Leicester Road Race Leys - Race Leys Infant School

Leicester Road
Race Leys
From
to
1912 - 2000
Compiled by
Hazel Towle and
Veronica Hughes
Foreword
This booklet is a culmination of more than 2
years hard work, of research and enquiry by
Hazel Towle and Veronica Hughes. To the best
of our knowledge and effort, the information
within this booklet is correct.
The research has been generally enjoyable
with many interesting stories. We hope that
this is only the start of a continuing and
expanding archive of the life and times of an
ever changing school. One that we are proud
to have been a part of.
April 2000
Acknowledgements
Warwick Records Office.
Warwickshire County Council Property Services Department.
John Burton and other members of the Bedworth Society.
Mort Birch and the Bedworth Echo.
John and Adam Towle.
Millienium Festival Awards for All - Lottery Grant.
Staff and Governors of Race Leys Infant Community School.
To all those who have contributed information and memorabilia towards the
compilation of this booklet.
We have done our best to verify factual statements and obtain permission for
the use of materials loaned to us. If we have missed anyone or misrepresented
any source we do sincerely apologise.
Contents
Chapter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Page
1910 - 1913
1914 - 1921
1922 - 1937
1935 - 1940
1939 - 1947
1948 - 1952
1952 - 1959
1960 - 1983
1984 - 2000
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1
2
4
6
10
12
15
17
19
Chapter 1
In June 1910 the first plans were drawn up for the building of a proposed
elementary school at Mount Pleasant in Bedworth. The plans included a central
hall and foyer area with a staff room above and 5 classrooms. The building of
the school commenced and on April 22nd 1912 it was officially opened. The entry
in the head’s log book reads:‘This school (The Bedworth Leicester Road Council Mixed) was opened this
morning by Chairman of Managers (Mr John Daffern)’.
The head at the time was a Mr J. Edwin Cooper who was said to be a very tall thin
man. There was accommodation for 160 pupils but only 106 were admitted at that
time. The head of the infants department was a Miss Alice Loescher, ‘a bit of a
stickler’, and she ran the department with 2 uncertificated teachers called
Mrs B.A.C. Smith and Mrs A. Allen. They had 43 children over five and 10 under
five.
The first names on the attendance register of 22.4.1912 were Frank Wagstaff
of 42 Leicester Road, Joseph Tebbits of 13 Church Street, Hilda Randle of
46 King Street and Phyllis May Botterill of 30 King Street.
By August of 1913 the school numbers had grown and there were plans for 4 new
classrooms, 2 for the infants and 2 for the seniors. By January 1914 these
classrooms were in use and in March of that year the leaving age was raised from
13 to 14 making the infants department from 5 - 8 and the seniors from 8 - 14.
Numbers continued to rise.
School life was very different at that time and the children generally wrote on
slates with chalk or a slate pencil. The children entered the school by different
gates, the boys by the one in the large playground and the girls by the one in the
small playground. The staff used the one nearer the top of Hurst Road. May Day
and Empire Day were important celebrations and Leicester Road School was no
exception in having a Union Jack flying from the flag pole on this day. The
evidence of the pole can still be seen above the main entrance door in the form
of two brackets on the wall. An entry in the infant department’s log records that
they assembled in the
playground to watch the
Union Jack flag hoisted.
The flag and the pole
were bought partly by
the children.
Mr Cooper on a nature walk with
some of the children, the exact
date is unknown (courtesy of
Hilda Morson - née Lee).
1
Chapter 2
In August 1914 war was declared and many of the children’s fathers went to fight
for their country. Clothing and footwear were poor and Christmas presents few
and far between. By 1916 many of the mothers were working at the jobs the men
usually did and schools were kept open during the holidays to care for the children.
The Leicester Road honours boards give us evidence of how many of the staff and
old pupils went to fight. The following is a transcript of the 1st World War
honours board.
These boards were kindly given back to the school in November 1999 by the
Bedworth Society.
Leicester Road Council School
Erected 1912
Members of the Staff and Old Boys
who served in the Great War
1914-1918
Mr. H.R. Mountford - Royal Engineers
Mr. G.S. Taylor Hon. Artillery Coy.
Mr. R. Pattison - Royal Air Force
Thomas Bates Royal Navy
George Cooper Machine Gun Corps.
Fred Gallemore Somerset Light Infantry
James Grayman Royal War. Regt.
John Jackson Dorset Regt.
Samuel Jacques Royal Engineers
Arthur S. Lewis Royal War. Regt.
