Sue's class in 5th year was "5T (I think!! We kept changing, I think we had Mr Towers as a tutor - or was it Mrs). Had Mr Evans (dead cool science/biology) but think that was sixth form".

She remembers Susan Crampsey and Neil Dickinson from her form and liked food lessons and sixth form best. The worst things were being bullied for the first three years and the school dinners. Her favourite memory comes from 3rd year: "having a MAJOR row with the girl who had bullied me since first year. She was really astonished and everyone fell out with her after that!" Good on yer, Sue! Her favourite teachers were Mrs Towers, Mr Towers, Mr Ramshaw and Mrs Wall. After Trinity, she attended Sheffield City Poly - BSc Catering Systems (1981-85) and Newcastle Poly (1990-91) for PGCE Home Economics.

Career to Date: Catering manager (1986-1990), Student teacher (1990-91), taught since 1992 and have been permanent at Whickham School, Whickham, Newcastle upon Tyne for the last 7 and a half years. Teaching Food Technology, Catering, ICT Skills, Communications:Graphics, Communications:IT, Systems theory and Materials theory to secondary school kids, then Basic computing or CLAIT to adults and involved in NoF training for staff development in the school.

Sue lives in Dumpling Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne and is divorced, with no kids. She has had a partner for the last 18 months. She'd like to trace anyone from her school days...

"My name is Steve Graham and I suppose I should be in "Class of 79" but didn't arrive until the Lower 6th form so you can use your own discretion as to where you put me. Trinity was school number 11 for me, the rest being all military schools abroad. The most difficult things get used to was the local accent and the fact that people actually had parents that weren't in the forces. I can remember a few science trips, a few Duke of Edinburgh trips and parties, all involving consuming as much alcohol as possible. After school I studied Electronic Engineering at Sunderland and am now in Berlin, after 9 years in Switzerland and 1 year in Belgium. I always maintained contact with one or two people from Trinity and have been back to Carlisle a bit more often in the last two years since my parents have moved back . 

Permanently etched in my memory is Mr Albion's collection of fluorescent shirts and the moment when Mr Ramshaw tried to quietly and discretely remove a sparrow from the hall during our A level Chemistry exam "without disturbing anyone". I have never heard so much noise coming from a such a small animal (the sparrow not Mr Ramshaw), a shotgun would have been quieter!! Last thing I did when I lived in England was write the software for the Mercury Payphones that appeared around 1990. Now I am involved in Mobile Internet. 

Colin has a family tree site at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cjmpage/. 

He was in 5P during exam year along with classmates Chris Metcalf, Harry McLauchlan & David Johnston. He is still in regular contact with these guys. He was known as Matty and loved lunchtimes; "I remember the card games that used to take place in the 5th year. We used to play pontoon for money - on a good hand you could make 10p!! I also remember Ian Jefferson in the first and second year - at breaktime he always bought loads of packets of Chewits from the tuck shop, which were then shared with the rest of the form - thanks Jeffy!!"

Less popular was the fearsome Mrs Dennison and her French lesson; "I simply did not like her and, I think, feelings were mutual.". Favourite teachers included Mr King (woodwork) and Mrs Pearson (English and also his form teacher in his final year).

Colin "...went straight into the workplace, joining John Menzies at their Lowther Street depot... have worked for John Menzies ever since (24 years), holding a number of managerial positions across the country in this time.". He lives in Linlithgow, West Lothian (9 miles west of Edinburgh) with partner Kirsty. He'd like to catch up with anyone who remembers him. 

Asked about the best thing that ever happened to him at Trinity, he said "Hard to define one particular thing - probably discovering that I was immune to TB and didn't have to have the big injection everyone else had to endure !!". He also remembers "the story of the Creme Eggs that went missing from the tuck shop store and
mysteriously ended up in Harry McLauchlan's haversack whilst he was absent from school. We never did get to the bottom of that little mystery!!"

Now living in Johannesburg (which, she assures me, is "not really that bad!"), Shirley remembers classmates Marion Rawcliffe, Dale Ransley, Andrew Murray, Shaun Smith, Sharon Redpath (yes, daughter of "Mr"), Bryan Forrest, Jan Pearson, Robert Reid, Peter Stewart, Christine Scott, Gillian Robinson, Ian Coulthard and Judith Robson. She says the best thing about the school was going on a cross-country smoke through Rickerby Park and has forgotten the bad things. Aaaah. Having said that, if given a second shot at Trinity, she wouldn't put up with everything she put up with first time around. She'd like to track down anyone who remembers her (presumably to beat them up). 

She has happy memories of Mr Hammond the music teacher, mainly because she got away with murder in his classes. Wisely opting against a career in music, Shirley worked for the Inland Revenue, Provincial Insurance and the Inland Revenue again before de-camping to South Africa where she has tried her hand at insurance accounts, medical aid accounts, book-keeping / office management and is currently researcher / investigator with Carratu South Africa (international website at www.carratu.com - she's with the South African branch).  She says "Point of note in career history: when you look at all the figure-related employments, bear in mind I failed every Maths exam I ever sat!".

She has 2 sons; Sean Michael (15) & Stuart James (13).  Shirley sent in a picture of "her lot" on a school trip supervised by the then Miss Elliott.  Click here to see it. 

Johan does not want to make her email address public however, if you want to pass on a message please email it to the Webmaster and it will be forwarded to Johan.

Names of some classmates: Malcolm Stockdale, Judith Simpson, Elaine Rogers, Christine Irving, Jackie Macken, Harry Storrow, Colin (Sam) Port, Colin Craig, Colin Horne, Sylvia Graham, Christine Wallace, Keith Jackson

What was your nickname at Trinity? I have spent the last few decades trying to forget it! Just because my height was threatening to the little boys!

