Old Farnhamians' Association

1961 to 1963 - FGS Building Programme
The Dudley Collection of Photographs

After decades waiting for the replacement of temporary classrooms that had been erected in 1926, Surrey County Council finally gave the go-ahead for a permanent extension of the premises and work began in 1961. Your webmaster remembers it well as it was his second 6th form year, with many privations being borne by everyone in the school.

But a building site provided some interesting diversions. Steel girders were erected as the main frame of the building and intrepid builders walked at great heights without any visible safety kit. We were told those who walked at the greatest heights got a premium rate for their work.

One very ballsy and audacious boy was expelled that year by George Baxter. He immediately went and signed on with the building company and therefore kept coming to Morley Road, but now as a labourer – it was probably the first real work he had ever done at the school!

The completed building was opened in 1963 by the Duchess of Gloucester. The building works spread over approximately 2 years, cost £180,000 and transformed the campus. Detested though they were, when the old huts actually disappeared they became a fond memory for many of us.

Farnhamian Geoff Dudley was 17 or 18 at the time and taking a strong interest in photography, which is fortunate for us all as he kept photographs of the building site which he has now made available for this website. Geoff’s good eye for a picture served him well – he became a professional TV cameraman!

Ian Sargeant
Tuesday, 18 January, 2011

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Click photos to enlarge, F11 for full screen, repeat to return

 

Demolition

These buildings, partly demolished as part of the 1961 extension project, were the canteen and classrooms erected in 1952, including John Wills’ art room which doubled as a first year form room.

A photo of the infamous “Huts” comprising classrooms 6, 7 and 8 (on the left). It was an ex-army building erected in 1926, strictly as temporary classroom accommodation

Is this the old CCF building?

Site clearance

 

 

 

Construction

 

 

 

 

It was a source of great interest to see a huge building, by our standards in those days, being erected at close quarters.
Who remembers the old building in the background on the left of the bottom left-hand picture of this group?
Was it the old rifle range? Or the CCF building? It’s familiar, but in the wrong place. In fact it’s the old cloakroom and sports
changing room which was moved a few yards to the north-west as part of the rebuilding programme.

 

 

 

We can just see the edge of the old woodwork shop at the left of this picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New temporary classrooms were erected to provide accommodation during the construction phase
 (see the old canteen building in the background to get your bearings)

 

  

Here is a diagram of the site before and after, printed in the Farnhamian in July 1961      

 

 

Opening Ceremony
Official Programme

 

 

 

 

 

 

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