South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys  
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About the site

The Web site is intended as a place to gather together pictures, memories and the history of the schools that eventually became Harton Technology College - for present and former pupils and staff. It is also as much an archiving project as a Web site.

I'm always looking for material, and if you have anything relating to the school (and I mean absolutely anything) than I'd love to hear from you. Even if it's already on the site it may be that the copy I have is not the best quality (even though it may appear okay on the screen), and I do strive to have the highest quality possible. If you want to know more, I've produced a more detailed background to the site.

However, I'm also practical and know that there will be times when I need to accept that it isn't always going to be possible. The bottom line is that I'd rather have something than not have it.

WHAT material am I looking for?
The answer is ... just about anything at all to do with the school. Some ideas ..

PhotosPublicationsMemories

Form photos
School photos
Team photos
School trips
School productions
Sporting events
Pictures of the school, inside and out
Pictures of staff or students

ATOMS
Speech Day programmes
Open Day/Evening programmes
Form magazines (such as the ONEO)
School rules
School Calendars
Staff lists
Newspaper cuttings

Wartime at the school
Evacuation to Appleby
Teachers and fellow students
The school itself
Music at the school
Sporting occasions
Indiscretions (handled with propriety!)
School successes

HOW do you get it to me?
The preferred option is to post it to me (email me for the address). I will always try to return material as quickly as possible (usually within 24 hours of when it is received), and this way I can scan or photograph the material to best suit the site and the archives. Of course, I accept that some people would rather not part with such treasures and I'm happy to accept scans of photographs and documents.

In order to try to future-proof the site, and to allow me to print high-quality copies of the originals, I try to keep as high-quality scans as possible (even though the copies on the site are much lower quality). To achieve this I've drawn up some detailed guidelines below. If you can follow them then it would be a great help, but if it's not possible then don't let that stop you - I'll still be very grateful for your contribution.

However, if you send low resolution images, images of the whole of the scanner surface with a small picture in the corner, images embeded in Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint slideshows, pictures as photos taken by a digital camera, and so on, you are committing me to what could be a lot of hard work for relatively low quality pictures ... if in doubt, please ask.

Photos
  • Even if the photo is already on the site I may be interested in a higher quality version - so still get in touch
  • When you get in touch, it is useful if you give me some indication of how you're planning to scan the photos
  • Scan photos at the highest resolution you can - 300dpi is probably the minimum for most photos, but small photos (smaller than about 3 inches across) may be better scanned at 600dpi. I do all my scanning at 600dpi.
  • If the photo is black and white, set your scanner software to black-and-white
  • Try if you can to preserve shadow and highlight detail in the scan (I'd rather have a low contrast photo which has the detail, than a crisp-looking photo where faces are washed out and you can't see the folds in dark jackets)
  • Please don't try to "crop" the picture - scan the whole photo (including white borders) if you can
  • Don't try to do any repairs or retouching. I'm well equipped to do that, and retouching needs to take into account how a photo will be printed.
  • Send high-quality.low-compression JPEG or TIFF files. Please (please!) don't send BMP or GIF files, or photos embedded in other documents (such as word-processor, PDF or Powerpoint files) as these are almost impossible to use
  • Don't try to reduce the file size too much - file sizes of of 1-2 Mbyte are probably ideal for form or team photos
  • Size isn't too much problem as I have a broadband connection - but I'm aware that not everybody has such speed available and so we may need to compromise
  • If you're unsure of any of this, particularly if the photo is damaged, get in touch with me and I'll see what I can do to help
  • If the photo is damaged in any way I will do what I can to retouch/repair it (not the original, of course!) and I should be able to send you a copy if you wish (although I may have to ask for a contribution to the costs involved)
  • If you can, include names of boys or staff and any other background to the pictures
  • And always remember that I'm happy to do the scanning myself - I will usually scan and post the photos back on the day that I receive them
ATOMs
  • Even if the edition you have is already on the site, it may have been produced from a poor quality original and I'd be interested in a higher quality version
  • Check with me first to ensure that you're not going to spend time on preparing something I already have but haven't yet uploaded
  • In order to print a "replica" copy for the school, the copying needs are rather demanding - to get the necessary level of quality, scanning will generate far too much data to email (but it could go on a CDROM I suppose)
  • Mailing me the ATOM is by far the best way - I will scan and return them as quickly as possible (that usually takes a bit longer than scanning photos)
  • If you feel you'd rather send me a photocopy then it's unlikely that I'll be able to print a replica, and the photos inside will not come out very well. However, it should still be possible to include it on the site
Other Documents
  • Check with me first to ensure that you're not going to spend time on preparing something I already have but haven't yet uploaded
  • Good quality photocopies are usually okay
  • Scans are usually okay too - aim for a minimum of 75dpi, and ideally 150dpi (particularly if there are photos)
  • When copying or scanning, a black card behind the page may markedly improve the quality
  • If the document(s) are particularly awkward, get in touch with me an I'll see if I can help
  • Always remember that I'm happy to do the copying myself
Other memorabilia
  • It's very definitely worth getting in touch to work out how best to handle anything unusual
  • If you are able to find a suitable "model" to wear items of clothing, then take a photo and send me that (let me know if you don't want them to be identifiable - it's not a problem).
  • If you want to donate the item to the school's archives, then let me know

Site statistics 
(at 1st July 2008) 

Since May 2002:
  Total hits on site: 15 million (average 6,400 a day)
  Total number of individual visits: 784,000
  Total data transferred: 80 Gigabytes (average 33 Megabytes a day)
Approx number of files on the site: 4800
Approx size of site: 92 Mbytes
Number of Old Boys & teachers who have made contact: 490

Site design 

Designed, run and paid for by Mike Todd
Designed for a screen of 800x600 or greater, with at least 16-bit colour
It should work on smaller screens, but less conveniently

Software is Dreamweaver 4 and a lot of hand-coding
School photo and ATOM pages are generated using custom-written software

The site code has been validated using W3C tools
Valid HTML 4.0! Valid CSS!

Regretably, it is not possible to make the site fully compliant with accessibility guidelines. The additional work required would simply mean that there would be no site here.

Site History  www.ssgtsfb.info first online (using UK2.NET): December 2001
www.boyshighschool.co.uk first online (using UK2.NET): December 2002
Site redesigned, and new structure: December 2002
Moved to new provider (using ICUKNET): September 2003
Introduced www.hartonschool.co.uk as a third address for the site: May 2005
   (this address was allowed to lapse in May 2007 since few were using it)
home|past |present |traditions|people|photos|site||the ATOM |school photos|GUESTBOOK
This site and its design and contents are copyright © Mike Todd, 2001-2005 - school copyright is acknowledged - contact me