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Mapledene Junior & Infants School

We had two poems to learn over one particular weekend and would be required to recite from each in front of the class, Darius the Mede and 'Snow' . I left it late until Sunday evening to learn both and panicked cos Darius was missing off my two side sheet of copy paper. I learned Snow with a 50/50 chance of getting away with it. Never been a betting man but Snow came in for me that Monday. Saddly I only remmeber the first lines that jmadone has quoted! I have tried to find the other poem but without success , despite recalling one or two lines. For the record here is Darius - also the lyrics of a jazz song in 1920's
https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/daniel-0
Happy days!
 
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jmadone said:
I do remember our Choral speaking with Mr Bates and this poem, standing on the stage in front of all the school and parents, reciting from memory but I'm sure it was a shortened version. I don't think we could have coped with the full length version.
Another one we learnt and recited was by the same author and entitled Darius the Mede.
I still remember the first line,
Darius the Mede was a King and a wonder,
His eye was proud and his voice was thunder................

Having looked it up on Google, again I'm sure we only learnt and recited a portion of the full poem.
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The full-length 'Congo' is a LOT longer! Perhaps we had an edited version as there are lines throughout the quoted Part 1 that stir a memory. I have no memory of 'Darius' at all. 'Tiger, tiger burning bright', wasn't that one of 'ours'?
 
Spargone said:
The full-length 'Congo' is a LOT longer! Perhaps we had an edited version as there are lines throughout the quoted Part 1 that stir a memory. I have no memory of 'Darius' at all. 'Tiger, tiger burning bright', wasn't that one of 'ours'?
Click to expand...
Can't remember that one until grammar school
 
cmag010.jpg
Juniors' Assembly Hall: 50th Anniversary. No wall bars or vaulting horses in my day! St. Andrews appeared to be doing a lot better too than it used to. Chairs! Standing only for us.
 
Spargone said:
View attachment 131270
Juniors' Assembly Hall: 50th Anniversary. No wall bars or vaulting horses in my day! St. Andrews appeared to be doing a lot better too than it used to. Chairs! Standing only for us.
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Can just see the Saint Andrews plaque. For some reason St Andrews never did well.
I also went to the 50th Anniversary with my Mom - brought back memories of her taking me into school. Still have two exercise books from the infants c1958/59 from classes taught by Mrs Thomkins and Mrs Cornforth.
 
cmag014.jpg
Infants Christmas Play, 1960-61? Clearly based on 'The Three Little Pigs'! Did the 'Door' have as big a part as 'The Wolf'? (My brother was the pig behind the wolf).
 
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1961 Junior class 3/1 (and 3/2?) girls. Needlework class perhaps? Mr Barlow the thorn among the 'roses'; Miss Parker(?) the class teacher. Need to check with my sister! [Can't remember it being a problem at Mapledene but those coconut mats were not nice when doing 'topless' gymnastics at grammar school!]

Back row L-R: Christine Johnstone, Pauline Jones, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
Mr Barlow,
Middle row L-R: ?, Jill Stringer, Pamela Cunningham, Kay Owen, ?, ?, Hazel Haddley, ? ?, Heather Stephenson, Pamela Shaw, ?, ?, ?
Front row L-R: ?, ?, ?, Pamela Hughes, Miss Parker, Janette Sutton, ?, Susan Davey, ?
 
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Spargone said:
View attachment 132463
1961 Junior class 3/1 (and 3/2?) girls. Needlework class perhaps? Mr Barlow the thorn among the 'roses'; Miss Parker(?) the class teacher. Need to check with my sister! [Can't remember it being a problem at Mapledene but those coconut mats were not nice when doing 'topless' gymnastics at grammar school!]
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Great photo. I think that the girl 5th from left, middle row is my sister.
 
jmadone said:
I seem to recognise a few faces on this photo. Backrow: 2nd from left David Gray next to him Anton Rapps, the next four I can't remember, then I think Tony Orton and far right Robert Scholar. The only other one I recognise is in between Mr Bates and Mr Barlow and that's Roy Tinkler.
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Trevor Glynn and a Paul can't remember last name had a twin sister
 
Welcome Pill. Thanks for identifying those students. If there’s anything else about the school you can recall I’m sure others will be interested.

Some nice photos on this thread. Thanks all. Viv.
 
I had been showing a friend an examination piece that my grandfather had made and that led to us talking about things that were made of wood but perhaps no longer were.

