Occupying a new purpose-built building in Waterloo Avenue, Leiston Grammar School first opened its doors in 1909 and 160 pupils were enrolled. It was then called a “Higher Elementary School”. The first Headmaster was Harvard Arundel, a family man from Yorkshire with four young children.
In the late 1920s the school was renamed Leiston County Secondary School. By 1929 a new Headmaster James A Broadhead, also from Yorkshire, had arrived and by all accounts soon became a well-liked and popular leader. At this time pupils were selected and awarded a scholarship, or well-off parents could pay a fee. Sporting activities were encouraged and there was even a boys’ school hockey team.
In 1940 the school and most of the teachers, including Mr Broadhead, were evacuated to Sudbury where normal lessons and activities were able to continue in premises attached to Sudbury Grammar School. Around 140 pupils in seven forms were evacuated and accommodated in lodgings around the town. The school remained in Sudbury until the summer of 1944.
Following the end of hostilities, the school was renamed yet again. Under the 1945 Education Act it became “Leiston Grammar School” (LGS) with pupils being selected on merit usually via the 11-plus exams. Late in 1945 a new headmaster arrived - a certain Mr HEH Goldfinch! Mr Goldfinch ruled for 21 years retiring due to ill health in 1967. Raymond Clark, the senior master, was appointed to see the school through to “Comprehensivisation” in 1973, and so ended the proud record of providing a higher-level education to the more academically gifted local pupils for over 60 years.
After the closure of LGS in 1973 the school buildings were cleared out and adapted to accommodate the new Middle School. Later when Leiston moved to two-tier education the original Grammar School building became Leiston High School’s Sixth Form Centre. Recently, following the decision to end 16+ education, the old Grammar School building was sold for residential use.
image above: Leiston Grammar School buildings, Waterloo Avenue [LGSWLOOAV] | ||
1938-39 boys hockey team |
1943-44 football team at Sudbury |
1954/55 Form 2A with Mr Smith |
1961 Tennis team |
Many visitors and pupils will remember the dozens of photos in black frames which lined the central corridor. These featured the various sports teams which represented the school. Each year the Tennis, Hockey, Football and Cricket teams posed for the photographer, usually at the front of the school building.
Unfortunately, when the building was cleared, the team photos were consigned to the skip. Happily, they were rescued by Frank Huxley, a Grammar schoolteacher, and cared for by the Town Clerk, John Rayner, who brought them along to each of the biennial school reunions. In 2018 they were passed on to our Group, and we took on the task of digitising and copying the pictures. They were then catalogued and indexed, and the originals given to the Suffolk Record Office (now Suffolk Archives) who will preserve them for posterity.
Since that time the LGS archive has grown extensively and now includes panoramic and form photos, "Leistonian" magazines and other ephemera. The archive is available to view by appointment at the AVSFHG Help Centre and the contents are listed on the Index of Resources on the group website via https://avsfhg.org.uk/idx/ . A search service is available for anyone interested, and copies of most items are available FOC via email — just contact us on LGS@avsfhg.org.uk .
John Martin
Form 5 Alpha (1961) with Mr Molyneux [LGSFRM61T]