Year 8 Stories of School fromthe Community by David Simington

Homework Project Heroes in the Community Year 8 (57% SUBMITTED)

Written December 2008 Published August 2009 This is the writing of the pupils which has been left as sent, apart from obvious errors and spellings

What was school like? Jay 13 years old My Granddad Children back when my Granddad were at school felt the same way about school as most of us do now, if they were like my Granddad they felt that school was boring and too long. My Granddad is retired now so he doesn't do much but he likes to play golf when he can and enjoys betting on the football and horse-racing. He came to Newmarket in his late teens looking for a job to do with horses; he's always loved working with them. His first job was working at the starting stalls on race day, the pay was good and he enjoyed it but like most jobs it was temporary. The next job was caring for horses on a stud, feeding them and walking them, he stayed with that job for quite a while, lastly he worked as a security guard on the same stud and then went on to retire. The first school my Granddad went to was a church infant school in Wareside he was at this school from the age of 5-11 and then he went on to a secondary modern school also in Wareside. He enjoyed this school better because he was one of the oldest in his class and he had a lot more friends but he didn't like the lessons they were long and very boring. Back then the lessons were mostly the same as they are now. This is the story that i have picked from my Granddad. Back then the cool hairstyle for boys was long on top and sides but short on the back and having your hair wave in towards the front into a quaff sort of style, obviously having long hair and keeping it styled you'd need a lot of wax and then Brylcream was the top of the range wax it was expensive but good. One day he ran out of wax so to improvise, i know it sounds silly but it is true, he used lard in his hair, it looked fine, held and didn't smell until later on at school he went out to play at lunchtime it was hot and sunny and he was running around sweating. Soon the lard started to melt and drip down his face, one of his friends said he smelt like Sunday dinner so he rushed to the toilets to wash it out using water and toilet paper. Then the school janitor walked in and because boys had been playing around and blocking up the sinks during the week, the janitor immediately assumed that it was him.

So he took my Granddad to the headmaster’s office and told him what had happened so then he sent my Granddad home to wash it out properly. When he came back to the headmaster he got the cane across his fingertips and had to clean out the toilets, his back and hands ached and were sore for weeks after that.

Connor

Mr C

Mr. C works at Scaltback middle school as a Teaching Assistant, he likes working with computers. At lunchtimes he helps children and opens a computer club for them to play games, do their home work and catch up on work what was meant to be done in lessons. He is good on computers.

From the age of 5 until 12 he was at Summercroft primary school the thing that sticks in his mind is when he had to create a model out of clay for an art competition he made a whale with its tail curled as if it were jumping from the water. Some time during the day it was smashed no one could prove who had done it but his teacher had a idea they asked me to make another but my heart had completely gone out of the project by then the one I recreated was no where near as good and they decided not to enter it into the competition he was so upset because the thing that he liked so much just got ruined he never did find out who did it At school Mr. Carter was very good he got the cane once because he was round the back of the school and a window got smashed and he was near where the incident happened so he got blamed and he got the cane across the backside 4 times Summercroft was his first school his favourite teacher was Miss Wilson no relation to the one at Scaltback she taught him Maths, English, basic Science, Art and Crafts His best friend was Paul Clark they were in the same class but they don’t see each other anymore Paul got caned with Mr. C when the window got smashed he now lives in the north from the age of 5 until 12 he was at Summercroft primary school the thing that sticks in his mind is when he had to create a model out of clay for an art competition he made a whale with its tail curled as if it were jumping from the water. Some time during the day it was smashed no one could prove who had done it but his teacher had a idea they asked me to make another but my heart had completely gone out of the project by then the one I recreated was no where near as good and they decided not to enter it into the competition he was so upset because the thing that he liked so much just got ruined he never did find out who did it boys high school he attend this school from 12 to 16. His favourite teacher was Mr S.

He taught me metal work along with art and design. The two thing that sticks in his mind is when he was in science they were heating ink and told not to over heat it me and Paul his best friends at that time decided to open up the burner to full and see what would happen the ink exploded all over the walls and ceiling he was given a ruler for that.

