The school was opened in 1872. The children started
school at the age of five and left at the age of 14
years.
There were three porches to the school, one each at
the back, front and side with two little sinks in
each porch where the children used to hang their clothes.
The classrooms were heated by radiators and two boys
used to get to school early each morning to stoke
the boiler. Lighting was provided by oil lamps until
1950 when the school was connected to the electricity
supply.
The infants sat at tables seating 4-6 children. They
used to write with coloured chalks on slates and in
sand trays. There were cupboards for books. The subjects
taught included drawing, writing, arithmetic, history
and geography. There was no school uniform. The girls
used to wear mainly white pinafores and most of them
had long hair. The older boys and girls sat at desks
and wrote with pencils or pen and ink. The boys used
to dip the girls' pigtails in their inkwells. Both
boys and girls used to wear black lace-up boots with
metal eyelets. One boy used to chew the end of his
pencil which ended up like a brush which he dipped
into his inkwell and then sucked it.
There was a school bell which was rung just before
9 a.m. to warn latecomers and it was considered an
honour if you were chosen to ring it. Persistent boy
latecomers were punished by Mr. Brayley with a whack
across the hands. There was no main assembly in the
mornings, the children kept to their own classrooms
and each had their own individual assembly with just
prayers and hymns. At the end of the day Mr. Brayley
gathered the children together before going home,
but when the war came the children were not allowed
to be all together. There were no school meals and
you either went home or brought something with you
to eat. No milk was given out to the children.
The cloakrooms were cold and draughty with two wash
basins supplying cold water only which used to be
pumped up to a header tank each day. Any hot water
had to be bled from the radiators. The boy's toilets
were very primitive (earth closets) and situated at
the back of the yard which was covered in gravel.
The girls toilets were at the front of the yard backing
on to the road. The buckets from the lavatories used
to be emptied on the gardening plots. There was no
septic tank. There was a pump with a wooden cover
and an iron handle which was very worn in the main
yard where the children could get a drink at playtime.
You had to pour water down it to prime it before you
could start to pump. It was fed from a header tank
that had to be topped up. There was also a drain in
the middle of the yard which got blocked in wet weather
and caused a big pool of water which would stay for
days on end. The children enjoyed themselves splashing
each other and getting wet. When the weather was fine
the children used to do 'drill' outside in the yard
and the teachers took them for 'stool board' which
consisted of a board attached to a pole, a ball was
thrown and you had to try and hit it with a wooden
tennis bat and not let the ball strike the board (similar
to cricket). Mrs. Blanche was the school caretaker;
she was a big woman and quite capable of carrying
out the hardest tasks.
The school had the best garden in Norfolk which was
split into plots and each plot was worked by two or
three boys. The garden is now part of the school playing
field. There was a Murrabella hedge between the garden
and the playing field and the boys used to stick their
heads through the hedge. If Mr. Brayley caught them
he would whack them with a cane. They grew vegetables
which they sold to pay for their cricket bats and
footballs; they were not allowed to take any produce
home. The seeds and pea sticks used to be obtained
from someone in the village. They also grew raspberries
and strawberries and when he sent the boys to pick
them he pressed their cheeks and made them stick out
their tongues to see if they had eaten an d it was
the cane for anyone who had a red tongue. During the
war a section of the playing field was taken over
as an allotment thereby doubling the size for growing
vegetables.
In the autumn the boys used to collect fallen leaves
in wheelbarrows which they borrowed from Mr. Arthur
Horne and Billy Rayner and used to spread them over
the plots as compost. At the end of their gardening
session Mr. Brayley would inspect all the garden tools
to make sure they were spotlessly clean. Up to this
day you can still see where the boys used to sharpen
their penknives on the school's brick gateposts. The
girls used to do embroidery, lacemaking, needlework
- making pillow cases - and knitting, mainly socks.
Once a year they had a cookery van visit the school
which used to park on a meadow next door. Twelve girls
aged 12 were picked to attend lessons. One week they
did cookery, the second and third week housewifery.
They also had a washing week when the girls had to
bring their own garments to wash. One of the girls,
Hilda Gunton brought in a red petticoat and boiled
it with all the whites and everything came out blushing
pink.
Each year there was a project called 'Bird & Tree
Scheme' set by the Norfolk Education Committee to
encourage pupils to take an interest in nature. Notes
were taken throughout the year about the habits of
birds and how the trees changed during each season
and the work was sent off to be marked. If a pupil
could add a small drawing to the notes this was an
advantage. The best work got a prize and the school
displayed a shield for the year.
The books from the Education Committee had a coat
of arms of the county printed on the front and the
words 'whatever is worth doing is worth doing well'
On the back of the books were the times tables. The
pupils sat 11+ exams and there used to be a board
hung in the school showing who had won scholarships.
Children from Hockering used to come to the school
when they reached eleven years. The school had about
150 pupils, 30 or 40 of them coming from Hockering
on cycles supplied by the Education Committee.
There used to be school concerns and plays and all
the parents attended. The stage was made of planks
of wood on trestles in Miss Edward's room and the
folding screen between the two rooms was drawn back
for the performances. Each class put on a performance
and dressed up in homemade paper costumes. When electricity
was available in the village, Mr. Littlemore who used
to work for Mr. Grief who had a shop opposite the
school, brought across a generator which used to stand
in the corner of the hall covered with a black sheet.
Lighting, otherwise was provided by oil lamps hanging
from the ceiling.
The Teachers ......
Miss Johnson - Headmistress from 1884 - 1914
She was always dressed in black and was very strict.