Even at the time it seemed strange but the council gardeners at Mapledene used massive wooden wheelbarrows whereas if our parents had one at all they would be made of steel sheet. The school halls were wooden tiled, blackboards were made and framed in solid wood and board rubbers were mostly wood, though I don't think thrown by teachers,that joy had to wait until we moved up a school! Teachers like Mr Whiting most likely had wood board rulers with a brass handle and if the caretaker ever appeared with a step-ladder that most certainly was made of wood. The domestic version was very good at pinching fingers when it folded up.
 
Seeing that my sister's mug wasn't on the table and having just made a fresh pot, I said, "No mug, no tea". That put me in mind of the Christmas parties at Mapledene when we were expected to bring in our own dish and spoon, (labelled with some sticking plaster tape). I wonder if any child missed out on the jelly because they forgot?
I distinctly remember bringing home my pump bag with those sugar strand-coated chocolate drops in the bottom, that came from a party. It didn't help the taste! Wasn't the party the last activity of that term?
 
A couple more pictures from 'the 50th'.
bhf002.jpgbhf003.jpg

Those entrance halls seemed far larger 'back in the day'! I am pretty certain that the 'top class', 4/1, didn't have an escape route in my day. Perhaps that was why it stopped being used as a form room. (It did have the best view in the school though!).
 
Not just Mapledene of course but 'Janet and John' was our first reading book. I carried the yellow Book One around for ages, I just couldn't 'crack it' then one day it all made sense and I read most of the series one after the other.

Many years later I think I worked out why it was so hard. Here is the first page of the body text with writing.
View attachment 138211

It's that letter 'a' that looked nothing like the round 'a' that the teacher drew. The same goes for all those horrible 'g's.

Oh for teachers that understand that we don't all see things the same way!
 
Spargone said:
Not just Mapledene of course but 'Janet and John' was our first reading book. I carried the yellow Book One around for ages, I just couldn't 'crack it' then one day it all made sense and I read most of the series one after the other.

Many years later I think I worked out why it was so hard. Here is the first page of the body text with writing.
View attachment 138211

It's that letter 'a' that looked nothing like the round 'a' that the teacher drew. The same goes for all those horrible 'g's.

Oh for teachers that understand that we don't all see things the same way!
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No probs with Tip and Mitten
 

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Spargone said:
Really? Compare the 'a' in 'and' to this:
View attachment 138224
'a,' and 'g' in these old books look nothing like the hand-drawn letters that teachers and parents write!
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On holiday at the moment but when I get home I'll explain the issues I had with writing and arithmetic at Mapledene and having to find my own way of coping with the way ee were taught . Stressful at the time but quite amusing now
 
mbenne said:
On holiday at the moment but when I get home I'll explain the issues I had with writing and arithmetic at Mapledene and having to find my own way of coping with the way ee were taught . Stressful at the time but quite amusing now
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Tip and Mitten? Who the he** were they?
As for stressful teaching, nothing compares to Mrs Best, she of the hard edged ruler! Any variation from the accepted form of writing or adding up ("sums" as we called them) brought swift action from her in the form of a sharp rap over the knuckles with the edge of a ruler. I do recall that once, when meting out this punishment, she brought her arm down with such force that one of the bangles she was wearing (she was known for her love of jewellery and heavy makeup) flew from her wrist and shattered on the floor. This brought even more retribution upon the poor unfortunate !
Given her strict regime I always liked her albeit being a bit scared of her, as I always got a main role in the many dramas she produced.
 
jmadone said:
Tip and Mitten? Who the he** were they?
As for stressful teaching, nothing compares to Mrs Best, she of the hard edged ruler! Any variation from the accepted form of writing or adding up ("sums" as we called them) brought swift action from her in the form of a sharp rap over the knuckles with the edge of a ruler. I do recall that once, when meting out this punishment, she brought her arm down with such force that one of the bangles she was wearing (she was known for her love of jewellery and heavy makeup) flew from her wrist and shattered on the floor. This brought even more retribution upon the poor unfortunate !
Given her strict regime I always liked her albeit being a bit scared of her, as I always got a main role in the many dramas she produced.
Click to expand...
My sister was the indirect cause of Mrs Best's necklace breaking. Mrs Best was quite a character. Perhaps Jean Brodie was really based on her! I think she was the only class teacher with a car and that smoked Du Maurier cigarettes, no Woodbines there.
"James seems to be most inattentive & becomes stubborn when corrected. I know he can do much better".
Spelling: "Very poor" (still is).
Handwriting: "Indecipherable" (Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose).
31 out of 44 (44!!)
Obviously not whacked enough!
 