My Mother I interviewed my mother about her education history and nursing career. She was very pleased and willing to give me the information. Especially, in that it brought memories of good old days. After my mother’s secondary school education she went to nursing and Midwifery College for four years. She studied eight subjects at high school- English, Maths, Biology, physics, Chemistry, History, and Home Economics and Commerce. She liked sciences, particularly Biology. She was always getting highest marks each time they wrote a test in class and some of her friends were asking her for help if they had difficulties of which she enjoyed sharing with them the ideas though some were not happy to see her so good. In sciences she enjoyed doing practical’s and experiments and liked watching things blow up in the laboratory it was a lot of fun to do. She concentrated while the teacher was teaching and because she wanted to have good marks so it helped her learn a lot and it helped her start nursing very well and she also enjoyed English and she had very good grades at the end of high school . My mothers favourite teacher was the science teacher Mr C because she understood the way he was speaking and he was a peaceful teacher to all the pupils and his fellow teachers, he was very kind to everyone at school. As mothers did well in Maths, English and Biology at high school she got a place at a nursing school where she did her training. During the training period she did not find any difficulties to study because she had a good background in Maths and sciences. Before going to nursing college she had gone for teaching where she attend the course for a year and then she quit because she had a nursing spirit in her mind and didn’t like teaching . At the end of the course my mother was awarded for first class diploma in nursing because she worked very hard at high school and college and did very well in all subjects. At home my grandparents hard arranged a graduation ceremony party for my mom. A lot of people were invited like friends, teachers, neighbours and relatives. It was a very big party and everybody enjoyed. After qualifying as a nurse my mother worked in different Zambian hospitals. As one my mother’s hobbies is travelling and meeting people she decided to go and work in Botswana in 2001 where we lived for four years before coming to the United Kingdom. On her first appointment my Mum was posted to Ulla pool a small village up north in Scotland It was a nice quiet place near the beach but very cold for my Mum as she had just come from Africa (Botswana) where the weather was hot. In Ulla pool she enjoyed going to the sea shore to see the sailing ships when she was off duty. Since she did not cope with the weather she decided to ask for a transfer to a warm place. After some time a temporary place was found for her in Lowest oft. She was very happy because she was again near the sea though she missed the snow.

She worked for sometime in Lowest oft before coming to Newmarket. Now my mother works at Kingfisher House Care Home just a few metres away from Scaltback Middle School. My mother enjoys her work and has met a lot of new friends.

by Wanji 8CK 4

Name: Eloise

Age: 12

I interviewed my Mum, Kim R and my Dad, Ian R. My Mum is 33 years old and my Dad is 40 years old. My Dad went to school in Hampshire (Limington) and my Mum went to Exning primary, Scaltback and Newmarket Upper (Newmarket College). I asked my Mum and Dad some questions and they answered. What punishments did you have? Mum: there were detentions but I never got any Dad: when I was at school we had the cane, you got suspended, detentions and writing out lines but I only got suspended because I hit teachers. Then I asked what trips did you have? And Mum said the trips they had were Derbyshire and Holland and I went to both. While my Dad said he went to Marwell zoo and Stratfield say (home to the duke of Wellington) I also asked what the dinners were like and what their favourite was and my Dad said the dinners were lovely my favourite was corn beef pie with cabbage and potatoes while my Mum said that she doesn’t know because she had packed lunch. What were the teachers like and they answered Mum: my favourites would have to be Mr H and Mr C and her least favourites were Mr L and Mr McM and my Dad’s favourite teachers was called Mike S) and his least favourite were called Mr E and Mr H. My nearly last question was what time did school start and finish? Mum: 9:00am-3:30pm and Dad started 8:55am-3:30pm My very last question was overall did you like school and guess what their answers were NO!!!!! but my Mum shouted I loved Scaltback

Background Info My Mum works at Paddocks now as a teaching assistant and she went to Paddocks then to Scaltback. My Mum’s connection with Newmarket is that she was born in Newmarket and has lived here all her life. She says she likes it in Newmarket because it is famous for its horse racing. Break times My Mum went to school at Scaltback in 1976 and liked going to school because she had some good friends but she didn’t like it because she didn’t like some of the lessons. Even though they had no toys at break times they did have marks on the playground, and my Mum thought that those marks were more fun than having toys because you could be imaginative and create any games they want. I think this shows that having toys at break and lunch was quite a late experience. It also shows that marks and/or paint on the playground e.g. Hopscotch was quite an early experience. My Mum also said that she had 2 break times, morning and lunch. I think this shows break and lunch times have not changed all that much from when my Mum went to school and now when I go to school now. Lessons My Mum remembered that there was no difference between girls and boys lessons. I think this shows that even when my Mum was at school boys and girls were treated equally, and that has not changed much from my Mums days at school to when I am at school now. The lessons my Mum had at school were: English, maths, science, P.E, French, wood work, cooking, sewing, humanities (Geography and history). I think this shows that some lessons have changed but most of them have stayed the same. The lessons went on for about an hour and think this shows that not much has changed in 32 years which I think is a surprise because so much is changing now that when you think about 32 years to change things you would have thought more lessons or break times would have changed so I was surprised to find that they hadn’t really changed all that much. Food When it came to lunch time the food wasn’t very healthy as it is now my Mum and her classmates favourite meals were Beef cobbler ( which was beef in gravy with hard dumpling type things in it) also for desert they had 2 favourites toffee cream tart and chocolate pudding with pink custard on top. So there meals weren’t what we would call healthy but apparently they were very nice. I was surprised to see that food has changed so much since then and now. The food is much healthier now though. My Mums life at school My Mum was quite popular at school, and had a lot of friends. She was a goody-goody at school and always obeyed the rules. She loved some parts of her time at school but she didn’t like other parts and it was the happiest time of her life. When she started work she missed school. By Marie

