Blackpool Grammar School for Boys
Collegiate School for Girls
Blackpool Collegiate Grammar School
Mary Roberts
1920 - 2006
Miss Roberts
Miss Roberts
Following a successful career in teaching both overseas and in the UK third Mary was appointed the third and final Headteacher of the Collegiate School.
Collegiate, a Girls Grammar School, was located on Beech Avenue Layton until it merged with Blackpool Grammar School in 1971 the staff and pupils then moving to the newly formed Collegiate Grammar School at Highfurlong.
Miss Roberts was appointed Headteacher in 1965, became joint Heateacher of the combined Grammar School in 1971 and the first Headteacher of the comprehensive Collegiate High School in 1974 where she remained until her retirement in 1981.
An item in the Blackpool Evening Gazette dated 2nd October wrote that tributes were led by Friend and former colleague Dr Wilkinson.
Dr Wilkinson was the Deputy at Collegiate Girls and the first Head of the new Sixth Form College.
The article quoted Dr Wilkinson :-
"Mary will be remembered for the personal concern she had for all the pupils in her care and the contribution she made to the organisations in her retirement".
"She was a gifted teacher of Maths and Biology and an able administrator who always gave sound advice to pupils and staff alike".
The article continued :- Originally from Brighouse in West Yorkshire Miss Roberts graduated with a first class degree in botany and zoology and taught at a school in South Africa before taking up posts in Cheshire and finally in Blackpool.
In retirement, she dedicated herself to charity work and worked tirelessly for the Bispham Methodist Luncheon Club and Cleveleys Oxfam Shop.
Miss Roberts had a bungalow on Norbreck Road where she lived until shortly before her death having spent a short time being cared for in Stockdove House.
Mary Roberts died peacefully on 20th September 2006 aged 86 years
Mary's funeral service was held at Bispham Parish Church on All Hallows Road a church of which Mary was a member. The service was conductucted by The Reverend Doctor Simon Cox who had Ministered to Mary and regarded her as a friend.
The service opened with the School Hymn "Lift Up Your Hearts" sung to the tune Woodlands the second hymn being "Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven". Many former colleagues from the various Collegiate Schools were present.
The Funeral Service was held on October the Second prior to a committal at Brighouse Cemetary where Mary was interred with her parents. It was touching that Mary was accompanied on her final journey by Dr Joan Wilkinson a friend of over 40 years.
Here is a selection - please e-mail to the address at the foot of this page to add yours
Photocopies of the Gazette item and the Funeral Order of Service are also obtainable upon request
I was thrilled to meet her at our 72 starters reunion at the Hilton Hotel, she hadn’t changed, I concur with another pupil, I was thought she was 80 when I met her!! What a lovely caring person she was, she had a wonderful memory, she remembered Terry and I arriving in the December and was keen to know about our lives now.
I am sorry she has gone but she will never be forgotten.
Janette Fitzgerald (nee Johnson)
Julie Towler nee Philips 1969-1974
Very sad to hear of the death of Miss Roberts--could never think of her as Mary,she was much to important a person for that.
She made a huge and lasting impact on the girls she had in the school,I can still picture her walking with her dog (Patch).
Being summoned to her office was a nerve racking event.
I have one vivid memory of an assembly when we all got a good ticking off for using too much toilet paper !
She always seemed so old. Disconcerting to realise that at the time I started at Collegiate (1966) she was only 46.
I would like to pass on my condolences to Dr Wilkinson who will be missing a valued friend.
Helen Partington (nee Wilson)
Thank you for telling me about the death of Miss Roberts and I was very sad to hear this news.
During my early years at Collegiate I was very shy and suffered a lot of serious family problems. Miss Roberts and Dr Wilkinson were always very supportive of me and my mother and I will always be grateful for their support and kindess.
Miss Roberts was a dedicated teacher who inspired me and most of my friends to become teachers.May she rest in peace.
Kate Rooney
Thank you for informing me about Mary Roberts who I remember well.
I would like to know how to contact Dr Wilkinson for whom this must have been a great loss,
Thank you again
Susan Windell nee Wheatley
Thank you for advising of Miss Roberts' death. Always a sad occasion, of course, and it marks the passage of time for all of us.
I didn't have much to do with Miss Roberts - I never got to darken her doors as an unruly pupil or as an exceptional student who warranted attention. She was a schoolmistress in the old tradition, in appearance as well as manner, and always seemed to be a kindly woman.
I cannot in a million years imagine that there are many gown-clad heads like Mary Roberts sweeping down dusty corridors in today's comprehensives. I thought it was great that she attended the 2000 1971 reunion at the Hard Rock Café...she must have been 80 then. What a trouper!
