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Mapledene Junior & Infants School

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!
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
 
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
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.
 
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.
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.
 
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.
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.
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!
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
[QUOTE="mbenne, post: 659899, member: 106681"
Both Mrs Best and Mr Wimpory drove two tone Triumph heralds.
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
 
Ps my uncle was 12 years older than me and said he also taught at Silvermere road?
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.
 
Miss Hay's class 1/1 1956/7. I ought to remember a lot more!
Back Row L-R: ?, Reginald Parton, Christopher Rowan, Elizabeth Day, Margaret Thornborough, Peggy Mole, Raymond Johns, Brian Johnson, John Cole.
Middle Row L-R: Stephen Taylor, Margaret Newton, Ian Christie, ?, Keith Thornborough, Valerie Johnson, Trevor Slater, Jill Burrows, Clive Birch, Christine Blake, Ivor James.
Standing Row L-R: David Hughes, Elizabeth White, ?, Janet Sutton, Philip Silver, Christine Cole, James Madden, Susan Dray, Peter Beech, Kathleen Linforth, James Hiscox, ?, ?, Eve Edwards, Julian Partridge.
Sitting Row L-R: Pauline Evans,? , Jaqueline Godfrey, ?, Howard Thomas, Miss Hay, Susan Young, ?, James Shaw, Jean Crawley, ?.

This photograph must have been taken in the 'secret' playground as that is the final year infants' class spur in the background.
View attachment 129728
During out time in this class the Mayflower II made it trip across the Atlantic and we put in map pins each day. Margaret Newton's brother was a sailor and he bought her Japanese dolls in glass cases which she brought in for us to see. One boy's father was a fishmonger and they had found a baby shark, about a foot long, which he showed to us.
 
I've just been reading another thread about the Home guard and the weapons they used. Talk of sticky bombs and Mills bombs sparked off a distant memory of an incident at Mapledene. Memories are a bit hazy but I'm sure that when we were in Mr Bates' class a lad (A vague recollection says it was Ian Christie) brought a hand grenade in to show the class. Whether it was de-activated or not I don't know and the pin had been bent round to prevent it from being withdrawn. It was obviously a souvenir from the war but it caused real consternation at school. I don't know what the consequences were only that it was taken from the classroom a.s.a.p. and we never saw it again. Does anyone else have any recollection of this incident?
 
Found a nice photograph of the school football team 1958/9 season.View attachment 115147
Roy Tinkler, between Mr Bates and Mr Barlow, posted this to The Birmingham Mail and said:
"I don’t know all the names on the school photo but back-line, left to right, is Don Nicholls, fourth along Stuart Johnstone, fifth along Stephen Borseberry, sixth Terry Matthews, seventh Stuart Mitchell, eighth Tony Orton, ninth Robert Scholar. On the middle row is Trevor Smith, Mr Bates (deputy head and sports master), me, Mr Barlow (head). I don’t know any names from the front row. "
He says that he threw away his losers medal!

The second standing boy from the left looks like David Gray. Stephen Borseberry went on to become a vet.
 
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I've just been reading another thread about the Home guard and the weapons they used. Talk of sticky bombs and Mills bombs sparked off a distant memory of an incident at Mapledene. Memories are a bit hazy but I'm sure that when we were in Mr Bates' class a lad (A vague recollection says it was Ian Christie) brought a hand grenade in to show the class. Whether it was de-activated or not I don't know and the pin had been bent round to prevent it from being withdrawn. It was obviously a souvenir from the war but it caused real consternation at school. I don't know what the consequences were only that it was taken from the classroom a.s.a.p. and we never saw it again. Does anyone else have any recollection of this incident?
 
Sorry Jim. Replied but don't think response recorded but chuckled thinking of Mr Bates sucking on a acid drop.
 
Mapledene Infants

In the late fifties one of our local haunts was The jungle. It was actually a piece of a very long, overgrown garden which had been fenced off and could only be accessed from the gulley in which we played. One Sunday afternoon on a visit to The Jungle we found a book of raffle tickets. Being five years of age my life experiences were limited so I have no idea why I suggested to my mates that we should sell the tickets to raise money for refugees. Something must have been going on in the world at that time to have prompted the idea (1959/60). There was little planning as none of us had even thought that a raffle should have a prize, how much each ticket would cost, or how we would identify the winner, but off we went! Knocking on each door in our road we'd ask if anyone would buy a ticket for the refugees. Despite being quizzed on having no prize, knowing the cost of each ticket or who the refugees were we found our neighbours very generous and came home with pockets bulging with loose change, mainly pennies and ha'pennies. At some point an ice cream van came up the road and we quickly decided that our efforts should be rewarded with a little commission and each of us took 3d to buy a raspberry split. The following day we we handed over the money to our teacher, Mrs Thomkins, telling her it was for the refugees. Her cupped hands were full of coins and she looked rather bewildered having no idea what we had done, us having no idea how much we had collected and subsequently no idea what happened to the money!

