PERRY COMMON COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ( now called College High school – 395 college road Erdington )
Perry Common is an area of Kingstanding, in the constituency of Erdington, Birmingham, England.
College High School , formally know as by myself when i attended the school from 1976 to 1981 as PERRY COMMON COMPREHENSIVE is located in Perry Common as are the Hawthorn Shopping Centre on Hawthorn Road and Witton Lakes park which backed on to the sports playing of perry common school.
Memories of Mr Rysztogi’s Class 5R ( 1981) & my days at Perry Common School
Hello my name is Martin Brookes, its been what over 27 years since i was at school at perry common. I was in Mr Rysztogi’s class 5R our group room used to be A21, a 3rd floor room Block A, which was our group room from 1976 to 1981, it near a art room, i remember we used to sneak in the art room next to our group room to nick the clay to throw at the plastic Airfix model planes that Mr Rysztogi used to bring in for the lads in our class to make, and that everyone had pleasure of trashing them by throwing clay at them.
I recall that Mr Rysztogi had me & andrew coles sitting on the front row in the middle of our class, i think we were sat according to our age, me and andrew being the youngest out of the boys in our group, while a chris clements and i think geoff kenndey ? where sat towards the back 2nd row from back of class room as they were the oldest out of the boys ? With the same arrangement being used for the girls on the left hand side of our class.
i remember the Staff canteen, it was was placed under the library in that little square between the main block A and the block B where Geography / Science was taught, BUT in our time the teachers eat mainly in the same dinner halls as us the kids, i remember my mother when she worked a the school has a dinner lady grabbing one of the sports teachers and threating to hit him, because our mother made a comment about the crap / rubbish school dinner i had been serverd one day at school. Our mother said sometime about ” is that all you got to eat, your not eating that crap” this sport teacher heard & said something about “what gives you the right to tell that kid what he can eat”, our mom answered cause “im his mom and i pay for that crap he’s got on his plate ” the sport teacher then said “oh well if he’s a fussy eater i shove it down his throat” to which our mom replied ” no you bloody wont, has small has i am if any thing gets shoved down anyones throat it be my fist down yours if you dont keep your bloody nose out of things”
i remember the dinner hall going very quite then all the kids shouting “go on mrs brookes ” the headmaster Mr Neal was in the hall at the time it happened, the next day he goes up to our mom and and says ” i hope your in a better frame of mood today” to which our mom answered “yes unless you or someone upsets me again or my son gets another crap meal served to him today, us mothers pay for our kids to receive a good meal and from what i saw yesterday thats not happening, while im in charge of this dinner hall, staff will stand in line with the kids and not reserve the best meals for themselfs that come with the free bottles of milk, fruit etc”, (these being the salads mainly that came with a bottle of milk , some fruit , bread roll, and a pudding). I remember her sticking to her word and nothing more was ever said to her by Mr Neal, who she even made stand in line with us kids when ordering our food.
CORRIS ( perry common school’s hostel in North Wales ) -, i went to Corris 3 times, i remember David Shaw who was im my glass at school hiding in the school bus one day because he didn’t want to go on a walk, i think it was when we had to go on a nature walk all the way up that mountain where all the water falls were, Dolgellau Falls or dolgoch falls ? there was the steam railway there as well that ran from Tywyn ? the Talyllyn railway i think it was called, it ran all the way up the mountain pass the water falls ?, Anyhow David was caught hiding in the bus by Rysztogi who threatened to send him home early, but i think david was already in trouble , along with Roy Swan for jumping off the top of the stairs leading down into the large down stair dorm, onto a bunk bed at the bottom of the stairs, Rysztogi caught them both, i think he made them both sleep on the floor outside the teachers bedroom if i recall that night cause they had broke a spring on the bunk bed by jumping on it. Also remember the midnight walk over some fields / hills around corris, one of the Tracey’s twisted their ankle on that walk and Rysztogi had to give them a piggy back, back to the centre ? oh i also recall the tramp who used to sleep in the doorway of the hostel at Corris, scaring the life out of us all, i recall Roy Swan keeping half of us awake one night, cause the tramp was banging on the fire exit door down stairs to the large dorm, Roys bed was next to this door, Roy was in a panic thinking the tramp would break in and grab him or something, Roy accidentally woke Rysztogi up with his moaning / shouting about the tramp banging on the door that night, Mr Rysztogi was annoyed at being woke up and all the noise Roy was making, i think he put Roy on” jankers” the next day making him do extra cleaning duties for waking him up. I remember us boys being in the down stairs dorm managing to peep at the girls asleep in the individual dorms on the top floor if you climbed up into the boarded up window re-asses by un-screwing the one side of them and if you sneaked into the last top floor individual dorm you could, hold a small mirror up with the boarded up window re-asses and if angled correctly see into the girls showers which was next to this dorm. I recall the time too when Lee Saunders, Graham Batters and David Shaw climbed into the tuck shop, i believe there was a old bricked up window at the top of the stairs going down to the large dorm down stairs, the widow sort of had a bit of a re-asses which had a wood panel screwed to the front of it, Lee and David un- screwed the one side of it, and found they could climb into the window re-asses then over the top part of the partition into the tuck shop.