I expect getting into Mapledene now would be like breaking into Fort Knox whereas in my day there were two open gates and at least five unlocked doors, including the downstairs boys' toilets, (useful if you were late!).

Some of that will be to protect the equipment like electronic white boards and tablets no doubt. Tablets! We used to get strips cut from foolscap paper (maybe a quarter?) the handing out of which forewarned a surprise spelling test!

(CUP - BOARD, CUP - BOARD, still sticks in the mind!) Mr Wimpory had a list of all those words that broke the ' I before E rule', pity I can't remember it.
 
jmadone said:
Tip and Mitten? Who the he** were they?
As for stressful teaching, nothing compares to Mrs Best, she of the hard edged ruler! Any variation from the accepted form of writing or adding up ("sums" as we called them) brought swift action from her in the form of a sharp rap over the knuckles with the edge of a ruler. I do recall that once, when meting out this punishment, she brought her arm down with such force that one of the bangles she was wearing (she was known for her love of jewellery and heavy makeup) flew from her wrist and shattered on the floor. This brought even more retribution upon the poor unfortunate !
Given her strict regime I always liked her albeit being a bit scared of her, as I always got a main role in the many dramas she produced.
Click to expand...
I was referring to Mapledene infants but well remember Mrs Best beating the blackboard as we chanted our times tables. I never forgot them! That said I quite liked her.
Spargone said:
My sister was the indirect cause of Mrs Best's necklace breaking. Mrs Best was quite a character. Perhaps Jean Brodie was really based on her! I think she was the only class teacher with a car and that smoked Du Maurier cigarettes, no Woodbines there.
"James seems to be most inattentive & becomes stubborn when corrected. I know he can do much better".
Spelling: "Very poor" (still is).
Handwriting: "Indecipherable" (Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose).
31 out of 44 (44!!)
Obviously not whacked enough!
Click to expand...
Both Mrs Best and Mr Wimpory drove two tone Triumph heralds.
 
I still can't remember Tip & Mitten even from the infants.
I will always associate Mr Wimpory with his bicycle and strangely enough I came across him several times in locations miles away from Sheldon. Dad once took us in his old Morris 8 for a day trip to Bourton on the Water and I met Mr Wimpory there and on another occasion in Stratford Upon Avon, both times with his trusty bike.
 
[QUOTE="mbenne, post: 659899, member: 106681"
Both Mrs Best and Mr Wimpory drove two tone Triumph heralds.
[/QUOTE]
During my time at Mapledene Mrs Best had an Austin A35. The Triumph Herald dates fom 1959 and I left Mapledene in 1960 so she may well have had one later. Mr Wimpory was well-known for his bicycle clips around his ankles. The early 1960s was a time when cars, televisions, telephones and refrigerators started to become owned by more 'just one family in the street'. In retrospect we probably lived through the start of the 'modern age' and big changes took place in the lives of the common people.

Tip and Mitten was first published in 1966.
 
I before E except after C. But
Spargone said:
[QUOTE="mbenne, post: 659899, member: 106681"
Both Mrs Best and Mr Wimpory drove two tone Triumph heralds.
Click to expand...
During my time at Mapledene Mrs Best had an Austin A35. The Triumph Herald dates fom 1959 and I left Mapledene in 1960 so she may well have had one later. Mr Wimpory was well-known for his bicycle clips around his ankles. The early 1960s was a time when cars, televisions, telephones and refrigerators started to become owned by more 'just one family in the street'. In retrospect we probably lived through the start of the 'modern age' and big changes took place in the lives of the common people.

Tip and Mitten was first published in 1966.
[/QUOTE]
Early edition first appeared 1949 and more editions mid 50s. I probably picked a cover from the 60s The author was a US professor. So my early reading and tv experiences were influenced by Americans lol
 
mbenne said:
Ps my uncle was 12 years older than me and said he also taught at Silvermere road?
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I think others have said here that 'Mapledene' was started at Silvermere so that when the Mapledene building was completed there were teachers and children ready to move in. Mr Barlow and Mr Wimpory would have been part of the intial staff team.
 
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