EXPANDING COMPREHENSIVE Amalgamation September 10, 1974 was the first day of Greentord High School formed by the amalgamation of pupils front seven closing Secondary Schools and Greenford Grammar. The Head reported a short time later that there were 713 pupils, 3 forms each of 2nd and 5th years; 8 forms of 3rd and 4th years. There were 62 in the 6th Form. I should point out here that the Borough, since the normal 1st years were now in the Middle Schools, chose to number the years in the High Schools 1 to 4, with the Lower and Upper 6th numbered 5th and 6th years. As this provided a great deal of confusion in the minds of many the system was eventually abandoned but not until 1977/78 when Ealing fell in with the numbering used in the rest of the country. For the sake of clarity I have numbered the years as 2nd to 5th regardless of what they were called pupils start at the School in the 2nd Year. Clear? September 4th, 1975 saw an expansion of the School by 300 pupils which included the first comprehensive intake from the Middle Schools and still more pupils from the closing Secondary Schools. The pupils coming from the Middle Schools were arranged in mixed ability form groups, which were also the teaching groups for at least half the week. Setting operated in French, Science, History and Geography. The 2nd Years were based in the new Arts Barn. The 3rd year consisted of approximately 115 pupils from closing Secondary Schools, plus the three forms of 'Grammar School' pupils arranged in seven forms. Pupils were integrated in these forms which again were the teaching unit for English, Craft, P.E. and Games, R.E. and Music. Setting occurred in Mathematics, Modern Languages, History, Geography and Science. Demand Exceeds Capacity The school roll by September 1979 was 1044. The planned entry for September 1980 was 240 but at the Evening in November 1979 when the parents of prospective pupils came to view the school the hall was packed to capacity with over 450 many of whom were still touring the school after 10:00. There were more in 1980 with between 500 and 600. By September 1981 there were 1055 pupils with 103 in the 6th Form. During the year 1980/81 there had been six suspensions and 16 pupils spent part of the week at a Tutorial Centre where they were given extra help. There were 63 staff. The number of pupils on roll by January 1982 was 1042 of whom 92 were in the 6th Form. There were still 240 in the 2nd Year, 240 in 3rd, 238 in the 4th, and 233 in the 5th Year. The Spectre of Closure In September 1982 there were many problems in obtaining staff because the Borough had initiated a policy of restricting advertising for staff to fill the vacant posts. In the Borough as a whole the school population was beginning to decline. There was the prospect of having to redeploy staff already working for the Borough. In October in spite of the fact that the school was still oversubscribed, that more wanted to come to Greenford than we could take, staff began to fear that Greenford High School might he closed by the Authority. Ealing Education Committee had produced a document on 12-19 Education in the Borough. The Governors memet in November to discuss the document in detail and concluded they were totally opposed to closing GHS since it had been a consistently over-subscribed school and still had an 8 form entry (i.e. 240). At a Consultation Meeting in December the parents expressed their horror and indignation that GHS could even be considered for closure. They drew up a petition to be signed. They were against closure of any school and felt that the Authority should improve th pupil/teacher ratios instead. They were also concerned at the lack of consultation time. The question of closure was bound to seem absurd and improbable in a school which by January 1983 had 1053 pupils with 105 in the 6th Form taught by 60 staff. The following November there were again about 500 Middle School parents having at look at the School so that the next year the roll went up to 1065 with 120 in the 6th Form. GOSA At its November 1975 AGM the Old Scholars Association made an attempt to ensure its continued existence by changing its name from the Greenford Grammar Old Scholars Association to simply the Greenford Old Scholars Association so that it would be an organisation for both the Grammar School and the High School. It encouraged 6th formers to become members on their leaving the school. Charges Bring Protests At the beginning of 1983 the Authority revised its lettings policy, restricting the number of times the school and the PTA could use the school premises in the evenings without paying for it. In protest the PTA suspended all planned functions. The Staff supported the PTA and refused to attend any functions after 6 including Parents' Evenings whether the fee was payable or not on that particular occasion. The lettings policy was amended in May. Links With GOSA Broken Another group affected by the Authority's charging policy a few years earlier was the Greenford Old Scholars Association. As its Newsletter GOSA Drivel put it: 'These are changing times. Until recently, despite the great changes at Greenford School, it was possible to foresee our society continuing to function much as before maintaining the links to the building and to the institution it represents; towards which most of us owe a great debt and share a greater affection.' 'Unfortunately, this illusion has been finally shattered our contacts with the school have been reducing and now even the regular committee meetings in the school library have had to be curtailed, for, the London I3orough of Ealing, in all its wisdom, have decreed that we will be charged the full going rate for this 'privilege'. A protest was made but to no avail. The new venue for committee meetings was the Southall Cricket Club/Old Greenfordians, Durdans Park.' Losing the link with the School was a major reason why the Old Scholars Association gradually ceased to function round about 1977. The School lost a valuable asset. page 67