Oh gosh the telly at Corris, i recall about 8 of us sat on a wall to a small bridge that went across a stream, i remember we all went down to the village and was watching telly through a old ladies window, ( there was no TV in the hostel ) we all got caught, some of the others ran off when she saw us, i recall the old lady opening her window and turning her telly up for us to hear, when she learned we was at Corris and from the school hostel, and that we was bored that night with nothing to do she even gave us all some pop and cake.
The old Corris centre is still there, when i took my wife there to have a look around and show her where some of our old school haunts used to be. It used to be an old church to start with, the down stairs dorm used to be the church crypt / village mortuary, the caretaker / cleaner who used to look after it, once told us all when we stayed there the once ?, with a small grave yard being just across the road from the entrance door to the centre and a second main grave yard being down the road in the village if i remember correct, then the pub being at the end of the village road up the hill near the junction of the main road.
I cant remember whether it was when i went to Corris in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th year at school but once we all went into barmouth, it was raining, the funfair was closed or open for only half the day ? any how must of us ended up on the beach building water dams from the puddles the rain made on the beach and sand castles on the beach in the pouring rain, If only we had known & walked 3 miles up the beach to talybont, there’s a nudist beach up there, not that anybody would have been sunbathing that day in the pouring rain that day even if we had walked all the way up there to Talybont.
What good & fun memories of my old school days i have !!
The school’s hostel centre in Corris was renamed The Adrian Rainsford Centre in memory of a pupil from Perry common school who died in 1984 during a half marathon which the school used to have every year to raise money for the school and local charities . With the help of a lottery grant, Corris the the schools hostel was refurbished and reopened in 1999. It is now used by many other schools, walking groups etc. as well as the groups from The College High the NEW name now given and being used by Perry common comprehensive school. Those who went to the centre in “the old days” will be amazed at the transformation. Have a look at a website called arcwales.org.uk to get a flavour of what it looks like today. Personally I am more nostalgic for the musty damp smell of how the place used to be, but then those are my memories of the old corris hostel.
ive recently visited corris on the 21st august 2011 Not much as charged with in the actual village, but the old school’s youth centre has changed alot. Ive looked at website called arcwales.org.uk about corris youth centre and wow its so different now to how the centre used to be back in 1977 when i first visited and stayed there with 2R Mr Rysztogi’s group. The outside of the building has not changed much apart from new windows being fitted, i can recall the old wood framed windows which used to be painted brown in 1977 and 1981, the far one on the left looking at the front of the building back in 1977 i recall still had some of the stained glass window in, although most of it was broken and had been either boarded up or replaced with clear glass. i noticed that the centre now seems to have 3 floors ? a basement, ground and a first floor, i recall the centre only having two when i last visited in 1981 with Perry common school comprehensive school, Mr Rysztogi’s group now called 5R, i remember that as you walked in through the main door you walked into the main hall / living quarters area which sort of went up in stepped levels ( like how the seating is laid out in a cinema) there was rows of small bedrooms running along each side of the hall area which went up in the stepped level fashion and which used to have just a single bunk bed in and a small cupboard and could only sleep 2 people in each. To the left of the main door entrance was a boot rack for placing your muddy boots on, next to this and just in front of was a small games area;- a dart board and a fold away ping pong table. On the top upper most level of the then hall area was the dinner tables, the kitchen i recall used to be on the right of the building at the back of the building on this uppermost level, with both the boys and girls toilets and showers being on the left at the back of the building, next to the kitchen area. The schools tuck shop was on the left of the building towards the front of the building next to the stairs which went down into the basement / crypt, which was a large dorm area with bunkbeds running along the walls with a small bedroom at one end which was used by the teachers, i think this was somewhere to the right at the bottom of the stairs to the basement and a fire exit door to the left ?