Our efforts didn't go unnoticed as later that day another enterprising lad, who will remain anonymous, decided he would also make some money, but this time for himself. He formed a small gang and toured the playground and at every opportunity threatened his victims with a beating unless they gave him money! It wasn't long before his activities came to light and one afternoon he was summoned to the front of the class and forced to admit his wrong doings before receiving a slap on the back of the legs and being sent to the headmistress, Mrs Wild. She took no prisoners and you could see the fear on his face. Like a man on the gallows he was asked to divulge the names of his accomplices before meeting his fate. He remained silent for a while and then pointed his finger directly at me! I was in panic mode, having no right to a lawyer, my Mom or my Nan and despite protesting my innocence we were both ordered to Mrs Wild's office. There was no formal lesson that afternoon and we were working in groups huddled around our desks. Walking to the door and seeing that the teacher was distracted I decided to hide under one of the desks rather than be punished for something I hadn't done. I waited a few minutes and then rejoined my group. I never saw Mrs Wild and neither did the teacher realise that I had never left or re-entered the class room!
 
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Mapledene Infants

In the late fifties one of our local haunts was The jungle. It was actually a piece of a very long, overgrown garden which had been fenced off and could only be accessed from the gulley in which we played. One Sunday afternoon on a visit to The Jungle we found a book of raffle tickets. Being five years of age my life experiences were limited so I have no idea why I suggested to my mates that we should sell the tickets to raise money for refugees. Something must have been going on in the world at that time to have prompted the idea (1959/60). .
I wonder if your 'jungle' was Kedleston? This was a large house off Coventry Road between Coalway Avenue and Arden Oak Road. I think we might have gained access to it from a gulley behind Goldthorne Avenue.
In the school year 1959/60 Mapledene was collecting money for refugees. There was a big collection of waste wool and 'the shoddy man' picked it up in a tatty brown Austin K8 van. I think parents and the girls had been encouraged to knit squares to be made up into blankets. So called 'raffle tickets' were sold as 'cloakroom tickets' and intended to be used whenever someone left something that was to be collected later, as in a cloakroom or a dry cleaners. At the time I think it was quite hard to run a legal raffle, betting and gaming acts were involved, but there must have been many informal raffles throughout the period of rationing.
The name of Mrs Wild alone terrified me!
 
I wonder if your 'jungle' was Kedleston? This was a large house off Coventry Road between Coalway Avenue and Arden Oak Road. I think we might have gained access to it from a gulley behind Goldthorne Avenue.
In the school year 1959/60 Mapledene was collecting money for refugees. There was a big collection of waste wool and 'the shoddy man' picked it up in a tatty brown Austin K8 van. I think parents and the girls had been encouraged to knit squares to be made up into blankets. So called 'raffle tickets' were sold as 'cloakroom tickets' and intended to be used whenever someone left something that was to be collected later, as in a cloakroom or a dry cleaners. At the time I think it was quite hard to run a legal raffle, betting and gaming acts were involved, but there must have been many informal raffles throughout the period of rationing.
The name of Mrs Wild alone terrified me!
No it was between Normanton and Whitecroft Road. I don't remember the school collection but maybe it was that that prompted me to do something with raffle tickets? I know that we sometimes used to collect wool for some cause or other in the juniors. In Mr Bates's class a sack was hung under the blackboard at the front of the class to put old woolen clothing in. The class that collected the most would win a prize. It happened to be 2/1 and we were given £1. If we'd split it we'd get just a few pence each so Mr Bates decided to use it towards a school trip. We all added to it and earned a day out to Dudley Zoo.
 
1959-60 was UN World Refugee Year. [See here].

Perhaps The Jungle was a partly closed off bit of a gulley? (long and thin). Somehow some people managed to block off bits of the gulley, particularly if they lived halfway along a road as neighbours could get access from either side. Did they just fence it off and then eventually claim the land? I remember losing access from the back of Coventry Road shops to Deepdale while in infants school because someone put a garage in the way. No doubt there were the usual houses 'abandoned' by the elderly, absent and idle, just as today, we just don't have the children 'exploring' them anymore!
We used the gulley from the top of Warmington to the 'sack' end of Normanton cul-de-sac as our usual school run. Even in our day i'm sure there was some obstruction added to going between Normanton and Olerenshaw and I don't remember ever getting access to the Normanton/Whitecroft gulley either yet that could have been a good route for keeping off the roads.
 
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.
PY - JAMAS is the one I recall lol
 
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