The 5 year course was completely operative, although there were always a few who failed to complete the course, leaving at Christmas and thus breaking the agreement. The U.L.C.I. Secondary School Certificate Examination, first taken in 1957, made headway. In 1961, the "O" level percentage pass was the highest for seven years, with many more candidates, and in 1963, the results were equally good. 6th form growth continued. In September 1959, there were 46 beginning a 6th and 7th year - this included a separate form (6TR) made up of those not taking "A" Level work, but staying on for an extra year. In that year, 2 girls and 2 boys from other schools joined the Biology "A" Level group, and 1 boy from a neighbouring Secondary Modern School joined the 6th in 1960 to do "A" Level work, In 1963, by reciprocal arrangement made necessary because of ill-health, the 6L Chemistry class went to a neighbouring Technical High School for classes, whilst their candidates in Biology came to Ardwick. In July 1963, the Headmaster was able to report that since 1956, 22 boys and girls had entered Teacher Training Colleges and 13 gained places in Degree or Diploma Courses at Universities or Colleges of Advanced Technology.

The established routine of twice-yearly school examinations, with reports and term mark periods continued. The Scholarship examination was held each year, in February, for 1 1/2 days, but by now the 4th, 5th, and 6th forms were retained in school on normal time-table, with room changes only to accommodate the scholarship candidates. The roll increased steadily from 511 in September 1958 to 568 in 1962, and still included a few extra district children, 5 of whom had become "extra district" by removal, but who still attended by travelling in. The increase was mainly because the Authority decided by 1961 that there should be a four stream entry again each year as had happened in 1960. Gradually the number of subject "sets" and groups increased from the 3rd year upwards and experiments were made to find the most advantageous combination of subjects for option. English Literature became established as a separate subject in the option scheme; in 1959, Spanish was introduced as a second foreign language, but only then for those with some competence in French and likely to stay into the 6th form. Even so, after this brief experiment, Spanish gradually disappeared from the curriculum from 1961. There was one other interesting teaching development. The Senior Prefect for 1958/59, Norman Dawson, decided to enter the Church of England Ministry, and was accepted by King's College, London to read Theology, provided he passed his two "A" Levels (Mathematics and Physics) in July 1959, which he did. He was also required to stay on at school an extra year, taking an advanced course in History and making a start on New Testament Greek, with the help of a tutor provided by the Authority.

During each year, Miss Higgins and Mr. Cook from the Youth Employment Bureau visited several times, giving general talks to groups from the 4th, 5th and 6th and then holding individual interviews. They also arranged careers evenings. At this time, Mr. Carruthers was responsible for boys' careers and each year he attended, with a senior colleague, the careers convention at Manchester College of Science and Technology. This was invariably followed by an Open Day, attended by senior boys and girls. Each year group had its own parents afternoon or evening during a school year.

A full range of inoculations was available as advised by the School Health Service and there were regular inspections. Smallpox vaccinations were available in January 1962 during an "alert", and in July 1963, the whole of the 4th year had B.C.G. tests, because a girl was found to have tuberculosis. Occasionally the Doctor would talk to particular groups - a lecture on appropriate footwear was given to senior girls in November 1960. Helpful work was done for charities. By July 1960, £127 had been collected in a campaign for the World Refugee Fund. In the following year £13.14.0d. was donated to the Congo Distress Fund, and during one week in 1963, £60 was collected for the "Freedom from Hunger" Campaign, Participation in the School's Saving Bank Scheme had ceased earlier. An effort was made in the early 60's to sell savings stamps (at 6d. and 2/6d.) during certain breaktimes each week, but this scheme only met with limited success.

School uniform was in much the same style as before, apart from the fact that there was no demand for hats and caps. Dark green gabardines for outside wear for girls became popular, and older girls now wore white blouses and dark green skirts. It became school policy to insist that school uniform be worn whenever possible and on the whole there was a good response, particularly on public occasions such as the Speech Day ceremony and the Carol Service. The blazer was changed from green to black because the latter was felt to be a more serviceable colour, and there were experiments in establishing prefects' ties and a slightly different uniform for sixth forms. By 1958, the school ceased to be an agency for the purchase of uniform. All items had to be bought from one of three official outfitters, who always came to display a full range at the meeting in June of parents of new entrants.