it would be nice if anyone had pictures of the interior of corris centre back in 1977 and 1981 which they could post here on this website to show the difference in the building from back then to now. Also if any one has any old pictures of Perry common school, now called College High school
Class of 5R, Mr Rysztogi’s group Perry common school 1981
5R in 1981 Top Row L-R Darren Ironmonger, Richard Keirl, Graham Batters, Peter Meyer,David Shaw, Lee Saunders, Geof Kennedy. Middle Row L-R Kevin Bedwell, Martin Brookes, Christopher Clements, Deborah Deakin, Mark Lagoe, Andrew Coles, Darren Ward. Bottom Row L-R Jayne Williams, Donna Emery, Lynda McGloin, Tracy Neat, Jane Halford, Tracey O’Connell, Tina Harrison, Sharon Hill, Gillian Allen. Missing from photo Kevin Bakewell, Roy Swann, Tracey Sutherland
Ive been laughing my head off at this. I was in Mrs Evans class with Donna Bowskill. My mom worked in the kitchen. Ive been back to Corris twice and stayed in the hostel up the road from our school one. Fab memories of a brill childhood.
Hi Martin,
i have just read your amazing memories of Corris they were good and simple times I don’t think we knew just how good, and what a fantastic memory you have…..! I remember your mum well, we quite often had a chat together…. does anyone remember a strange couple at Corris who asked us to have pictures taken…?
Sue Williams.
Hello, my name is Brett Shurmer and hoping that someone who went to this school might be able to help me… I have been told that my biological father went to this school and was hoping someone might know of him. His name was Russell Newton, I have been told that he passed away when I was a young child but it is believed that he may of had other children and these are who I am looking for. I think his best friend at the time was called Tony Powell…I’m not looking to make any trouble, just need to find the part of me that has been missing all these years. So if you do have any information know matter how small please get in contact. I think he may of left school between 1978 – 1980 or around them years… Thank you for reading. brettshurmer@aol.com
By: Brett Shurmer on December 28, 2016 at 11:15 am
I have a cousin who now lives in Australia in Melbourne who went to perry common comp in 1957- 1962. His name is John Fythe does any one remember him.or have any photos of pupils during that timerjgmorris
I attended between 1964 to 1969. Neale was head, Conchar the deputy head, Mr Hemingway my group teacher – he taught geography. I must admit I didn’t shine at school, played an instrument in the school wind band the teacher in charge of music being Hamish Preston. If you would like to know more leave a message.
Voices of Kingstanding
PERRY COMMON COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ( now called College High school – 395 college road Erdington )
Perry Common is an area of Kingstanding, in the constituency of Erdington, Birmingham, England.
College High School , formally know as by myself when i attended the school from 1976 to 1981 as PERRY COMMON COMPREHENSIVE is located in Perry Common as are the Hawthorn Shopping Centre on Hawthorn Road and Witton Lakes park which backed on to the sports playing of perry common school.
By: Martin Brookes on November 24, 2011
at 4:09 pm
what an amazing and detailed recollection and such enjoyable reading, it brought back many memories especially about Corris…..
Thank you.
By: Sue Williams on June 10, 2016
at 8:33 pm
Hi Martin it’s Chris clements here how u doing was wondering how u get school photos
By: Christopher Clements on April 22, 2021
at 2:17 pm
Memories of Mr Rysztogi’s Class 5R ( 1981) & my days at Perry Common School
Hello my name is Martin Brookes, its been what over 27 years since i was at school at perry common. I was in Mr Rysztogi’s class 5R our group room used to be A21, a 3rd floor room Block A, which was our group room from 1976 to 1981, it near a art room, i remember we used to sneak in the art room next to our group room to nick the clay to throw at the plastic Airfix model planes that Mr Rysztogi used to bring in for the lads in our class to make, and that everyone had pleasure of trashing them by throwing clay at them.