Nancy -My Dad, Alan L- 47 My project is about my Dad, Alan L. He used to go Paddocks Primary School then Scaltback Middle School, but 37 years later he is 47 and working as a plasterer for Abby Vale Builder's LTD. He works everywhere, e.g. Cambridge, London and Newmarket. My Dad was only 10 when he went to Scaltback middle school. A couple of months before he went to Scaltback middle he went to paddocks primary school were my nana works now. Before Newmarket schools my Dad lived every where, e.g. Cyprus, London and Nottingham. He finally settled in Newmarket as his Dad was off travelling again in the RAF. He was sent to paddocks and Scaltback by his Mum. After he went to Scaltback he went to the Newmarket upper, know known as ‘Newmarket College’ When my Dad moved up to Scaltback in 1971 he said it was newly built everything was modern for then. He also told me that in his French lessons the desks were particularly odd they were wooden with a plastic seat and his teacher was called Mr. F. My Dad told me that when he was here the curtains in the Drama studio are 37 years old cause they were here when he was here. Whilst my Dad was at Scaltback he didn’t really experience any school trips or anything like that. But it’s all changed now as there are more facilities, clubs and much more. My Dad can’t really remember when he was at Paddocks because he was only there for 3 – 4 months. At first when my Dad went to Scaltback he didn’t really have many friends as he didn’t come from Newmarket, but soon he had loads after a few months. Soon he was up the Upper School, but he can’t really remember that. He had even more friends now and he started doing football on the upper school field. Three years later he had left the Upper School and hadn’t a clue what he was going to do for his job but he was offered a job as a plasterer and has been one ever since. I asked my Dad some questions… Me: can you remember the names from any of your friends at school? DAD: Phillip G, Steve E, Kevin O’C, Tony C and Charlie R Me: Who was your best friend and are you still in contact with him/her? DAD: Phillip G but I’m not in contact with him anymore Me: Who was your favourite teacher and for what lesson? DAD: I didn’t have a favourite, but my favourite lesson was Drama. We used to do it in the big sports hall Me: Did you enjoy your childhood and school? DAD: Not school but my childhood was good. Me: IS there anything else you want to say about your childhood? Dad: I wish I’d paid more attention and was too shy to ask for help. You don’t realise who school is until you leave, I hope I wasn’t a pain to the teachers as I didn’t really pay any attention. I felt like a Newcomer even though I started like every one else at the start of year5 cause I didn’t come from Newmarket.

Name-Sky Age-13 Person I’m writing about-Auntie Sharon C

Sharon’s connection to Newmarket is family and friends. She doesn’t work but spends all of her time looking after the house. She has two children, Connor (6) and Dylan (4).She is married to Adrian C, She got married on Christmas Eve. My cousin and I were bridesmaids. It was really fun. She went to school at Great Heath, Mildenhall. Her best friend was Karen. They got into a lot of trouble. When she was in year4 she got into a fight with a boy called Lewis during art and got excluded for the rest of the week. Her Mum grounded he till Christmas. On day when she was about 13, she was in maths and her teacher had a box of sweets under her desk , after her teacher had left the room she stole them and put them in her school bag. When the teacher found out her sweets were missing she asked everyone in assembly if they had seen anyone take them. There was a girl called Sarah who had seen Sharon take them, so she went up to her and said “Hay! If you don’t tell on me I’ll pay you a £10,” Sarah said “yer right, like I believe that!, So Sharon said “I’ll bring it in tomorrow, Deal?” “Deal!” said Sarah. So that night when she went home she asked her Mum for £10 but her Mum said no so she begged and begged but she just kept saying no, so Sharon gave up. Later that night when everyone was asleep she tiptoed into her Mums room and started looking for her Mums purse. When she found it she stole the £10 she promised to Sarah. The next morning her Mum was looking every were for the £10 Sharon stole, but couldn’t find it anywhere. After half an hour, Sharon started to walk to school, when she remembered she had left the £10 in her other school trousers. When she got back home, her Mum had already found the £10 in her other school trousers and asked her why she had the £10. Sharon replied “I was going to get you a present with it, sorry I stole it but you wouldn’t give it to me,”. Then her Mum forgave her and let her stay of school for the rest of the day. But when she went to school the next day her math teacher called her out of her English lesson and had a word with her about the sweets that got stolen. Sharon admitted to stealing the sweets and said sorry but still got two lunch time detentions and one after school detention.

When she had finished her punishments she spoke to Sarah and said sorry for bribing her. Sarah said it was OK and they made friends with each other. Later on in the year a new girl called Karen started and Sharon broke up with Sarah and started being best friends with Karen. Karen and Sharon have had their ups and downs but have been best friends ever since.

