Child is father to the man. BS&T

Well I managed to get into the A form at the local grammar school despite getting told off for talking at junior school.

After our first form exams our maths teacher went round saying I was a maths genius.  If only I had cheated when I could and got 100%.  Unfortunately in the third form I came top in Arithmetic and Geometry but next to bottom in Algebra. Just another ‘meat machine’ as James Martin one of the methodology gurus calls person kind.

When I chose Woodwork instead of Latin in the second form I think pretensions of  being seen as academic went out the door.

I the second form we had to write a little Physics article.  I did one on Lasers.  The teacher had me read it out and then had the cheek to say I did not understand it.

We had a new teacher in the third form who was an ex-Rolls Royce draftsman and I made further negative vibes by choosing that as one of my O-level options.  But he did ask if he could keep my drawings to mark from.  Its a good job we got on well as I had him for all my lessons on a Wednesday.

In my day all that was available in the local library about computers were ‘Teach Yourself’ little yellow books on Logic and Machine Code.

My ’2 weeks of fame’ was in the Fifth Form being in charge of building the set for Timothy Doltons last school play.  As he and his co-star were already marked for the RSC and stardom it had to be an extra long one on the side of the school hall rather than at the end.

I cheated in the Sixth form and had a go at 5 A-levels.  I had to do Woodwork in my spare time.  My teacher should have lied and said the sewing machine table I started early in the Fifth form was Sixth form work, so on just a years part time work I got a B.  Still I got an A in Physics and to my teachers surprise went to Birmingham Uni rather than High Wycombe furniture college, I assume from staff room chat.

Three of us did double Maths and our teacher sent us one Easter to Loughborough Uni to do a weeks Fortran course.  My first IT experience.  He beat my Dad to the one scholarship at my then private Grammar school so may have been a bit of goodwill.

Next – A bit of fun.