FROM THE ARCHIVES: The swimming pool

FROM THE ARCHIVES

WITH THANKS TO ARCHIVIST, PETER BURGESSS

The site suggested for development was part of the Headmaster’s garden and to the west of the main buildings

THE SWIMMING POOL 1960-2009

The current RGS swimming pool is an impressive and much-loved facility in the school, however, it owes its origins to the incredible ambitions of Headmaster, Holland (RGS staff 1947-1968).

Headmaster TW Holland joined Reigate Grammar School in 1947, as one of only two Headmasters appointed during the period when the school was state-funded. While Howard Ballance, his successor, is remembered for facilitating the survival of RGS beyond 1976 as an independent grammar school, Holland, on the whole, has a much less tangible legacy. There is, however, one notable exception to this – the school swimming pool.

While we cannot be certain when the idea of a school swimming pool was first conceived, it was at the Old Reigatian Association annual dinner in February 1957 that the Headmaster stated that, “We can see the possibility of a swimming pool in the school grounds. It is, of course, only a possibility, for the reason that it will cost a great deal of money and we do not yet know how this is to be raised.”

Mr Holland once again referred to his ambition to have a school swimming pool at the Speech Day in July 1957. He said he had a good estimate of the cost of the project, and had been talking to parents, since it would be by appealing for donations that a significant amount of the costs would be covered.

Planning for the pool begins

A year later, the plan for the new pool was welladvanced. The proposed location was within the school gardens, to the west of the main buildings and above the Headmaster’s house. Promises of donations from parents and others amounted to over £3,000, with expectations of a further £1,000 in the pipeline. From the Headmaster’s Speech Day report in 1958, we know that the estimated cost was around £7,000 – a huge amount in the 1950s.

Up to this point, the school had been allowed use of the public swimming bath in Castlefield Road every Friday afternoon, when First Formers could use the pool, or a sports event might be arranged, such as a competition between school houses or with a team from another school. This regular use of the public pool was at risk of being stopped or curtailed, so the provision of the school’s own pool could not have been more timely.

Students enjoying the pool (circa 2000)

Poolside crowds squeezed onto the grass at an inter-House gala (circa 2000)

The site in 2008, prior to the building of the new indoor pool

The expectation was that, with its own pool, the school would improve swimming standards and win more competitions, as well as finding it much easier to teach basic swimming skills, and life-saving techniques.

A committee of parents and teaching staff was created to consider the pool design and how best to raise the required funds. A pool as long as and slightly wider than the Reigate Corporation swimming bath was envisaged, at 75 feet by 35 feet (23m x 10.5m approximately), with an up-to-date purification and chlorination plant to keep the water clean. As originally proposed, no heating was planned, and it was expected the pool would be comfortable enough to use from the beginning of May until the end of September. The idea of enclosing the pool in a building was dismissed as being too expensive, since it would add a further £10,000 to the cost of the project.

A fundraising strategy is formed

For raising money, appeals continued to be made to parents, and the Old Reigatian Association was also approached, and a summer fair planned for 1959. It was stated with confidence that the pool would be completed by the summer of 1960, which meant that the required funding would have to be in place 12 months beforehand. Half the cost had been met by the summer of 1958, so the expectations of the committee were easily justified.

The committee anticipated that the new facility would allow the boys to be able to use the pool at least once a week, in games training periods, and probably also to have a quick dip at the end of each PE lesson. They also expected the pool to be available immediately after the end of the school day for those who wanted to use it. It was also suggested that the pool could be used during the summer holiday break, however, supervision of such use might be a challenge.

On the afternoon of 30 May, 1959, a summer fair was held on Broadfield Lawn to raise funds for the project. The programme included the Corps of Drums of the Guards’ Depot, Caterham and there were displays of fencing and Scottish dancing, archery, model railways and side-shows and stalls of all kinds. The event was organised by George Gutridge (RGS staff 1932-1984), and was a resounding success. In all, including takings on the day, the sale of programmes and the income from a prize draw, the fair added £1,144 to the fund. In June, the project committee agreed that there was now enough money in the bank to start work on the ground.

The (old) new swimming pool opens 1959 was a year of change at the school. A new dining block and laboratories at Broadfield were completed and in use, and Cornwallis was soon to be made ready to accommodate more classes.

The order to have the pool built was placed at the end of September, and work commenced in mid-October. The builders were Gilliam and Co Ltd, and they aimed to have the main construction work completed before the frosts of January arrived.

The drive to raise the balance of money required to pay for the new swimming bath continued into 1960, and it was with great pleasure that the Headmaster could write in the summer of 1960 that, with the help of the bank and the Foundation Governors, the construction was completed and the pool opened. The latter contributed £200 to the cost of a changing hut to be erected next to the pool. The new swimming pool was in constant use during the summer, both in school time and for voluntary bathing after school. It was also kept open for the use of boys on certain days of the week during the summer holidays.

Over the next couple of years, payments continued to be made to the fund until the bank overdraft had been paid off, and in 1962, a School Improvements Fund was established, and the first target set was to raise the cost of installing heating for the swimming pool. The loss of three swimming matches with other schools early in the 1962 season was attributed to the lack of practice sessions while the pool water remained below 16°C. Halfway through the term, the pool temperature had risen by a few degrees, and the pool could be used again. A gas heating system had been installed by the summer of 1964.

The indoor pool was completed in 2009 (for those curious to see what the current RGS swimming facilities look like!)

#ThrowbackThursday memories

In February 2021 we posted the main photo overleaf on social media and received over 80 comments! A huge thank you to all those who shared your memories – we’ve included a few of our favourites below. If you aren’t already following us, join the Reigatian Community group on Facebook, follow @foundationRGS on Twitter and/or rgsfoundation on Instagram.

James Abdool (RGS 1984-1989): End of term swimming instead of Maths lesson with Mrs Stephens, née Chaplin (RGS staff 1984-present) in July 1985

Gary Wilson-Poe (RGS 1976-1984): It could be a bit bracing. Sometimes teachers might scrub a class and let us swim. Didn’t happen that often but always had swim kit just in case.

Derek Twine (RGS 1962-1970): Straight away I can smell again the chlorine in the water and the bleach in the wooden-hut changing room from the 1960s... but we did have our own pool and we won many competitions, so hooray for Reigate Grammar!

Nicky Pasquier (RGS 1984-1986): Goodness I learnt to do Eskimo rolls from a canoe in that pool!

Tim Bowling (RGS 1982-1989): Loved the outdoor pool. My last day at school in the summer of 1989, everyone jumped in fully clothed! Great memories.

Alison Dénecé (current parent): I remember swimming in many galas here!

Nicholas Berry (RGS 1992-1999): Freezing cold! I remember that I was once accused of throwing a worm into the pool – possibly by Martin Russell! I got a detention and he sent me into the pool to fish it out! He asked me if I gave it the kiss of life. Needless to say the worm was a gonner but it taught me a valuable lesson... worms can’t swim!

Martin Russell (RGS staff 1975-2019): Yup Nick, it was me as I was so proud of that pool and I had to clean it and keep the pH levels correct, which meant coming in from Wimbledon early before morning swimming at 7.30! The kiss of life was just my sad sense of humour!

Derek Twine (RGS 1962-1970): Straight away I can smell again the chlorine in the water and the bleach in the wooden-hut changing room from the 1960s... but we did have our own pool and we won many competitions, so hooray for Reigate Grammar!