I recall that Mr Rysztogi had me & andrew coles sitting on the front row in the middle of our class, i think we were sat according to our age, me and andrew being the youngest out of the boys in our group, while a chris clements and i think geoff kenndey ? where sat towards the back 2nd row from back of class room as they were the oldest out of the boys ? With the same arrangement being used for the girls on the left hand side of our class.
i remember the Staff canteen, it was was placed under the library in that little square between the main block A and the block B where Geography / Science was taught, BUT in our time the teachers eat mainly in the same dinner halls as us the kids, i remember my mother when she worked a the school has a dinner lady grabbing one of the sports teachers and threating to hit him, because our mother made a comment about the crap / rubbish school dinner i had been serverd one day at school. Our mother said sometime about ” is that all you got to eat, your not eating that crap” this sport teacher heard & said something about “what gives you the right to tell that kid what he can eat”, our mom answered cause “im his mom and i pay for that crap he’s got on his plate ” the sport teacher then said “oh well if he’s a fussy eater i shove it down his throat” to which our mom replied ” no you bloody wont, has small has i am if any thing gets shoved down anyones throat it be my fist down yours if you dont keep your bloody nose out of things”
i remember the dinner hall going very quite then all the kids shouting “go on mrs brookes ” the headmaster Mr Neal was in the hall at the time it happened, the next day he goes up to our mom and and says ” i hope your in a better frame of mood today” to which our mom answered “yes unless you or someone upsets me again or my son gets another crap meal served to him today, us mothers pay for our kids to receive a good meal and from what i saw yesterday thats not happening, while im in charge of this dinner hall, staff will stand in line with the kids and not reserve the best meals for themselfs that come with the free bottles of milk, fruit etc”, (these being the salads mainly that came with a bottle of milk , some fruit , bread roll, and a pudding). I remember her sticking to her word and nothing more was ever said to her by Mr Neal, who she even made stand in line with us kids when ordering our food.
CORRIS ( perry common school’s hostel in North Wales ) -, i went to Corris 3 times, i remember David Shaw who was im my glass at school hiding in the school bus one day because he didn’t want to go on a walk, i think it was when we had to go on a nature walk all the way up that mountain where all the water falls were, Dolgellau Falls or dolgoch falls ? there was the steam railway there as well that ran from Tywyn ? the Talyllyn railway i think it was called, it ran all the way up the mountain pass the water falls ?, Anyhow David was caught hiding in the bus by Rysztogi who threatened to send him home early, but i think david was already in trouble , along with Roy Swan for jumping off the top of the stairs leading down into the large down stair dorm, onto a bunk bed at the bottom of the stairs, Rysztogi caught them both, i think he made them both sleep on the floor outside the teachers bedroom if i recall that night cause they had broke a spring on the bunk bed by jumping on it. Also remember the midnight walk over some fields / hills around corris, one of the Tracey’s twisted their ankle on that walk and Rysztogi had to give them a piggy back, back to the centre ? oh i also recall the tramp who used to sleep in the doorway of the hostel at Corris, scaring the life out of us all, i recall Roy Swan keeping half of us awake one night, cause the tramp was banging on the fire exit door down stairs to the large dorm, Roys bed was next to this door, Roy was in a panic thinking the tramp would break in and grab him or something, Roy accidentally woke Rysztogi up with his moaning / shouting about the tramp banging on the door that night, Mr Rysztogi was annoyed at being woke up and all the noise Roy was making, i think he put Roy on” jankers” the next day making him do extra cleaning duties for waking him up. I remember us boys being in the down stairs dorm managing to peep at the girls asleep in the individual dorms on the top floor if you climbed up into the boarded up window re-asses by un-screwing the one side of them and if you sneaked into the last top floor individual dorm you could, hold a small mirror up with the boarded up window re-asses and if angled correctly see into the girls showers which was next to this dorm. I recall the time too when Lee Saunders, Graham Batters and David Shaw climbed into the tuck shop, i believe there was a old bricked up window at the top of the stairs going down to the large dorm down stairs, the widow sort of had a bit of a re-asses which had a wood panel screwed to the front of it, Lee and David un- screwed the one side of it, and found they could climb into the window re-asses then over the top part of the partition into the tuck shop.
