Hi! My name is Alan
Peace and I was a pupil at this school between 1954 and 1957. My reason for
setting up this blog site is to provide a historical account of what it was
like attending a brand new school in the 1950s. Obviously there have been
many, many pupils passing through this same school for decades now and each
will have their own story to tell. I wanted to give an account of my own
experiences and memories from a period back in time and invite others to do the same. I attended both the 40th
and 50th year celebrations at the school but missed the 60th
unfortunately. In 1993, following the
celebration, I visited my old headmistress, Miss W Horsfield, at her home in
Crosspool, Sheffield . Yes, this lady who had
registered my name on my first day at school and slapped my legs for accidentally
tearing a reading book in an argument with a girl in our third year was now welcoming me, as an old school pupil, into her home for a cuppa. She
showed me a photograph album which had been given to her on her retirement. The
photos were mainly of the school and children of the 1950s/ early 60s, and she
kindly allowed me to borrow the whole album and photocopy the ones I was
interested in. These are the photographs which are now included in this blog
with the kind permission of Mr Paul Walters, photographer of Mexborough. The older photographs taken about 1950, which pre-date the new infants school, are of the 'old' infants school which seems to have been split between the Nursery Hut (now Robin Hood Pub car park) and the old junior school. I have included these photographs as they are still part of the 50s era and are probably fairly rare anyway, so I'm sure someone out there will appreciate their inclusion.
Please feel free to
write your comments on the blog and name anyone you recognise, correcting any names I might have got wrong.
Monday, 3 March 2014
No.2 - New School 1953
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No.3 - The Main Entrance 1953
No.4 - Inside the Classrooms 1953
No.5 - Memories - First day at school - Nightmare!!!
I was born at my
grandparent’s house in Midland
Road Park Road Swinton Park Park Road, Swinton
Fitzwilliam School
There is one horrible day I remember well. The new term must have already started. It was maybe days, weeks or even a month or so into it when my mother and father took me up to school to put my name down for starting. On entering the main doors, my mother went off to the right to Miss Horsfield’s room to sort out the admin, while I stayed with my father in the entrance area looking at different play toys. I clearly remember a tubular steel rocking horse painted pale green. Suddenly, my mother came out with Miss Horsfield and signalled that we were all going along the corridor. I must have sensed something was not quite right. Pointing to the entrance doors, I told my parents that this was the way we had come in - my childish logic deducing it must also be the way out, unlike the direction we seemed to be now moving in. As we went along the corridor, the first classroom on the left was opened up - Miss Sheridan was the teacher - and I was shepherded into it like a lost sheep. I don’t remember exactly what followed, except that my parents had gone and I was overwhelmed with tears and a strong sense of insecurity. This did not seem a safe place to be! At break I do remember being on my own in the playground; full of feelings of depression and unreality, I was a lost little kid in a strange world. At dinnertime I put my coat on ready to go home. My father and brother were supposed to be collecting me, but there was no sign of them. A kind dinner lady came over to me to see what the problem was and took me to the front school gate where I saw dad and my brother. I didn’t eat anything at dinner time, and afterwards my dad played cricket with me in the park to take my mind off things. Thankfully, education and induction into school has vastly improved over the years. For me, however, the whole of that first year was not a good experience, leaving me with an ongoing feeling of insecurity which has since affected me on many occasions when presented with similar situations. A positive change came about in my second year with Miss Milnes as teacher. Things seemed to pick up during that year. Also, we had moved houses again - this time to the bottom ofValley Road
There is one horrible day I remember well. The new term must have already started. It was maybe days, weeks or even a month or so into it when my mother and father took me up to school to put my name down for starting. On entering the main doors, my mother went off to the right to Miss Horsfield’s room to sort out the admin, while I stayed with my father in the entrance area looking at different play toys. I clearly remember a tubular steel rocking horse painted pale green. Suddenly, my mother came out with Miss Horsfield and signalled that we were all going along the corridor. I must have sensed something was not quite right. Pointing to the entrance doors, I told my parents that this was the way we had come in - my childish logic deducing it must also be the way out, unlike the direction we seemed to be now moving in. As we went along the corridor, the first classroom on the left was opened up - Miss Sheridan was the teacher - and I was shepherded into it like a lost sheep. I don’t remember exactly what followed, except that my parents had gone and I was overwhelmed with tears and a strong sense of insecurity. This did not seem a safe place to be! At break I do remember being on my own in the playground; full of feelings of depression and unreality, I was a lost little kid in a strange world. At dinnertime I put my coat on ready to go home. My father and brother were supposed to be collecting me, but there was no sign of them. A kind dinner lady came over to me to see what the problem was and took me to the front school gate where I saw dad and my brother. I didn’t eat anything at dinner time, and afterwards my dad played cricket with me in the park to take my mind off things. Thankfully, education and induction into school has vastly improved over the years. For me, however, the whole of that first year was not a good experience, leaving me with an ongoing feeling of insecurity which has since affected me on many occasions when presented with similar situations. A positive change came about in my second year with Miss Milnes as teacher. Things seemed to pick up during that year. Also, we had moved houses again - this time to the bottom of
No.6 - The Main Hall 1953
 |
| The Main Hall at dinner time with children and teachers having school dinner together. Tables and benches were set out each day and the kitchen serving hatch was opened up. |
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| The Main Hall during PE lessons. I notice the tubular steel rocking horse on the left, which I saw on my first day at school. However, the large wooden climbing frame which was located in the far left corner of the photograph does not yet appear to have been installed. |
No.7 - Memories - The Main Hall activities
School Assemblies were
held in the Main Hall but I’m not sure if they were every day or once a week.