For the majority of boys and girls, school meals were popular, and only a few went home for dinner. Some went out to local shops, including fish and chip shops - a matter for concern, because it was suspected that in most cases the parents were not aware of this. It was a practice difficult to prevent because there were so many such shops in the vicinity of the school, and over the years, it had become traditional for boys and girls to go "on the road" at dinner time. In any event, all boys and girls appeared to be well nourished, and supplemented their mid-day meal with food brought for consumption during break - a happening which prompted the Headmaster to say in his 1962 report "there are some who bring large packages to school and one wonders whether three or four large sandwiches are really necessary......I hope that only sufficient food for one person and not a whole form will be brought for mid-morning break". He also referred to an interesting case, "I am reminded that some years ago, one boy, full of initiative, brought rounds of toast each morning and sold them ad 6d. per round. Until discovered he made a handsome profit. He got 5 "O" Levels, including one in "Book-Keeping."

To enable the canteen to cope more easily with its waste on the restricted site a small waste disposal unit was fitted in September 1958. A tradesman's entrance via the Boys yard was provided in the same year, thus doing away with the delivery of goods down the inside stairway and across the Gymnasium. A Christmas dinner was served every year a few days before term ended, with the Headmaster providing some sixpenny pieces for the pudding, Miss Priestley continued as Assistant School Meals Supervisor, but Miss Elder retired as Cook Supervisor in July 1960. Mrs. Nuttall succeeded her, and she, in turn was followed by Mrs. Giles in April 1961.

The traditional services continued each year with little variation - Harvest Festival, Remembrance Service and Carol Service. Crossley Maternity Hospital, the Salvation Army and the elderly of the district received the Harvest gifts and in 1961, the Rector of St. Thomas's Ardwick took part in the service. The Carol Service continued to be held in Higher Ardwick Methodist Church and was often attended by the Chairman of Governors and some of his colleagues. By tradition, staff and visitors had tea in school after the service as guests of the Headmaster and Mrs. Woodhead. In December, 1960, the choir led a special midday carol service for industry and local inhabitants, also in St. Thomas's Church. School was closed on the occasion of Princess Margaret's wedding in May 1960. Sadly, on 14th October 1960, a special assembly was held in the morning in memory of Mr. Peake who had died in hospital the previous evening.

The Headmaster submitted a report to the Governors twice yearly, and this was discussed at the next meeting held in one of the schools of the group. School accounts and stock books were audited annually by the Town Hall and Education Committee auditors, apart from the School Fund, the book-keeping and safeguarding of which were looked after by Mrs. Leech, the School Secretary and audited each year by Mr. Booth. Without doubt, the amount of financial involvement increased greatly in the 50's and 60's. Two safes were obtained - one a very large one for storing the increasing number of external examination papers. To augment school moneys, Mrs. Leech organized the sale of biscuits each break-time, helped by Senior scholars, and over the years this provided a most useful source of income.

Eventually, a new duplicator was supplied for the office, and the old one was put in the Commerce room to be used in teaching office skills. It was also used in an emergency, such as pre-examination time, when all examination papers, apart from those typed by staff able to do so to an acceptable standard, were typed and duplicated in the office - an increasingly lengthy exercise. Because of the increasing pressure of work, the Secretary's hours were increased from 30 to 31 hours per week. In 1959, it was decided to produce a School Magazine "The Torch". The English and Art Departments worked very hard on the project, collecting and preparing materials and illustrations. The stencils were duplicated by Mrs. Leech - 32 pages in all - and the finished copies, correctly assembled, were distributed free to the school. The magazine included house and games reports, news of old scholars, general notes and much creative writing and illustration, which was the main reason for the introduction of the magazine. In 1960, it had 42 pages. Eventually the burden of internal production became too great, and in Summer 1962, it was printed externally, and included some commercial advertisements to reduce the cost.

