Southern Grammar School For Boys
Portsmouth 1888-1975
Validus Corpore Animoque
This website, which has been developed by former pupils of the Southern Grammar School for Boys, Portsmouth (Old Secundrians), records the history of the school from its inception in 1888 until 1975 when, under UK government reforms, it became a comprehensive school.
Our aim is to develop the site using contributions from many former pupils and staff - not just one or two individuals - and we seek your active involvement in this respect; there is more about that in the Old Secundrians and Contributors sections. Having found your way to the site we very much hope that you will now take the next step by getting involved and let us have your contribution.
We have received some good news from the organ restorer in which he tells me that part of the school’s Compton War Memorial organ has found a new home in Nairobi Cathedral, Kenya.
The 2023 Annual Dinner will go ahead on Friday 5th May. The Committee has decided to keep the original date (stated incorrectly as 6th May in the recent Chairman's Newsletter) despite the coronation of HRH King Charles III on Saturday 6th.
There is a lack of suitable alternative dates available at the Brookfield and a straw poll of members suggested that few would change their plans to attend the dinner. We hope you will support the event as usual and look forward to seeing you at The Brookfield.
Latest news appears here...
Photographs from the 2022 Annual Dinner are now available to view here.
Please note that the website contact links are currently broken due to a software problem. We hope to have this fixed as soon as possible.
In the meantime, if you need to contact us urgently, please use This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to send an email.
I have just finished reading a book written and published by one of our contemporaries. Published in eBook and paperback form, “The Time of Our Lives: Growing Up With the Well-Hard Babies 1945-1960” by John Burden (year of entry 1958) is an absolute must for all Old Secundrians.
Thanks to Stephen Gregson (YoE 1962), we have some new Music & Drama archive material which is now visible in the relevant pages - Music / Drama 5
The Association continues to receive generous donations from members. These are very welcome and help to pay for the administration and postage running costs we have. If you would like to make a donation
The Association is always pleased to receive any news, messages or other interesting information from members. Please send to us using this contact form
Latest News items are automatically removed from the Home Page after after a time to keep things tidy. This will be after an event has passed or after a reasonable period. You can still view archived material by clicking here.