• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chandler's Ford Today

  • Home
  • About
    • About Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research
  • Blog
    • Blogging Tips
  • Event
    • Upcoming Events
  • Community
    • Groups
    • Churches
    • Schools
    • GP Surgeries
    • Leisure
    • Library
    • Charities
      • Eastleigh Basics Bank
      • Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler’s Ford
    • Fair Trade
      • Traidcraft stalls in Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford Parish Council
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Site Policies
  • Site Archive
    • Site Archive 2018
    • Site Archive 2017
    • Site Archive 2016
    • Site Archive 2015
You are here: Home / Community / The Origin Of Humanities Subjects At Montgomery Of Alamein School

The Origin Of Humanities Subjects At Montgomery Of Alamein School

December 8, 2014 By Brian Green 10 Comments

I taught at Montgomery Of Alamein School from January 1966 till July 1988.

For several years I took the top exam classes in English Language and Literature, but I have always considered that my major role in the field of education came in another direction.

On day the headmaster, Dennis Beacham, called me into his office to discuss an important matter.

He was concerned that our first year intake were coming from schools in a number of villages where the practice was to have just one teacher per class and they were finding it confusing to enter a system where each subject was taught by a different teacher, resulting in each boy having as many as nine or ten different teachers each week, which was very confusing for many.

Montgomery School entrance, 1988.
Montgomery School entrance, 1988. (Image credit: Michael Burford).

What the head wanted to know was if I could compose a single syllabus from the separate subjects of English, History, Geography and Divinity. This syllabus was to be called Humanities and would occupy one third of the timetable and be taught by one teacher.

I have had a quiet sense of pride that I accepted the head’s challenge and became one of the very first to teach Humanities in the entire country. Each year the fresh intake of boys seemed to find it easier to enter secondary schooling and the parents gave us great support.

Now, at the ripe old age of 81 I look back with fondness on those years.

Brian humanities origin


Related posts:

  • Humorous Little Memory: Montgomery Of Alamein School
  • Discover Montgomery Of Alamein School In Winchester
  • Montgomery Of Alamein School In Winchester: Astonishing Historical Pictures Revealed
  • Montgomery Of Alamein School In Winchester
  • Brian Green’s Travel Journal: Chandler’s Ford Parish
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email

Related posts:

Montgomery Of Alamein School In Winchester: Astonishing Historical Pictures Revealed Discover Montgomery Of Alamein School In Winchester Brian Green recalls Montgomery of Alamein School in Winchester.Humorous Little Memory: Montgomery Of Alamein School © IWM (TR 1035) featureMontgomery of Alamein School in Winchester Jane Austen appreciation by Allison Symes.Jane Austen: An Appreciation by Allison Symes
Tags: Chandler's Ford, community, education, history, local interest, Montgomery of Alamein, Winchester

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mike Sedgwick says

    December 9, 2014 at 9:08 am

    A similar thing happened when Southampton Medical School opened. Instead of teaching Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology etc. we were asked to teach “The Heart”. That is the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, development, diseases and hypertension all had to be dealt with in the same short course. This was hard for some lecturers who were ultra-specialists in muscle or epidemiology. We called it Systems Teaching, cardiovascular system, nervous system, immune system etc. It worked well and now many medical schools have taken up this method.
    Knowledge does not sit easily into specialist subject categories. There was a time when silicon was chemistry and had nothing to do with electronics. There was a time when the study of fungus suddenly became important in medicine.

    Reply
    • Janet Williams says

      December 9, 2014 at 9:20 am

      When I was at my son’s age, we learned about the capitals of countries, and remembered data of population, height of Mount Kinabalu, and the name of every single stop of a train line, though we never travelled. Today my son learned about Development – how multi-national countries operate in third word countries, and how sweat shops are run so that we get cheap clothes in the UK. He is actually learning about geography, history, culture…in a geography lesson. I’m pretty impressed by the quality and depth of the subject that he learns. Today, teachers could incorporate educational videos in lesson, and connect students from MEDC to understand lives in a LEDC. (Example: BBC – GCSE Bitesize: Development indicators.)

      Reply
      • Andy Cherrett says

        February 18, 2015 at 8:03 pm

        Stumbled across this page…….and brought some great memories back.