In his report in 1962, the Headmaster said "One of our tasks in this type of school is to encourage our young people to give time, effort and enthusiasm to some form of creative work, whether it be by writing for the magazine, entering competitions, attending Art Club, or designing, modelling or making things at home. Let us strive to create". Inspiration for this was given by Alderman Leslie Lever, who in 1962, gave a magnificent cup to be awarded every year for the best piece of creative work in the school year. A very high standard was reached by entries for this Leslie Lever Trophy. The first printed copy of "Torch" contained an essay by John Kyffin of the 6th, on "Does the British Working man work hard enough to ensure Britain's position in the competitive markets of the World?" This essay was awarded First Prize in a competition organised by the East Manchester Rotary Club. The Science department entered an exhibit "Colour in Chemistry" for the British Association's Annual Meeting in Manchester in Autumn, 1962.

By 1963, other school societies had begun their activities. A 3rd year Debating Society was formed and soon became a Senior Debating Society. A Sixth Form Club had discussions and music sessions and a Music Listening Group began. Chess attracted a group of keen players arid matches were played against other schools. There were Games and P.E. Groups, a thriving Art Club and a Philatelic Society existed for a few years. The Council for Education in World Citizenship met regularly to hear talks from visiting speakers, and for a time a Geography Society met once a week to see Geographical films. There was also a developing interest in Flower arrangement, and entries were submitted for local shows.

One of the most interesting developments during these years was the growth of drama work as an out-of-school activity. Facilities were very limited for a traditional school production, but in March 1959, as a result of considerable support from Mr. S. Pawley, M.E.C. Inspectorate, a special lighting switchboard was fitted in the Hall, and a temporary stage erected by the entrance to the main corridor. For 14 days, assemblies were in the Gymnasium and access to Rooms 8, 9, 10 and 11 was by the back stairs. For the week beginning 16th March, the School Drama Group gave "Beauty and the Beast" to capacity audiences, seated in a half circle around the stage. Mr. Cule was the producer, assisted by many staff and senior pupils and the whole event was highly successful. In the same year, "Bay the Moon" was presented as part of a Schools Drama Festival in the Lesser Free Trade Hall. In 1960, 3 one-act plays were produced in the Hall, and in March, 1961, for 4 nights the Drama Group gave "Arms and the Man". By this time, Miss Grier was in charge of the group, thus beginning a period of annual productions which deservedly gained great praise for their consistently high standard of presentation and performance. Miss Grier had an excellent band of helpers and the smallness of the Hall assured full houses and warm and appreciative audiences. The Junior Section of the group presented a one-act play for the Adventure Theatre Guild Festival, and in March 1963, the full school production was "Hans, the Witch and the Gobbin". The Touring Theatre Centre Company visited school in 1962, and delighted an audience of 150 seniors in the Hall with scenes from "Macbeth", "Twelfth Night" and "Julius Caesar" .

The 5th, 6th and staff dance was held annually at the end of the Autumn term with dance practices organised after school, generally by Mr. Booth, and the Housecraft Department. The Chairman of the Governors and Mrs Hatton were guests in 1958. The Old Scholars' Association organised a Dinner Dance each March, and a reunion in school in November. The Association suffered a great loss in 1962 with the death of the Chairman, Mr. Tom Dobbins. He had held office for 10 years and had been most active and enthusiastic. Fortunately, Councillor, Mrs Nellie Beer readily agreed to take over as Chairman, despite her many other commitments, and she has continued to serve in that office with great distinction. In 1963, the Headmaster heard that Graham Brown, who in 1956 had been the first to go direct to University had gained a lst class Honours Degree in Botany followed by Ph.D at Durham University and then proceeded to a Fellowship at Melbourne University in Australia. In 1962, the Earl of Woolton donated a sum of money to produce an annual prize or prizes, thus beginning the Earl of Woolton Essay Prizes. The first subject was "The Changing Face of Manchester" and in 1963 "Growing Up".