Ernest Parsons Black Watch
Richard Phillips Wilts. Regt.
George Robinson Royal Navy
George Wells Royal Berks. Regt.
Doris Carpenter (now Jaques) started at the school in 1916 at the age of 4. She
had 9 other brothers and sisters that attended the school including her eldest
brother who started when the school was first opened. She can remember that
her first class teacher was a Miss Parkinson and that they used to do lessons in
the morning and then played with toys in the afternoon. There were about 42
children in the class and those that lived too far away to go home for dinner sat
on the pipes in the hall, to keep warm whilst they ate their dinner. She remembers
it being quite a dark and dreary place with lots of dark brown paint and gas lights.
2
Some of these are still evident today. Her father was caretaker at the school in
1926 and did the whole job by himself including wheel barrowing the coke across
the playground and down into the boiler room via a chute to keep the boilers
working. Doris can remember running errands for the teachers after school and
dancing around the maypole which was either erected in the playground or hall.
On Pancake Day they were given a half day holiday and the bell would ring at
11 o’clock and all the children would run into the playground singing:Pancake day, if you don’t give us a holiday
We will all run away,
Where shall we run?
Down the lane.
Here comes the teacher with a big fat cane!
School normally finished at 4 o’clock. However there are numerous entries in the
infant department log stating that the school had to close because of epidemics
such as measles and whooping cough.
In 1918 came peace and life returned to some normality. Class sizes were generally
in the 40s and the basic 3R’s were taught i.e. reading, writing and arithmetic.
Class photos taken in 1921 show the buildings as being ‘ivy clad’. This next
photograph was taken in the large playground against the hall wall and shows
Class I at Leicester Road Infants in 1921. The teacher is Mrs Allen who was a
World War I widow and the two little girls at the right hand end of the second
row from the front are Florence Carvell (née Spencer) and Eva Simons (née
Mountford) to whom the photograph belongs.
John Carpenter, caretaker in 1926.
He lived at the Rising Sun Cottages
and then in Leicester Road
(courtesy of Doris Jaques,
daughter of John Carpenter).
Class I, Leicester Road
Infants in 1921
with teacher Mrs Allen
(courtesy of Eva Simons
- née Mountford).
3
Leicester Road Group I. The teacher on the left is Miss Loescher (also the Headmistress)
with Mrs Pike on the right. The date of the photo is unknown, but must be before 1926
(courtesy of Hilda Morson - née Lee).
Chapter 3
The 1920s saw a variety of changes at Leicester Road school. Not least of these
were the changes in headship. The head of the infants department at this time,
Miss Loescher, resigned due to ill health and a Miss D.E. Hale was appointed and
took over on January 1st 1926.
The miners strike of 1926 brought great hardship to Bedworth and affected the
attendance at school. Many of the children were given food donated by the local
traders who wished to support the miners in any way they could.
The heads log for February 26th 1926 records that ‘Edwin Cooper terminated his
headship today’. On March the 1st of that year a Mr Heber Stanley Morgan took
charge as a temporary head. It is recorded that Mrs Bolstridge also commenced
her duties at this time. Her name crops up in many peoples memory, often with
great affection.
At the end of March Mr Morgan finished and on the 12th April 1926 Mr Daniel T.
Bennett became the head. There were 283 children on roll and it is also recorded
that gardening classes recommenced! Mr D.T. Bennett features very strongly in
everyone’s memories of this time and it has been proposed that a fruit tree be
planted in his memory and that the garden be named Bennett’s Garden in honour of
all the work that he did for Leicester Road School and the children of Bedworth.
4
In March 1926 plans were drawn up for the Leicester Road Council School proposed
alterations and additions. These involved the addition of 3 more classrooms at the
senior end. Evidence of these additions can still be seen today on the roof and in
the window styles. Plus there was to be some addition to the first floor at the
east end. These new extensions upstairs were made into Mr Bennett’s office.
This room is now used as our Hide-Away Bookshop.
1928 brought about a variety of education reforms and the school changed its
name to Leicester Road County School and there was an infants department and
a secondary school.
The head of the infants department, Miss Hale, resigned in the September of
1928 and a county supply head called Mrs B. Taylor took over. She was quickly
replaced by the appointment of Mrs M.A. Penn. Other teachers recorded at this
time were Mrs Ball, Miss Harris, Miss Hollings, Miss Delingpole, Miss Wakeman
and Miss Pryce.
The infants log records various closures of the school for special occasions:10th July 1934 - School closed for the afternoon because the
Prince of Wales passed through Bedworth.