Keileigh, 12. 8WN my Mum’s story about schooling, Kerry K, 32 My Mum’s connection with Newmarket is that it’s her home town and she grew up in Newmarket. She has three children all together called me my brother, 14 and my sister, 5. She goes to work here and has a very good job called direct choice. She loves it very much. She went to St Louis primary which was in Newmarket but then she went to St Louis middle which was not in Newmarket it was in bury and then she went to st benidics which was also in bury. St Louis primary school was very strict and they didn’t have any ordinary teachers they had nuns and they had a statue outside My Mum was very good at school until she went to St Louis Middle School in Bury and she had to get a bus with her younger sister called Bonnie and one the bus my Mum used to say horrible things with her friends such as “hold on tight were about to take off” because her hair used to be very funny and her fringe used to be stuck up straight and everyone used to laugh a her hair style except from her friends and A few weeks Bonnie’s friend and her walk to the bus stop and they do their hair all weird and colour their hair in with black felt tips. And that day it was a photo day and bonnie said her friend and her were sisters and not my Mum so they didn’t have a the photos done together , instead she had it done with her friend and Mums Mum after school said “I hope that picture was nice of you two” Mum said “we didn’t have a picture together taken this year” then Mum said “well im going to phone the school know “so there Mum phoned the school and the teacher said “yes the did have a photo together taken it was Bonnie and Sarah “. Well there Mum was so angry she -went to the school the next morning and said “I need another photo taken with each other. A few weeks later, Mum insisted to having another picture done so they did and when the picture came back from school, Mum was so glad, she went down town and brought a lovely frame for the photo. When she was about 14 she decided she wanted a sleep over for her birthday so she went to school the next day and ask loads of people and when she was in her 3rd lesson she was sending notes about her birthday to her friends and her teacher caught sending one and had a week detentions and had to do community service. Because their school was a Catholic school they were very strict but when she done community service it isn’t like jobs we have now it’s like helping the teachers all day and not touching the computers for a while and other things like that.

Homework project Damian My Mum was at Scaltback Middle School. She likes it because she did not get boiled but she did in St.Felix. She was a very good pupil and she was very brainy. She liked Scaltback a lot. She had a million friends after school. They would go out to the woods and play. Her best friend was nice but my Mum can’t remember her name but my Mum said she was nice and she hopes to see her again.

Name: Angel

Age:12

I am writing about my Granddad. Granddads name is Tony, He works as a digger driver and he has 8 children. He earns £600 a week and he 59 years old. He is single. He likes playing pool. His favourite food is chicken salad. His best friend is called Nicky. He has 23 grand children he is funny and lively. About his school. He went to Soham Village College. He was badly behaved. He got into to trouble for skiving too much. He didn’t like any lessons. He hated school. His favourite sport was cross country. His best friend at school was David. He used to be in a choir. He hated Michael because he was a bully. Story He was brought up in a railway house. He used to ride the steam trains from slam to Mildenhall. He used to help the coal men, unload the trucks. Opposite the house was a big orchard. He used to out the grass. He used to pick apples & plums then put them in boxes so that they could go to market in London. While growing up on Sundays he used to go to the church to get butter rolls after the service. He used to fall off his moped to try and impress the girls. After leaving school he started laying tarmac as a job. He got married young to my Nan. He was 22 when he had his first child and was 33 when he had his youngest child. 11

What my nominee does now and there connection to Newmarket: “My job is a general catering assistant. I work for a company called Suffolk County Catering; they run a lot of the school kitchens in Newmarket. My connections to Newmarket are: I have my family history here I have been raised, educated and lived my whole life in the town of Newmarket

My nominee’s education history I was educated at Houldsworth Valley Primary School, Scaltback Middle School, and Newmarket Upper School now (Newmarket College.) I left School in 1983 with five C.S.E. qualifications. These were in History, Geography, arithmetic, English, and Social Economics. I think that the school system is fine as it is and does not need changing.

When I was at Scaltback Middle School we went on a trip to London. We had to be up early in the morning to catch the 7.30 train. We went to see the Cutty Sark It’s a tea clipper (Ship) it is no longer there as it caught fire. I believe they are trying to restore it.

Mr D was one of the teachers how accompanied us to London I was in his group. Whilst in London we went on the underground, a lot of children did not like it. I think they found it cramped. We also caught the regular train home again it was a long and tiring day but I believe we all enjoyed it. Christopher

Anna, 13, The history of schools with David R David R is my Dad and is 55. He has lived in Newmarket for 15 years but went to many different schools in various parts of the country. He works as a nurse for mentally disabled people at a home in Cambridge. Before that he worked at a home in Newmarket, also for mentally disabled people. My Dad had a completely different school life than I have. His mother was a single parent and moved around a lot. As a result, he and his brother went to lots of different schools, including: • Infant school, Grantham • Primary school, Grantham • Primary school, Hartley Wintney • Primary school, Farnborough • Primary school, Basingstoke • Primary school, Sherborne • Secondary boys school, Exmouth This is about his time at the school in Exmouth at the end of 1964. At this time he was about 11 years old and had only just moved to Exmouth which meant that he knew no one: The first day he arrived at the school on his own, to find that he hadn’t been given a class. Everyone was in the main hall and the teachers were calling out all the boys in turn to be given their classes. Each year had four different ‘streams’, A, B, C and D. At the end, he was the last one left and was then placed in class 1A. The school had about 500 pupils, all boys, and the classes had about 25 pupils each. He doesn’t remember it as being ever so strict but you called the teachers ‘Sir’. They called you by your second name, eg. ‘Roberts’, not ‘David’ and your form teacher had a slipper to whack you with if you were naughty. The headmaster still used a cane and teachers would give you lines and detentions. Some teachers had very strict control over the class, but others had very little and there would be lots of messing around in their classes. This was very annoying if you wanted to learn, as he did. The school didn’t do foreign languages but was good on science so he did physics, chemistry and biology separately. There was no safety equipment in those days, eg. goggles, and on one occasion there was a small explosion and acid went everywhere! No one was seriously hurt but someone got acid all over their clothes. Because it was a boy’s school, there were no cookery classes, however they did wood and metal work. The metal work teacher was a Scottish man, Jock, and was extremely strict, so my Dad didn’t like him or the lesson very much. From year 3, when he was about 14, onwards, he started his GCE ‘O’ level studies which he took the end of year 4. No coursework was included in the exam. It was all down to the exam itself. There were also exams called CSE’s which were easier if they couldn’t manage ‘O’ levels. In fact, CSE’s were quite hard to fail, though only a grade 1 was worth anything! They didn’t get much homework in the first year but they’d get about an hour or more of homework a night leading up to ‘O’ levels.

