Students at Oxford’s Secondary Technical School had plenty of outings as part of their studies.

Regular visits were made to factories, museums and other places of interest to increase their knowledge.

Former pupil Phil Spurrett, of Brasenose Road, Didcot, has copies of four editions of the school magazine, The Phoenix, which give details of the trips.

According to the December 1952 issue, one group was given a guided tour of the Pressed Steel factory at Cowley.

Two boys later wrote in the magazine: “Our first visit was to the shop where the big dies are made.

“From there, we were taken through the press shop, where car bodies are stamped out in sections, then into the shop where the cars are assembled.

“Here, the sections are spot-welded together, and the doors are hung.

“When the cars have reached this stage, certain types of bodies are taken away, while others are painted, internally wired, and the seats and glass put in.

“We were also shown round the refrigeration plant, where different-shaped refrigerators are designed and produced.”

At that time, other groups visited the amateur athletics championships at White City in London, the 19th Radio Show at Earls Court, Bedford brickworks, and the Oxford gasworks beside the Thames in St Ebbe’s.

The June 1953 edition of the magazine featured visits to the Morris Motors’ car factory at Cowley, London museums, to an international hockey match between England and Belgium at Wembley, Cadbury’s chocolate factory in Birmingham and the Westminster Bank staff training centre.

The December 1953 issue gave details of a school visit to the Coronation Review of the Fleet by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Spithead.

The final edition of The Phoenix appeared in December that year and included articles about a visit to the Huntley & Palmer biscuit factory at Reading and to the Ritz cinema in George Street, Oxford, to see The Conquest of Everest.

The following year, the school moved to Headington and became Cheney School.