Memories of Leigh Primary (North Street) School
This will be a rather muddled collection of memories as it over 30 years since I was at Leigh Junior School, but none the less they are really fond memories. I believe I started in the primary school at 5 in 1972, leaving at 11 in 1978 to head towards Belfairs’ High School.
The infant entrance was at the back of the school, literally in North Street, which the school was often nicknamed. Entering the wrought-iron school gate you faced the back of the school which I think was probably a single classroom sat between the boys’ and girls’ cloak room and loos. Round each corner was an entrance to cloak rooms and I seem to recollect on the right hand-side a small remedial library. On the same side of the building was a seemingly long driveway leading to the back entrance of the junior school building, a care-takers lodge and the canteen. To the opposite side of the building (to the left) you’d pass the first entrance and then enter a short and narrow open topped brick “corridor” to the playground. Once through the brick corridor, a veranda stood to the right with another entrance taking you to the infant-school secretaries room, classrooms and the old school hall, come theatre and gym. I think I’m right in saying the total school complex was broadly T shaped in design.
Apart from a few grazed legs the infant playground was a fun and wonderfully imaginary place. Kicking balls at targets and playing on metal bars which probably health & safety now wouldn’t allow, provided hours of entertainment. We used to play a game called castles (I think), using a bricked up door frame as the area to guard from our enemies. The L-shaped playground lead to the “never-to-cross” white line to the junior school girl’s playground, facing a demountable or large caravan, which I spent my 3rd year of junior school being taught within by Mrs Preston. This playground also reminds me of “wet playtime” which required us all to stay in the main hall watching children’s TV programmes such as Pipkins. Somehow there seemed to be more rain in the 70’s!
My infant school teacher was a lovely lady called Mrs Johnson. It’s no exaggeration to say that apart from doing the remarkable job of teaching us how to read, write and perform basic arithmetic, she was our mum by proxy. My memories are of sweets from a magical sweet tin, silver and gold stars given as rewards and stories from plastic coated pictures which hung on the wall. It was a fairly unique year in that my class of 30(ish) kids consisted of 4 sets of twins including my brother and myself.
We played so much. The wendy-house had an unplumbed sink which we still poured water (and sand) down! The music area, a long room which seemed like an after-though was a favourite play area for many. I think mum’s came in to read to children here too? Does anyone remember the English resource which consisted of filed activity-cards; each card coloured to representing level of difficultly, purple and think being the hardest? We had named cloak room hooks and duffle bags for our P.E kit and luminous orange plastic versions for swimming. The school hall was the gym too where we climbed dark wooden bars and anchor size ropes, hopped over long wooden benches wearing black elasticised plimsolls.
I think most of the classrooms looked the similar? They were and probably still are, unfeasibly tall rooms, with what seemed like 10 foot high wooden sash windows. The walls were yellow gloss painted bricks, leading up to a church-like wooden roof in white. These leaked sometimes when our local petty thieves decided that their needs for the roof lead were greater than children’s education. The sliding black board mounted in a wooden frame headed the class, with the teacher’s desk facing lots of miniature wooden desks and chairs hosting similarly miniature people. Desks with lids that opened to hold furry pencil cases, note-books covered in wall-paper and packed lunches. Desk with ink wells which never saw in use, but I guess must have served a purpose at some stage?
We had daily assembly headed by Mrs Lynton (I think?) which consisted of prayers, hymns and school announcements. Cross legged we sat on dark polished parquet flooring. Each class was separated into one or two lines with our teachers sitting against the school hall, alongside us. The same hall was used for school plays, mainly performed by the juniors and typically musicals such as “Joseph” and “Oliver”. Even now I can clearly remember songs such as “Close every door”, “Oom-Pah-Pah” and “Food Glorious Food” - fantastic!
Talking about food glorious food, it would be remiss to ignore school dinners and the canteen. In my minds-eye the building reminded me of a small 2nd World War airplane hanger, with a long corrugated semi-circular roof. Food was server through a series of letterbox shaped hatches from large aluminium trays to basic dinner sets which I presume were miniaturised? The food was hot and filling and definitely not like today’s junk food. Mash potatoes and vegetable were typically served with sliced meat or sausages. The sweet was often a sponge pudding with multi-flavoured custards, though sadly semolina with a blob of jam was also server... ahhggg!
