Memories of Helmdon School

an article by Viv Watson

Viv Watson.
My first memories of Helmdon school start in 1955 when my Mother took me to the school gates and left me there with my older sister. We walked to school as all the children came from the village or Falcutt. I was to join the infants class which was the classroom up the old steps in the middle of the lower playground. I don’t remember feeling nervous, in fact I was looking forward to school as my sister and older cousins had made it seem exciting.

In 1955 Mr Mills was the Headmaster, he taught the 9 – 11 year olds. There were just two other teachers, Miss Furborough in charge of the 7 – 8’s and Mrs Hopley with the infants. The school buildings were quite different then, three classrooms a school canteen and what we called top and bottom playgrounds. The outside toilets were across the top playground, quite a walk in winter or the rain.

The infants’ classroom had neat rows of small wooden desks, Mrs Hopley sat at a large desk at the front. To keep us warm in winter we had a big black coal burning stove with a huge chimney going up the centre of the room. It was very hot and had a fixed fireguard around it for safety. I remember it being a bit smoky if the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. The coal for this was stored in the old “stoke hole” which was just off the playground and of course, as we were not supposed to, we all used to love to play there.

First school

photo, taken in

the top playground.

Our teacher Mrs Hopley used to travel to Helmdon by train from Woodford Halse. She would arrive at the top station and walk down Station Road to school. She was always very smartly dressed and wore high heels so we could hear her footsteps long before she reached the school. She would stand at the top of the steps and ring a large handbell to signal the start of the school day. Occasionally one of the children was allowed to ring the bell as a reward for good behaviour. Mornings always started the same way, first the register – names called and the response had to be “Yes Mrs Hopley” nothing else was acceptable! Times tables followed, recited all together from 1 x 1 to 12 x 12, this was a bit boring but I have to say I have never forgotten any of my times tables. We soon learned not to interrupt them as we would then have to start from scratch!

Desks opened and Arithmetic or English books taken out and it would be lessons until playtime. I mention the desks because when I gave a talk about my school memories to Year 6 a few years ago the one thing they all wished they still had was their own desks to keep books etc in.

Playtime in the morning always came with a small bottle of milk which had been left against the hot pipes to warm, it smelt horrible. We had to drink it and for me it was the worst moment of the school day!

Back to lessons, writing practice, we did a lot of that, or a project. I remember that each season we were all involved in making a frieze for the wall made up of our individual masterpieces.

Lunch took place in the school canteen where we all sat on benches at long tables. No one brought a packed lunch, some children went home but most of us enjoyed a hot meal which had been sent from Brackley Secondary school in large metal containers. Most of the food was quite nice but I hated tapioca pudding which the boys called frogspawn, we were served a huge dish of it with a dollop of raspberry jam, for me this was probably as bad as the morning milk ordeal!

After lunch we would be let loose in the top playground. Noisy games of hopscotch, skipping and touch tag, marbles and jacks were also very popular. My most vivid memories are skipping with a long rope with a twirler at each end, we used to try to get as many as possible jumping in at the same time whilst we chanted the skipping rhymes.

We usually had PE in the afternoon, this was always outside as we had no hall or gym equipment. We did have a small metal climbing frame known as the “apparatus” and we had mats to practice our forward rolls and handstands. There used to be a radio programme called Music and Movement which we used to listen to. Desks would be moved in the classroom to make a space and we would follow the instructions from the radio, I remember many hours swaying like a tree in the wind!

The annual summer sports day was a big event for us, this took place on the school field and parents came to watch. I remember being very excited to be selected for the egg and spoon race!

Reading formed a big part of the day. We stood in a group around the teacher’s desk and took turns to read aloud. This was OK if you were good at reading but the teacher wasn’t very patient if you weren’t. I still remember having to read the word “gypsies” and pronouncing it “Jipeses” much to the annoyance of Mrs Hopley. The only homework we had then was a spelling list on which we were rigorously tested the next day. I think we must have been very well behaved children as, although the cane or slipper was still allowed, I can only recall one incident when it was used. I do remember having piano lessons with Mrs Hopley when a wrong note played resulted in a quick rap with the ruler.

My happiest memory is of afternoons when it always seemed to be hot and sunny and our story time would be spent in the school field under the trees, we all really loved that. When we left for the day we would all walk home together, the older children looking after the younger ones.

In 1957 a new headmaster, Mr Ipgrave moved to the village with his family I soon became firm friends with the eldest daughter, Jenny. Due to low numbers Miss Furburough left and we were then split into just two classes. Moving up to Mr Ipgrave’s class was an eye opener after the infants, but I enjoyed learning, particularly the history projects which he made really interesting. Our lessons in the top years were designed to prepare us for the 11 plus exam which dictated which school we would then move on to. Overall I have very happy memories of my school days at Helmdon. I left in 1960 to go to Brackley High School which meant walking to the top station and back each day to catch the train to school.

Viv Watson
2020