The song that sticks in my mind is the old tune of:
All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL <<<<<<CLICK HERE
This was the area where we also did PE. There was a room where the skittles, ropes, hoops and beanbags etc., were kept and in the corner of the hall, was a very large wooden climbing frame, which was my favourite apparatus.
May Day celebrations were held in this room along with any other activity which parents could attend to watch their children.
Obviously, it was the dining room also and the dinner ladies served from behind a hatch which closed off with a wooden roller shutter.
All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL <<<<<<CLICK HERE
This was the area where we also did PE. There was a room where the skittles, ropes, hoops and beanbags etc., were kept and in the corner of the hall, was a very large wooden climbing frame, which was my favourite apparatus.
May Day celebrations were held in this room along with any other activity which parents could attend to watch their children.
Obviously, it was the dining room also and the dinner ladies served from behind a hatch which closed off with a wooden roller shutter.
No.8 - Special Days of the Year - Halloween
Now I can’t remember
whether we did anything in class for Halloween – anyone remember? Of course it
was a bit different in those days and not the big thing it is today. We did
celebrate it at home however, with other kids on Valley Road
No.9 - Memories - Education and School Trips
I can't say that I can remember much about the education side of school life. Was that why we were there?
I do remember that we read Janet and John books, numbered 1,2,3 etc., but I always seemed to be behind on these. As for Arithmetic, I think we may have had abacus frames for counting in addition to those small cowry shells.
We also did role playing as can be seen from the two photographs of the bus and train stations. In the corner of each classroom was a storeroom where all the materials, equipment and play costumes were kept.
Did we go on school trips? I can just remember one bus trip to Lady Mable College of Physical Education in Wentworth House. I think we were probably being used to assist the students in their training, as we were in some hall doing PE with them - skittles, beanbags, find an open space etc., the usual drill! It may well have been in the Marble Salon where the priceless stone-inlaid floor had been covered by a protective flooring.
I do remember that we read Janet and John books, numbered 1,2,3 etc., but I always seemed to be behind on these. As for Arithmetic, I think we may have had abacus frames for counting in addition to those small cowry shells.
We also did role playing as can be seen from the two photographs of the bus and train stations. In the corner of each classroom was a storeroom where all the materials, equipment and play costumes were kept.
Did we go on school trips? I can just remember one bus trip to Lady Mable College of Physical Education in Wentworth House. I think we were probably being used to assist the students in their training, as we were in some hall doing PE with them - skittles, beanbags, find an open space etc., the usual drill! It may well have been in the Marble Salon where the priceless stone-inlaid floor had been covered by a protective flooring.
No.12 - Special Days of the Year - Christmas
To be honest I can’t
remember whether we had a Nativity Play or not. Anyone remember?
I know we sang carols and the one I remember most, which seemed to have a sadness about it, was:
In the bleak mid winter,
softly winds may moan.
Earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone.
IN THE BLEAK MID WINTER <<<<CLICK HERE
I also remember preparing presents for our mothers such as Christmas cards, Chinese lanterns, little cross stitch cloths, bookmarks or something similar, in the lead up to Christmas. Not sure if dad got anything! But the thing I remember most is Father Christmas and was he the ‘real’ one or not? I think we’d manage to work it out that he was none other than Mr. Parkes, the caretaker of the school. We each had to go up to Father Christmas in the Main Hall to receive our presents, and very good presents they were too. No expense spared. I also remember walking home on a winter’s night all the way downValley
Road Valley
Road
I know we sang carols and the one I remember most, which seemed to have a sadness about it, was:
In the bleak mid winter,
softly winds may moan.
Earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone.
