SIXTH-FORM students celebrated England footballers’ World Cup victory with a late-night raid on their school.

They snatched the school sign, but the prank backfired when someone spotted them and they were reprimanded by police.

One of the perpetrators, David Franklin, has never forgotten that memorable night in the history of the City of Oxford High School for Boys.

He and fellow pupils had been out celebrating England’s victory over Germany in 1966, just two weeks after the school, on the corner of George Street and New Inn Hall Street, had closed.

He writes: “Late that evening, in a nearby hostelry, no doubt fuelled and fearless, we planned a clandestine raid to remove the school sign which was still on the wall beside the school gate.

“Our driver (in his father’s butcher’s van!) stealthily pulled up at the gate, the raiding party jumped out of the back of the van, removed the sign and away! Sadly, we were spotted and reported to the police.

“Shortly afterwards, one of the raiders, who had recently joined the then Oxford City Police (before the days of the Thames Valley force), had to report to his boss and was severely reprimanded.

“I and my fellow raiders had little option but to go to the police, hand back the sign and receive our reprimand. 

“We thought our careers were disintegrating before they had even begun. However, our would-be policeman duly qualified and rose to pretty high rank in the CID, and I haven’t done so badly either. But I often wonder what happened to that sign.”

Mr Franklin, who left school to join the RAF and now lives in Earl Stonham, Suffolk, also remembers school parades.

He recalls: “This consisted of the whole school assembling in the playground and on the command ‘School on Parade’ (bellowed out by one of the masters, DVG Gilbert (‘Duggie’), no doubt ex-military), we had to stand tallest on the left, shortest on the right, form ranks and then, commanded by ‘Duggie’, march around the playground.

“A clue to my height is that for the first two years at the school, I was always the shortest and therefore always on the right. Not great for developing self-confidence – or perhaps, for those who know me, quite the reverse!”

Corporal punishment was administered by almost every master, each with his own favourite ‘weapon’.

“There was ‘Spud’ Taylor’s gym shoe, ‘Jock’ Sutton’s ‘liquorice stick’, ‘Bill’ Kiley’s hockey stick and, most famous of all, Mr (was it Freddie?) Lee’s ‘lambaster’. 

“As you’d expect, both heads while I was there - you mention Fred Lay and ‘The Bodey’ - stuck to the traditional cane. I can assure you that it was well used!” 

Mr Franklin was one of the last sixth-formers at the school before it merged with Southfield Grammar School to form Oxford School on the Southfield site off Glanville Road, East Oxford.

The City of Oxford School Association (Cosa), representing old boys, is planning a series of events this year, including a reunion in October, to mark 50 years since the school’s closure. Full details at cosa.webplus.net