Famous folks from your school?

[zico]

Apparently Wikipedia has a section called "Notables" for your school which tells you the famous people that have studied there (or in some cases, been forced to turn up and sit down).

My (non-public) school has a fairly thin list, but with a couple of surprises, none of them contemporaries of mine -
In descending order of fame
- Willy Russell (Playwright)
- Lee Briers (Rugby league player)
- Jonny Lomax (Rugby league player)
- Conor Coady (Wolves footie player)
- Andrew Harrison (CEO of Carphone Warehouse)
- Stephen Lawson (Aka Stephen Triers) a 24-year old comedian I've never heard of.

Do other Lemon Foolers have more interesting lists, especially contemporaries of theirs?

[tjh290633]

Of my immediate contemporaries, Victor Spinetti is the only name likely to be recognised - Comedian and actor.

TJH

[kiloran]

Probably not more interesting, but Bobby Gould and his brother Trevor (footballers) were contempories. Also the actor Ron Cook.
James Maddison (footballer) was much after my time.

--kiloran

[tjh290633]

Since my day there has been a string of Welsh rugby players, before my time, John Gwilliam, more recently Eddie Butler, Keith Jarrett, Hallam Amos and the leading referee, Wayne Barnes. Also the cricket writer, Steve James.

TJH

[PinkDalek]

Blasted mobiles!

[PinkDalek]

James Maddison (footballer) was much after my time.

--kiloran

As was your Olympic Gold Medallist.

I remember the Goulds.

[ReformedCharacter]

His Excellency John Duncan Former Governor of the British Virgin Islands and - although not a contemporary - Al Stewart.

RC

[bungeejumper]

The school I attended (a grammar school with public school pretensions) was notable for producing nobody of any note, unless you included Grant Shapps. It was, however, used as the film set for The History Boys, which set me back a bit when I first recognised the old place in the cinema. Not least because Alan Bennett's plotline was spot-on plausible for the awful old place. I am still shuddering.

The Birmingham school where I later taught had quite a string of famous old boys, including BBC Watchdog presenter Adrian Goldberg and a couple of England footballers, although I never did figure out their names. (Football just isn't my thing.) None of these, however, could quite erase the minus points for having been the alma mater of Enoch Powell.

BJ

[Gersemi]

Sometimes the denizens of this forum do make me laugh. My school doesn't have an entry at all, which does not surprise me one jot.

Gersemi

[gryffron]

Good Moaning. I was just pissing by.

The only person I've ever heard of from my school's list is Arthur Bostrom. Officer Crabtree from Allo Allo. He must have left just before I started.

"The Parents' Association is in the Guinness Book of Records as the UK's oldest Parents Association" - Well I never knew that.

Gryff

[kiloran]

The school I attended (a grammar school with public school pretensions) was notable for producing nobody of any note
BJ

Ahem..... it produced bungeejumper

--kiloran

[AleisterCrowley]

No contemporaries, but
A famous cricketer of the 1940s/50s
A few academics and bishops
A permanent secretary of the treasury
An actor who appeared in The Ten Commandments, Rope, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and various others

Going slightly off topic - there are a few cases where well known people were in the same class, or at least year, at school
eg
Hugh Cornwell (Stranglers) and Richard Thompson (Fairport and solo)

David Penhaligon MP and Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)

Any more you know of?
I guess Eton/, Winchester etc will be full of examples so perhaps limit to the 'normal' world

[Rhyd6]

I've just looked at the "notables" from my old school and although there were several listed I've never heard of any of them.

R6

[AF62]

Darth Vader (but not the voice...)

[bungeejumper]

The school I attended (a grammar school with public school pretensions) was notable for producing nobody of any note
BJ

Ahem..... it produced bungeejumper

Crawler. Have a rec, anyway.

BJ

[AleisterCrowley]

Darth Vader (but not the voice...)

And also the Green Cross Code Man...

[SalvorHardin]

State school in Taunton, Somerset. Here are a few:

Arthur C. Clarke (author of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and many others)

Hannah McKeand (polar explorer)

Andy Robinson (England rugby international and coach of England and Scotland. I was in the same sixth-form class for maths as his older brother, who played rugby for Saracens (he isn't in Wikipedia))

Andrew Castle (tennis and TV presenter)

Stephen Daldry (film director, Billy Elliot and others)

Edward Shire (co-inventor of the proximity fuse during World War Two, greatly increasing the efficiency of allied munitions as a result)

The school has produced a lot of professional cricketers, some of whom aren't in Wikipedia. The most recent is Jack Leach, scorer of the greatest ever 1 not out for a number 11 batsman in last year's Headingley test against Australia.

[redsturgeon]

Only one's from my old place that anyone might recognise:

Andy Bell from Erasure
Peter Boizot founder of Pizza Express
and a personal friend in those days, Paul Barber captain of the England Hockey team who won gold in Seoul.

John

[Bubblesofearth]

Hugh Grant was in the year above me so fairly contemporary. But I never knew him.

Mel Smith left just before I started.

BoE

[Lootman]

Do other Lemon Foolers have more interesting lists, especially contemporaries of theirs?

The most famous alumni of my school, by far, are the three Attenborough brothers. As a boy I would sneak into their estate to collect conkers from a very fine tree.

Of my contemporaries the only one who is well known is Lars Tharp. I recall him mostly because I knew his father as well, a neighbour of my mother's.