As an aside to the other, now sunk, thread related to Crown Woods I'm delighted that we seem to have so many Charlton at my old school.
Back in the 70s when I went there Charlton fans were few and far between.
I know DJ Davy, me and Alex Wright are all ex-Crown Woods and seem to have done OK in life. Think what we could have done if we'd had a proper education :-)
Arden 1 72 to 79
PS If you lads, and welcome BTW, every get a Crown Woods Addicks flag or whatever made up let me know and I'll throw in a few quid for old times sake.
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because the school has always had such a great reputation.
There were some rough old types when I was there but as it was such a big school it had kids off the council estates in Eltham, Woolwich and Abby Wood, posh kids from Blackheath and a residential lodge that was mainly the children of army NCOs serving overseas = a real mix. No idea what it is like now but still better than Eltham Green :- )
Unfortunatly both not charlton fans then!
It was THE Comprehensive School when I attended. The flagship of the now defunct ILEA. It was total opposite of the Grammar, Private and Public systems. It was the dream of the Labour government fulfilled. Of course they were Socialists in those days.
It worked too, for a while. While I was there we had over 2,500 pupils. You could do any subject you wished to do. Russian or Latin, learn to play the Tuba or Triangle a full COMPREHENSIVE education. As mentioned above it also had remarkable cross section of pupils. From all classes and ethnic groups. This was due to 1977 being the year the ILEA phased out Grammar schools and you couldn't "cross boroughs" as you can now.
While I was there Crown Woods had excellent O & A Level results and a good number of University places including Oxbridge.
The education was there if you wanted to take advantage of it, unfortunately I didn't and left with a paltry 5 O-Levels. I should have done much better but other things had taken over.
A lot must be said for Cyril Davis, the Headmaster, who ran the school excellently. He was no Peter "Mr Rentaquote and I'll appear on Nationwide or Question Time anytime" Dawson.
With the advent of a Tory Government in '79 and huge cutbacks in Public Sector spending, the school, and probably state education in inner London as a whole went into decline.
I'm sure Crown Woods budget was huge in my day and probably there was some wasted money, but it was a very good school and I still regret not making the most of it.
both spuds till charlton were in exile? abmit you are weird!
Its charlton/selhurst that turned us weird and the strange supporters! PEAKEY, OOH AHH, Etc.
thanks for stopping after peakey ooh aah
Its charlton/selhurst that turned us weird and the strange supporters! PEAKEY, OOH AHH, Etc.[/quote]
thanks for stopping after peakey ooh aah[/quote]
They are enough!
Could have mentioned Bri but he's not Charlton!
Oi nowt wrong with Eltham Green
Did you have a mullet in those days
may know you by sight maybe.
Comes to us all in the end. It us sad but the legacy of both is a good one. I hope that their families can take comfort in that.
What a great school it was and one of my class mates was no less than Richie Bowman who, as many of you know, went on to play for CAFC and Gillingham. I stayed in contact with him for awhile, he broke his leg, when at Gillingham, and ended up in a hospital in-between Rochester and Chatham where my first wife was a nurse on the ward he was on.
Headmaster at CW when I was there was a Dr Rose, I think, and my house tutor was 'Nosher' North!! My summer sports coach was the main man himself, Keith Peacock, who taught tennis, among other things.
Great days/great times - despite the obligatory daily fight outside the school gates or in Avery Hill Park!!