{"id":695759,"date":"2026-01-14T16:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T16:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/695759\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T16:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T16:42:14","slug":"john-lennons-old-school-opens-for-tours-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/695759\/","title":{"rendered":"John Lennon\u2019s old school opens for tours for the first time\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calderstones School is opening its doors to Beatles fans for the first time since John Lennon left almost 75 years ago.<\/p>\n

The school, formerly Quarry Bank High School where the legendary Beatle went between 1952 and 1957, is running tours around the building from this weekend.<\/p>\n

Highlights will include the chance to stand on the original stage where John performed for the first time ever with The Quarry Men and climb the tower to the place where they were formed in 1956 before changing their name to The Beatles \u2013 and even sit at the musician\u2019s old desk!<\/p>\n

For fans it\u2019s the opportunity they have been wanting for decades and, for the school, and in particular Tom Barry, the technology teacher who\u2019s been inspirational in developing the new visitor attraction, it\u2019s a chance to set the record straight.<\/p>\n

\"Tom
\nTom, a teacher at the school for the last three years said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t so much has want to rewrite history, but correct it,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur school hall, built in the 1930s, was the site of the first performance by John with The Quarry Men at a school dance in 1956 \u2013 not on the back of a wagon Rosebery Street where people make pilgrimages.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd John had poems published in the Merseybeat magazine and people say that\u2019s the first place they\u2019re in \u2013 but we have copies of John\u2019s literature about 10 years before 1964 when that was published.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest messages I want to get across is that John didn\u2019t hate his time here, as is written, but hated the way it was run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a Victorian school, he was here only a few years after the war, and it was strict and stern. For someone with John\u2019s humour, it probably wasn\u2019t the best environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut from stories we\u2019ve found, he probably had the happiest five years of his life here, because all he did every day was mess around with his mates, and laugh, and play practical jokes on people and entertain them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, in his last year when Mr Pobjoy took over as headmaster, the school became more nurturing and he was encouraged to write poems for the school magazine, create artwork for the school magazine and events, and perform his music at the school dance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the things he\u2019d go on to be so famous for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ton
\nBeatles fan Tom, 29, from West Derby, had the idea for the John Lennon School Tour when he first joined Calderstones: <\/p>\n

\u201cI said to the head that we weren\u2019t capitalising on the huge interest the school held for Beatles fans, and at that time I wasn\u2019t thinking of anything monetary, just in terms of allowing fans to come into the school every now and then.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when I started uncovering all sorts of different stories and found artefacts which are currently on loan to The Beatles Museum in Mathew Street, we realised it could be a lot bigger than we\u2019d originally thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stems from the fact that there are pieces of history hidden purely because some people at the school over the years didn\u2019t really want the publicity of \u2018this is where John Lennon went\u2019. But there are a lot of firsts that happened here that have been credited to other places like I say, so part of it is correcting what a lot of the history books say.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as midweek private tours at the end of the school day, The John Lennon School Tours will be held \u2018quietly\u2019 every other two weeks until the six-week summer holidays when an exhibition in the detention room \u2013 \u2018where John spent a lot of his time\u2019 \u2013 will become part of the tour and feature the memorabilia currently on loan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of research, I\u2019ve tracked down John\u2019s classmates and got their stories and verified them, and we found John\u2019s school desk locked away in the attic of one of the manor houses which had become bit of a dumping ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have school magazines with his artwork, the school ledger where he\u2019s inducted into the school, and all that is coming back to us ready for Beatle Weekend. Until then you can have a general tour and see some of the sites that were a formative part of his life and the start of The Beatles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Quarry
\nTom says it\u2019s been \u2018cool\u2019 to make so many discoveries:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be on the other side of Beatles events and to be the expert and have people asking me. It\u2019s fascinating and it\u2019s a privilege.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that John left just shy of 75 years ago and no-one has done anything with this stuff \u2013 maybe because they didn\u2019t know it was there \u2026 but yeah, it\u2019s a privilege that it\u2019s been left and someone who really cares about the school and the story and The Beatles can pick it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom, whose love of The Fab Four began when he inherited records from his late grandfather, Alan, goes on: \u201cThe fundraising element of the tours will benefit the school with the money going into a John Lennon pot so we can do related projects with the kids to keep the legacy going, and it encourages them to look at what they can achieve.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite a lot of prominent figures have come through the school including politicians and government officials and other musicians like John Power from the Cast and the La\u2019s. The kids are proud of where they come from and who\u2019s been before, and it gives them something to aim for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been so much mystery over the years and it\u2019s super exciting to be the person who can showcase the school and make fans happy by giving them something they\u2019ve wanted to see, and to complete the story of John Lennon and The Quarry men, because it\u2019s their story as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out more about the tours here<\/a>.
\nFind out more about The Beatles here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Find out what\u2019s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide.\u00a0
\nFrom the best hotels, beauty spots, days out, food and more up North \u2013 visit\u00a0thenorthernguide.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow The Northern Guide on Instagram\u00a0HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n