The school, which served as both Infant and Junior School, was not far away and
conveniently for young boys at least, the direct route passed a bomb crater
which was usually full of water and fully stocked with frogs and newts. While on
the subject of reptiles it should be noted that the headmaster’s name was Grigg
and he was an enthusiastic exponent of the art of caning young hands.
I spent one year in the infants’ class about which I remember only that the
teacher’s name was Miss. Smith and that her principal interest was May poles and
Nativity plays.
After that I was elevated directly to the second year of the Junior School in a
class run by ‘Ma’ Henry, who as a teacher was as useless and inhuman as anyone
could hope to find. However the following year’s class was run by ‘Pop’ Edwards,
a kindly man who knew how to get the best out of his pupils. Finally, year 4 was
the preserve of Miss Goddard, a large and severe looking lady who was
nevertheless a good teacher so long as one was part of her favoured group. The
remainder she would tend to neglect or even humiliate. Definitely of the ‘old school’!