The school dinners, in his opinion, were awful! There was no choice and you had to eat it! Also, for some reason, there was very little water on the table and the only means of getting a drink was one water fountain in the playground for the entire school, so that in summer, you might have had to queue up 20 minutes just to get a small drink. No one bought their own bottles of water; he doesn’t think they were allowed to. They did however; get a small bottle (1/3 pint) of milk every morning for free. There is so much more to say, but we’ve done too many words already. Overall, he says he was quite happy in his school-life.

Marcus Age 12 Tracey D My Mum My Mum works in Newmarket as a house keeper she starts at 9:15 until 2:45 to pick up my brother and myself. My Mum also worked at Exning primary school as a dinner lady and Tesco Newmarket, she lived in Exning for 10 years and now we live in red loge. My Mum attended Laureate primary school 1978 which was for 1 year. The head master was Mr H. The school wasn’t very big just before assembly, my Mum would have to have a bottle of milk in which they all had to drink she said they would have a monitor to collect the milk my Mum hated the milk it was smelly and warm. After a year my Mum attended Scaltback Middle School. The head teacher was Mr E. She said this was a much larger school. The first years were separated from the rest of the school. This was to ease you in to the middle school life. She then proceeded to do another 3 years before moving up to Newmarket Upper School.

Name: Daniel Age:13 Interviewed: Granddad My Granddad live now in Burwell "A peaceful and quiet place." He has many family who livein Newmarket, including me. "I lived in Fordham but my family started to move to Newmarket because it is ideal for them. so when I moved I wanted company so I moved some where close to Newmarket" (where it's cheap also). "Nothing dramatic happened during my school years. We were taught and taught well. We never gained great levels in school like in algebra, but, we did learn some useful things, but never properly mastered it. However we did have a good religious upbringing combined with good manners. my teachers where very strict, the cane was always hitting my hand, but my teachers was also a kind people for whom we all had great respect". "Each day was an adventure and never the same or boring. But one day will always stay in my memory, when I stood up against a bully who bullied me a lot bullying was quite common. He was a bully to and many of my friend’s and others but when he push me over the edge I had to stand up for myself and my friend’s so I pushed him back ,even know he was bigger and stronger then me I knew he was not as brave as me. So I stood up to him a gain much respect from him and others. I was quit poor unlike today so my life was hard and, I had to do any job what paid. Most of them where farm work (some sort of lifting) so I was quit strong and after that day he did not even talk to me in a bad manor any more and stopped bullying some of my friend for if he did he would have got in trouble and have get the cane. I knew he was stronger but I was smarter than him and that lesson to stick up for myself (in the right situation) helped me in life and that is one of the lesson’s I try to teach my children to pass to the next generation but to learn this skill you will have to get it wrong and that got me the cane more than once but In the end it is worth it for in the end I was not bullied for a long while and school became more fun and easier for me and my friend and my grades grew faster than they ever did because I had more time to listen instead of being insulted. When we got the same job together it helped me a lot and we grew some what of a friendship with him and we would often go out together to the movie and get chips together. I live today still using this method with my social skill’s (I often tell this story to teach my family this lesson). My education was not great and I worked as a gardener for 35 years and saved my money to have a great life.

