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Kingsthorne Cranbourne Rd School

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
The original thread which I started about the school has disappeared, so I'm re-posting below the piece I wrote for this thread of my early memories of the school. It would be great to hear memories from other pupils of the school.

Kingsthorne Infant and Junior School (formerly Cranbourne Road Infant and Junior School)

The school was built in 1931 to accommodate the rapid expansion in the number of families being housed in the newly developed Kingstanding area. Set within a substantial 1930s housing estate, its design and facilities would have been the most up to date in school design. Its modern, low-level architecture was a vastly different to that of the old Victorian schools.

Built around a quadrangle, with a large, central, grass area the school had an air of calmness and security. The edges of the grass quadrangle were surrounded by enclosed walkways and the classrooms facing the large playgrounds to the back and front had covered, but open walkways. Many of the classrooms had views of the playgrounds around its perimeter. All the woodwork for these walkways in the 1950s was painted green. But I believe these were originally brown. The walkway branched away from the school at one point and continued a route towards the outside toilet block. Nearby was a greenhouse and a brick-built air-raid shelter. By the time I attended the school, the original use of the shelter had thankfully passed and it became the secret domain of the caretaker for his tools and equipment. The caretaker's house was on the Cranbourne Road side near the school entrance. Cranbourne Road could be seen down below us from the playground on that side. This seemed to us youngsters like a very steep drop.

Adjacent to the playground, on the Tansley Road side of the school was an enormous brick wall, behind which was a series of wooden huts. Occasionally these huts were used for lessons and it is here that I learned about £ s d. The end hut nearest the Tansley Road school entrance housed a nursery for pre-school children, but I never attended nursery, I went to a childminder.

As for most new pupils, my first day at school at the age of 5 was pretty memorable. On arrival at 9.00 a.m I was allocated my cloakroom peg for my coat and pump bag. I had my own pump bag containing my new plimsoles, some biscuits in a brown paper bag and a sugar mouse. (The sugar mouse was probably not allowed, but was a surprise popped into my bag from my mum).

I was daily mesmerised by the practice of ringing the school hand bell. Sometimes a child would walk along the covered corridor holding the bell upside down by its clapper before swinging it back and forth to announce the start of break, lunch-time or home time. I so hoped that one day I'd be chosen to carry out that job. But that responsibility would have to wait until I reached the junior section of the school.

As the morning progressed, the smell of cooking would slowly waft around the playground. Cooking of school meals was carried out in another row of huts on the Tansley Road side. Liver and onions always springs to mind. Its smell never fails to transport me back to those early school days. Sadly there's no escaping the fact that some of the cooking was not at its best, especially mashed potato and custard. I think almost all school mashed potato across the land has at one time or another suffered with 'black eye' affliction and custard with its lumpy, floury bits.

My first day at school flew past. At 4.00 the boy walked the corridor holding the bell upside down by the clapper and, with a long swing, rang out its sound. I was shocked and disappointed that the day was over. When I politely asked my lovely teacher: "Shall I come back tomorrow?" she kindly replied "Yes please"! I expect she later had a little chuckle about that later on with her colleagues in the staffroom.

The school routine quickly established itself in my mind. Each day started off with assembly in the hall. There was an old record player (with an arm and needle) which was always set to play a piece of classical music as all the classes entered the hall. The most popular piece was the 'flight of the bumblebee' - I don't know if that's the actual title, but that's what we called it. One of the many talks by the Headteacher related the origins of the name of Kingsthorne school. He told us it was inspired by a story about an old man who'd been walking and rested his walking stick on the ground. From that a new shrub grew which had thorns. Now whether that's the actual story or not I can't say, but that's how it registered in my mind. The story most probably contained an important message for us children, but it if did, it by-passed my understanding.

The days in Kingsthorne Infants were filled with wonderful activities: games, talks by interesting people (e.g. road safety!), writing with dipping pens and blotting paper, knitting, sewing and preparing for special events like the Christmas nativity or Harvest Festival. Many absorbing hours were spent making our first Christmas paper lanterns and paper chains which we'd string across the classroom. We also spent much time in the build-up to Christmas rehearsing the Nativity. One year I was chosen to be the Angel Gabriel, the following year I was 'H' in our MERRY CHRISTMAS card line up. At Easter, the line across the classroom would support a host of coloured paper baskets containing little paper easter eggs or chicks. At Harvest Festival we'd be asked to take food into school to contribute to a local care home. It was always a last minute scamble to find something to take in from home and so my contribution could have been anything from a tin of baked beans or digestive biscuits to a beautifully home grown cabbage from our garden.