Sandra Grayson (Caddoo, 1971 starter)
I remember Mary with great affection.
I was very sad to read of her passing and will never forget her
Peter Mowbray
Dear Meliora Prefect,
I remember both Mary and Joan. Mary was a remarkable woman who had tremendous insight along with a deep capacity to see into the lives of the girls and understand beyond the academic. I personally hold the fondest memory of her when I had family difficulties which resulted in health issues and she took the time to see me and empathise with me, holding out a really precious level of understanding. She had only just joined Collegiate then and I was truly amazed at how touching-of-the-heart she could be.
Family problems meant that I did not perform academically to my true potential whilst at Collegiate, but Mary saw how I had those potentials and helped me feel a sense of belonging to Collegiate, despite the deep problems that kept me isolated from the school. She also modelled for me what it is to be both a compassionate leader and a holistic teacher, who sees beyond the immediate performance and into the heart and soul of the person.
Since my days at Collegiate, I entered University as a mature student, going from Lancaster University where I won a University prize for academic performance and a scholarship to postgraduate studies at Oxford, with Magdalen College. I have since been a full Professor, holding three Chairs here in Australia, which is where I now live. I have also exhibited and studied as an artist. I am now re-training as a Counsellor and Psychologist, winning Dean's awards for post-graduate performance. I don't honestly think I could have found these capabilities in myself without having had the compassionate support of Mary at such a critical time in my life. I still carry the image of her gently talking with me about what I was having to cope with on the home front, and her words of support and encouragement still ring in my ears. She heard me at a time when I was silenced, and probably more than anyone did for a long time afterwards. Her deep, warm heart will stay in my memory until the end of my days.
My deepest sympathy to Dr Wilkinson. I lost my husband a few years ago and do know that grief is difficult. I also know that the joy of being touched by a very special person in one's life far outways the pain and those joys will always be with Joan.
Warmest regards,
Professor Lynda Davies, Bsc(Hons), PhD, BFA (Vis Arts)(Dist), AssocMAPS
Thank you for letting me know of the passing away of Miss Roberts, who, along with Dr Wilkinson, represented an era of teaching which has now sadly gone.
I have fond memories of my time at Collegiate school and recall my horror at the news that we were to merge with the BOYS at Blackpool Grammar! Indeed, it was never the same.
I recall that the photograph of Miss Roberts (with her dog) in her black gown was very formidable to an eleven year old, however, I soon learned that she was kind and caring towards all "her girls".
My condolences go to Dr Wilkinson and please pass on my warmest regards to her.
Best wishes, Lindsay Mason
Hi Martin,
I don't have too many memories of Miss Roberts as most of my dealings were with Dr. Wilkinson. However, I always found Miss Roberts to be a very gentle and gracious woman with a pretty good sense of humor. One thing I do remember...being as I was an avid hockey player, we used to practice during lunch, (this was at the old school on Beech Ave). I was in goal on this particular day and the goal was perpendicular to the lunch room...and perpendicular to the staff table which was right by the window. Needless to say, I didn't save the ball, nor did they score a goal...however, the ball went soaring over the fence, through the window, and plopped itself down right in the middle of Miss Robert's pudding!!!! I never saw the look on her face, nor the mess which ensued, but I was told she took it all in very good spirits and laughed it off!
Julia Mason
Thank you so much for preparing this online memorial for Miss Roberts and requesting our contributions. I was at Collegiate from 1965-70 so enjoyed the final years of the Beech Avenue school. I think that women like Miss Roberts and Dr Wilkinson were the last of their kind. Changes in legislation which allowed women to earn the same as men and be recognised on an equal professional footing were still embryonic when I entered Grammar School. Miss Roberts and Dr Wilkinson may have been high academic achievers but they had to make a choice that many women today feel is obsolete - family life or career. They chose the latter and by doing so nurtured and inspired many more girls as pupils than they could ever have done as daughters.
I must admit I was a rebel at the school - never really turned on to study as a teenager. However, the example of Miss Roberts and her devoted staff inspired me, a decade or so after leaving, to enter University as a mature student where I gained an Honours degree and went on to become a teacher myself (post-16 only, no juniors for me!) The ethos of self-respect and self-determination was the lifeblood of Collegiate during my time there, due to the hard work and vision of its last Headmistress, Miss Mary Roberts. May she rest in peace.
Sincerely,
Frances Simister.
A great headteacher dignified always and worthy of the respect in which she was held.