Daniel

My Mum By Jason Age 12 In 1982, when my Mum was in year 4 at a school called Houldsworth Valley the schools were not much different from what they are like now. They did not use canes and the teachers never threatened to hit the kids with rulers either. Houldsworth Valley had its own swimming pool. They only had swimming lessons once a week and my great Nan called June used to help the girls get ready in the girls changing room but these days your not allowed parent helpers, Mums and Dads are only allowed to get their own kids changed. When my Mum was in the last year she was the eldest in the school and she was chosen out of her class, with a friend to wash up the teacher’s cups and plates after break time and if there were any cakes left over they were allowed to eat them. There was a choir that my Mum was in and they used to go to a place called Breckland music festival where lots of different schools got together to have a singing competition. One year they actually managed to win the cup!!! My Mum was also in the schools country dancing group. They used to practice their dance routines in the school hall and then travel on a coach to Felixstowe to have a big dance off with lots of different schools. While they were there they were allowed to buy little bells to tie around their ankles so that when they were dancing the bells would jingle. They could also buy fans to use after they had done their dance routines. My Mum was a right suck-up because she was picked to do everything and she never refused. When they had harvest festival time, at the end of October, my Mum was chosen (AGAIN) to help make up a fruit and vegetable parcel and then with a friend, she would walk around Windsor Road and knock on the doors of elderly people and give them a present of the harvest festival food. In the playground she played some really weird games. One of them was marbles where they done highsies and lowsies. If you were playing highsies you would have to stand up straight and throw your marble at the other persons marble and if you were playing lowsies you would have to crouch down and throw it. The first person to hit the other player’s marble would win. My Mum always won at highsies. Another game they used to play was French skipping. All you would need was a long piece of elastic with both of the ends tied together in a knot to make a loop. You needed three people to play, two would stand facing each other with the elastic around their ankles and the other person would have to skip inside and outside of the elastic and then land on it. Each time someone successfully done it the elastic would go higher e.g. round the knees and then under your bottom, and they would have to do the same thing again. These were just some of the things that my Mum got up to at school.

You wouldn’t do most of these things now……..Would you!!!!!!!

Name: Nathan Class: Age: 12 Gerald R (Granddad) My Granddad retired in 1992 after working for 48 years, because my nana was ill and then had a stroke so he had to care for her. But when my nana died he then lived on his own. He now has more time to his self and keeping his occupied by going up there allotment and doing gardening. School The first school my Granddad went to was Al saints school, then when he was 11 years old he moved up to the upper school. He enjoyed doing gardening 2 hours a week but there wasn’t much more subjects he liked. He was very good at maths and English although he didn’t like those subjects. Story When my Granddad was at school it was a lot different to now because of the war and different systems. He remembered having milk every day at school whilst all the children were sat round in a circle with all there gas masks. He remembered one day in PE his friend was being cheeky to the teacher so the he hit him straight round the head, then then child fell on the floor crying. Although my Granddad was well behaved, he could be cheeky at times. Gerald even still has scars where he got hit by the cane, rulers and belts. One day whilst my Granddad was at school the air rade siren went of and the high street had been boomed. My Granddad was very smart when he was at school but some days he wouldn’t go to get educated because he was working on his Dads farm. My Granddad can remember the day when he opened his curtain when he got up and all the flags were out to tell everyone won the war was OVER! That Night There was a massive bonfire in the middle of the high street near were curry’s is now. Everyone was there even the soldiers, the women and the men were dancing round the bonfire all night. The soldiers were even throwing there hats in the middle. During The war his Mum died and his Dad was out fighting in the war so he lived on his own. One night he went to bed and turned his light on and there was a bat flying round the room, so he opened the window and went down stairs. Later on he came back up to his room the wasn’t just one bat in there was two. So that night he slept down stairs and the next morning there had gone. The best thing about the war he thought was everyone had to grow there own fruit and veg because it couldn’t get to England and no one could afford it either. He was very good at gardening so he liked it when everyone was doing gardening. My Granddad met my nana when she was in the shower because he lived next door and she was in the shower and she was locked in so my Granddad came running in and helped her out and they were together till 2008 because my Nana died.

HOMEWORK Erik The school by heart and from within very beautiful and spacious. The sports fields are cultivated carefully and it is kept in order. All children and teachers a lot help me and listen. The children's interests are kept before an eye primarily and their mood is good. All of the equipment is very modern. The music is very interesting, it is possible to use many musical instruments. I like England and Newmarket very much and I am glad very much that, I may be Scaltback Middle School student.

Name: Luke Age: 12 Homework Project I interviewed my Nan, Jean B, who 66 and was willing to tell me about her school life. Jean is a member of Arthritis Care and is the account manager which isn’t based in Newmarket but plays a big role in old people lives. She lives in a bungalow and has lived in Newmarket all of her life. Jean went to All Saints when she was 5 years old until she was 11 years old, and then went to Newmarket Secondary School when she was 11 years old until she was 15 years. In those days she wasn’t bad at school but she never wanted to go to All Saints School, and she would cry every morning for 2 years! But once she has got use to the bad heating, outside toilets and the chalk thrown to the ear, she was fine. Every Sunday she would have to go to All Saints church with her school. She enjoyed the Newmarket Secondary School much better because they had better heating, better teachers, indoor toilets and better quality school altogether. She had a very interesting story about one day at school and it was a Monday morning when she got into school and the teacher wasn’t in the class. So she and all of her friends thought it would be funny to play a trick on her teacher. She told her friends to go and take the chalk from the black board of and put it in the bin, and get the plimsoll from in his drawer and hid it, so like kids, they did! They crept down the corridor and nearly got caught by a teacher in the opposite class room. They collected up some pins from the display boards and put them in their pockets, “Quick, let’s get some other stuff, it’ll be much better with more.” They went the outside toilets and my Nan tripped on a rock. Well, the night before it had been raining, so the grass really wet, well luckily she didn’t land on her chest, she only landed on her knees and she has a black skirt on, so it did not show much. Well the then put the rocks they had collected from round the tree’s and put them in the toilet. They then ran through the playground to the dinner hall, and at this time, no one was in there and it was unlocked, so she went in their and got some flour. She ran back into class and he still was not there, she was a bit nervous because he could come down the corridor at anytime, but still he wasn’t there yet, was he? So, they placed the 4 pins on his chair and filled his draw with flour. They ran back to their desks and told the person next to them to not say a word! Then, he walked in and walked over to his seat. Then… shouted, “I hope you don’t actually think I will sit on this horrible chair! He looked around at the other children with a frown on his face. He had a few people in mind who done it and made them go to the front of the class! The 4 people asked to go to the top of the class weren’t any of the ones who had actually done it! She was relived, but still, someone was bound to tell the teacher. And, they did, when the teacher found out that it was actually Jean and her friends, she was in deep trouble!