Oh gosh the telly at Corris, i recall about 8 of us sat on a wall to a small bridge that went across a stream, i remember we all went down to the village and was watching telly through a old ladies window, ( there was no TV in the hostel ) we all got caught, some of the others ran off when she saw us, i recall the old lady opening her window and turning her telly up for us to hear, when she learned we was at Corris and from the school hostel, and that we was bored that night with nothing to do she even gave us all some pop and cake.
The old Corris centre is still there, when i took my wife there to have a look around and show her where some of our old school haunts used to be. It used to be an old church to start with, the down stairs dorm used to be the church crypt / village mortuary, the caretaker / cleaner who used to look after it, once told us all when we stayed there the once ?, with a small grave yard being just across the road from the entrance door to the centre and a second main grave yard being down the road in the village if i remember correct, then the pub being at the end of the village road up the hill near the junction of the main road.
I cant remember whether it was when i went to Corris in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th year at school but once we all went into barmouth, it was raining, the funfair was closed or open for only half the day ? any how must of us ended up on the beach building water dams from the puddles the rain made on the beach and sand castles on the beach in the pouring rain, If only we had known & walked 3 miles up the beach to talybont, there’s a nudist beach up there, not that anybody would have been sunbathing that day in the pouring rain that day even if we had walked all the way up there to Talybont.
What good & fun memories of my old school days i have !!
By: Martin Brookes on November 24, 2011
at 4:59 pm
The school’s hostel centre in Corris was renamed The Adrian Rainsford Centre in memory of a pupil from Perry common school who died in 1984 during a half marathon which the school used to have every year to raise money for the school and local charities . With the help of a lottery grant, Corris the the schools hostel was refurbished and reopened in 1999. It is now used by many other schools, walking groups etc. as well as the groups from The College High the NEW name now given and being used by Perry common comprehensive school. Those who went to the centre in “the old days” will be amazed at the transformation. Have a look at a website called arcwales.org.uk to get a flavour of what it looks like today. Personally I am more nostalgic for the musty damp smell of how the place used to be, but then those are my memories of the old corris hostel.
By: Martin Brookes on November 24, 2011
at 5:15 pm
Hiya mart. Lee saunders here. Remember it all. Wot a laugh. You ok?
By: Lee saunders on August 20, 2016
at 12:19 pm
ive recently visited corris on the 21st august 2011 Not much as charged with in the actual village, but the old school’s youth centre has changed alot. Ive looked at website called arcwales.org.uk about corris youth centre and wow its so different now to how the centre used to be back in 1977 when i first visited and stayed there with 2R Mr Rysztogi’s group. The outside of the building has not changed much apart from new windows being fitted, i can recall the old wood framed windows which used to be painted brown in 1977 and 1981, the far one on the left looking at the front of the building back in 1977 i recall still had some of the stained glass window in, although most of it was broken and had been either boarded up or replaced with clear glass. i noticed that the centre now seems to have 3 floors ? a basement, ground and a first floor, i recall the centre only having two when i last visited in 1981 with Perry common school comprehensive school, Mr Rysztogi’s group now called 5R, i remember that as you walked in through the main door you walked into the main hall / living quarters area which sort of went up in stepped levels ( like how the seating is laid out in a cinema) there was rows of small bedrooms running along each side of the hall area which went up in the stepped level fashion and which used to have just a single bunk bed in and a small cupboard and could only sleep 2 people in each. To the left of the main door entrance was a boot rack for placing your muddy boots on, next to this and just in front of was a small games area;- a dart board and a fold away ping pong table. On the top upper most level of the then hall area was the dinner tables, the kitchen i recall used to be on the right of the building at the back of the building on this uppermost level, with both the boys and girls toilets and showers being on the left at the back of the building, next to the kitchen area. The schools tuck shop was on the left of the building towards the front of the building next to the stairs which went down into the basement / crypt, which was a large dorm area with bunkbeds running along the walls with a small bedroom at one end which was used by the teachers, i think this was somewhere to the right at the bottom of the stairs to the basement and a fire exit door to the left ?