The North Road fields continued to provide the main playing field area, with Greenmount Secondary School using the pitches during the week when Ardwick was not timetabled there. Bad weather in late 1958 and early 1959 caused some problems. There was a spell when for three weeks no games periods were possible outside and although the Netball teams reached the semifinals or finals of their competitions for the first time in many years, no trophy was won. Even so, that year saw several girIs become regular members of the Manchester Girls' Netball Team. A. Jones was a member of the Manchester Boys' Football Team, which won the English Schools' Trophy in 1960. The school received a handsome cup in 1963 for the House Soccer Competition, presented by Mr. Candy who had been captain of a school cup-winning team in an earlier year. House matches followed the usual sequence during each year, including separate swimming galas and a cross-country championship, at Wythenshawe. The annual sports continued to be held at White City until July 1963, when Longford Park Stadium proved to be more compact and suitable. In that month, the school participated in a 4 sided athletics competition with 3 other schools at Didsbury. In these years a school hockey team made headway, winning the Manchester Schools' Hockey Association Trophy in March 1960, and by 1961, a school tennis team was strong enough to play some matches, practising at North Road with the aid of portable equipment. Games practices did at times create problems and in his report the Headmaster drew attention to this, pointing out that on occasions, the girls yard was the site for simultaneous practice for hockey, tennis, and staff cricket, and that long jump practices prior to sports day were held in the Hall in the dinner hour, with the run-up along the middle corridor.

A. Kirk gained outstanding success by establishing the fastest time in the Safford Hundred Swimming Competition and gained the Joseph Dixon Memorial Cup (50 yards backstroke) for 1961 and 1962. A Netball and Hockey team took part in festivities to mark the opening of the Mersey Bank Playing Fields in 1961, and other new physical activities began in School. A table tennis table was bought and one other acquired, and soon there were lively table tennis matches in the Hall during the dinner hour. Badminton began in 1962. Mr. Clarke, with other colleagues, led a series of school hikes at weekends and Mrs Brewer introduced Modern Educational Dance as an extra activity. The staff enjoyed participating in many of these things - although not the latter - often competing against school teams. In 1961, for instance, the Staff played the School at Table Tennis, Netball, Football, Cricket and Hockey. The Staff generally won these encounters, although it is fair to say that there were times when the rules were liberally interpreted. In much more serious competition however, were the efforts to gain places on the popular Outward Bound courses, and 5 such places were obtained in the school year 1962/3. The school supported an effort by Mrs Corlett for the Lancashire Netball Team of which she was a member. She organised a Christmas Fayre, held one day after school, and £30 was raised. In November 1958, 10 boys from Openshaw Technical High School gave a special Gym display. Another development on team lines was the setting up of a Safety Quiz team, trained initially by Mr. Rees, which reached the final of the City competition in 1960.

During the cold winter of 1958/59, there were periods without coke for heating, and attendance was affected, as it was by fog and cold in the winter of 1961/2. Use of the Octagon was discontinued in June 1959, and by September the new extension was fully in use. It was decided that, with the new cloakroom space available, the old cloakrooms could be put to a different use. The girls cloakroom adjacent to the Gymnasium was converted into a room for storing portable dining room furniture - later it became a servery as well. The two cloakrooms near the boys and girls side entrances were made into changing rooms for P.E. groups, with the end area in each case being partitioned off for staff changing. New lighting was installed in the Library, Senior Mistress's room and the office, and an electric timing clock and bell system was installed in July 1959. Gradually, electric clocks were delivered to replace the old hand winders. In 1960, the lecture theatre was remodelled - the old benches being replaced by tip up seats, a change which was necessary but which reduced the seating capacity. By April 1961, all old furniture had been taken out of the library and been replaced by new tables and chairs. From September 1959, the Library was no longer used as a classroom. In 1958, the Hall and Gym floors and the large Needlework tables were sanded and sealed and a pottery kiln was fixed in the Art Room in 1962. The building of the extension, with its boiler house, provided a useful area for bicycles to be stored against the wide wall, and several boys took advantage of this facility. More space was created in the girls yard from September 1959 by the demolition of the Laundry room, "The Tin Tabernacle" having outlived its usefulness.