Age: 11 Rebecca Graveling

My Mum (Carole)!

When my Mum was 6 years old her family came to Newmarket from Blackpool because my Granddad wanted to work in the racing industry. They lived in Newmarket and soon after they moved to Exning so that my Mum, her two brothers and her sister could go and attend Exning primary school. When my Mum left school at the age of 15, she worked at Woolworth’s, until she had her first child (my brother). Once she gave birth to my brother she went to work at a hotel called the Bedford lodge. When she was working at Bedford lodge she met my Dad. Three years after she got married to my Dad and had a baby girl and named her Rebecca Graveling (That’s me). Now she works in a supermarket. My Mum started her school life at Exning Primary School. Until she was 11 years old. She took her 11 plus exam. She attended Newmarket secondary modern school, which became a comprehensive school. My Mum stayed at school till the young age 15, and soon after went looking for a job. My Mum started school at he age of 5. She spent 1 year at school in Blackpool and the rest of her school life in Newmarket. My Mum had much trouble with her English and reading. Her teachers decided she would benefit from some extra help. So she had a lady come into school. Every Wednesday my Mum would get help with her English and reading. The teacher who helped my Mum was a Elderly lady. My Mum said she was every nice and her name was, Mrs Baldwin. My Mum explained that she was very helpful. She had her help for about for about 6 months- 8months. After awhile Mrs Baldwin decided my Mum was very quick to pick up her words and spellings. My Mum said ‘‘Mrs B taught me to understand difficult words. She taught me how to learn my spellings in a different and easier way.’’ My Mum took her spelling book home everyday and learnt her spellings with my Nan. She would also read to my Nan every other night. My Mum said it was very difficult to learn her spellings. She had extra spellings because as she had help to learn them. She says she can even remember the lady’s face now. She was an amazing help my Mum said. My Mum could never forget her, my Mum is very grateful. My Mum can remember when they use to have little bottle of juice or milk. Mrs B used to hand the milk or juice to all of the children. All of the children loved her she was a much loved teacher. My Mum cannot forget her even today. The teacher helped my Mum a lot. My Mum could not be as good at spellings as she is today if she hadn’t had her help.

Mrs B was a good inspiration to my Mum. My Mum told me that she hopes she has passed her love for reading and her skills at spelling. Now she helps me. She likes to because she said, it feels like she is saying thank-you to her teachers.

50 words about Dad Dad is very hard working, believes in himself, he always does house choirs because Mum is lazy, but to be fair Mum works 8:30 to 10:45 and is very tiered after work. Dad always has loads of energy. He was famous in Scandinavia for horse riding. Where Dad went to school Dad went to school in Lancaster with his twin brother. The school was a boarding school. Dad went there because he had 7 brothers and his parents didn’t work and struggled to get much food on the table. Dad has many stories about his childhood. 400 word story about Dad My Dad is very funny, very athletic, very hard working, very willing to help others, very energetic, very helpful, very loving, can be very frustrated, very angry, very tiered, very annoying, very chatty. Dad has some very cool stories from his child hood and some of the best ones are these. STORY 1: Dad was picked up by 6 of his brothers and 1 sister, they striped him and tied him to a cross butt naked, right in front of a train track and when the people went passed they laughed at him, he was only seven years old. His brothers and sisters eventually let him down, but instead of untying him they just let the cross drop, which broke his nose. STORY 2: This story was a game that they played, what they did was tied each other into 6 bed blankets so it was impossible to get out. So what they did was see who had the longest nerve and could relax under a lot of stress. Dad said he always did it the longest and he said that it was really hard to breathe and it got really hot and sweaty in there. STORY 3: Dad and his twin brother went to Boarding School at the age of 10, One day when he was in the design room with his teacher building something, because that was what Dad liked to do, and all of a sudden two of his mates come bursting in shouting Dennis, Dennis come quick it’s your brother he’s being bullied by a really big geezza. So Dad ran out into the playground. Dad was much smaller than the bully, but that didn’t scare Dad, he marched right up to him and smacked him right in the jaw. Dad still has the scare on his knuckles from where the bully’s teeth cut into it. After that know body ever touched Dad or his brother again. Dad got the cane for it, but that was the only cane he ever got. Dad absolutely loved it at Boarding School, because there was so much freedom, that you could pretty much do whatever you liked after lesson’s and there were acres and acres to roam around in and he was aloud to build tree houses, in the trees and race homemade Gokarts down the long hills and stuff with all their friends. Harrison

