"Gunner"

As most of the school will already know, our Deputy Head-master, Mr. Frank Wright, will be retiring from full-time teaching at the end of this Summer Term. Fewer will realise, however, that he has been on the teaching staff of the school for 35 years and has been the Deputy Head since 1956. We on the editorial staff felt, therefore, that some written tribute should be offered on behalf of the school, and in this article we have tried to briefly outline his career, and close association with Trinity High School in particular.

Mr. Wright was first trained for teaching at the College of St. Mark and St. John, Chelsea. He joined the staff here in 1933, the school in those days being the Junior Technical School. In 1945 the name was changed to Technical High School and it was situated then in the Technical College buildings. In 1956, one half of the school moved into the new buildings in Trinity Avenue under the administration of Mr. Wright, while the rest remained at the College with the Headmaster until the present Trinity Avenue building was completed. Mr. Wright told us that this final move in 1957 has been one of the most far-reaching developments in the history of the school. Had the move not taken place, it could never have reached its present size and position.

He recalls too, with pride, the occasion when two boys from our school first gained University places, and when a former pupil first obtained a First Class Honours University Degree. Another of his proudest moments was again a turning-point in the school's history, when we were first recognised as one of the Borough's Grammar Schools. It has always given him great pleasure to hear people of the town commenting on the good appearance and behaviour of our pupils; he is equally proud of the status and good name that the school has been building up for itself over the years. Perhaps one of the most satisfying developments he has been a witness to during the past 12 years has been the close link forged by the school with local industry, the professions and all public and private bodies which help to further the interests of the young people educated here; for instance, the Painton and Timken Exhibitions have been innovations within Mr. Wright's time. This succession of incidents which are small in themselves has been a pointer to the steady growth of the prestige and the academic strength of this school and the fact that it means so much to Mr. Wright shows his obvious dedication to education and his personal identification with Trinity High School.

After 40 years of teaching, Mr. Wright has obviously many strong views on the principles of education. He is highly critical of the comprehensive system, largely because that system demands that comprehensive schools need to be of such immense size, which makes dealings and communication between staff and pupils so much harder. Grammar schools are hardly an anachronism yet; they no longer deal with just the 20% of boys and girls of the town who were fortunate enough to be chosen at an early age. Our intake, for instance, of pupils from secondary modern schools has grown greatly and is continuing to do so. The opportunities open to these pupils are the same as those offered to Grammar School, 11+ entrants, once they reach the 6th Form. He claims that the School as it stands is doing a good job for the society it serves, and that it is always a pity to do away with something which is working well, before it is proved that what will replace it will work better. It is that proof which he has been seeking but has failed to find.

Mr. Wright is not expecting to enter into complete retirement, but hopes to carry on with part-time teaching here for the next two years or so, and then, in his own words, "to fade out gradually". Although he is looking forward to his retirement - 40years in the classroom is a long time - he admits that, without things to think about and plan for, problems to solve, and a real challenge to be confronted by, life may seem a little empty at first. However, there will be no lack of suitable employment for him. His intensive activity in the garden, including the care of his treasured 100 rose bushes, will occupy most of his time. Perhaps in a different way, be will find this as creatively rewarding as his teaching has been.

For he looks back with few regrets over his long career in school. He would gladly re-live his experiences from the beginning. Apart from all else, he tells us, he was glad to have been chosen to be Deputy Headmaster of a Grammar School, because it has allowed him to pursue, to a higher level, his interest in the subjects (French and Latin) that he teaches. This is surely fulfilment in itself.

We must stress too that his forceful qualities as a natural leader and organiser have been employed to the full in his important administrative role as Deputy Head. As pressures have built up over the years, it has been Mr. Wright's clear, calculating mind which has served him and us so well. The force of his personality and the breadth of his influence have been recognised by all who come into contact with him. Several generations of past pupils can now look back, and remember how, as small boys, trembling with anticipation, they awaited their first confrontation with the legendary "Gunner", after having committed some childish, or more serious, misdemeanour. They will, no doubt, remember too the terrifying roar of his voice when raised in anger, and the punishment, firm and fair, as it always has been. They, along with us who are older, can understand better now than they once did, that here is a man whose principles were set upon the bed-rock of integrity, firm discipline (self-discipline, where possible) and an educational system where vagueness and disorder find no place. This, for him, has proved to be the foundation upon which to build throughout his teaching career: to create order, where no order existed.
We would like, therefore, to extend to him our most sincere wishes for his happiness, along with that of Mrs. Wright too, in the many years that lie ahead during his retirement, and to offer our thanks, on behalf of past and present generations of scholars, for the intensive work he has put in and the amazing dedication he has shown to Trinity High School.

In the middle to the late sixties Carole my girlfriend and myself ran the Junior Sunday School at St. Alban's Church which also was the church which Gunner attended each week.  In those day Sunday Schools were big - we had about 80 kids each Sunday morning.

To raise funds we used to organise car treasure hunts which were great fun.  Gunner got to hear that we were running one and I got a message that he and Mrs Gunner would like to come.  So I went round his house in the Headlands and he came to the door and invited me in.  Despite the fact that it was 1967 and I had left school 4 years earlier and was well into the world of work commuting on the train daily to London I was a bag of nerves.  I got his change all muddled up but he was quite kind and put me right.  I don't know whether he recognised me; I think not.  Anyway we decided to make the treasure hunt particularly tough on this occasion.  To get the clues one had to march around farmyards to find the name of who built the barn etc and look in the most obscure places.  Those participating also got points for making a daisy chain, getting hold of a 1950's three-penny piece and finding a lolly stick if I recall correctly.

The finishing point was in a field and one of the last cars to arrive was no less than Gunner's blue Morris Minor which came bumping across the field.  He pulled up sharply and handed me his sheet plus his 'additional' items.  He mumbled something about late for Evensong and sped off into the distance.