Mr Ormerod – 24 April

This week, Mr John attended a Celebration of Life event in honour of Mr Jack Ormerod, Calthorpe Park’s inaugural Headteacher. Under Mr Ormerod’s leadership, Calthorpe Park School first opened its doors on Wednesday 3 September 1969, originally known as North Fleet Bilateral School.

Mr Ormerod led the school for almost twenty years, beginning with 153 students and just 11 members of staff. Through careful and organic growth, he oversaw several significant phases of expansion, including the construction of ‘Phase II’ in response to the Raising of the School Leaving Age Act in 1972, the building of what is now our Modern Foreign Languages block, and the creation of a purpose‑built Drama Studio.

As the school grew to around 1,400 students by the early 1980s, Mr Ormerod also faced the challenges of expansion, including the extensive use of temporary classrooms. Throughout his tenure, he served the community tirelessly and firmly believed in helping young people take responsibility for their actions. If students made unwise choices, he would often ask them to telephone their parent and explain the situation themselves.

We send our sincere condolences to Mr Ormerod’s family at this sad time and celebrate his lasting and remarkable contribution to education in Fleet.