29th November 1934 - School closed for the wedding of
H.R.H. Duke of Kent to Princess Marina.
6th-7th May 1935 - School closed for the Jubilee Celebrations of
King George V.
6th November 1935 - School closed for the wedding of Duke of Gloucester
and Lady Alice Scott.
28th January 1936 - School closed for the funeral of King George V.
11th May 1937 - School closed for the coronation of George VI.
Mr Houghton in
his classroom with
Class IV. Believed
to be the first
classroom from the
centre along the
east corridor
(courtesy of Hilda
Morson - née Lee).
5
Mrs Florence Carvell (née Spencer) remembers that up to 1928 the form teacher
taught all the lessons in the secondary department but after 1928 the children
moved around to different teachers and a bell was rung to mark the change of
lessons.
Teachers names which are frequently mentioned when people remember this period
are Mrs Bolstridge, Mr Wyatt (who was famous for sport), Mr Schillabeer,
Mr Hughes (music), Miss Alexander (english and needlework), Miss Robinson and
Mr Houghton.
At this time children attended the infants at Leicester Road and then moved to
George Street at 8 for the juniors and then moved back at 11 to Leicester Road
for their secondary education where as previously they had stayed at Leicester
Road for the whole of their school life from 4 - 13.
People who attended the school at this time remember the coat pegs and wash
hand basins in the central area that is now a library. These basins only had cold
water and the toilets were at the back outside across the playground. We believe
there were three blocks of toilets. Certainly the boys toilets were at the eastern
end of the back playground.
There were no school meals at this time so children either went home or brought
some sandwiches to eat in the hall. These were often eaten whilst sitting on the
heating pipes because it was so cold. It was not until 1934 that a new boiler was
fitted after the old one had sprung a leak!
Chapter 4
By June 1935 there were 400 pupils on roll and the senior end of the school was
becoming more specialised in that certain classrooms were used for certain
subjects. Mr Bennett's room was still upstairs at the far end and the classrooms
at that end were used for cookery and woodwork. This meant that children no
longer had to walk to George Street School for cookery and woodwork as they
had previously had to do. The third classroom along the corridor from the central
area was equipped as a science room and there is still evidence of the old gas pipes
that fed the bunsen burners! Mr Hazell was the science teacher at this time.
Miss Alexander, who taught sewing, had two large sewing boxes which stood for a
great deal of their life at the bottom of the stairs to Mr Bennett's room. They
are remembered not only for the storage of the girls sewing but as the place
where you had to bend over in order to be caned for various misdemeanors. It is
surprising how many of our past pupils from this time remembered these boxes
and we were delighted when they were recognised as the boxes that we now use
to store Christmas play costumes in the bookshop room (Mr Bennett's old office).
6
As far as we know they are the oldest item of furniture we have left apart from
the honours boards. One pupil remembers being caned over these boxes for aiding
and abetting his smoking friends by keeping a look out for Mr Bennett coming and
for taking a pear off a tree in the garden.
Mr Hughes the music teacher is also remembered with affection by one of the
pupils of that time. Mr Edward Bates had learned to play the violin whilst at
George Street School at the cost of 6d a lesson after school. When he
transferred to Leicester Road, John Hughes encouraged him to continue playing
and Ted often played with him for the school hymns.
Unfortunately John Hughes died shortly after returning from the Second World
War but Ted is still playing his violin to this day. He also remembers the day
Mr Bennett stood up in the hall to announce “I have noticed an encampment of
Indians at the back of the school in the boys toilets. I know they are Indians
because I have seen their smoke signals and when I catch these Indians.......”!
Mr Bennett was always noted for his sharp eye and not a lot escaped his attention!
On leaving school each pupil was given a ‘School leaving card’ which was written by
the headmaster and recommended them to an employer or evening class. A great
many people still have these cards and they include such comments as ‘most
reliable and punctual’, ‘truthful, honest and courteous’, ‘character and conduct
excellent’. Edward Bate’s card states that ‘he was one of the most intelligent boys
of his year’. This is probably why he was awarded the Linney Memorial prize for
1939. This was a book prize awarded to the most outstanding pupil in the school in
their final year.
The book prize was in memory of William Linney who was known as the ‘Grand Old
Man’ of Bedworth. It was set up by public subscription, after his death, so that his
name would live on. He was one of Bedworth’s prominent and respected townsmen
whose family has been connected with Bedworth for about 200 years. He was
associated with a lot of the movements for the improvement of the town. He died
in October 1906 aged 86. The prize still goes to the top pupils at schools in the
town and the books are all embossed on the front with a picture of William Linney.