The children were terrified of her and she used the
cane frequently.
Mr. Brayley - Headmaster
Mr. Brayley a Yorkshireman became headmaster
on llth January 1915 some two months after Miss Johnson
left. He lived in a cottage opposite Mattishall Burgh
church for a little while then moved and remained
in Mattishall until the 1930's when he went to Welborne
until 1948 after which he moved to Westfield where
the boys used to go and tend his garden. His first
wife died in April 1938 and is buried in the graveyard
of Mattishall Burgh. He then married Miss Coates,
a teacher at the school but had no children. He used
to smoke a pipe at the school gates and he was very
strict. The parents were frightened of him and if
they went to complain about him caning one of their
children he used to march them backwards out of the
playground stating that he was in charge of the children
while they were in school and what they got up to
outside the school was up to the parents. He used
to throw wooden blackboard wipers at the children
if they misbehaved. Behind the desk where he sat was
a cabinet which held all his canes which could clearly
be seen by the pupils.
He was fond of music and taught the pupils tunes in
tonic sol fa from a long waxed sheet which he hung
on the blackboard. The children had to keep repeating
the tune until they knew it by heart. He used to produce
the school concerts and short plays and at Christmas
time when there was entertainment in the village hall
he used to sing 'On Ilkley Moor Ba Tat' and 'Stop
your tickling Jockl.
Despite his strictness the children respected him
and thought the world of him. He used to play cricket
and football with them and if the pupils got into
a fight he used to referee to make sure they fought
fair. When cars were first introduced he had a tiny
two seater with a dickey seat although he preferred
to walk. In later years he was wheelchair bound.
Mildred Edwards - Second teacher
She used to teach needlework making nightdresses and
pillowcases. She also taught knitting and the girls
mainly knitted socks which they used to sell. They
worked in twos and used to swap their knitting which
resulted in change of stitch tension and the socks
ending up all shapes and sizes. On one occasion Miss
Edwards stepped back on to a large sewing needle held
by one of the pupils which gave her a nasty surprise.
She was a good disciplinarian and used to hit a naughty
child on top of the head with a steel thimble which
she wore on her middle finger - this action was known
as 'thimble-pie' and invariably produced obedience.
She used to wear knickers that came down to her knees
where she put a hankerchief
Mildred's father was Knacker Edwards who lived in
Arthurtons old house with her brother Billy and sister
Sabina who used to keep house. They later moved to
a bungalow that used to be the post office). Her nickname
was 'pedal freewheel' because she used to pedal once
then freewheel continuously. Her brother was a bit
simple and used to tell everyone he heard a cuckoo
in the winter and used to imitate it. On one occasion
he was taken by bus to Yarmouth, left there and had
to walk home.
Miss Coates
She married Mr. Brayley the headmaster after Mrs.
Brayley died at a young age which gave rise to a lot
of talk. She was a small dark lady, slightly overweight
and was strict with the children. When you moved up
to Miss Coates' class you were able to write with
pen and ink.
A lad called Erie CIarke who was aged 10 or 11 fell
into the pond behind the school and his friend Dick
Osmond ran into the school for help. Miss Coates tried
to rescue him but unfortunately he drowned before
being pulled out. The onlookers said she stripped
right down to her knickers because of her long skirts
and dived in several times trying to save him.
Miss Holly
She was very well liked and was kind to the infants
who she used to teach. She lived in Wymondham and
used to travel by train to Thuxton and then cycled
to school. She played the piano well and had a wind-up
gramophone with a record especially for country dancing.
At the start of the record there was a big introduction
chord that dragged the needle and slowed the record
down. The girls had to curtsey and the boys bowed
before starting to dance. She used to keep in touch
with the children she taught after they left the school.
She was a teacher at the school for over 20 years.
Miss Bonnick
She married Reggie Gaye, a farmer who lived at Harrison's
farm. She taught the 4- 6 year olds and was liked
by the children who used to sit on little chairs alongside
folding tables about four or five to each table. She
and Mr. Brayley used to have a few cross words as
he kept scribbling on her register.
Mrs. Polly Wright (1920's)
She lived in Honingham and taught the infants. She
was very strict and was a real tartar. She used to
give the children an orange and a penny at Christmas.
She also took sewing classes for the older children.
She had a son who went into broadcasting.
Mrs. Smith
She was a school teacher in the early 1900's and was
drowned in a shallow well.
Miss Fowler
She was the music teacher.
Other teachers
Miss Williamson who was very nice but didn't get on
with Mr. Miss Willett who was known to be irritable.
Later in the 1940's Beryl Butler taught at the school.
Other School Visitors ..........
Nit Nurse
She made periodic visits and examined all the children's
heads for lice and hands for sores or serious spots.
Notes were sent to the parents on any discoveries.
If any child was found to have nits they were given
a little white comb and a foul smelling application
after which the head used to be wrapped up to keep
it warm.
Dentist
Every year a school dentist used to turn up in a van
and check the children's teeth. In the early 1920's
the dentist was a man but in the 1930's it was Miss
Howe who was an enormous woman with large muscles.
If treatment was needed a note was sent home to the
parents. Injections were given and extractions undertaken.
Nurse
A school nurse used to visit the school on occasions.
Inspectors
School inspectors attended the school at regular intervals
and there was also an attendance officer who used
to chase up any pupils who were absent.
Entertainers
On occasions various people such as magicians used
to visit the school to put on small shows.
Photographer
When the school photographer came the children used
to wet their hair and plaster it down to look smart.
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