PROFILE: MISS HAZEL PRETTY
When I came into 2D as a first year pupil in September 1949, I found the place vel
daunting. My sister Joyce was in the 06 but left for university after only a few weeks.
found it very difficult to make friends and spent many breaks in girls loos - I went horn
for lunch. It wasn't 'till the next year when I met up with Elizabeth Pickup, who wa
repeating the year because of illness, that I began to feel I belonged. From then on I wa
very happy as a pupil. When I returned in 1959 I found the place equally daunting bl
several colleagues who had taught me
- particularly
Miss Mac and Mrs Culley made m
welcome although I had difficultyin not standing up when they came into the staff room
I was very reluctant to leave B.R.G.S. and in fact, on the Friday before I started colleg
on Tuesday, Mr. Copley who was Head all the time I was a pupil invited me to apply f(J
my present job. I had the distinct impression that no-one else wanted it and it was a stop
gap measure. There was no interview just a letter ftom Big Bill to say I'd been appointee
It was good to live at home again, to get back to B.R.G.S., to be involved in Church lif
once more and I honestly thought it was where I ought to be.
As I've said, I did find my first year as a pupil a very difficult time. Staff continuall
compared me to my big sister and found me wanting. All, that is, except Miss Reece, th
P.E. teacher who was pleased to see I wasn't a bit like my sister. She started my grea
love of hockey. I also remember Mr. Bridge coaching a few of us for cricket at the end (J
double games when most of the class had gone up early to dinner. Hockey was t4
become a very important part of my life as a pupils and I well remember forking the pitcl
at crack of dawn on Saturday mornings, having persuaded Miss Reece (who lived a
Preston) that the fields would be fit to use.
Other memories of the early days are of the staff stoking the boilers in the prefab (nov
sixth form common room) and of throwing my school beret on the rooS: in my glee tha
the next lessons was to be French, not Maths as I had expected. Memories too of double
games lessons when hockey was abandoned so we could practice dancing with the boy;
ready for the Christmas party. Sometimes they very kindly let me wind the record playe
(or was it a gramophone?)
In 3A the past horrors of Maths evaporated as Big D (Miss Dorothy Moore) fired m~
enthusiasm for the subject I hadn't realised before that Geometry theorems made sense.
they didn't just have to be learnt like poetry. From then on Maths and ,"\o1e
were very gOO(
friends.
When subject options had to be made there was a straight choice between History 01
Physics and Geography or Chemistry. I would dearly have liked to have kept on witr
History - it all seemed like one long adventure as little Miss Moore portrayed it. Howevel
Physics it had to be if I was hoping to be a Mathematician.
Miss Macleroy was Glen's House Mistress all the time I was at school ("What did
happen to the House system?
- I ask
myself) Mac's support was endless and she always
wore a yellow jumper (in Glen's honour) at swimming galas and sports days. Later on
she kept the hockey teams going when Miss Reece left. I'm not sure we ever told Mac
how grateful we were for her help. Raspberry picking in Scotland with Miss Hammel
and Miss Newall and Youth Hostelling Germany with the Humpstons were highlights of
my years in school.