West Park College, Smethwick

A wasted year, mainly because despite my dads efforts to encourage me to find a career, I couldn't be bothered with it so took the natural progression that all the other wasters took and went to a sixth form college. In the late 70's in Sandwell, these were awful. It could be said that it's what you made of it. Quite true but there was very little help for most students, the curriculums were badly planned (or not at all planned).

This place was sited at the old Holly Lodge Grammar school and shared the site with Holly Lodge Girls School. So badly designed as a sixth form college, it couldn't cope with the numbers of students so had a number of prefabs placed on the playing field.

I hated it from day 1. The only good things were getting a good French teacher from my early years at the grammar and taking a new subject "commerce" which I really enjoyed. Couldn't wait to leave, the attitude of students and staff was appalling. Thankfully, I have no photographs from this place, somewhere I would rather forget.

Towards the summer of 1977 I found an apprenticeship with a local employer, BSR who made record autochangers (record decks) so my future was looking a lot more rosy on leaving this place. At last I had grown up and faced my responsibilities, albeit a year late!