The School Board Man

[Harvey Barr]

When I was a kid the School Board Man was feared by every child and parent, if you were sick you were not allowed outside during school hours. Go down any shopping centre during the day in the 1940s all you would see were women doing their daily shopping,all the men were in work. Today is very different, the number of kids one sees on the streets is ridiculous.
I came across the the following whilst researching a Great Uncle of mine at St Clements School in Nechells. This was tucked away in the school records.
Aston School Board Feb 1896
8310 visits to patents on behalf of 310 absentees
8459 Irregulars
479 Kids found in street
Excuses
3371 sickness 798 under five
228 poverty 1972 misc reasons
772 illnes of parents 1154 without excuse
697 infectious diseases 139 summonses issued
266 temp absence from home

Fines
4 parents 5/- 1 Parent 3/- 4 parents £2:0:0 5 parents £1:0:0 each
I don't know for what period this was for or for what area but they were certainly on the ball.
Has anyone been 'done' for truancy ? It wasn't the done thing in my day

Harvey Barr

 

[sylviasayers]

School Board Man

I was never caught by the School Board Man for truancy but the only time I ever played the wag I was caught by someone probably more ferocious -
my mother!!!

I was about 12 or 13 years old and during lunch break from school my friend Barbara Inson and I went to Lewis's in town to buy some material to make drindl skirts which were all the rage at the time, we were late back so decided to skip school and make a start on our skirts, we must have been mad because our house in Copeley Street was probably only about 50 yards from Burlington Street School and my father who worked nights was in bed, my mother was at work but came home unexpectedly early, I forget the reason, but she read us the "riot act" and also told Mrs.
Inson who had a really fiery temper, we both got it in the neck and never
played truant again.

 

[BrummieB]

Myself and a few mates (I could name and shame ) used to wag it from Stanmore school back in 1967 and 68.

We'd go in, get our mark at registration... help ourselves to a football from the gym..... then toddle off down to Aston Park for a kick about. Then when the Villa players were arriving for training, we'd go down and get autographs.

We'd do this once or twice a month..... until we finally got caught in our final year.

I got home from Aston around the normal time (4:35).... and who should be sitting in our living room with tea and biccies?

Yeah... the Wagga man. :cry:

 

[badger]

Strange thing isn't it, although I disliked school as much as most, I never ever played the wag.

Perhaps fearing the wrath of the school board man and my parents more.

 

[Alf]

One got myself and 2 mates on a 479 in Kingstanding one day 1950

Lucky though he never reported us. We never did it again

 

[Catkin]

Good for you Alf, I would have thrashed you if you had of done:cooleyes:

 

[Phil]

We'd go in, get our mark at registration... help ourselves to a football from the gym..... then toddle off down to Aston Park for a kick about. Then when the Villa players were arriving for training, we'd go down and get autographs. :cry:

This is what I don't understand about schools today, you hear of this sort of thing happening all the time.

When I went to school, once you went through those gates in the morning and your teacher had called registration, you were there for the day.

If you dared to go missing throughout the day you teacher knew you were gone, and that was in a class of up to 50 pupils.

If you wanted to play the wag, you took the whole day off and you just never went that day. You paid the consequences later.

pmc1947

 

[willow40]

i remember the school board man, my brother wagged school for ages, when the S B man came round our house i thought he was taking my brother away lol, we never wagged after that i can tell ya lol, think it wouldnt harm to have him back again

 

[gee-em]

I didn't know what 'wagging it' meant until i was about 12/13. I heard someone say 'he's wagging it' and I thought he was doing something rude!

 

[sylviasayers]

Oh Gee-em you did make me laugh.