In the winter or on wet days we had games lessons in the hall. There were the usual benches to balance on and a few climbing bars to clamber up the wall. Our lesson usually started off with throwing small bean bags through enormous hoops on high poles. Not very challenging, but I loved the feel of the bean bag as you tossed it from one hand to the other. Very satisfying.

When the weather was fine, we had rounders games outside in the playground on the Tansley Road side. We sometimes combined games with learning french phrases too. Must have been some modern idea to make it fun to learn another language. We had lessons on handling money in the pretend shop in the huts. And in geography lessons we'd be allowed to check out the weather measurements in a special weather station box which was in the middle of the grass quadrangle. One special geography project involvedthe whole class making a replica of the Elan Valley in papier-mâché. The grass quadrangle was also sometimes used for lessons in summer. I remember making a basic photo out there, with a piece oflino. However, to this day I have no idea how it worked.

The monkey bars (climbing bars) in the side playground near the air-aid shelter were a favourite with us girls at break times. These consisted of a series of bars for swinging on or a climbing frame for crawling up. We had great fun performing acrobatic moves. The bars were like scaffolding and the floor was solid concrete, unlike the soft surfaces playgrounds have today. So it was a risky business performing these gymnastic moves, but that didn't seem to bother us at all.

We had day trips to Kenilworth Castle, Dudley Zoo and Aston Hall. Mum filled the Duffle bag with a Packer Mac, cheese sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper and a biscuit. I had a special small, felt purse in the shape of an Austrian hat for my spending money. In my mind I was rich and spent the entire coach journey planning for all the things I was going to buy on the trip.

Miss Mole, Headmistress of the infants section would reward you with dolly mixtures for good work. Her office was up some steps to a second level, but only this part of the school had a second floor, all the classrooms were single storey. I remember very little about Miss Mole, but I vividly remember her highly valued little bags of dolly mixtures.

These days were the happiest schooldays of my life. One day in the not too distant future, the dreaded talk of tests and 11 plus exams would arrive. But for now these were carefree times when each day rolled happily on into the next.


By Viv Walker
 
These were photos I took of the school and Schoolfriends posted on the original thread. They're dated about 1963/4. In sequence:
1. The monkey bars
2. Looking at the school from the huts (on Tansley Road side)
3 &4 The Cranbourne Road playground
5. Mr Martin's car
 

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The original thread which I started about the school has disappeared, so I'm re-posting below the piece I wrote for this thread of my early memories of the school. It would be great to hear memories from other pupils of the school.

Kingsthorne Infant and Junior School (formerly Cranbourne Road Infant and Junior School)

The school was built in 1931 to accommodate the rapid expansion in the number of families being housed in the newly developed Kingstanding area. Set within a substantial 1930s housing estate, its design and facilities would have been the most up to date in school design. Its modern, low-level architecture was a vastly different to that of the old Victorian schools.

Built around a quadrangle, with a large, central, grass area the school had an air of calmness and security. The edges of the grass quadrangle were surrounded by enclosed walkways and the classrooms facing the large playgrounds to the back and front had covered, but open walkways. Many of the classrooms had views of the playgrounds around its perimeter. All the woodwork for these walkways in the 1950s was painted green. But I believe these were originally brown. The walkway branched away from the school at one point and continued a route towards the outside toilet block. Nearby was a greenhouse and a brick-built air-raid shelter. By the time I attended the school, the original use of the shelter had thankfully passed and it became the secret domain of the caretaker for his tools and equipment. The caretaker's house was on the Cranbourne Road side near the school entrance. Cranbourne Road could be seen down below us from the playground on that side. This seemed to us youngsters like a very steep drop.

Adjacent to the playground, on the Tansley Road side of the school was an enormous brick wall, behind which was a series of wooden huts. Occasionally these huts were used for lessons and it is here that I learned about £ s d. The end hut nearest the Tansley Road school entrance housed a nursery for pre-school children, but I never attended nursery, I went to a childminder.

