A BRIEF HISTORY OF WESTERN PARK SCHOOL UNTIL 1980

On admission every child was issued with a blanket, thick woollen sweater, gym shoes, shorts and top, a P.E. bag and a small toilet bag and toothbrush.  Each was given a number which he or she kept throughout their time there and all of the items along with a peg in the cloakroom were marked with their number.

The school day started early.  Pupils came from all over the city and met with two members of staff in town outside Lewis’s and boarded two waiting double-decker buses which brought them to the park gates and they all walked up to the school.  Some children who had to use public transport to get to town, home or to the park were issued each day with bus tickets.

On arrival at school everyone left their coats, put on their warm sweaters and made their way to the dining room for breakfast.  This was usually a mug of hot cocoa, porridge and hot scones and jam.  After breakfast everyone made their way to the classrooms.

If it was a nice day all the tables and chairs, blackboards etc. were taken outside and lessons took place in the open air with equipment flying around in the breeze.  If it was raining people stayed in their classrooms, but there were always interruptions.

Children were collected for treatment, maybe medicals or worst of all when the caretaker came in and rattled the coke stoves and refilled them.  If everyone was outside and it started to rain everything had to be moved back inside again.

Mid morning was occupied by play time and a bottle of milk.

At the end of the morning, children went back to the dining room for a really good hot dinner, cooked on the premises and brought down from the kitchen upstairs.  After dinner everyone went down to the bed shed for an hour’s bed rest.  He rule was laid down that they all laid on their right side.  There were stacks of metal framed camping type beds which were laid out in rows and racks of the blankets kept in the bed shed.  On warm sunny days bed rest was taken outside.

It used to be joked that the main qualification needed for anyone working in the school was furniture moving!

Each child had a small plot of garden to cultivate and they produced fresh vegetables for the kitchen, some fruit such as rhubarb and flowers.  Mr Singleton, the gardener, supervised this activity.

Sadly the vegetable garden disappeared during the war, when it was dug up and underground air raid shelters were built.