Within a matter of a few years extensions were built which brought the school accommodation to what is now the administrative block, comprising the Headmaster's office, Secretary's office, Staff Room, half the present library, the Deputy Head's office and the Medical room, and also included the room which is now the Community Refectory. Meantime a small wood and corrugated Iron church was erected to accommodate the growing parish and a similarly constructed parish hall was erected on the site which is now the area beneath the Assembly Hall. In 1930 the building of a new church was undertaken at a cost of £17,000 - an astronomical sum for those days - and this church was opened in 1931. The boys at the school have had the use of this church since its opening. When the former church fell into disuse, it was in turn the home of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides; a temporary Secondary Modern school, until the opening of St. Gregory's at Kenton; again the home of the Scouts and Guides and finally it served as a rehearsal and green room for the parish Dramatic Society and for school drama preparations.
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From the number of applications for places at the school it soon became evident that further extensions must be undertaken and this task fell to the lot of Father Thomas who came as Headmaster in 1947. Almost immediately plans were set afoot to build a new Classroom and Science block at the Whitefriars Drive boundary of the College property. The architect engaged for the work was Mr. John Strubbe and the plans he produced were so favourably received by the profession that they found a place in the Royal Academy The site was cleared in 1950 and work was begun; regrettably steel was still in very short supply and alternative material had to be sought. It was decided that the whole building would be erected in cantilevered concrete and a view of the skeleton construction gives some idea of the nature of the undertaking. The building consisted of four classrooms, each with its own store, on the top floor and two Laboratories, with Preparation Rooms and new toilets on the ground floor. This building was opened by the late Cardinal Griffin in 1951 and thereafter was referred to as the 'New Block'. Sadly, especially for those who had the pleasure of being the first students in the new building, no present day pupil would be likely to know where the 'New Block' is.
Even while the 1951 building was in course of construction investigations were going on as to the possibility of future extensions; long and arduous investigations, months and years of frustration and delays, before it was possible to begin the final phase in the school's building programme.
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Needless to say the area of scholastic activity and the numbers involved in them have changed considerably over the forty years of the school's growth, and the documents I have before me bear this out in statistics which are mole compelling than any words of mine. At the first public examination for which pupils were entered - the Sheffield Local Examinations in December 1928, the following eight candidates were listed:-
Denis Bevington; Denis Bunyan; George Heath; Charles Slark; John Rush; Tom Kennard Brown; Bernard Campbell and Jack Bacon. They had offered papers in Scripture; English; Maths; French Latin and Art.
At the recent examinations of the Oxford Board in the General Certificate of Education 116 pupils offered the following subjects at Ordinary Level:- English; English Literature; Latin; French; Spanish; German; Economics; British Constitution; British History; Foreign History; Geography; Religious Instruction; Mathematics; Additional Maths; Physics; Chemistry; Physics with Chemistry; General Science; Biology; Technical Drawing; Woodwork; Metalwork; Art. At Advanced Level, papers were offered by 28 boys in English; Latin; French; History; Economics; Geography; Pure Maths; Applied Maths; Physics; Chemistry; Technical Drawing and Art.
The achievements of the past forty years were not won easily and the physical extension of the school demanded great sacrifices from all the Fathers who taught here and from a most loyal and energetic lay staff who gave their services without stint. A considerable financial strain was put on the whole Province by the decision to enlarge the school to its present dimensions and it is a burden which will be with us for many years to come. But it is to the enterprise of those early Fathers, Teachers and Boys that we raise a special salutation in this the fortieth year of the school's existence, and hope that the spirit which inspired them will be recorded of us when the centenary of the school is being celebrated 60 years hence. In the course of these pages you will find articles from some of those who knew the early days and here I would like to express my personal gratitude to them for their contributions.
The Headmaster.