As for most new pupils, my first day at school at the age of 5 was pretty memorable. On arrival at 9.00 a.m I was allocated my cloakroom peg for my coat and pump bag. I had my own pump bag containing my new plimsoles, some biscuits in a brown paper bag and a sugar mouse. (The sugar mouse was probably not allowed, but was a surprise popped into my bag from my mum).

I was daily mesmerised by the practice of ringing the school hand bell. Sometimes a child would walk along the covered corridor holding the bell upside down by its clapper before swinging it back and forth to announce the start of break, lunch-time or home time. I so hoped that one day I'd be chosen to carry out that job. But that responsibility would have to wait until I reached the junior section of the school.

As the morning progressed, the smell of cooking would slowly waft around the playground. Cooking of school meals was carried out in another row of huts on the Tansley Road side. Liver and onions always springs to mind. Its smell never fails to transport me back to those early school days. Sadly there's no escaping the fact that some of the cooking was not at its best, especially mashed potato and custard. I think almost all school mashed potato across the land has at one time or another suffered with 'black eye' affliction and custard with its lumpy, floury bits.

My first day at school flew past. At 4.00 the boy walked the corridor holding the bell upside down by the clapper and, with a long swing, rang out its sound. I was shocked and disappointed that the day was over. When I politely asked my lovely teacher: "Shall I come back tomorrow?" she kindly replied "Yes please"! I expect she later had a little chuckle about that later on with her colleagues in the staffroom.

The school routine quickly established itself in my mind. Each day started off with assembly in the hall. There was an old record player (with an arm and needle) which was always set to play a piece of classical music as all the classes entered the hall. The most popular piece was the 'flight of the bumblebee' - I don't know if that's the actual title, but that's what we called it. One of the many talks by the Headteacher related the origins of the name of Kingsthorne school. He told us it was inspired by a story about an old man who'd been walking and rested his walking stick on the ground. From that a new shrub grew which had thorns. Now whether that's the actual story or not I can't say, but that's how it registered in my mind. The story most probably contained an important message for us children, but it if did, it by-passed my understanding.

The days in Kingsthorne Infants were filled with wonderful activities: games, talks by interesting people (e.g. road safety!), writing with dipping pens and blotting paper, knitting, sewing and preparing for special events like the Christmas nativity or Harvest Festival. Many absorbing hours were spent making our first Christmas paper lanterns and paper chains which we'd string across the classroom. We also spent much time in the build-up to Christmas rehearsing the Nativity. One year I was chosen to be the Angel Gabriel, the following year I was 'H' in our MERRY CHRISTMAS card line up. At Easter, the line across the classroom would support a host of coloured paper baskets containing little paper easter eggs or chicks. At Harvest Festival we'd be asked to take food into school to contribute to a local care home. It was always a last minute scamble to find something to take in from home and so my contribution could have been anything from a tin of baked beans or digestive biscuits to a beautifully home grown cabbage from our garden.

In the winter or on wet days we had games lessons in the hall. There were the usual benches to balance on and a few climbing bars to clamber up the wall. Our lesson usually started off with throwing small bean bags through enormous hoops on high poles. Not very challenging, but I loved the feel of the bean bag as you tossed it from one hand to the other. Very satisfying.

When the weather was fine, we had rounders games outside in the playground on the Tansley Road side. We sometimes combined games with learning french phrases too. Must have been some modern idea to make it fun to learn another language. We had lessons on handling money in the pretend shop in the huts. And in geography lessons we'd be allowed to check out the weather measurements in a special weather station box which was in the middle of the grass quadrangle. One special geography project involvedthe whole class making a replica of the Elan Valley in papier-mâché. The grass quadrangle was also sometimes used for lessons in summer. I remember making a basic photo out there, with a piece oflino. However, to this day I have no idea how it worked.

The monkey bars (climbing bars) in the side playground near the air-aid shelter were a favourite with us girls at break times. These consisted of a series of bars for swinging on or a climbing frame for crawling up. We had great fun performing acrobatic moves. The bars were like scaffolding and the floor was solid concrete, unlike the soft surfaces playgrounds have today. So it was a risky business performing these gymnastic moves, but that didn't seem to bother us at all.

We had day trips to Kenilworth Castle, Dudley Zoo and Aston Hall. Mum filled the Duffle bag with a Packer Mac, cheese sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper and a biscuit. I had a special small, felt purse in the shape of an Austrian hat for my spending money. In my mind I was rich and spent the entire coach journey planning for all the things I was going to buy on the trip.

