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Walton High School Photograph Taken in the Autumn Term of 1982
LATEST NEWS: THANKS TO ALL THE EX-PUPILS WHO INFORMED US OF A GLITCH DURING THE DOWNLOAD OF PHOTO - THIS HAS BEEN FIXED - YOU CAN DOWNLOAD AGAIN - ALSO NO MORE NEED TO MESS AROUND WITH ZIP FILES.
Since the days of the Nelson Grammar School, there has been a tradition of the entire school being photographed in one go. This happened roughly every five years. Thus it was possible for every pupil who attended Nelson Grammar/Walton High School to be photographed at least once during their five years spent at the school.
However, exceptions did occur. An example of this was in the early 1970s when the school changed from Nelson Grammar School to Walton High School, when two photographs were taken in the same year - one to show the last days of Nelson Grammar - the other showing the new Walton High School. Conversely, there were five years between 1972 and 1977 when no photograph was taken - some pupils went through all the years at Walton High without the school photo being taken.
The 1982 Photograph
The 1982 photo was taken in the yard between the main building and the dining hall/kitchen. Several key factors were required in order for the photograph to be taken successfully:
- All pupils attending the school should be present - no absentees due to sickness or truancy.
- All pupils to be in the best of behaviour. Any horseplay would have caused excessive blurring and would have ruined the photograph.
- The weather had to be dry, which was difficult in that time of the year in North West England.
Once everyone was in position, Mr Williams the headmaster informed everyone to remain still and that anyone fooling around would be caught by clear photographic evidence!
The whole school staff and pupils were arranged in an arc. A single camera was in the centre of the arc. The photographer made two passes to make sure.
Prints of the photographs were made shortly after and were on sale for £4.00 each. Unfortunately there appeared to be only one batch of prints made, which sold out rapidly. No reprints were available in spite of concerted efforts made by ex-pupils some years later.
For the benefit of all those who were unable to purchase the photograph at the time or have lost or damaged their print- a print of the photograph has been scanned at 400dpi resolution. It is hoped that the scanned photograph will enable ex Walton High School pupils, their families, relatives and friends to enjoy and appreciate this rare moment captured in time.
Coming Soon
It is hoped that the following will be added to this website, in chronological order.
- Your Comments and Memories Page - NEWLY ADDED!
- Competition with Prize
- Photo Print Service - depending on demand
Who would be on this Photograph?
Pupils belonging to all of the five years were photographed.
First Year: Members of this year started school in August 1982 and left in May 1987. Their dates of birth would have been between 1/9/70 and 31/8/71 inclusive.
Second Year: Members of this year started school in August 1981 and left in May 1986. Their dates of birth would have been between 1/9/69 and 31/8/70 inclusive.
Third Year: Members of this year started school in August 1980 and left in May 1985. Their dates of birth would have been between 1/9/68 and 31/8/69 inclusive.
Fourth Year: Members of this year started school in August 1979 and left in May 1984. Their dates of birth would have been between 1/9/67 and 31/8/68 inclusive.
Fifth Year: Members of this year started school in August 1978 and left in May 1983. Their dates of birth would have been between 1/9/66 and 31/8/67 inclusive.
Location Map of School
