SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Have noticed this building for the first time. Can anyone tell meof its history. Was there a playground on the roof ?

This was my old school, Leeds Central High School. I went there in the early sixties. Yes, it did have a playground on the roof but we were never allowed there, they'd stopped using it years before. After I left I'm told the science staff built a radio telescope on the roof.

HiI went to this school in the mid 70's. It's now council offices I believe.I remember going across Rossington Street? to the refectory for dinners.Chocolate pudding with pink custard was a favourite.School dinners were great I seem to remember.

Has anyone else got any memories of life at the school

I used to peer out of the window and watch the Merrion Centre being built. This probably explains a lot about my lack of academic success.They started the Merrion Centre by digging a thundering great hole. Which is why I know there are no secret tunnels underneath it. The headmaster was Dr. Connell followed later by Mr. Rockliff. The deputy head was Mr Stuart who looked very stern. It's now council offices, Grandly called 'City of Leeds' or 2 Great George St. to be more prosaic. I've been in what was Mr Stuarts office recently, He had a view of the whole playground which is something I never realised while I was at school there.Other teachers I remember were:Ernest Stern, a jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who taught History."Don't fiffle-faffle boy!" and"Vot do you sink zis iss, a chumple sale!"A lovely man really."Dagger" Greenwood, the Technical Drawing teacher. Really really strict. Pupils used to leave gifts outside his door like a bar of soap with a note attached saying "In the hope that this will cleanse your soul Dagger" Not me, honest.Mr Maciewicz who taught Chemistry. If you misbehaved, he would make you bend over and hit you on the behind with a rubber Bunsen burner tube. It wouldn't have been so bad but the Bunsen burner was still attached.We once had a student teacher take us for Chemistry. He did this experiment with glass wool and white spirit heated in a crucible over a Bunsen burner. I've no idea what it was supposed to teach us but it went horribly wrong when the whole lot caught fire. The student panicked, grabbed the crucible with tongs and ran to the back of the room to put it into a vacuum cabinet, I suppose to starve it of oxygen. He switched on the fan but had forgotten to close the front of the cabinet so the flames just leapt up to the top of the cabinet. It was at this point that Mr Slater, the regular teacher ran in and threw a wet cloth over the thing extinguishing it immediately.