IN THE BLEAK MID WINTER <<<<CLICK HERE
I also remember preparing presents for our mothers such as Christmas cards, Chinese lanterns, little cross stitch cloths, bookmarks or something similar, in the lead up to Christmas. Not sure if dad got anything! But the thing I remember most is Father Christmas and was he the ‘real’ one or not? I think we’d manage to work it out that he was none other than Mr. Parkes, the caretaker of the school. We each had to go up to Father Christmas in the Main Hall to receive our presents, and very good presents they were too. No expense spared. I also remember walking home on a winter’s night all the way down
No.13 - Memories - At the end of the day
Towards the end of the day it was often story time when all
the class would sit on the floor at the teachers feet. Occasionally there were
embarrassing accidents following insistence from the teacher that you should be
able to wait until home time before going to the loo. When you’ve got to go,
you’ve got to go and pools of water may suddenly appear on the floor. Unfortunately, if
this did happen to you, you were told to go and get the mop and bucket from Mr.
Parkes. Yes, you’ve guessed it, I was not left out of this terrible ritual.
Just before going home (not sure if this was in every year)
we would all stand and sing a rather sad tune to the words:
Now the day is over,
night is drawing nigh.
Shadows of the evening,
steal across the sky.
Close your eyes and see if you can remember this tune, although Michael Crawford perhaps sings it a bit better than we did:
NOW THE DAY IS OVER <<<<<CLICK HERE
Now the day is over,
night is drawing nigh.
Shadows of the evening,
steal across the sky.
Close your eyes and see if you can remember this tune, although Michael Crawford perhaps sings it a bit better than we did:
NOW THE DAY IS OVER <<<<<CLICK HERE
No.14 - Special Days of the Year - Easter
Hark, hark, hark! While
infant voices sing.
Hark, hark, hark! While
infant voices sing.
Loud hosannas! loud
hosannas! loud hosannas!
To our King.
Went the chorus of the hymn 'Children of Jerusalem' as we
lead up to Easter, preparing our Easter egg baskets with paper straw inside. We
would leave them on our tables in class over night to find next morning, white
Easter Bunny footprints all over the classroom (cleverly printed by Mr. Parkes,
the caretaker – was there no end to this man’s talents?) and a chocolate Easter
egg in our baskets.
No.15 - Special Days of the Year - May Day
May Day was always a big
occasion with the crowning of the new May Queen. This is one of those old folk
festival customs which had its roots in the Roman festival of Flora, Goddess of fruit and flowers and marked the beginning of summer even though summer doesn't officially begin until June. However, this annual event disappeared over time for some reason, yet as a
celebration, it seamed to be the most important in the school calendar.
Each
class would perform something special as can be seen from the photographs
displayed. My photograph showing four sailors, involved us doing a ‘Hornpipe’
dance to music and there were many other contributions. However, I can't remember whether there was dancing around the May Pole or not - I know we did that at the Junior School with long ribbons held by pupils interweaving as
they danced.
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No.28 - Memories - 3rd and Final Year
My final year at school was in Mrs Staniforth’s class. She
was a lady from Kilnhurst and looked a bit frightening at first but her warm
heart soon came to the surface after getting to know her. There was a time in
this class when we were allowed to come to school on our scooters (no, not motor scooters) and park them
in the top end entrance until it was time to go home. This was really great
when travelling home down Valley
Road . It was also in this year that I became one of the
milk monitors. Each morning we would collect the milk trolley from Mr. Parkes
and load it up with crates of milk. We would stop at each classroom along the corridor and find out
the number of bottles required, leaving the crates outside.
This was also the year that I was sent to the Headmistress, Miss Horsfield. As I remember, it was a day when Mrs Staniforth must have been off school and the teacher in the class next door was watching over two classes at the same time. We were supposed to be reading with one book between two people on each table. I seemed to have had a struggle with a girl with whom I was sharing a book and the pages were torn. The teacher on discovering this assumed I was to blame and sent me with the book to the Headmistress. After scolding me severely she slapped my legs. Ouch!!!! Well I suppose these incidents do stick in our minds don't they.
This was also the year that I was sent to the Headmistress, Miss Horsfield. As I remember, it was a day when Mrs Staniforth must have been off school and the teacher in the class next door was watching over two classes at the same time. We were supposed to be reading with one book between two people on each table. I seemed to have had a struggle with a girl with whom I was sharing a book and the pages were torn. The teacher on discovering this assumed I was to blame and sent me with the book to the Headmistress. After scolding me severely she slapped my legs. Ouch!!!! Well I suppose these incidents do stick in our minds don't they.
No.29 - The Old Infants School - 1950's - Taken in Nursery Hut Grounds
No.31 - The Old Infants School -1950's - Taken up at the Old School Building
No.32 - The Old Infants School -1950's - Taken up at the Old School Building
No.33 - The Old Infants School - 1950's - Taken up at the Old School Building
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