About TWGSB alum Jon Sharp Class of 1988 

‘My name is Jonathan (Jon) Sharp and I attended the school from September 1981 until July 1988.  

This meant I was there for the transition of the school from Technical High to Grammar School (not a particular popular name change at the time amongst students as I recall) – I still have the old TWTHS badge from my blazer.  

It also meant I was in one the final years to do O levels in 1985/6 (I took a wide and varied selection of subjects in science, arts and humanities, but no foreign language). A solid set of results led me to stay on into the 6th Form, where I chose to narrow down on the STEM subjects of Maths, Physics and Computer Science. 

It was in Computing that I did best. It was the early days of this subject being taught in schools and one enterprising Chemistry teacher, Godfrey Wood, made full use of his interest in the field and forged for himself a one-man department.  

His love of the subject and enthusiasm for it, combined with my appreciation for the logical thinking and problem solving it demanded, made this my firm favourite and led me ultimately to a degree (University of Hull, 1991) and a career in IT.  

It was a small A level class (too small to be financially viable in modern academic circles), but that meant we romped through the syllabus at a pace and had the luxury of encouraging Godfrey’s love of a tangent (IT-relevant of course), taking our learning beyond the narrow confines of the exam.  His was the only classroom in the school at the time with a whiteboard rather than good old-fashioned chalkboards (too much dust for the precious equipment!).  His ‘baby’ was the network of RM machines (pre-PC) and server with giant 8” floppy discs. Here, supplemented by my trusty Sinclair ZX Spectrum at home, I learnt to program in BASIC. I remain grateful for the excellent grounding in the subject he provided that eased my transition into degree-level study. 

At Hull, along with fellow TWGSB alumnus Chris Wright, I enjoyed three years of degree study that were formative to my future, both personally (I met my wife there!) and professionally. I’m still in touch my many friends I made there, Chris Wright too, and with my horizons suitably broadened I ventured out in to the world of work.  

Inspired by a Cornish holiday visit to Goonhilly Earth Station I decided that I wanted to work for BT and applied to them as part of the University “milk-round” process (different times!). I somehow made it through the written application and interview process - just as well as I arrogantly made almost no other applications.  

So it was that in September of 1991 I found myself looking for a room to rent in a town called Ipswich that I knew next to nothing about and started work at what was then BT’s main research and development labs at Martlesham Heath on the eastern outskirts of the town.  

I’m still in the same geographic area having enjoyed a varied and interesting career in software with BT for a quarter of a century and then a shorter career in schools’ administration (finance, data systems and exams).  

My time at BT coincided with the rise and rise of the World Wide Web and meant a fair chunk of my career was spent solving the challenges of how to provide customers with online browser-based self-service facilities. I specialised in how to get modern web-based systems to talk to and interact with old legacy back-end data systems that were designed at a time when Mr Wood’s IT system at school was state of the art and the internet was nothing but an academic and military curiosity. 

A decent pension scheme at BT meant I could take very early retirement and my days now seem busier than ever doing voluntary/faith sector finance work, IT and finance for my wife’s business as well as pursing my musical interests (bass and guitar in a couple of local bands) and trying to keep fit and healthy.   

I remain grateful to Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for doing what grammar schools were designed to do in the first place – offering kids from working class backgrounds the opportunities of a quality education that would open up a wealth of opportunities their parents never enjoyed. If the school is still doing that today then more power to your elbow! 

Anyone who remembers me (unlikely!) can find me on Facebook (jon.sharp2). From the days when registers were called by surname, I’ll leave you with a rollcall of my fellow classmates (1W, 2G, 3C, 4X, 5X):  

Borman, Bowerman, Branch, Edwards, Emery, Fagg, Fordyce, Hainsworth, Harboard, Hayman, Hazlewood, Killick, King-Smith, Knight, Laker, Mountney, Murray, Neate, Newton-Clare, Ostle, Rogers, Rose, Sharp, Simmons, White, Whyman, Wishart, Wood, Wright’