My only grumbles about this time were being taught ITA or Initial Teaching Alphabet. An alphabet based on sounds such as “i-e” or more properly “i” as in ice. Click here to see: ITA. Basically we were all taught an alphabet which our parents didn’t know, ensuring they could not support our learning. An alphabet which we threw away once we went into junior school to learn the standard alphabet which we should have been taught 2 years earlier. It is a shame that educationalists decided to experiment on children to make their name. It left children now in adulthood with a nagging doubt that they may have achieved more through traditional teaching. My other grumble is Mrs Thatcher taking the free ¼ pint milk (and biscuits) given to infants and juniors. I am certain it must have saved money, but at what cost to health of children even now!?
I had four teachers in the junior school: Mrs Slinger, Mrs Light, Mrs Preston and finally Mr Rombault in the fourth year. Weird really, I have such very different memories and experiences from all of them. Mrs Preston was the teacher who taught us in the de-mountable; a noisy, damp-warm “building” which gave us a gold-fish bowl view of the playgrounds and a less impressive view of a single brick wall topped with wire fencing. Mr Rombault taught the times-tables by song. I seem to recollect standing on desks singing 4 x 4 = 16... 5 x 4 = 20... whilst we attempted to play instruments and a girl-group did harmonies! A truly surreal experience, but I do know my tables! Mrs Light was strict, and her class room cold as the yellow door faced the external Canonsleigh Cresent entrance. I don’t think I particularly enjoyed my second year? I think Mrs Slinger only taught us for a short period of time as my memories are so very vague. I seem to remember making clays pots and Christmas decorations, growing runner beans and looking after guinea pigs. This said, I have no concept when and who was teaching at the time. Excuse stream of consciousness thread, but Christmas was marvellous, with classroom parties, the Christmas Bazaar, home-made decorations and the carol service.
In the juniors the school assembly was lead by Mr Eastwell the Head Master, but now this was in the new hall, overlooking the canteen. One of the fixtures of junior school life and this hall was the team-points system. Each team was named after the patron saints: St David’s, St Andrew, St Patrick and St George and points earned for special achievements in sport or academia. These points were on display in a sort of 4 column wooded rack with a coloured rod for each point earned during the year. A grand piano stood to your left as you entered the hall with sports equipment stacked behind it in an alcove. Block staging signified the front of the hall, which we faced during assembly with large windows behind us.
The school had several regular events, the school play, sports day and big-toy day. For me the school plays involved being in the choir and practicing day after day during class for what seemed like weeks. It took place over a couple of nights and I can still remember Mum’s getting us dressed in a pseudo dressing room or the school-library as it was usually called. The nervous silence before the lights came on, hearty singing and the feeling of being special as mass hugging took place at the end of the performance. I still think it’s odd to this day that those teachers who never showed any musical inclination throughout the year were found strumming electric guitars and playing keyboards on the night.
This is going to sound strange now, but in the 70’s winters were wet, icy and with occasional snow-falls, summers were always gloriously hot! This fine summer weather was ideal for sports and big-toy day and a great precursor to the summer holidays. The sports day took place on the school field alongside Pall Mall Road; bunting was raised, cold drinks and I think ice-cream served. Parents shamelessly cheated during their events (the thumb on the egg being the greatest of all frauds!) and every child seemed to win something. I mention big-toy day as this truly was a special event in my eyes. Classrooms were empted as we, infants and juniors alike, played in both play-grounds with our own big-toys such as scooters, peddle carts and bikes.
The summer months remind me of glorious times but mostly of after-school swimming. After changing in what I think was a bricked s-shaped room with benches on each wall we dutifully went through the super-strength, ice-cold, chlorine foot bath. The pool was open to the elements, having no roof, but it rarely rained and the pool always seemed warm... well... certainly not freezing. White tongue shaped floats drifted across the pool, sometimes life-less, other times with struggling learners gripping hold of them for their lives. The pool itself was blue walled with beige garden slabs on the edges and two sets of metal steps leading you into either the shallow or deep end of the pool. The smell of chlorine hung in the air, only to be taken away by each swimmer on their towels and swimming gear as they reluctantly left for home, shivering. Other memorable activities included country dancing in the junior hall, and French lessons which took place from a dinner trolley - no honest!
I left Leigh Junior to go to Belfairs High in the autumn of 1978, the year of Grease the Musical, skateboards, Grange Hill, Blake-7 and Space Invaders.