Soon after my 8th Birthday, without prompting I decided it was time to leave Groes and go to Eastern School in Taibach.

I made the mile walk to Eastern School, full of nerves I entered the gates,found the Headmasters office, after taking my details was taken to my first lesson in Class 4.Not knowing a soul , having to survive  a much larger playground full of bigger boys with their more hectic and physical behaviour I was always glad to get back to the sanctuary of the classroom.

After A year I left Class 4. and started the frightening tenure of Class5 taught by the notorious Mr Meredith Jones who ruled with a policy of pain punishment. For any bad behaviour or scholastic failing you would receive raps across your knuckles with the sharp end of a 12 inch ruler, he judged its severity by the cries of pain.

It was Scolarship year, now referred to as ‘Eleven Plus’ when the the top 120 in the borough were selected for Grammar Schools. To his credit he had the best pass rate of all the schools in the Borough. After the exam we were moved to Class 6 and Mr Skyrm and await the results.

I was lucky, the first in the family to hear that I had passed and would be starting in The County School the next September.