Temple School

Temple School was a boys secondary modern in Strood, in England. It closed in 2009 along with Chapter Girls School when Strood Academy was opened.

For the school in Boston operated by Bronson Alcott, see Temple School (Massachusetts).

Temple School
Address
Cliffe Road

Strood
,
Kent
,
ME2 3DL

England
Coordinates51°24′25″N 0°29′35″E
Information
TypeCommunity secondary modern
MottoNIHIL NISI OPTIMUM NOSTRUM - "Nothing but our best"
ChairMr G. Fox
Head teacherN. J. McAree
GenderBoys
Age11 to 16
Enrolment625[1]
WebsiteMedway.sch.uk

History

The Temple School for Senior Boys, as it was originally known, opened its doors to 401 pupils on 6 January 1936 in brand-new buildings on the Temple Farm Estate on land at the top of Cedar Road.

The first headmaster was Mr. E. Featherstone with twelve assistant masters including Mr. H. G. Benyon who worked all his life at Temple and retired over thirty years later as Deputy Head.

The building of the school had been funded by the City of Rochester Education Authority and it was officially declared open by Earl de la Warr. Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education on the 22nd. May 1936.

On the 14th. December that year all the boys were marched from school down to the Corn Exchange to hear the reading of the Proclamation of King George V1.[2]

School life before the Second World War was a period of development. Matters such as installing new equipment, developing the playing field for football including much stone-picking to ensure a safe pitch – and eventually the first successful Sports Day. Ominously, a year before war broke out, every pupil was issued with a gas respirator and for some years all were obliged to carry them everywhere they went.[2]

The school closed early in August 1939 supposedly for a five-week summer holiday but war broke out on the 1st. September so the summer holiday lasted until November.

As it was thought that the Medway Towns would become a prime target for German bombers, evacuation of the school was hastily organised and over one hundred boys with their younger brothers and sisters were evacuated to Whitstable. Eleven of the school staff accompanied them but Mr. Featherstone remained in Strood for just one month before he was permitted to resign.

The new headmaster, Mr. H. A. Skerrett was one of the teachers who was evacuated to Whitstable and never once carried out headmaster duties in Temple School in Cedar Road.[2]

Until the end of 1941 those pupils remaining in Strood were educated on a part-time basis – juniors in the mornings and seniors in the afternoons. In this year the school acquired an infant's department which remained until Elaine Primary School opened in the early 1950s.[2]

In January 1942, Mr. P. Weatherhogg from St. Peter's, Rochester was appointed headmaster and by the end of that year all children were having full-time schooling. During most of the war Temple was an all-age school for both boys and girls who lived to the west of Watling Street. It was not until the end of 1946 when the girls had transferred to Chapter School in Cliffe Road, Frindsbury that Temple became the Boys School that flourished for the next sixty years.[2]

Mr. J. O. Hancock, BSc., A.V.C.M began his distinguished career as headmaster in April 1947. He had previously taught in Manchester, but came to Temple from Stockport Grammar School where he had been Senior Science Master. Mr. Hancock was a strong and determined man and his beliefs were unshakeable. He believed that every youngster should have support and the same chance to make the most of his abilities. Mr. Hancock was responsible for introducing the school motto ‘Nothing but the best’. Football teams were entered or each school year in the local schools’ league. Rugby and hockey teams had regular fixtures. In the summer Temples’ cricket teams were among the most successful in the County, regularly beating such as Maidstone Grammar, Rochester Math, Gillingham Grammar and Borden Grammar.[2]

Temple teachers in the war.

Mr. Hancock was lucky enough to have the support of some very enthusiastic and capable teachers who had played their part in WW2.

  • Frank Jeffery D.F.C had been a navigator in a bomber which crashed, badly injuring him and causing him to spend three years in a prisoner of war camp.
  • Len Mason had also been in the RAF for six years.
  • Bill Lang had been an Army Intelligence Officer in Italy. *Joe Ingham had been one of a few survivors of a bombed-out tank in France.
  • Bob Sinclair who had begun teaching before the war, spent time in the army.

GCE

In 1954 the first boys entered who could stay at Temple for five years. A special GCE form was created at this time with a vigorous programme of schoolwork and homework and this led to some pleasing results but of course Mr. Hancock made sure that at no time did pupils of lesser academic ability ever take second place in the schools’ priority.[2]

In 2006, 2% of the pupils gained 5 passes with Maths and English at GCSE, leading the press to dub it the worst school in the country.[3] In 2007, it was 16% and the press were not interested. In 2007, Temple school beat 4 Medway schools in the key KS2- KS4 value added indicator.[4]

Curriculum

The school followed the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3, but were more flexible at Stage 4[5] The subjects students were allowed take depended much on ability, the following subjects were optional at GCSE:

History, Geography, Graphics, Resistant Materials, Food Technology, Leisure and Tourism, Btech Sports, Diploma in Digital Applications (DiDA), French, German, Religious Education, Music, Drama, Art, Btech Art.

Temple School also offered to the more advanced students:

Triple Science, Additional Mathematics, English Literature.

Notable former pupils

Notes
  1. dcsf.gov.uk Archived 2009-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Green, Bob (2009). Temple School Nothing But the Best: Memories of Templars Young & Old. Strood, Rochester, Kent.: Temple School.
  3. "Worst school marks 'unacceptable'". BBC.co.uk. 11 January 2007.
  4. League Tables
  5. curriculum - official website Archived 2008-01-31 at the Wayback Machine
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