Best things about the school: CMS combining with the Grammar School, and getting our own swimming pool

Worst things about the school: Puff Graham, hockey, getting the length of our skirts measured (remember?)

Favourite teachers: Mrs Moses, Ken Spellar, can remember subjects, but not names

Education after Trinity: GCSE's @ DCT; ONC Chemistry, HNC Haematology/Blood Transfusion, FIMLS Haematology

Career to Date: MLSO Bishop Auckland and Durham. Ran wholefood shop in Kirkby Stephen; Teaching at Steiner Waldorf School Botton, North Yorks.

Where do you live now? Cleveland, nr North York Moors.

Details of spouse / partner, kids etc: Yes, Simon (husband) Sam (son)

Old school friends you'd like to trace: Anyone who remembers me.

Years in which you took your O levels / CSE's / GCSE's: 1979

Name of your class in exam year: 5P

Names of all the classmates you can remember: Colin "Mattie" Matthews; Dougie "Troutlips" MacDougall; Grant "Hookjaw" McDowell; Scott "Suwannee" Holmes;Chris "Metty" Metcalfe; Harry "Hazz" McLauchlan; Ian "Daffy" Jefferson; Trevor "L'ill Trev" Littleton; Ian Johnstone; David "Degel" Johnston; Andrew "Hockey" Hodkinson; Nigel "Eddie Flatfeet" Edmonson; Michael "Noz" Morley; Joanne Hair; Kathleen Joynt; Elaine Jackson; Karen "Snorky" Horky; Carole Lomas; Julie Jones; Julie Hadley; Donna Mackenzie; Paul Skinner (when he deigned to turn up !!!); but judging by the number of names I have dredged from the recesses of my memory, there are others who do not spring to mind - another senior moment!

What was your nickname at Trinity: Take your pick from "Basil Bullneck", "Ten Ton Tessie" "Tonner" "You Fat B***ard" - spot the common theme? I wonder why?!?

What were the best things you remember about the school: The friendships; the rugby and athletics; the holidays; spotting the number of times that "Spike" Morlin (the history teacher)managed to button his shirt up incorrectly; John Hammond's velour capes; trying to work out whether the Head of French, whose name escapes me, had in fact been an interrogator of captured spies in his previous career; whiling away many hours in the 6th Form Common Room listening to Jacko's records by Joy Division, and then contemplating suicide; the stuffed moosehead in the common room; cricket in the 6th Form study room; going to the auction rooms to purchase new armchairs for the common room and then "riding" them back through the town to school; English lessons with Mr Hick; school lunches after rugby training when the dinner ladies saved us treats as we were "growing boys"; rugby training followed by swimming with Joe Roe; discovering excessive drinking at 6th Form parties; the round of 18th birthday parties at Micks Jazz Cellar; in fact so many memories of which so few are bad - could this be the warm glow of senility which I have heard about?

What were the worst things you remember about the school: Having one of the indoor cricket bats broken over my legs by Mr Bathgate for some minor misdemeanour; TB jabs in junior school; homework; but worst of all, Latin and German!! What are past pluperfect participles anyway, and who cares!!

Who were your favourite teachers: Mrs Pearson and Mr Hick for English; Roger McReady(?) for athletics (I can clearly picture him, but I couldn't introduce him to anyone as I can't remember his name!); Spike Morlin for history; Mr Ramshaw for science.

What is the one lasting memory you have from your time at the school: The friendships and a carefree youth - and the fact that Karen Horky, when I asked her out for a date, told me she "was washing her hair", thereby ruining my plans of marriage as soon as we had reached 16, children, and setting up a smallholding in the borders with three dogs. Little did she realise that I was mentally scarred for years to come - and all because she thought her hair was too greasy!! Oh, and I used to like daydreaming!

Details of your education after you left Trinity school: Moved to Manchester University where my liver was put into serious training and I developed my knowledge of rugby in general and the nefarious dark arts of front row play in particular. In addition, I carried on with a bit of the hammerthrowing. Interrupting a fantastic time in Manchester was a law degree, which, with the benefit of hindsight, impinged on my social life far too infrequently. Thereafter, I decided to see what life was like "Darn Sarf" and spent a year in Guildford, being allowed out after one year for good behaviour. The only redeeming feature of that year was that I weaned myself off lager and onto girly, jessie southern bitter, which was a useful stepping stone for getting onto proper beer when I moved back to Manchester in 1985.

Details of your career to date: Qualified as a solicitor in Manchester, and have spent the last 15 years practicing in and around South Manchester. I am told that I will eventually perfect my skills, but I'm not so sure I won't still be practicing - for all the wrong reasons- when I retire.

Where do you live now: Suburbia in Cheshire - but next to some lovely countryside.

Family details - spouse, children etc: I eventually got over the rejection by Karen Horky, and once the scar tissue on my wrists had healed up and become less visible, I managed to find a young lady called Sally who, for some unknown reason agreed to marry me and make me exceedingly happy. We have now got a whopping mortgage, and a little cocker spaniel called Jambo who has succeeded in dragging me up various lakeland fells over the last few years.

Old school friends you'd like to trace: It would be interesting to hear from any of my old class mates and members of the rugby and athletics teams.

Best thing that ever happened to you at Trinity: Meeting so many people with whom I was able to enjoy a fantastic episode in my life.

If you could have your time again at Trinity, you would.....: ....not change a thing - and I'm not just saying that in case Alan Bathgate reads this!!