        Brian Green was my first year tutor, and taught me all through my 5 years at Monty – Humananties, English and English literature. Still mention Mr Green and Mr Ellis as two great teachers I had …….and how much I remember from their lessons – although not enough from Cider from Rosie or Tale of two Cities to pass my O level in English lit. It’s a shame kids these days don’t have education like these gentleman delivered.

        Remember both gents came from Norfolk – Terrington St Clement.

        Thank you for the memories.

        Reply
        • Janet Williams says

          February 18, 2015 at 11:59 pm

          Dear Andy,

          Thank you very much for your message.

          I’ll pass on your message to Brian and his daughter for you. I see them at the church. Brian has told me lots of stories about the old school. His memory is astonishing.

          Thank you and all the best to you.

          Reply
  2. Steve Williment says

    June 21, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    I too stumbled across this page whilst reminiscing and Googling “Montgomery of Alamein School”! It’s been really interesting reading some of Brian Green’s memories about the school and indeed some of his other articles here, as he was my 1st year tutor at the school in 1982, form 1BSG if I remember correctly. I very much enjoyed my time at the school and got on very well with Brian. Please do pass on my best regards to Brian and if he hasn’t already found it, there is a Montgomery of Alamein School “group” on Facebook which he might be interested in: Montgomery of Alamein School.

    Best regards, Steve Williment

    Reply
    • Janet Williams says

      June 22, 2016 at 11:01 am

      Steve,

      I’ve passed on your message to Brian via his daughter. Brian goes to our parish church and still writes in the parish magazines.

      All the best
      Janet

      Reply
    • Sarah Richardson says

      June 22, 2016 at 1:55 pm

      Dad finds it really touching to read these fond memories of students he taught some 30 odd years ago! It doesn’t seem possible that he has been retired for 28 years now.

      Many thanks, Steve, for your kind words. We went on the ‘Monty’ Facebook group. It was quite amusing reading a school report dad had written for one young man. I could see his sense of humour coming through! Happy days …

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Humorous Memory: Montgomery Of Alamein School - Chandler's Ford Today... says:
    December 8, 2014 at 11:03 pm

    […] The Origin of Humanities Subjects at Montgomery Of Alamein School […]

    Reply
  2. Montgomery of Alamein School in Winchester: Chandler's Ford Today says:
    December 8, 2014 at 11:04 pm

    […] The Origin of Humanities Subjects at Montgomery Of Alamein School […]

    Reply
  3. Brian Green's Travel Journal: Chandler's Ford Parish says:
    December 8, 2014 at 11:04 pm

    […] The Origin of Humanities Subjects at Montgomery Of Alamein School […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Chandler's Ford Today blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Top Posts & Pages

999, 111, 101, 112? Emergency Numbers You Must Know
101 Things to Put into Room 101
Home
101 Things to Put into Room 101 - Part 7 - The Final Leg
Part 5 - 101 Things to Put into Room 101
Station Walks Book Launch
Blog
Peculiar British House Numbering System
Chandlers Ford u3a - New Website Launched
Red Cross, St John Ambulance And Red Cross Parcel

Categories

Tags

arts and crafts books Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford Today Chandler’s Ford community charity Christianity Christmas church community creative writing culture Eastleigh Eastleigh Borough Council education entertainment event family fundraising gardening gardening tips good neighbours Hiltingbury Hiltingbury Road history hobby how-to interview Joan Adamson Joan Adelaide Goater local businesses local interest memory Methodist Church music nature news reading review social storytelling theatre travel Winchester Road writing

Recent Comments

  • Martin Harman on Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 172)
  • Allison Symes on Paragraphs and Punctuation in Fiction
  • Mike Sedgwick on Paragraphs and Punctuation in Fiction
  • Robbie Sprague on Mrs Doncaster
  • Jill Leask on Mrs Doncaster
  • Allison Symes on Originality in Fiction

Regular Writers and Contributors

Janet Williams Allison Symes Mike Sedgwick Rick Goater Doug Clews chippy minton Martin Napier Roger White Andy Vining Gopi Chandroth Nicola Slade Wellie Roger Clark Ray Fishman Hazel Bateman SO53 News

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

Reviews of local performances and places

Reviews of local performances and places

Copyright © 2022 Chandler's Ford Today. WordPress. Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.