Miss Mole, Headmistress of the infants section would reward you with dolly mixtures for good work. Her office was up some steps to a second level, but only this part of the school had a second floor, all the classrooms were single storey. I remember very little about Miss Mole, but I vividly remember her highly valued little bags of dolly mixtures.

These days were the happiest schooldays of my life. One day in the not too distant future, the dreaded talk of tests and 11 plus exams would arrive. But for now these were carefree times when each day rolled happily on into the next.


By Viv Walker

Thank you Viv for a wonderfully detailed portrait of Cranbourne road school as I recall it. I was there very briefly while staying with my grandparents George & Obedience Littlewood who lived at 124 Tansley road. This would have been around 1949, or 1950. Next door lived a family Mr & Mrs Storey and they had a son I think named John. Seeing your photos kindled only very vague memories.....I do remember we had to put our hands on our heads if anyone spoke when we were told not to talk, and that kept us late from going home. I gather I also used to walk to school with a girl named Pauline. Anyway thank you again for kindling fond memories of Kingstanding.....I remember their phone number was Erdington 5838......funny how such minute details are locked in our memories. Best wishes from Tony MacCulloch, now living in New Zealand.
 
I attended this school from about 1939/40, the infants head teacher was Ms Poole and the juniors Ms Pugh, I don't think there were any male teachers, they were all at war, until later when a Mr Taylor returned to the juniors after serving.
At eleven years old the pupils went on to either Peckham Road or Dulwich Road senior schools.
 
Thank Viv for taking the trouble to repost the history of Crambourne Road School you don't say when you attended the school.

I attend the school till 1948 before going to Dulwich Rd Seniors.

I've just been writing to a school friend in New Zealand it was nearly 70 years ago I met her,

Just in case any old school pall's are looking through these are some of the names I remember.

Graham Wharton, Kenneth Tredwell, Roy Parish ( played for Aston Boys Football Team ) Ronnie Jordan, Carol Crump, Margaret Ford, Maureen Faulkner, Derek Boxly, Johnnie Middleton,
The head Miss Fairhead, the dreaded Miss Freeman, Mr Howard,
I have to say they was happytimes it even though it was wartime for a part of my attendance, no buses in them days you walked in all snow, ice, fog.
Being Christmas I remember parents being asked to provide jellies and cakes for the party, with food rationing os cause it wasn't easy but we had our parties.
 
hi ray thanks for your memories of kingsthorne school...yet another example of folk all pulling together when times were tough...not sure of the exact years viv was there but the photos she posted were taken in 63/64...3 of my children went there and i was also one of their dinner ladies:D nice little school to go to and to work for..still going strong

lyn
 
Thanks Ray. I was there from 1958 until 1964. Good to hear it's still going strong Lyn. Viv.
 
I actual lived in Cranbourne Road, and went to the school 1952 to 1958.
I was a super sensitive child not sure why. When I first went to school I kept crying because of some boy looked at me funny.
Mum had to go and ask if I could be moved to another place to seat, the teacher agreed, and all was well.
Also they used to take your name if you were late. In infant school for being late more than once, and only living down the road I had to go and see the Headmistress who asked me what time I went to bed. Mom had great difficultly getting me to bed, and I said something like 11pm. Which cause Mum to be summoned, and told a early bedtime would be more appropriate. On the way home Mum gave me a real stern warning about telling anyone our business.

I remember Mr Marsh in my 3rd year of Junior school, he like throwing blackboard rubbers at times, and also Mr Martin 4th year he was a gentleman.
My claim to fame is in the 3rd, and 4th year I sat next to Steve Winwood who became a famous musician, and singer. However, I remember him most, because when I was 11 I had national health glasses, and he called me prof, and four eyes.
 
Welcome Diane. You were there a little before my time, but I remember Mr Martin very well. He certainly was a gentleman, and a very encouraging teacher. He was my teacher in my last year there. Mr Marsh sounds familiar, but I can't visualise him. The one that really stuck in my mind was Mr Mullins, very strict and very liberal with the ruler on knuckles.

Pity Stevie Windwood took the mickey, but hopefully it wasn't too upsetting. Enjoy the Forum. Viv.
 
That's great. If you think of any other Kingsthorne/Cranbourne memories, I'd love to hear them. Viv.
 