Mr W. Linney,
District Councillor
circa 1900
Embossed cover of the
Linney Memorial prize
book awarded to
Edward Bates (courtesy
of Edward Bates).
7
Few pictures exist of the school building at this time. This one shows clearly the flagpole which
held the Union Jack on Empire Day (courtesy of Warwickshire County Record Office).
Dennis Webb remembers this day well and still has the certificate
given him to commemorate the event (courtesy of Dennis Webb).
Leicester Road had a fine record of sporting achievement over the years and
there are various photographs of teams with trophies. One such photo shows the
soccer team in 1936 with the Bedworth Schools Shield. The teachers on the photo
are Mr Bennett (head), and Mr Arthur W. Wyatt. Mr Wyatt began teaching at
Leicester Road School in November 1931 having qualified as a certificated teacher
at the University of Bristol and Training Colleges.
8
Leicester Road football
team in the large
playground. Teachers,
Mr Bennett on the left
and Mr Wyatt on the right
(courtesy of Mr Wyatt’s son).
Leicester Road football
team, winners of the
Bedworth Schools Trophy
in 1936. Mr Wyatt is on
the right and Mr Bennett
on the left (courtesy of
Thomas Henry Baldwin).
Mr Wyatt continued to advance himself by undergoing various courses such as
creative art teaching, general hygiene and school and cottage gardening. He also
continued his interest in games, particularly cricket and football.
He became responsible for mathematics and physical education and organised
games for the boys throughout the school. However, he is recorded as having
taught a variety of subjects equally well including mechanical drawing, english,
art, geography and religious instruction.
9
During the war he took up service with the National Fire Service and became a
leading fireman. After the war he returned to full time teaching at Leicester Road
and stayed at the school until the mid 1950s when he became the headmaster of
Keresley Newland.
Chapter 5
The log book records that on 4th September 1939 the school closed for the
outbreak of war. However on the 25th September it was reopened with 321
children on roll. On the 29th September the architect came to discuss the air raid
shelters which were to be erected on the site although they were not actually
erected until 1940. Many of the pupils from this time remember there being
shelters but despite searching old records and maps and talking to a great many
people they only remain as memories and we have been unable to accurately
pinpoint their position.
The general feeling is that there was one on the raised piece of ground at the
back of the old police houses and that another was placed in the gardens at the
other end of the school at the side of Hurst Road. However some people also
remember there being one at the back of the school as well. There exact location
still remains a mystery!
There are references to them in the log books e.g. 4th November 1940 - 4 shelters
are not being used because of water running off the roof and the infants log book
records various times when the children had to have their lessons in the shelters.
October 1st 1940
-
Sirens sounded 3 times today.
October 3rd 1940
-
Children spent a lot of time in the shelters today,
4 times. Singing games and community singing.
November 11th 1940
-
Air raid 12.00 - 12.30 and 3.00 - 4.00.
On 11th November 1940 the Bedworth schools canteen opened at the Old Meeting
Church and many pupils remember walking to the canteen at lunchtime. The
manageress and cook was Mrs Kit Ward who later became a Mayor of Bedworth.
Mrs Vilma Chrichlow (née Ball) remembers the two course meal being two shillings
a week (10p) and she says they were very good and wholesome. There were such
meals as fish and potato pie, cottage pie, Irish stew, corned beef hash and no
chips! These were followed by apple pie, spotted dick and custard, tapioca, sago or
rice. There was no choice. She remembers her years at Leicester Road with great
affection and describes the school as “a place where the sun always shines”.
Many of the fresh vegetables, eggs and fruit were provided by Mr Bennett from
the school gardens and boys could be seen daily taking the produce to the Old
Meeting Church to provide the Bedworth youngsters with nourishment.
10
Mr Derek Lole remembers that the senior boys went on a rota basis to peel the
potatoes, carrots etc. in an outbuilding. They then had to lay tables and clear away.
Their reward was an extra large dinner after the others had gone. In Derek’s last
year he was given the job of collecting the dinner money from the other schools
every Friday and delivering the dinner tickets every Monday. He would carry the
cash, unescorted, in tins in a gardener’s trug. Derek also won a Linney Memorial
Prize. He chose ‘Great Sea Stories of Many Nations’ and it was inscribed on the
inside cover in calligraphy printing which later became a hobby of his.
