning and Skills Council, a formal proposal was placed before the South Tyneside, and this morning the council's executive has approved the idea.

So, on 1st September, 2010, it is expected that a new "Post 16 Centre" will be opened on the school's grounds. This should dovetail into other plans for the site in line with the huge Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project, that will also result in major developments on the site. It is an extremely exciting time for the school and for education in the area.

From an educational perspective, this extension to the school will open up what many of use would call "6th form education" to students, not just at Harton, but throughout the borough.

From an old boy's perspective, however, I was concerned about the maintenance of the school's character, including the 1936 building. While the building itself cannot be allowed to go on into the future as it is, the hopes and expectations are that its architectural character (including the distinctive frontage) will be preserved, whilst the functional part of the building will undergo a major refurbishment.

Of course space will have to be found to accommodate the new 16+ centre, as well as for the major work needed for the BSF side of the project. I know some Old Boys have expressed concern over the loss of playing fields and so on, but great care appears to be being taken to preserve and, if anything, improve the sporting amenity of the site.

I'm gratified that the two projects (16+ and BSF) are being planned with the both the school's heritage and its future in mind, and as time and information permits, I plan to open up a small section on this site to document the plans as they unfold, right through to the completion of the project.

On behalf of the Old Boys who visit here, I would wish Ken Gibson, the Head Teacher, Scott Duffy, Chairman of the Governors, the staff, students, architects and planners, the very best of luck!

Mike Todd, 1st May 2008

Whether you, or perhaps other members of your family, went to the South Shields High School for Boys, the Westoe Secondary School or Westoe Higher Grade School, South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys, Harton School, or Harton Technology College (or you're a student or member of staff there today), this site is for you.

The present-day school at Harton started life as the South Shields Boys' High School in Mowbray Road (founded in 1885) and the Westoe Secondary School (founded in 1890 as Westoe Higher Grade School, itself founded in the Ocean Road Schools Arts and Science section in 1887) - they both combined in 1936 to form the South Shields High School for Boys in a custom-built building in Harton.

In 1953 the name changed to the South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys, and then in 1974 it became Harton Comprehensive. By the end of the 70s it had become co-educational and became Harton School. It is now called Harton Technology CollegeThis links to an EXTERNAL site which is completely independent of this site effectively a co-ed comprehensive with Technology College status.

This site is for anyone who went to or taught at any of these schools, but I also hope that it will prove useful for those researching their family history (as several genealogists have already discovered).

I was at the school (South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys, hence the dominance of that name on the site) from September 1962 to July 1969, and have very fond memories of my time there (although there are a few things I'd rather forget). So I decided to put together this site about the school, from its founding to the present day. It was launched in December 2001, and re-launched with a new design in December 2002 - by June 2003 it had attracted almost 3 million hits!

Almost everything you see has either been sent to me by Old Boys from the school, or has been taken from the school's archives.

If you have anything at all to offer, whether it's just to correct or add a name or two to the photos, or if you have old photos that aren't on the site, old ATOMs, Speech Day programmes or anything else of interest (or you just want to let me know what you think of the site), please email me (but please contact me first before sending any material, as you may be about to send something I already have waiting in the wings).

Oh ... and you may recognise the colour scheme for the site as being the school colours - dark blue, light blue and gold.

Mike Todd, August 3rd, 2004

Site last updated: 1-May-2008

2008 - Apr 9th
  1 school photo (panorama) added (total now 398)

2008 - Mar 31st
  2 school photos added (total now 397)

2008 - Feb 5th
  4 school photos added (total now 395)

 

Historical update log (2003-2007)

2007
  33 school photos added (total now 391)
  First admissions transcript completed

2006
  8 school photos added (total now 358)
  Email address is changed
  First admissions (expanded to the first 156)
  Added 1966-73 Spring/Summer Concert programmes

2005
  31 school photos added (total now 350)
  New section Contact Register
  Access also via hartonschool.co.uk
  Added appeal for Sports Centre
  Added photo to sports section

2004
  11 school photos added (total now 319)
  New section Guestbook
  Added Aerial Photos (1963-2004)
  Added 15 editions of The ATOM (total now 41)
  Added Photos of 26th SS Scouts
  Added 12 candid staff photos (1960s)
  Added 3 News Stories
  Revised all ATOM page scans

2003
  
124 school photos added (308)
  New section The first 37 boys
  New section School News
  New section School reunions
  New section School trivia
  Added 12 News Stories
  Added 1 edition of The ATOM (total now 26)
  Added 1908 Scholarship Exam Papers
  Added Mikado photos
  Added Sporting moments (1933-49)
  Added Famous Old Boys
  Added The school at war
  Added photo galleries
  Added "Virtual tour" of school today.
  Added & updated staff biographies
  Updated First boys
  Upated Story of the school
  Moved site to new provider
This links to an EXTERNAL site which is completely independent of this site indicates an external site - therefore I have no control over the content
IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTE
It is acknowledged that copyright exists in most photos on this site, however many show no indication of the photographer, let alone who owns the copyright (although in some cases copyright belongs to the school). Except for those personal photos which have been uploaded with permission of the owners, I have attempted to locate the copyright holders - in all but one case this has proved unsuccessful. Photographs are reproduced here in good faith (one reason why this site has no commercial sponsorship), and if anyone knows who owns the copyrights (including the panoramas taken by a company called Panora), please let me know.
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This site design and contents are copyright © Mike Todd, 2001-2008 - school copyright is acknowledged - contact me