DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

Page Updated:- Wednesday, 31 March, 2021.

MENU PUBLIC HOUSES

 

PAUL SKELTON

 

Chequers, Paul Skelton and Sundance

THE STUDYING CONTINUES

About the same time as Barry Smith was starting his research on the pubs of Dover, I was at Dover Grammar School for Boys attempting my "A" levels, after completing my "O" levels and had a term on my hands to take on a "post "O" level project" on photography. For the subject I decided to take some close-up shots of old Dover postcards and engravings from a variety of sources and also start a collection of public houses pictures in walking distance of the school.

The project only lasted a couple of months as the "A" levels started to kick in, but like most of my projects, they all get revived when time allows, hence this web site.

Born in Dover in 1961 I have lived here all my life. First school was at the end of Clarendon Street on Belgrave Hill and was called Belgrave Infants School. I was there until the age of 7 when I moved to the Old St. Mary's school, now demolished and housed by what was the White Cliffs Experience. I still spend plenty of time near the same land in what is now the Dover reference library. The Old St. Mary's was pulled down to reveal the Roman ruins and I moved to the new St. Mary's school buildings just off Maison Dieu Road.

1972 saw me pass my 11-plus and I was accepted at the Dover Grammar School for Boys, where I seem to have spent half my life. After my "O" and "A" levels I decided not to go off to university but to get a job, and was lucky enough to be offered a job as workshop technician at the same Grammar school. I stayed there, gaining more qualifications at Dover and Ashford technical college. During the 90s I took on the reprographics department as well as that of workshop technician and slowly started to teach in the workshops a few lessons to begin with but eventually relinquished my technician and printed roll and taught full-time as (non qualified) teacher of C.D.T. (Craft Design Technology). This entailed woodwork, metalwork, including skilled machining on lathes, milling machines and shaping machines, casting in non ferrous metals, plastic work and a fair bit of design. At my time of teaching with non qualified status I decided this was the life for me and I eventually started my degree on the Open University in Computing.

Unfortunately in 2005 the Grammar School decided as I was non qualified they would demote me to status of technician again, but unfortunately as my reprographics post had been taken and at the time the workshops were being closed I was offered to post as Music Technician. This I declined and moved to Archers Court College of Maths and Computing, where I took the post as Workshop technician again.

I was determined that this post wouldn't last long, mainly due to the very poor wages, and luckily a teaching colleague I worked with was continually off sick and I showed my talent by stepping into his shoes and started teaching again.

I am still at Archers Court, teaching Graphics and Resistant Materials (they keep changing the names of metal and woodwork for some reason) as well as keeping the workshops up to standard as technician, but as soon as I graduate at the end of 2009, I will be gaining those necessary qualification and should be back teaching full time again.

Although no longer at Dover Grammar, I still take an active part in the school and I am membership secretary for the Old Pharosians Association (Old Boys) and maintain their website at www.DoverGrammar.co.uk. That also contains a fair bit of research and dedication.

I take an active part in playing table tennis, currently for River in the Folkestone division. I also play skittles for the Dover Harbour Board, I have owned and look after Sundance (shown above since he was 6, (he's now 34, 2012), and I dabble in painting animal pictures. I am still continuing with my degree studies, and of course any spare time you'll find me researching into the pubs of Dover and District.

The research may sound like a lot of time drinking, but that's probably only about 2% of the time. 40% is spent in in the library and on various internet sites that may give the history of the area and pubs I am researching, and the remaining 58% spent putting this web site together.

This website, is of course a never ending timeline of research and it never fails to amaze me when I think there could possibly be no more pubs in the area when another one pops up.

UPDATE

I have now passed my degree, started and completed a two year course of teacher training and passed that as well. In the mean time Archers Court changed name and direction to become Dover Christ Church Academy, double lessons in the workshops were made into single lessons and once qualified they had no room for me.

Now qualified as a teacher of Resistant Materials and Graphics, I am currently unemployed and waiting for a post to appear.

 

Paul Skelton (20 February 2012)

 

FURTHER UPDATE

It's now August 2013, employment came my way shortly after the last update in 2012, but only agency work and nothing in one place permanently, which means I usually wait for a phone call at 7 in the morning, they tell me where to go, and if I like the sound of it I say yes. When I get there the school tells me what I am to teach (very often subjects I have never taught before, including French and I can't utter a word of that. What chance have our children got today? I often wonder). However, throughout the early part of the year I was employed at the two Academy's on the Isle of Sheppey, in my subject at long last. So perhaps there is a chance for them.

The research, of course continues, and to date I have done three talks on the subject of the pubs of Dover at Crabble Corn Mill.

After the summer holidays (unpaid as no work) I was lucky enough to get a job again in Dover again, this time teaching Computing at St. Edmunds Catholic School, but still working for the agency. This time it's in computing, my degree subject. If the job comes up I'll apply, but think it's a bit of a closed shop at these schools, especially if you are not of that faith, but at least I'm there till Christmas.

My fourth pub talk at Crabble Corm Mill comes up on the 22nd of November 2013.

 

Date now March 2014, and I am still working for a number of agencies, teaching in various schools in the Kent area with nothing permanent. Although I was employed for a couple of terms at the local school St. Edmunds in Dover, teaching computing.

 

UPDATE 2018.

For the past three years I have been working for the AQA Examining board as Moderator for Resistant Materials, and also exam marker for Resistant Materials and Product Design. I am still working for a huge number of agencies, far too many to actually remember, but the work keeps coming in, and have worked in many schools in Kent as supply teacher, in both Engineering, Resistant Materials and general Cover.

Paul Skelton 2017

Above photo is of me in 2017, turning round a narrow boat whilst on one of my rare holidays.

 

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