The provision of food to the canteen went on for many years and Mr Bennett
expanded the school gardens to provide fruit and vegetables for the children of
Bedworth. The gardens included most of the land around the school buildings and
a considerable amount where Mayfield Old Peoples Home now stands and towards
Frances Crescent. Mr Bennett was in charge of all the gardens and the pupils at
the time all helped him and learnt a great deal from him.
On 27th November 1940 Mr Bennett records that ‘at 10.55am the military
authorities informed him that the school was commandeered for billeting purposes’.
A sergeant and 10 men were left to clear the rooms. All the school equipment was
stored in three rooms and the children were sent home. Blackout operations were
commenced. By the 29th November the military authority had taken over the
school and during December arrangements were made for the children to meet in
the Miners Welfare Pavilion, the Baptist Sunday School and the Wesleyan Sunday
School. The school briefly occupied these rooms and then on 7th January 1941 the
military authorities left the school and cleaning took place for the children to
return to the buildings in Hurst Road at 9.30am on 13th January 1941.
At this time there were about 30 children in the class and they sat two to a
desk in rows. The desks were wooden and had ink wells at the top. At playtime
the children were given a small bottle of milk to drink. Some of the infants were
given orange juice and cod liver oil!
As the war was drawing to a close the Ministry of Education recognised Bedworth
Leicester Road Senior Council School as a separate Secondary School. Therefore
on 1st April 1945 the senior part of the school became known as Leicester Road
Secondary School. Mr Bennett was still the headmaster and things carried on as
normal although some of the male teachers returning from their war service
meant that lessons such as woodwork and science could resume as before.
During the war and afterwards the school hall and some of the classrooms
were used by many local organisations. In particular the Baptist Boys Brigade
(8th Coventry (Bedworth) Company) as they couldn’t use the schoolrooms at the
Baptist Church. The company met in the hall on Monday evenings and Sunday
mornings when the war time blackout was on. The company continued to meet
there until the 1950s. The 14th Coventry (Collycroft Methodist) Company also
met at the school and both companies had bugle bands which practised on the
playground at the rear of the school.
11
By 1947 the air raid shelters are recorded as being demolished although one or
two people seem to think that at least one was used to store gardening equipment
for a while. Then on 10th September 1947 the keys were handed over for two new
huts to be used for domestic science and art. These were situated at either end
of the school, one on the raised ground at the back of the police houses and one
near the fence of what is now Mayfield Old Peoples Home. There followed further
alterations to the existing cookery and handicrafts rooms in the main building and
these were made into classrooms.
The war years passed and again the honours boards reflect the sacrifice by staff
and pupils of Leicester Road School.
Bedworth Leicester Road Council School
Members of the Staff and Old Boys
who lost their lives serving their
Country in the Great War 1939-1945
Mr J. Hughes
Arthur Brown
Norman Dewis
Ernest Feasey
George Gamble
Abraham Haywood
Harry Haywood
Harold Holmes
George Horton
Horace Ison
Harry Randle
Thomas Randle
Arthur Ross
Chapter 6
On October 5th 1948 a new Head Mr R.E. Grey was appointed and on December
31st 1948 Mr D.T. Bennett retired, marking the end of a wonderful era of the
school. When Edwin Grey took over the Leicester Road Secondary Modern School
there were 329 pupils on roll and he witnessed the beginning of the work on the
new dining hall next to the small playground and also the installation of radiators
and hot water in the new cloakroom extensions. It was on April 25th 1950 that
the first school meals were served in the new dining hall.
12
The staff of Leicester Road Secondary Modern School, 1951-52
Back Row: Mr T. Griffiths, Mr R.T. Collins, Mr G.A. Brenchley, Mr K.M. Harris, Mr J.R. Morgan,
Mr G. White, Mr B. Wyatt, Mr G.G. Kirkbride.
Front Row: Mrs I.S.M. Bolstridge, Mrs R.M. Vaizey, Miss S.E. Alexander (Deputy Head),
Mr R.E. Grey (Head), Miss D.L.F. Robinson, Miss A.H. Bayley, Mrs E.M. Rice, Mrs E.M. Sephton.
(courtesy of Mrs R. Lidgey - Mrs Vaisey on the photograph).
Soccer team 1950-51
Gordon Kirkbride taught at the
school at this time and loaned us
these photographs of himself and
sporting activities at the school,
all taken in the large playground.
Gordon
Kirkbride
Gordon Kirkbride
helps Reg Bowers
over the vaulting
horse around 1952.
