photos posted on 14th oct 2011

Most of these children were the first intake of the school, which began with 19 pupils in 1949, I think. The photos must date from 1951 or '52 I think, and the headless lady is Iona Barlow, our headmistress. She was an inspiring teacher.
I remember Miss Mann, who taught my brother, Mrs Pike who taught arithmetic, Mrs Wragge who taugt me piano.
The children at desks ,from the EADT in 1951, gives a real feeling of the classroom. I am lefthanded and I remember what a trial were the inkwells and dip pens for left handers, placed as they were on the right of the desk. The ink smelled wonderful. We used to do intelligence tests weekly I remember. we had a handful of beans on our desks for mental arithmetic.. Mr Barlow , Miss Barlow's father,taught us Bible studies. I won a little illustrated Bible as a prize for a picture of Joseph and his coat of many colours.

We sang English folk songs- the Lincolnshire poacher, The ash grove, ....

We use to have rests after lunch, on pale green canvas mattresses, with a teacher reading us a story.
We were very proud of the "apparatus" which we used for gym, pale varnished wood frames and planks.
At this time so soon after the war , materials were not abundant and art and handicraft often made use of cardboard milk bottle tops, wall paper, paint mixed with flour paste, papier mache with newspaper and flour paste. I made a little papier mache ashtray for my grandfather.

I think wednesday was a half day, and Mrs Newth taught dancing.