Talk:The College of Richard Collyer

Vote for deletion
Page has been kept following this VfD debate. Sjakkalle 12:43, 14 May 2005 (UTC)


 * For the record, the vote was defeated by 15:1. Judging by the one comment in favour of deletion that initiated it, I detect more than a hint of animosity towards the school/college.  But do take a look at the comments and reassure yourself that this is not a marginal article – just one that needs to be improved.  --Wally Tharg (talk) 23:26, 28 July 2012 (UTC)

Coordinate error
The coordinates need the following fixes: Latitude: 51.071121 /  Longitude: -0.32495  --Tula91 (talk) 22:22, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Corrected coordinates. Grim23 (talk) 01:11, 22 July 2009 (UTC)


 * On the subject of coordinates, do you folks realise that quoting the coordinates to six decimal places implies an accuracy of 6mm ... is your GPS as good as that? Is Collyer's more than 6mm long?  Messrs. Dight, Farnell and Lloyd would not have been impressed!  --Wally Tharg (talk) 10:53, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

Academic performance
"It is considered one of the best sixth form colleges in England. Academically it is a very strong school; the students regularly achieve good results and a significant number progress to the most prestigious universities.

It gets about the best A-level results in West Sussex for state-run institutions, with The Weald School, Billingshurst."

This is the kind of fluffy nonsense that gets Wikipedia a bad name.

"It is considered one of the best sixth form colleges in England." By what measure? Evidence?

"Academically it is a very strong school". I repeat. By what measure? Evidence?

And so on.

As for "It gets about the best A-level results in West Sussex", well, does it or doesn't it get the best results? There's no "about" about it! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.154.192.91 (talk) 19:32, 16 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree with 109.154.192.91. There is a lot of spamming in this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.27.109.117 (talk) 17:31, 9 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Certainly evidence is needed, and the onus is on the contributors to find it. However, I recall the headmaster in Founder's Day speech in the mid-1970s saying that the school had come second in the country for O-Levels or A-Levels (I don't remember which) but he took pains to remind us that Manchester Grammar had come fourth. So now somebody needs to dig out the relevant issue of the West Sussex County Times!


 * On a more general point, we shouldn't be too harsh on woolly writing or apparent spamming in an article on a school. Many of the contributors are probably students, cutting their editing teeth on Wikipedia.  Hopefully we can encourage their efforts to be more rigorous and encyclopaedic, rather than simply criticizing or deleting.  --Wally Tharg (talk) 23:13, 28 July 2012 (UTC)

Headmasters/headteachers
An appeal from an Old Collyerian: I’m missing only one headteacher, and three remaining facts to check. Did Derek Slynn take up the post in 1966? It didn’t say in his obit. I recall that Mr.(?) Arnold's first name was David; needs checking. Also, was he a doctor? If so, please amend. Finally, who held the post between D. Arnold and the incumbent?

Interesting that Rev. Alexander Hay, beak from 1700-1706, was a Jacobite, suspected of sheltering Scotsmen after the 1715 rebellion ... --Wally Tharg (talk) 19:21, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * My sincere thanks to user Cascades123 for completing the list of principals. (If I’d had to ask someone it might have blown my cover ...) Good also to see that school’s back, and that students are taking a healthy interest in learning how to edit in MediaWiki! --Wally Tharg (talk) 13:58, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

A reference from 2015 that shows that Vernon Davies was acting head from 1964 (when I assume Douglas Coulson was suspended for corporal punishment) until Derek Slynn’s permanent appointment in 1966 (?), and thus deserves a mention. If anyone can confirm/amend the exact years, I’d be grateful. --Wally Tharg (talk) 15:17, 31 December 2017 (UTC)


 * I noticed a problem with the service dates of the headmasters.
 * __1922–1926 Rev. Canon Wilfrid Peacock
 * __1922–1956 Philip Tharp
 * Obvious guess, Tharp started in 1926, NOT 1922, but it is just a guess. I am unfamiliar with the school's history. Beyond pointing out the problem, I have nothing to contribute. 73.140.79.113 (talk) 21:38, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

Corporal punishment in 1960s
I have moved the reference to corporal punishment, and Douglas Coulson’s departure, to a more appropriate place in the article. Again, I would be grateful for any more information on this – I only have one reliable source at present. --Wally Tharg (talk) 15:48, 31 December 2017 (UTC)