Well before I go today. One of the things that sticks out for me about Cranbourne Road was being immunised against polio at the school. I believe the year I received it which I cannot recall was the year that the immunisation was first introduced in the UK.
 
I remember the medical room Diane. It was on one of the corners of the corridors - think it had a green door. Remember having injections and those colour blind tests in there. Remember thinking on the colour blindness test that I had to give the right answers - like an exam! Was never keen to have to go to see the nurse. Viv.
 
Thought I'd posted this before but can't find it. This is very much how I remember the school. Viv.

image.jpeg
 
Wow! That’s some history. Me, Jeffrey Egan, and both sisters, Christa, and Marie attended that school. I was the youngest and started around 1958/9. Miss Mole, was head with teachers miss Jones, Mrs Hamlet, miss Johnson and Mrs Williams.
You are quite right about Miss Mole’s dolly mixtures. I remember getting some when my sister Marie, dragged me to her office to show I could read.

The monkey bars look very familiar but small now, in the junior school school playground. Lovely picture too of tennis girls next to Mr Martin’s black Triumph Mayflower. He replaced that car with a green Rover 90, probably not to be outdone by the Headmaster Mr Worral, he had a Dailmler. He also had a particular fetishise of caning naughty boys in front of the whole school. The discipline was sometimes rather cruel.
I too recorded the temperature from the Stevenson screen thermometers. That interest has been with me ever since and I remain an amature meteorologist.

Your summary of school life there is excellent. I enjoyed my days there which ended in 1965, moving onto Kings Rise Secondary Modern.

Like you, I recall my first day at Kingsthorne. We lived 4 doors along Cranbourne road and I was with “our Mom” talking to Miss Mole, by the top gates. Miss Mole, asked how old I was? Five I said. “Oh well then, Mrs Egan, he can come in now” and that was that, in I went and was quickly tearing around the playground with the other kids.

During winter, we made ice slides in the top playground from the brick wall to the veranda. Mr Alderwick, the caretaker would throw salt down and all the kids would “booooo” him.

Playtime always ended with Mr Martin blowing his whistle, ending world class cricket or football. I was never any good at either.

There were some really good days there and the education as I recall was up to scratch, preparing us for life. At 64, now It must have influential to remember so much of it.
 
The Medical room:
Nit-nurse Andy, a rosy faced district nurse who would almost pull our scalp off hunting for the tell tale eggs. We all had nits at some point but my dad, an Irishman had his own way of dealing with the problem. He would sit us on a stool and dab our hair with Paraffin. I thought he was going to set fire to my head, but he didn’t. The paraffin would cause the tiny nit eggs to swell up so they could easily be removed easily with a steel tooth comb. Not a nit in site when Nurse Andy came around. Well, not of the insect variety anyway, but no doubt plenty of two legged ones lol.
Another recollection of the medical room was the horror of the annual visit from the school Dentist. He was a big German chap who would call out to the nurse. “Twenty minutes” for a filling, or “D” if a tooth needed pulling. That was followed by an agonising wait for the green form to be posted to home summoning you to warren Farm road clinic. The older kids would tell us tales of the clinic having gas chambers, blood spatterd ceilings and cries of agony. I was terrified.
 
Hi Daimlerman. We must have been there at the same time. I agree with you that the school must have had a big influence on us kids. My only bad memory about the school was Mr Mullins - who delighted in the opportunity to rap knuckles if you stumbled over the times table. Never did fully master the 8x table.

I think all of my class respected Mr Martin. He was fair, stood no messing and yes, was fond of the whistle ! Every Friday he'd call you up to his tall desk and ask you your spellings. We made sure we knew them and he was a very encouraging teacher.

I remember music lessons in the Hall. We used to sit around the upright piano and sing. I liked that, and was mesmerised by the hessian back of the piano, wondering what was underneath it. That's where we learnt the recorder. I was so excited when my mum got me my own recorder, a dark brown wooden one. My friends and I took it very seriously and we performed for the school. Thought we were terribly good with our music stands holding manuscripts. At playtime, our recorders often came with us to practice (or show off ?!) in the playground. Just realised I've called it 'playtime' - a term that's gone out of use, now called 'break'.

My overriding feeling about that time at the school was that it was all so controlled, secure and organised. Unlike what seemed like mayhem when I moved to the next school. Viv.
 
