Our School’s History

by Ruby Holmes

We have been investigating our school. It has been in the village since 1844 but the room we now use for Base 1 was built in 1902. At times there were lots of children; as many as 130 – that’s twice as a many as we have now. We found some information from newspaper cuttings, photos and old pupils and staff. We have interviewed Mrs Robinson who was an old teacher and Mrs Wright who was a caretaker.

My mum went to Scalford School from 1978 to 1984 (I think). When she came they did not have to wear uniform. She used to go out of school to my grandma's at lunchtime for her lunch. The toilets were outside so in the winter it was very cold as there was no heating and the toilet paper was really hard like tracing paper. There were five children in my mum’s year three girls and two boys.

They didn't go to church and Chapel as often as we do know. They hardly went to the village hall. In year six one of their treats was to climb up the church tower. When they went swimming, on the way back they stopped outside the library and picked books and then got back on the bus and came back to school.

There were three teachers: a reception teacher, another teacher and then the head teacher (who used to teach as well as being a head teacher). In the olden days there was no pencil fence, there also was a little play area around the back. They had no equipment so they would play ball games, ring games and do skipping. They had toilets and a kitchen outside in the playground.

In the past they had no colourful displays like us now, and at the top they had a picture of the queen. They only had a black board, they had wooden tables and chairs .They used to perform their plays in the classroom but it was very tight between the door and stage. There was no door in between Bases 2 and 3.

My mum went away with school to great Yarmouth on a week’s holiday and they stayed in a small hotel. They went on week trips but the ones they went on weren’t as good as the ones we go on now.