HISTORY OF KGV

The early days

Woodlands School Southport Municipal Secondary School for Boys was founded in September 1920 and occupied a building named 'The Woodlands’, along with some disused Army huts, at the north end of Lord Street where the Law Courts now stand.

Original Staff There were 110 boys in the School and the Headmaster was George Millward M.A. assisted by six teachers, Messrs J.Charnley, J.Edwards, A.T.L.Grear, G.C.D. Mason, J.W.Rogers and T.P. Spencer. Six Houses were formed to cater for the individual supervision of boys' progress, as well as for social and athletic purposes. They were: Edwards', Grear's, Mason's, Rogers', Spencer's and Woodham's.

In September 1926, new buildings in Scarisbrick New Road were completed and, on October 16th, Lord Derby formally opened King George V School, which grew steadily to accommodate over 500 boys by the end of the 1920s and two further Houses, Evans' and Leech's brought the total to eight. In the 1930s, King George V School's reputation grew steadily, both academically and in other ways. During the Second World War, Bootle Grammar School's staff and pupils were evacuated to share the KGV building.

G Dixon @ Gt Langdale 1957 George Millward retired in the Summer of 1949 and was succeeded by Geoffrey Dixon M.A. Under his leadership, the School continued to flourish and to strengthen its fine academic reputation. The size of the sixth form grew significantly from 123 in the late 1940s to 218 by the end of the 1960s, and the number proceeding to universities, particularly to Oxford and Cambridge, more than doubled over the period leading up to the School's Golden Jubilee in 1970.

Long Rigg

Long Rigg Sedburgh The Jubilee was marked by the publication of a commemorative booklet and by the purchase of 'Long Rigg', an outdoor pursuits centre near Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales.
This hostel was fully equipped for field work in Biology and Geography, as well as for general outdoor activities, and almost 300 boys visited Long Rigg in the first six months of its foundation. One benefit of setting up the Jubilee Fund - servicing the needs of Long Rigg, amongst other projects - was the concurrent founding of the Parents' Association.

In 1969 the number of Houses was increased from eight to twelve with the addition of Amer's, Holland's, Honeybone's and Lunn's and, by this date, the School roll had risen to almost 800. In the summer of 1976, Geoffrey Dixon retired as Headmaster of King George V School after 27 years of most distinguished service.


To read the second part of our history, please click HERE