13
January 2nd 1952 marked the beginning of the next era in the history of the
school as it was the first meeting of the governors of Nicholas Chamberlaine
Secondary School. This new school, which was built in Bulkington Road, was not
large enough to house all its pupils and it was decided to use the Leicester Road
school as ‘The Annexe’ to Nicholas Chamberlaine. Therefore the 7th of September
1952 was the last day as Leicester Road Secondary Modern School and from the
8th September it merged with Nicholas Chamberlaine School and became known as
‘The Annexe’. Some of the teachers continued at the new annexe and some went to
the new Nicholas Chamberlaine. The last school magazine of Leicester Road
Secondary Modern School records the retirement of Miss Alexander and
Miss Robinson after 35 and 40 years at the school respectively.
The magazine is entitled ‘The Bedewordian’ and is dated July 1952 - the editorial
is reproduced here:The writing of this editorial is an unhappy task in that it heralds the end of a
happy school. On 31st August, Bedworth Leicester Road Secondary Modern School
will cease to be: the buildings will be incorporated in the pattern of the Nicholas
Chamberlaine Secondary School as an Annexe. Much has been achieved during the
last few years, and the success of the school can be measured by the number of
activities both in and out of school hours as well as the standard of work obtained.
This is attributable to the enthusiasm and endeavour of the staff. They have
co-operated fully in the realisation of my aim to develop traditions and engender a
school spirit and have individually shown initiative and pertinacity in its attainment.
I would offer them my thanks for their support during the past three years.
I would also express my appreciation of the support we have received from many
parents and friends. The staff have been encouraged by the way the children
have been sent to school regularly, and neat and tidy, and we are grateful for
the many ways in which they have received help for such events as School Whist
Drives, Speech Day, Sports Day and School Concerts, from friends too numerous
to mention.
Finally, I wish to pay tribute to the services of Miss Alexander and Miss Robinson,
who are retiring at the end of this term after 35 and 40 years service
respectively at Leicester Road. They have been loyal and willing colleagues,
eager to help in any difficulty, devoted to their calling and dependable in any
circumstance. I know I express the thoughts of the Governors, staff and scholars
both past and present, when I wish them both a long, happy, and active retirement.
14
Early 1950s, showing a glimpse
of the school through the school
gates (courtesy of RLIS records).
Early 1950s showing construction of the pond. The pond area
is still there but is now used as a mini beast environment
(courtesy of RLIS records).
Chapter 7
The school opened as The Annexe in September 1952 and continued in this manner
for 8 years with the secondary children occupying most of the upper part of the
school and the primary children the lower part of the school. The head of
Leicester Road County Primary School at the start of the 1950s was a Miss Foster
followed by Miss Grubb. Miss Grubb has been described as “a lovely gentle lady
who lived in Kenilworth”.
Miss Grubb with her staff
in March 1955.
Back row: Mrs Riley and
Mrs Hughes.
Front row: Miss Bownes,
Miss Grubb and Miss Hassan
(courtesy of Mrs Ashley
- née Bownes).
The school changed its name again in 1955 to Leicester Road Infant and Junior
School although The Annexe still occupied the eastern end of the school. Some
of the teachers in the infants and juniors at this time were Mrs M. Hughes,
Miss G.M. Hall (who became Mrs Spall), Miss Bownes (who became Mrs Ashley),
Miss Hassan and Miss E. Shortridge (who became Mrs Buckingham). The classes
were all over 40. Miss Joyce Kenyon also taught at the school around this time.
15
Gardening still featured quite strongly on the curriculum in the secondary part
of the school and pupils from the primary school remember the Singing Together
radio programmes listened to in the dining hall. They also remember sitting their
11 plus exam in there or in the hall.
In 1957 the office area was upstairs next to the staff room and Mrs Beryl Boyle
remembers it well as she became secretary in 1957 and left in June 1970 after
“12 happy years.”
In 1958 the hut which had been used as an art room near the back of the police
houses was converted to the central kitchen where dinners were cooked for all
the local schools.
Miss Shortridge with her class around 1958. It is taken in the small playground
and the open aspect of the corridors can clearly be seen. The bottom panes of
the windows are frosted to prevent the children becoming distracted during
their lessons! (courtesy of Mrs Buckingham - née Shortridge).
Peter Parr, who later became
deputy head at the primary
school, standing next to the
open fire in the staff room
(upstairs in the centre of the
school where it still is today),
(courtesy of Mrs Buckingham).
16
Chapter 8
In 1960 the senior children finally left the school and were all housed in Nicholas
Chamberlaine School in Bulkington Road. The school in Hurst Road now became
known as Leicester Road Combined School and the headmistress was Miss Brand.
