I thought you might find this excerpt from my mother’s memoir, Speak the Truth…and Leave Immediately After, interesting if not amusing.

A Battle Royal

I was determined to choose Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, the local state school with a very good reputation for our son. Bertie wanted the Catholic influence. We kept putting off the decision to fill in the forms and the last night arrived with both of us still holding opposing views. It was Friday, pouring rain and a knock came at the door. Standing on the steps was one of the priests from St. Lawrence, Father Crawley. He was a kind and gentle man. His first words were, “I hope you will be sending your son to St. Mary’s,” a choice we never regretted.

Father McIver was the headmaster when Bert John enrolled. He was a Cambridge graduate and played football for the university. He was another Mr. Chips, a friend and counselor to every student, a great educator. Bert John told me that he died of a heart attack on the platform at Sidcup Station.

Within two years, a full grant from the Education Department moved St Mary’s from ram shackled buildings by St Lawrence’s Church to a brand-new school on the Sidcup by-pass, with every civility (large fields, fully funded teacher’s salaries, school dinners). St. Mary’s had a strong drama section, with annual performances like Dr. Faustus, the Alchemist and several Shakespeare plays.