I was a pupil at Leighton House School from from around 1958 until 1963.
Miss Mays took the reception class, then Miss Cunliffe upstairs and her speciality seemed to be maths. I remember working my way through the B&A books in her class. I think she inspired my enthusiasm for the subject.
Mr Boyle took the transition class. He was quite strict, had a very special set of rosary beads and used to trim his finger nails with a broken piece of glass.
Looking back it was almost Dickensian: bare floorboards, ink monitor, the whole class would be caned if some miscreant would not own up, which they never did. Brother Brendan seemed to be the most one most feared who had no hesitation in administering corporal punishment.
I remember one of the kinder brothers retiring, I think he was the headmaster and he was presented with a very smart green Raleigh bicycle with all the accessories available at the time: dynamo, Sturmey Archer gears etc.
There were seasons for conkers, marlies etc. To the right of the tarmac playground there was a pile of bricks, presumably the remains of a demolished building and beyond that, some small trees. My recollection is that in these trees there were silkworms. This makes me wonder if those trees were mulberry trees. later in life,I have discovered the delicious fruit produced by mulberry trees.
My younger brother Nick also attended LHS starting probably in 1959.
The pupils occasionally went to St Mary's RC Church in Harborne. The church is still there although now extended into a modern section.
In the winter there were frequent hard frosts which produced a wonderful surface on the playground for "slides". The winter of 1962/63 being exceptional with snow piled high at the side of the road by the school. There were also terrible fogs in those days, largely due to the smoke from coal fires and the heavy industry. As children we always hoped that they would be so dense that we could not travel to school and that did happen occasionally.
Most pupils brought their own lunch and I always envied those who were given money for lunch which they used to buy a loaf of french bread and some chips. The end of the loaf was removed, much of the soft inside removed and eaten and then the chips tipped in before the eating.
I would be interested to hear from former fellow pupils.
Robert