Pupils from this time remember that the corridors were still open with double
doors every so often and that the ceilings were very high. However there were
some inside toilets now although the outside ones were still in use. They remember
Mrs Friswell who came as an infant helper and for many years ran the class on her
own. Mrs Friswell still lives close to the school and was 90 in August 1999. She has
many fond memories of the children that she taught in the reception class and
they of her. In 1964 it is recorded that the school playing fields were used for
the first time and that the open corridors were enclosed although the floor
remained uneven up to 1986.
In 1966 the staff at the school were:Reception
Infant 1
Infant 2
Junior 1
Junior 2
Junior 3
Junior 4
Head Teacher
Secretary
-
Mrs Friswell
Helen Kitt
Ruth Hawker
Helen Farrell
Wendy Moucher
Mrs Kane
John Porteus (Deputy Head)
Miss Brand
Mrs Beryl Boyle
Staff photograph 1967 (courtesy of Helen Hibbert - née Kitt).
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1973 saw more alterations to the building when the two classrooms on the corridor
down to the hall were converted into offices for the head and secretary and some
more toilets were added. A science and craft area was built at the bottom of the
field and a footpath was made down to these buildings. There were about 15 staff,
one of whom was Mr Harrop who along with the school choir and instrumentalists
made a recording in 1978. Miss S. Brand was still the head mistress at this time.
The following is a transcript from the newspaper on 14.2.78.
Bedworth youngsters in record success.
Budding instrumentalists at a Bedworth School have made a successful debut in
the recording business.
Their plans to make an EP gathered momentum and the final product is now to be
a long player.
A recording session this week at Leicester Road Combined School was a spin off
from the bands contribution to the Christmas concert.
Miss S. Brand, the headmistress, said that the band had earned encore after
encore. The idea of a record had come from many parents.
Arrangements were made with a Coventry recording firm and the school hall was
converted into a temporary studio.
“The experts thought it would be better to come to the school where the children
would be more at home and relaxed than in unfamiliar surroundings”, said
Miss Brand.
“There were no signs of nerves from the children and everything went so smoothly
that it was decided to have a further session in the near future to complete
enough material for the LP”.
The LP was made and had the infant and junior school singing as well as the band
playing.
In February 1978 children were allowed to bring sandwiches for their dinner
although a hot school dinner was still cooked on the premises until 1980 when the
dinners were then cooked at George Street school.
Miss Brand remained as head until December 1978 and Mr Cape became acting
head for one term until Mrs Hazel Butler took over in April 1979. The staff at
this time were:Mrs Butler
Mr Sturgess
Mrs Owers
Miss Orme
Mr Cape
Mrs Harris
Mrs Jennings
Miss Passant
Mrs Smith
Mrs Jarvis
Mrs Hall
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Mrs Golder
Mr Harrop
Mrs Jones
School staff in the large playground sometime in the 1970s. Mr Harrop, who conducted the band
and choirs at Leicester Road School is on the left of the front row. He still teaches at Race Leys
Junior School (courtesy of Mike Harrop).
It is interesting to note the tiles on the roof which show building extensions done in the schools
early life.
During Mrs Butler’s headship the staff room facilities were improved upstairs and
a small kitchen created for staff use. There were coat pegs fitted in the corridors
to replace the trolleys that had been used up until then and the log shows frequent
requests for the rewiring of the school which finally took place in 1981. It was
also at this time that the ceilings were lowered in the classrooms and the open
areas in the corridors were filled in.
Mrs Butler retired in 1983 and their was an acting head for a short while.
Chapter 9
On 9th January 1984 Miss Debbie Webster took over as head. She later married
and became Mrs Debbie Hibberd.
In 1983 Warwickshire County Council’s working party on the rationalisation of
Primary Education considered the reorganisation of certain schools in North
Warwickshire. Three of the schools which were to be considered for closure were
Newtown Road First School, George Street Middle School and Leicester Road
Combined School. The Council invited interested parents to a public meeting in
November 1983 at Nicholas Chamberlaine School. From this a strong committee
was formed to fight the closure of the Newtown Road and George Street schools.
This committee was known as Bedworth N.A.G.S.S.
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However, on the 10th May 1984 the education sub committee proposed that:
The Newtown First and George Street Middle schools should be taken out of use,
on condition that finance was available for the old Leicester Road Combined
building to be remodelled as a first school and for the new building to be
extended as a purpose built middle school. The Bedworth N.A.G.S.S. continued
to fight with protests, petitions and visits to M.Ps.
Mums and children protest with placards in the town centre, March 1984
(extract from RLIS records).
