SCHOOL HISTORY - 1960s & 70s

Harvest Festival - 1960s

 

Do you recognise anyone in this photo? We have received this photo from Frank Pelling (2nd from left front row) who thinks it may have been taken at Middle Street in 1962-3. Well that didn't take long - one week after Frank's enquiry - Chris (at the time - Christine Akehurst  - the girl with a bow in her hair to the right of the boy pointing) confirms that this is indeed a Middle Street class - more probably 1960 or 61. Thanks Chris!
 

Class photo 1960 (or 1959?)  from Jenny Embleton nee Armes who is in middle row standing on far right with a dark bob haircut. Jenny says "I am pretty sure that the girl sitting in front of me holding her face is Susan Peters and the boys sitting on the playground are Michael and Peter (I think, but I can't remember their surnames.) I think the girl on the front row with her arms crossed is Anne something and I think the photo was taken in the middle playground." More of Jenny's memories of the school here   Peter Serres has identified the teacher at the back as Mrs Virgo.
 

Class photo Mrs Cameron's class 1960-61 thanks to Mike Grindell, who remembers the following children:
       Back Row - Stephen Wadman, ?, ?, Robert Taylor, Linda Coney (her parents were the landlords of the Bath Arms public house in the Lanes), ?, Caroline Wells, Mrs Cameron.  
       Standing -David Bloor,4 x?, Jonathan Michael Grindell,?,Robert Clarkmead, ?     
       Seated - Martin Weller (Still local) - don't recall any of the others
       Front Row – I recollect that either the boy on the extreme left or the boy with glasses was the son of a local rabbi?

Sue Elleker(nee Ogbourne) identifies herself as third from left in front row seated on chairs (in spotty dress) and the boy to her left (right in the picture) as Paul Hooton. Read more from Sue here

Jeanette Chapman (nee Therin) identifies herself as second from  right in the third (seated) row, and remembers Brian Llewellyn (third from left - back row), Maureen Lowe (third from right – back row), Leon Brunstein (first on left-front row) and Douglas Gemmell?  (third from right – front row).

Playground 1967 - from Herald newspaper article.

Pupils interviewing each other - 1967 - from Herald newspaper article.

 

1967 - from Herald newspaper article. Caption reads: 'Getting down to the three Rs: Six-year-old John Slade and five-year-old Sonja Hadley with teacher Mrs L.Cameron.'

Newspaper clipping 1967. The children are building a model of the school as it was in 1805.
The caption read: 'Modelling can be such fun - and educational too. Left to right, Beverley Laycock, Maria Antonio, Dawn Armes, Nicky Lucas and Robert Bicknell, all aged 11'.

 

Newspaper clipping 1967. The Caption read: 'Browsing through the school log books. Left to right, Diane Godley, Androulla Christophides, Maria Antonio and Elaine Lip, all aged 11.
 

Children c 1969 - Middle of back row - Alex White. Front Row - John Terry, Dean Pope,
King Cheung(?), Alan Hinton(?).

 

The Middle Street side of the school - 1973.

 

The Middle St. side of the school - 1973 - work is underway for the rebuilding of the school in 1974.

 

Click the picture to view the book made in 1974 of children's drawings of the demolition of the old school buildings.

 

A picture of  Mrs Vera Fasham (head-mistress) from an interview in the Evening Argus 1974, when she had been appointed as president of the Brighton Teachers' Association. "Take this new school...it will be finished by the end of the month and they say it can accommodate 320. I hope it never comes to that because the place is just too small. It has had to be built in a confined and difficult site and has virtually no playground.".
Mrs Fasham passed away in September 2005. From her nephew, we learn that at the gathering held to celebrate her life, her colleagues recalled how she 'worked tirelessly to mould the school around her own ethics of honesty, tolerance and endeavour, thus providing a wonderful environment for both pupils and teaching staff'.

Timothy Raison MP opening the new buildings for 'Middle Street First School'. With him are Mrs Vera Fasham (head) and Miss Annette Mahoney. Picture from the Evening Argus.

Sarah Mann has kindly sent in this class photo from 1978 (when Mrs Fasham was headmistress).