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Hi Daimlerman. We must have been there at the same time. I agree with you that the school must have had a big influence on us kids. My only bad memory about the school was Mr Mullins - who delighted in the opportunity to rap knuckles if you stumbled over the times table. Never did fully master the 8x table.

I think all of my class respected Mr Martin. He was fair, stood no messing and yes, was fond of the whistle ! Every Friday he'd call you up to his tall desk and ask you your spellings. We made sure we knew them and he was a very encouraging teacher.

I remember music lessons in the Hall. We used to sit around the upright piano and sing. I liked that, and was mesmerised by the hessian back of the piano, wondering what was underneath it. That's where we learnt the recorder. I was so excited when my mum got me my own recorder, a dark brown wooden one. My friends and I took it very seriously and we performed for the school. Thought we were terribly good with our music stands holding manuscripts. At playtime, our recorders often came with us to practice (or show off ?!) in the playground. Just realised I've called it 'playtime' - a term that's gone out of use, now called 'break'.

My overriding feeling about that time at the school was that it was all so controlled, secure and organised. Unlike what seemed like mayhem when I moved to the next school. Viv.

Hi Viv.
I've just caught up on this thread from 2 years ago.
Some fabulous memories now written to history.
Your pictures show familiar faces but I cant place the names. I guess we might have been in a different class. In the juniors, I went from class 1a Miss matthews, 2a Mr Mullins, 3a (name edited) and 4a Mr Martin. I had a bad time in (name edited) class. She would frequently shout at me or clip me around the head. I worried terribly and sister Marie told be to hit her back. Oops! I launched out of my seat crying and thrashing and told her to stop hitting me as I had fits!. I didnt have fits, it was an idea I got from watching Dr Kildare.
(name edited) promptly went to see Mr Worral. Nothing happened until.......
I thought I'd got away with it until Mr Martin, caught up with my sister one morning, walking past the school on her way to Marsh hill grammar school.
" Hello Marie, he said, hows Jeffrey has he been unwell lately?
"Er dont think so" said Marie.
"Hmmmm well he told (name edited) he had fits"
OOOH THE LITTLE LIAR, WAIT TILL I TELL OUR MOM! she said....which she did. The school summoned our mom and (name edited), had a go at mom and said I needed a child psychiatrist.
My mother was having none of it, telling (name edited) "I've no idea what your background is but you should leave your own chidhood memories behind and stop hitting kids around the head. If I hear anymore of it I'll have you up in front of the education committee". From that moment on, my education came on in leaps and bounds.
You might remember Peter Ricketts. I still keep in touch with him and Paul Hayes from our years there. They both reminded me of the time when, during my "bad year", after school one day I threw an egg up mr Worrals office wall. It smashed and the yolk ran down, leaving a stain which remained until well after I left Birmingham some 13 or 14 years later.
Mr Mullins class I remember well. He created competition between the rows down the class. If you answered a question correctly or did good work, he gave you a playing card. The front desk occupants collected the cards from their row. On friday afternoons all the cards were totted up and the row with the most cards were all awarded a packet of Polo's.
Mr Mullins gave me a rap on the knuckles once. I cant remember what for but I do remember him telling me off in his Nothern Irish accent, whilst sniffing a dangling green candle back up his nostril. Eeewww.
The day I left Kingsthorne, I walked down the playground towards the gate with Raymond Turner. I looked back at the egg stain and Ray said "Dont look back Jeff, you must never look back".
Great days (mostly).
 
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Hi Daimlerman.

If I remember correctly Mr Worrel, the Headmaster, was always in a smart grey suit. Definitely a figure of authority and, I guess very respected by parents. I think Mr Martin was his deputy, and rightly so as he could stop you in your tracks just with one of his stares ! Some of the punishments that went on in our childhood wouldn’t be tolerated today of course. I think we were lucky to get away with a rap over the knuckles - nowadays even that would be reported. And I remember the big step up to the next school. How frightening that seemed. Hardly any preparation for what to expect at ‘big school’. That’s all changed too. Kids have all sorts of activities to prepare them for the transition today. Kingsthorne was a walk in the park by comparison !

I think you must have been in different year to me. I can’t remember the names of your friends, but how lovely that you are still in touch.

Please keep the memories coming on here. It’s surprising how the seemingly smallest comment can bring back memories for others.

Viv.
 
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