When Fr Leo McIver became headmaster in the autumn of 1952 he immediately set about driving up standards which meant only admitting boys of the right intellectual capability to achieve success at O-Level.

By doing so many of them would wish to continue their studies past the age of 16 finally enabling the establishment of a sixth form at St Mary’s, which was seen as a necessity for a school with aspirations of Grammar status.

With exam results some way off where they needed to be, Fr McIver set about making a number of changes to raise educational standards and improve community spirit in the school including the introduction of a number of clubs.

By the mid 50s, some of his work was starting to bear fruit and the very rare picture above shows one of the very first sixth form groups at St Mary’s.

In the early 1950s, two things were high on the agenda at St Mary’s College. The first was the urgent need to leave the site on Main Road next to St Lawrence’s Church for bigger, better premises.

The second was to secure Grammar school status.

It was taken in the ‘attic’ room on the old site in 1955, two years before the school moved to Chislehurst Road with its newly-acquired Grammar school status.

The photograph was supplied by David Read who is pictured in the centre, fourth from left. To his right (our left) is Michael Lynch who would return to St Mary’s Grammar in the 1960s as a highly regarded History master.

From left to right; Wilfrid Lockwood; David Keevil; Michael Lynch; David Read; Geoffrey Wells; George Dight; Michael Cleary; Michael Hosmer.