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Swimming successes, 1976-77 – some notes
The school’s success in swimming was largely attributable to the coaching skills and efforts of one man – teacher Mr John McDonald, a former police officer appointed to the school from September 1975. He arrived with considerable experience and success in swimming, both as a competitor and as a coach. He swam for the police in national competition and competed, with success, in competitive races, water polo matches and in life-saving teams. He had also been successful in coaching teams of policemen – unheard of for a police constable – and had won competitions. In addition, he had also successfully coached children from a local Catholic primary school. When he started at St Gregory’s, he already had a Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) Diploma and Instructor’s Certificate and would shortly qualify as a swimming teacher.
His enthusiasm and drive galvanised a group of boys keen on swimming to train almost every day at lunch times. The group was between 15 and 30 in number and was of mixed ages. Mr McDonald would drive them in the school coach to the historic High Street Baths on Hathersage Road, Chorlton-on-Medlock, where they would swim and train in a pool of their own. Some boys trained every day, others a couple of times a week. There were always at least 15 or so that went and sometimes 25 to 30.
Training
Training varied with coaching always from the poolside. Sometimes the boys would swim twenty lengths, concentrating on correcting stroke issues in the various strokes including backstroke and fly. Sometimes individual lengths were repeated following the mental rehearsal of techniques. Sometimes interval training was given to increase speed, stamina and endurance. This would give opportunity to work on racing dives, underwater turns etc. The session usually finished with some type of competition.
Because of limited time it was all very rushed and returning to school in time for the start of afternoon lessons was always a close thing. The short journey back gave the boys a brief opportunity to eat their sandwiches, either brought from home or prepared by Mrs Margaret Napier, the school’s cook supervisor (and sister of Mr McDonald), who also saved lunches for those who did not take sandwiches. The boys were always well catered for. In addition, Mr McDonald spent a small fortune, he once quipped, in providing Milky Ways for the boys. But it was all good fun and the boys enjoyed it. Mr Albert Fletcher, mathematics teacher, often accompanied the party and assisted with looking after the boys.
As for using the baths, it would appear that no charge was ever made.
Competition
The regular training sessions paid rich dividends when the boys competed in swimming galas over the next couple of years – they became so successful that St Gregory’s became known as “the swimming school” in some quarters so that in September 1976 the school admitted at least five pupils in first year who were part of the Manchester Swimming team. These boys were added to Mr McDonald’s existing squad which was already very strong.
Swimming champions, 1976
Back row, from left: Kevin Croker, Stewart Madden, Lawrence O’Brien, Peter Ryan.
Front row, from left: John Boylan, Stephen O’Neill, Mike Jones, William Hanna, George Butler.
This photograph was taken by school chaplain, Fr Paul Mitcheson, on the grass to the left of the main entrance to the school. The boys won the under-16s, under-14s and 1st-year competitions at the Manchester Catholic schools’ swimming gala held at Sharston Baths in Wythenshawe, although only one trophy was available for presentation.
Swimming relay success, 1976
Clockwise from top left are: Kevin Croker, Stewart Madden, Lawrence O’Brien and Mike Jones, upper school pupils who won the 4x100 metres front crawl relay at the Catholic schools’ gala at Sharston Baths.
Whole-school gala
This was staged at High Street Baths and went down very well. All classes, together with form teachers and other staff, attended the gala and watched the boys performing.
High Street Baths
Opened in 1906 as The Victoria Baths at a cost of over £59,000, they were known locally as High Street Baths because they were located on what was then High Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock. Later, when the road was renamed Hathersage Road, locals continued to refer to the baths as High Street Baths.
Swimming team, 1977
The very small trophy on display here was quite prestigious and was won by this group of boys at the Manchester Catholic Schools’ Swimming Gala at Sharston Baths in 1977. The photograph surfaced 46 years later, in 2023, when Mr John McDonald, who coached the boys, was clearing out some old files and came across it. Among the boys pictured are Terry Burke, William Hanna and George Butler.
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