it would be nice if anyone had pictures of the interior of corris centre back in 1977 and 1981 which they could post here on this website to show the difference in the building from back then to now. Also if any one has any old pictures of Perry common school, now called College High school
By: Martin Brookes on November 24, 2011
at 5:26 pm
[IMG]http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/XXXMADMART/5Rin1981perrycommon.jpg[/IMG]
Class of 5R, Mr Rysztogi’s group Perry common school 1981
5R in 1981 Top Row L-R Darren Ironmonger, Richard Keirl, Graham Batters, Peter Meyer,David Shaw, Lee Saunders, Geof Kennedy. Middle Row L-R Kevin Bedwell, Martin Brookes, Christopher Clements, Deborah Deakin, Mark Lagoe, Andrew Coles, Darren Ward. Bottom Row L-R Jayne Williams, Donna Emery, Lynda McGloin, Tracy Neat, Jane Halford, Tracey O’Connell, Tina Harrison, Sharon Hill, Gillian Allen. Missing from photo Kevin Bakewell, Roy Swann, Tracey Sutherland
By: Martin Brookes on November 24, 2011
at 5:56 pm
Hi I saw a red brick building up on a hill as I was driving down college rd in perry common. Any idea what it is?
By: chris king on August 29, 2013
at 6:09 pm
martin thanks for these memories my two girls and wife have been laughing so much calling us all cheeky little /////ers
By: graham on April 30, 2014
at 6:10 pm
please anyone remember this brill/////////
By: graham on April 30, 2014
at 6:11 pm
Ive been laughing my head off at this. I was in Mrs Evans class with Donna Bowskill. My mom worked in the kitchen. Ive been back to Corris twice and stayed in the hostel up the road from our school one. Fab memories of a brill childhood.
By: Louise Andrews on July 21, 2016
at 5:17 pm
Brings back memories well written martin
By: donna emery on May 23, 2015
at 11:50 pm
Hi Donna,
Stuart here, hope all is well.
By: Stuart on August 14, 2022
at 7:41 am
Hi Martin,
i have just read your amazing memories of Corris they were good and simple times I don’t think we knew just how good, and what a fantastic memory you have…..! I remember your mum well, we quite often had a chat together…. does anyone remember a strange couple at Corris who asked us to have pictures taken…?
Sue Williams.
By: Sue Williams on May 15, 2016
at 5:41 pm
Hello, my name is Brett Shurmer and hoping that someone who went to this school might be able to help me… I have been told that my biological father went to this school and was hoping someone might know of him. His name was Russell Newton, I have been told that he passed away when I was a young child but it is believed that he may of had other children and these are who I am looking for. I think his best friend at the time was called Tony Powell…I’m not looking to make any trouble, just need to find the part of me that has been missing all these years. So if you do have any information know matter how small please get in contact. I think he may of left school between 1978 – 1980 or around them years… Thank you for reading. brettshurmer@aol.com
By: Brett Shurmer on December 28, 2016
at 11:15 am
I have a cousin who now lives in Australia in Melbourne who went to perry common comp in 1957- 1962. His name is John Fythe does any one remember him.or have any photos of pupils during that timerjgmorris
By: Reg morris on March 19, 2019
at 10:59 pm
I attended between 1964 to 1969. Neale was head, Conchar the deputy head, Mr Hemingway my group teacher – he taught geography. I must admit I didn’t shine at school, played an instrument in the school wind band the teacher in charge of music being Hamish Preston. If you would like to know more leave a message.
By: Richard on August 27, 2019
at 1:39 pm
Reg – the school did not open until 1964 so your cousin could not have attended in 1957.
By: Richard on March 23, 2020
at 9:13 am
Hi there I went to perry common school was wondering how every one is doing
By: Christopher John CLEMENTS on April 22, 2021
at 11:16 am