A new book detailing the history of Holgate school is to be published at the end of this month, and we gained an exclusive interview with author David Writeswell to get the lowdown:
BAGPTL: So David, firstly, what prompted you to pen your new book, "Holgate, A Pictorial History"?
David Writeswell: Well Shona, Holgate school as you know had a very long and mostly-prosperous history in the town, but with the exception of Parky constantly banging on about it in his pretence that he is proud of his roots, much of it goes unnoticed.
BAGPTL: Could you give us some examples, perhaps, of what Holgate should be remembered for?
David: Well, obviously the school is probably most famous for its pioneering efforts to develop heroin addiction, but did you know they also had the largest collection of Victorian wooden school desks still in everyday use in the country? Or that they were the last school to still use gas lamps for lighting the classrooms?
BAGPTL: I didn't know that David - every day is indeed a school day! What else?
David: Well, in a similar vein, Holgate was a very traditional school and was proud of its heritage. It was a sad day in 1997 when they finally stopped using slates and brought in the quill. In fact it was a step too far for many - that year saw the largest amount of teacher resignations in the school's 700 year history, many of whom had taught there from day one. In fact that marked a significant turning point, as the "new breed" of teachers brought in to replace them, and their new modern thinking, eventually saw the introduction of BBC Micro computers in the late 2000's. That was the death knell for the school and its traditional values that separated it from all the others in the borough.
BAGPTL: Who would have thought the humble quill could have caused such a downward spiral?
David: Indeed! And these are the kind of largely-unknown topics discussed in my book, "Holgate, A Pictorial History". Here's another one for you - did you know they tried to bring back glue sniffing? Yes it's true. In the mid-90's, a good decade after glue sniffing had gone out of favour and been largely forgotten about, Holgate tried to revitalise the trend by introducing videos on the subject into its sex-ed classes. But sadly that was another failure, there just wasn't the interest. Smack had become popular by then, so the school decided to refocus its efforts on that instead.
BAGPTL: And we all know how that turned out - arguably the school's swansong?
David: It was, but it does tend to overshadow all their other achievements. Hopefully my new book, "Holgate, A Pictorial History" will bring all those other achievements to the fore again.
BAGPTL: As the title of your new book, "Holgate, A Pictorial History" suggests, readers can look forward to a raft of photos?
David: Yes and no: there are indeed many photos, taken on the school's flagship-model pinhole camera that I managed to rescue before its demolition, but as the school decor changed very little over the years - for example when it closed in 2012 it still boasted the same Victorian-era paint on the walls - the book's photographs focus more on the unique features of the school, such as its abundance of goff-pits and portacabin's used as classrooms.
BAGPTL: Holgate school had many notable alumni - do any of them feature in the book?
David: I did try and make contact with several past-students, I was particularly interested in getting a "then and now" photo. But when faced with the prospect of actually returning to Barnsley, Parky got rather agitated and slammed the phone down on me, and no-one's seen Sam Nixon since the mid-2000's. Of course Dickie Bird was more than happy to be involved even though he didn't actually attend Holgate school, so there are several photos of him holding his forefinger up.
BAGPTL: Well I for one am very much looking forward to getting hold of a copy of your new book David. Thank you for your time today and best of luck.
David's book, "Holgate, A Pictorial History" will be released under the Barnsley Chronicle imprint on March 31st, with a second, proof-read edition scheduled for the end of the year.
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