Susan Jennings
Dear Prefect,
I was saddened to hear of Miss Robert's death from Joyce Birtwhistle. I was head girl when she first came to the Collegiate School for Girls in September 1965. I can only suppose that I was the first pupil to be introduced to her. I had been informed on the last afternoon of the summer term that I was to be head girl. So it was a somewhat daunting prospect on the first day of the autumn term but to be head girl with a headmistress who was unknown was even more daunting. I needn't have worried, our first meeting was short and pleasant. She expected efficiency and very high standards in everything that happened in and concerning the school. Over that year we did get to know each other better and after leaving school we maintained our contact through the Old Girls' and then the Old Students' Association. She was always very interested to know what was happening with ex pupils and, after she retired, with the Collegiate School and Sixth Form College. I shall miss chatting to her at the Old Girls' Dinner.
Linda Blackburn (nee Gregory) 1959 - 1966
Dear Website Prefect
I was so sorry to hear of the death of Miss Roberts. She was my Headteacher from when she joined the Collegiate School until I left in 1969.
She was always very helpful to me, particularly when I had to face doing a third year in the sixth form in order to get in to the courses I wanted to do at University. She gave me a great deal of encouragement to change direction, even though it meant taking 'O' level biology in one year and doing 'A' level biology at the same time, as well as repeating Geography and English. I was always grateful to her and the staff for their support and help in arranging for me to do this and for the fact that she was prepared to be flexible in terms of the timetable. Not many Heads would be prepared to cater to the needs of one student in this way, but it stood me in good stead, and enabled me to go to University and pursue the adventurous career I'd always sought. I know I was not the only one - others in my year got to do odd combinations of subjects or extra study to ensure they got the best opportunities later in life.
I'm sorry I did not get chance to catch up with anyone during my brief visit to Blackpool last May (it ended up being about 2 days before I dashed off to the continent on a lecture/conference/collaborative study tour that took in Belgium, Sweden, Holland and Switzerland, with an all-too-brief time in north-west Scotland). I'm hoping I will be back again before too long as I am involved in projects with colleagues at several European institutions.
My regards to Doc Wilkinson and anyone else who remembers me.
Kathleen Gray
I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Miss Roberts, news of which reached me the day after news of the loss of a beloved family friend this week, who was also in her 80s. I feel my childhood world is fast slipping away.
I did not have much to do with Miss Roberts directly, and was rather shy when at the Collegiate, especially in the presence of teachers. I remember her leading prayers in assembly in the Main School though, and the pranks of the boys in charge of the sound system. They were instructed to turn the mike off during hymns, but they would turn it up instead and we would be treated to the sound of Miss Roberts's singing over the half-hearted mumbling of much of the student body.
I now live in Canada where things are fairly casual and adults are almost always addressed by their first names, even by children. But Miss Roberts will always be Miss Roberts to me, and in fact I did not know her first name until today.
I always regarded Miss Roberts and Dr Wilkinson as twin souls, and during my day they were somewhat affectionately referred to (although never in their hearing!) as "Hinge and Bracket" after a TV comedy duo. My condolences to Dr Wilkinson.
Samantha Scott (1976 starter)
Please pass on my sincere condolonces to Dr Wilkinson and Miss Roberts' family.
I had immense respect for Miss Roberts.I was the last year to sit the 11+ and I am pleased to say I attended the Grammar School, for 1 year at least.
My most vivid memories are when I was 11 and she taught me Anatomy, and of when I became a prefect in the 5th Form.
Regards
Gillian Fletcher(nee Glover)
I'm very sorry to learn of the recent death of miss Roberts. I remember her and her little dog well. A light hearted anecdote which might amuse Dr Wilkinson. During a performance of Goldsmith's 'She stoops to conquer at Blackpool collegiate grammar school, Anne Lloyd who was on the play , to my surprise and delight bounded onto the stage rather too enthusiastically for the busty 'Nell Gwynne' period costume she was wearing and 'almost' left its confines.
I remember hearing an audible intake of breath from someone in the front row of the audience, I looked down to see poor Miss Roberts looking aghast, bracing herself for the impending scandal. Fortunately Anne with true professional aplomb executed a little pirouette, discreetly adjusted her bodice and carried on as if nothing had happened.
I spoke with Anne Lloyd many years later when I was singing Don Basilio in Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia at Opera North. I reminded her of that incident and we both laughed.
John Connell (Tony Lumpkin in 'She stoops to conquer' 1974.)
Very sorry to hear of Miss Roberts' death. Was a pupil at Collegiate Grammar 67-71 and then up at Highfurlong. I remember her sweeping along the corridoors, gown flowing behind her and her dog in the study. She was always fair but slightly forbidding- not as scary as Wilko though!
Christine Pratt nee McGivern
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