The village where I went to primary school isn't too far from where I live now and they have an enthusiastic local history group. Last year they did a display about the village school. This year the exhibition was called Wetherden folk. (We didn't actually live in the village but half a mile out in a hamlet of 14 houses, so didn't know many people in the village apart from those at school)
My photos of photos, most from newspapers and already enlarged for the exhibition and taken on my phone are awful. I just snapped a few people I knew, people who were at school at the same time as I was.
The school was very small, two classrooms, two teachers - so the picture below of the group who were 3 years older than me is the equivalent of a whole class = 1 girl and 6 boys. In my "year" there were 2 girls and 4 boys.
The first headmistress when I was there lived just along the road from the school and every lunchtime 3 pupils would walk to her house to take her dog out for a walk! One youngster - Me - an 8 year old, One of 9 years old - a girl called Glynis and the girl in the photo below- also a Susan who would have been 10 or 11 were one group. I can't remember how many times we took the dog out but I think the head teacher retired soon afterwards so maybe not many.
Can you imagine that happening now?
The footballers in the first photo are all younger than me but at primary school at the same time.
The second photo is a year or two later, some are younger than me and some a bit older and I need to contact the History Society because after coming home and pondering, I think (need to check) this isn't a group of Wetherden Footballers as such, but actually the Wetherden Baptist Chapel Youth group or FOY (Fellowship of Youth) where I went to too. Our FOY leader was such an enthusiastic man he organised all sorts of things for us to do which often involved 6 or 7 of us squashing into his Morris Traveller (They were the cars that looked like a van with wood trim) and doing car treasure hunts or taking us to quizzes at other Baptist chapels. He would have helped with taking the football team to matches and I remember going to watch them play as I was mad about one of these boys in the photo at the time............ although he wasn't keen on me!
Many, Many years later I ended up doing after school childminding for his 3 children - which is one of those strange coincidences that happen if you live in the same area for a while!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
I find old photos very interesting Sue as I like to look and compare the very few I have. I used to “ go the messages” for teachers on my way back to school. This included prescriptions from the chemist and cigarettes! Thank goodness times have changed.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see all these old photos I'd not seen before
DeleteI am absolutely sure the school children of today would not be allowed to walk any dog in school time! Nowadays everything is taken to them after a rigorous risk assessment. Our local village school does however have a school dog which apparently helps hear the children read!
ReplyDeleteThat must be fun to have a dog going into school.
DeleteI love looking at photos. I went to a couple of school reunions. I remember by best friend (1955 - 2017) who had Morris Traveller a lovely car we had lots of fun in that car. It's is only a little while when I was looking at a web site to see if I could find some old school names.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the memories Sue.
Hazel c uk
I would love to know where some of these people are now, although I do know the whereabouts of a few and I know one sadly passed away last year
DeleteI really enjoyed hearing about your memories and school life. We moved around from Kent to Hertfordshire - for a better job for my dad. In Kent I remember we were all terrified of the headmistress. One day all of the school had to assemble outside. A parent a woman had to speak to the entire school, she had taken her children out of the village school ( which drew children from a fairly wide area) and had enrolled them in another school, and then decided the village school was better. So the headmistress made her stand up in front of row upon row of kids and apologise and say that the village school was better and apologise to the headmistress. Even at a young age I can remember really feeling for the parent. Jean/Wpg
ReplyDeleteThat headmistress sounds quite evil!
DeleteNo, dog walking would never happen now. I was thinking back to my time at primary school recently. I can very clearly remember being able to sit on the step that led down to the street outside, which I think was so I could either draw the scene, or observe how many people walked by! Now that entrance to the school is permanently locked and not used, times have changed so much. Can't imagine for one second any kids being allowed to sit on the step on the very edge of the school during class time. At high school, there is no option for home lunch. I always went home for lunch, Violet is at my old high school, and now it's not allowed!
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I suppose they think that if people went home they would never be seen again!
DeleteNot boring at all,it's good to share your memories.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteIt's absolutely fascinating.
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Thank you Joy
DeleteI attended a similar small school in a village midway between Sheffield and Worksop. I was a comer in and made the 25th pupil in the primary school - I was 6. The school had one room with a partition to separate infants from juniors and two teachers.
ReplyDeleteMyself and a friend used to walk the 3 mile to the next village to see one of the teachers on the weekend - we just knocked on her door and she always greeted us with a smile and lemonade. Looking back I bet she was really pleased to see us on her days off!!
There were four different age groups in the big class, have no idea how that worked but we managed to learn
DeleteAnd maybe you story of visiting the teacher Could be the reason that teachers now live miles away from the school!
I went to a small school where one teacher taught a mixed age group from 4 to 8 in one church hall, attached to her husband's church. We walked up the road at break time to play in the Rectory garden. She taught everybody individually and we went to her desk and stood by it. The hall looked quite full to me at the age of 4. She taught me to read and write and then told my mother she could do no more for me and suggested I move on. That was when I went to the Convent. Goodness knows what she did with the one's who were 7 and 8. All I can remember is she had the cane in the corner behind her desk and regularly used it on the same boy. I was in Diss this afternoon and thought of you. Email me via the blog sometime.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking I must do the churches near the border like Palgrave and then I end up calling in on others when I'm out visiting daughter etc and have about 3 waiting to post about. I WILL get there eventually and will email when I do.
DeleteIt doesn't have to be a church. We could just meet for a coffee!
DeleteGoodness what a spritely looking lady for 100. I love a good trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteShe still did the Churches sponsored bike ride in her 80's!
DeleteIt's wonderful that your local historians are keeping track of your past for you. We have a local one called the Crown Point Country Historical Society. Enjoy your week! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
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