Despite all the committee’s efforts in June 1985 they lost their fight and the
Secretary of State for Education, Sir Keith Joseph, issued closure notices for
George Street Middle, Newtown First and Leicester Road Combined Schools.
The closures were to take place in 1986.
Once aware that the closures would go ahead the committee began to work to
ensure that the new schools would have the best facilities, staff and opportunities
possible. They campaigned for the building of the new school before the closure
of the old and succeeded in this although the first school building was not actually
finished for the start of the new school year and the children had to begin their
education at Race Leys First School in the old Newtown Road building.
In 1986 Leicester Road Combined School was officially closed and in September
1986 Race Leys First school was opened in the building that was originally opened
in 1912. Race Leys Middle School opened in a new building based around the science
block at the bottom of the playing fields.
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The last entry that Mrs Hibberd made in the school log book records the closure
of Leicester Road Combined School. It reads:‘Today is the last day of this schools existence. It has been a happy school and we
are sad to be leaving . . . .
. . . . Everyone, both staff and children have worked very
hard these last weeks to pack away the belongings of 74 years!
I wish everyone good luck and best wishes in their various new ventures’.
Deborah Hibberd. 11.7.1986
Staff of Leicester Road Combined School, 1986.
Back Row: John Duggan, Sheila Barr, Roz Rolfe, Margot Golder, Betty Smith, Chris Maher, Pat
Davenport, Cynthia Ford, Beryl Perkins, Jill Stuart.
Front Row: Sue Gardiner, Elizabeth Wilson, Angela Holloway, Doreen Owers, Debbie Hibberd,
Dennis Brittain, Veena Rooprai, Mike Harrop, Veronica Walker.
(courtesy of Mike Harrop).
Quite a few changes were made to the building for the new first school including
some lower windows so that the children could see out, lower ceilings, level floors
in the corridors, fireplaces removed, ramps and wheelchair access, carpet areas,
large sinks and the provision of wet and dry craft areas between the classrooms.
Another door was put into the far end of the hall with a ramp for wheelchair
access. The head of the new school (Race Leys First School) was Mrs Irene Molloy
and the deputy head was Mrs Pat Vernon. Other teachers at the new school were
Miss C. Ford, Mrs C. Wilson, Mrs A. Holloway, Mrs H. Towle, Mrs V. Rooprai,
Miss R. Preece, Miss J. Lea, Miss J Doyle, Mrs M. Hodierne and Mrs E. Wilson,
supported by; Mrs J. Bowers, Mrs R. Rolfe, Mrs P. Davenport and Mrs M. Fellows.
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Irene Molloy, the first head teacher of Race Leys First School, presenting a cheque to the
Mayor of Nuneaton and Bedworth (extract from RLIS records).
A further alteration was made to the far end of the school when an extension
was added outside the farthest classroom at the police station end in 1993. This
involved extending the building to create a new practical work area and enclosing
the stairs to the upstairs rooms which were used for storage and a children’s
bookshop. They also created a new fire exit at the bottom of the stairs. The
existing classrooms at this end were made more open plan by opening up walls.
Mrs Molloy retired in 1995 and was replaced by Mrs Anne Hallissey who is still
head at the time of writing. In September 1996 the school again changed its
name when Warwickshire reorganised their schools. It became an infant school
and the name changed to Race Leys Infant School with children from 5 - 7. In
1999 the name was changed again to Race Leys Infant Community School.
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In April 2000 there are 9 members of staff and 1 full time assistant.
Head Teacher
-
Mrs Anne Hallissey
Deputy Head
-
Mrs Jacqui McKee
Teachers
-
Mrs Margaret Barratt
Mrs Louise Duncan
Miss Colette Morris
Miss Rosemary Preece
Mrs Hazel Towle
Mrs Heather Weaver
Mrs Christine Wilson
Secretary
-
Mrs Julie Jordan
Assistant
-
Mrs Sandra Spacey
Caretaker
-
Mr Alyn Peach
There are 218 children in the school, many of whom have parents and grandparents
who remember the school in the past. They will hopefully have children of their
own who will be the future of the school.
Staff of Race Leys Infant Community School, 2000 (extract from RLIS records).
Back Row: Jacqui McKee, Margaret Barratt, Sandra Spacey.
Middle Row: Angela Caldwell, Christine Wilson, Heather Weaver, Rosemany Preece,
Anastasia Christoforou, Alyn Peach.
Front Row: Colette Morris, Julie Jordan, Anne Hallissey, Louise Duncan, Hazel Towle.
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