The Barnes Family

The Barnes family pictured outdoors. Four members stand with Robert Barnes seated at the front.

Five members of Robert (Bob) Barnes’ family have studied at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, including grandson Jonathan, who graduated in 2020.

Bob Barnes graduated from º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ in 1956 with a DLC in Handicraft, and his son, granddaughter and grandson would follow in his footsteps.

Here, Bob shares his story.

The family

“My wife Shirley and I have six grown up children, including triplets. Including our grand and great grandchildren there are 34 of us holding 20 degrees, including a PhD and six masters mainly in Engineering and IT, but also in nursing and education.

Pictured in our family photograph, left to right back is Steven Harmond, who was at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ from 1999 to 2002. He studied BSc Computing and Management and is now the director of a prominent design, manufacturing and installation company. He is married to my granddaughter Rachel (nee Tan) next to him in the photo.

Rachel was at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ from 2000 to 2003 when she graduated with a BEng Hons in Product Design and Manufacturing. She is now a director of a health and medical equipment company.

Next is one of my grandsons, Jonathan Barnes, who gained a first-class Meng degree in Innovative Engineering in 2020. He is now working at Rolls Royce. His father next to him, Robert Barnes, was at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ from 1983 to 1986 gaining a BTech in Production Engineering and Management with honours before studying for an MSc in Computing at Hatfield.”

Bob’s º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ journey

“In the photo I am seated in the front. I am 88 so it's a long time since the Autumn of 1950 when I was still at Taunton's School, Southampton and went for an interview at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ College for a place on the Handicraft Teacher Training course.

The weather was extremely cold with thick snow on the ground as I made my way via London by stream train to the town.

I still have the brochure of 1949 with a cover showing the original entrance to the college. My Design teacher at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ was Edward Barnsley, and I still have the furniture I made under his guidance.

Today we call the subject Design and Technology, and I can claim to be one of the those who strove to update the subject before the Government's Project Technology was launched. I first taught in Bristol's Lockleaze School and used to meet with Geoffrey Harrison (GBH who became the new Head of Creative Design which replaced Handicraft at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ in the 1960s) and some others in an Association promoting Technical Education.

I left º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ with an honours DLC and a distinction, ending up as a Senior General Inspector of schools in Birmingham, then Essex. I wrote the first textbook on School Technology in 1974, was an adviser on industry/ education, a university examiner, the founder chairman of the Nelex SATRO for ten years and after I retired from full time work, I became an Ofsted Inspector, and then the Quality Assurance Inspector to Teacher Training group until I was 80.

The University awarded me an honorary degree during its centenary celebration just over ten years ago.

At º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ I resided at Charnwood Hall and was the Hall Treasurer, sharing a room with my longest lasting friend Jim Billingham, who still lives in Northampton where he taught since º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ times.”

Do you have a strong family affinity to º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ? Get in touch.