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The Farham Grammar School was a boys' school. One source suggess that a school may have operated as early as 1351 when a chantry was established at Farnham Castle. There is documented evidece that the grammar school was founded in 1585. Not a lot of information is available on the operation of the school in the year ages, but there are records of applications and bequests.
The school was located by the 17th century in West Street, Farnham until 1906. At that time the school moved into new premises on Morley Road. The school was officially closed after the 1973-74 school year. At that time, educational reforms introduced coeducation. The Grammar School facilities were taken over by Farnham College. The school is located in Farnham, Many of the boys came from rural areas. In the early years the boys came from Farnham and surrounding villages. By the 20th century boys from Guildford, Woking, and Godalming also attended. The Old Farnhamians� Association maintains an interesting internet site.
The Farham Grammar School was a boys' school. A British grammar school was a selective secondary school. Children in primary school took a test called the 11-plus. Those that did well on the test gained entrance to a grammar school. Before World War II many children quit school after completing primary school. After World war II more children went to secondary school. Thise that did not do well on their 11-plus went to a secondary modern or technical school with a less rigorous academic program.
One source suggess that a school may have operated as early as 1351 when a chantry was established at Farnham Castle. There is documented evidece that the grammar school was founded in 1585. Not a lot of information is available on the operation of the school in the year ages, but there are records of applications and bequests.
The school is located in Farnham, Many of the boys came from rural areas. In the early years the boys came from Farnham and surrounding villages. By the 20th century boys from Guildford, Woking, and Godalming also attended.The school was located by the 17th century in West Street, Farnham until 1906. At that time the school moved into new premises on Morley Road. A HBC reader lives near Farnham and writes, "I'm afraid I did not attend the school, a bit before my time! The one thing I can tell you is that my mum went to school nearby and one of the pupils a few years before her was John Howard Davies (as in Oliver Twist / Tom Brown from the films)."
The school was officially closed after the 1973-74 school year. At that time, educational reforms introduced coeducation. The Grammar School facilities were taken over by Farnham College.
The School had an active cadet group. These cadet groups were quite common at both private and state secondary schools. The program was like Junior ROTC in American schools, but much more common. A substatial part of the school participated. None of the junior boys were cadets, because of the age limit. Boys could join in the Third Form and it was compulsory beginning in the Fourth Form. The boys wore a military uniform with a beret.
There was also a Scout troop sponsored by the school. We note some boys weaing their Scout uniform instead of the the school uniform. The Scout troop is much smaller than the Cadet Group. None of the junior boys are wearing their Cub uniforms. I'm not sure why that was. Some of the younger boys would have been Cubs as some were still 11-years old, but most of the boys would hgave been old ebough for Scouts.
The school had a large choir. Some of the boys participating can be seen here (figure 1). It seems to have been a popular school activity. We have no actual information avout the music they sang or where they performed. There look to be 70-80 boys involved. I think choir used to be more popuklar than the case a few years latter.
Wew do not have much information about the school uniform, but some informtion can be deduced from the available photographs. There does not seem to have been any uniform in 1920 other than a suit and tie. The ties are the horizontal ties in contrast go the vertical stripes introduced later. A few boys were still wearing Eton coollars. The boys by 1927 are dressed more uniformily, some with crests on their suit jackets. Difficult to tell if it the boys are actually wearing a uniform. A 1937 pportait still shows the boys without a uniform. Several boys are wearing the sports collars without ties. We still see no required uniform in 1948. Some boys still wear sports collars without ties. Many boys wear short pants, but they do not seem go be required as several younger boys wear long pants. We note boys in the 1950s wearing two different uniforms. Some boys wear a light-colored suit, perhaps grey with the school crest. Other boys wear what look likes a black blazer. I'm not sure about the difference, but assume a new uniform was being introduced. There were stripped ties and snake belts. I'm not sure about the colors. I assume that there was a school cap, but have no details. Most grammar schools in the 1950s required caps for the junior boys. It looks like short pants and kneesocks were required for the younger boys, but am sure about the actual rules. By the mid-1960s virtually ll the boys were wearing long pants. Presumably the school had dropped the school rule requiring the junior boys to wear shorts and made it optional. We only see one of the younger boys in 1965 wearing short pants.
The school in 1960 had a Christmas card made up. It is a scene shot in the school chapel, presumably with choristers from the school choir as they are singing. The boys are dressed in their school uniforms. It looks like pergaps the first two forms are wearing short trousers. I'm not sure how common this was at British school. Nor am I sure what the purpose was. Did the school them to friends of the school? Or did the boys send them.
The Old Farnhamians� Association maintains an interesting internet site with a great deal of information about the school and a useful archive of images.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