Vicky I am writing about my Grandma called Jean W who is 78 and was born in 1929 in Newmarket. When she was younger she lived on Lisburn Road, Newmarket until she was 23 then her and my Granddad moved to Cambridge. Then they had children in 1956, 1957, 1961 and 1962 three boys and a girl. (My Mum) Then in 1968 they moved back to Newmarket. In 1975 they then moved to Fordham which is where she still lives today. The first school my grandma went to was All Saints Infant/Junior which was in Newmarket and she started there in 1933 and she went there from 4 till 11 years old. Then she moved on to Newmarket Secondary School from 11 till 12 years old. Then her parents moved her to Saint Louis Convent because they thought that she would do better there so she went there from 12 till 16 years old. As it was so long ago my grandma could not really remember much so she told me little snippets of her school life. In her Junior School she could remember that her head teacher always carried a cane in his hand so she was always very good which meant she never got it. To get to School she either walked or biked, my grandma was one of the lucky as her parents could afford to buy her a bike which most of her friends didn’t have. At her Infant/Junior School she didn’t have to wear a uniform and was able to wear whatever she wanted. But when she got to the Convent she had to wear a white blouse, a maroon gym slip and a blazer. When she was at school food was rash end so there where no school dinners so people who lived far from school brand pack lunch and people who lived close like my grandma went home for lunch. But just before she left the Convent school dinners were introduced. The lessons which she did where a bit similar to what I do but she didn’t do many of them. She did: English, Arithmetic’s (which we know as maths), History, Games, R.E. and Geography. As she got older and went up to the secondary and the convent schools she did cookery and needle work which where only for girls and she also did science, swimming and art. The exam she did where called the school certificate which she didn’t do very well in but after school she still got a good job. The school day started at 9 o’clock until 3.30 in the infant school. But as she got older she stayed for another half an hour so until 4 o’clock. In the class rooms in the convent the pupils sat on double desks with ink wells in them and the teacher would stand at the front writing with chalk on a black board. There would also be a coal fire in the classrooms. The main story that she told me was when she was sick off school and was sitting at home when she heard a big bang a plane had come down the burg road and dropped bombs on Newmarket high street on the side that Woolworths is and the last bomb landed on the path near De Neros which used to be a cinema. Her Dad worked in the petrol station next to the swimming pool and was a trained first aider. So he left work to help injured people. Then my grandma sister can home that day from school and told her all about how the alarm had gone of and everyone had to go into the main hall and the head teacher told them what was happening. The next day my grandma was better so she went to school and everyone was talking about it.

Vicky 22

My Granddads’ School History He was born in 1941, he started school in 1945 just after the second world war, which was called Cambridge St Barrow in Furness. In his class there were orphans who parents had been killed in the war. The orphanage was a big building next to the school. It was called the Cottage Homes. Many school children or different ages lived there, until adopted families were fount for those children, or until they were old enough to leave and go to find work. After leaving Cambridge St juniors, he then went to the technical school in barrow for five years. My Granddad says he enjoyed every day of his school life, especially his school dinners, and bottle of milk. In the forties and fifties was food being on ration, and most people lived on the bread line the school dinner was the main meal of the day. On leaving school my Granddad went into the forces and then did various jobs until he retired. My Granddads History is varied and complex. His father was a ship builder in Vickers in Barrow in Furness, and he was brought up in times of prosperity and times of hard ship. In his younger days of life just after the war, he remembers going to school with holes in his shoes darned sock, and cast off clothes, which families passed down from an elder person/Nothing was wasted. In the winter he living in Cumbria it was very cold with lots of ice and snow, and sometimes heavy rain. With not having any heavy coats to protect against the weather, many mornings children would arrive soaking wet. All wet clothes were taken off, and hung on radiators; many children were soaked to the skin. Corridors at school in the winter months were always full of damp clothes, as soon as they had dried out, it was back on with the clothes. Teachers handed the cane out readily if you were indiscipline and most children received the cane. All children accepted it, with respect for the teachers never waning. All teachers were called Sir or Ma’am, a tradition that would last for many years after his schooling days. Schooling from the infants to the Technical school was taught with discipline and respect for all pupils. My Granddads story to be recorded. I was born in Barrow in Furness in 1941, my first recollection of life, was when I was small boy, hearing air raid sirens wailing, and going down the Anderson Air Raid Shelter, at the bottom of the garden with my gas mask. I don’t remember being frightened, though doubted I was. With barrow being a ship building town, it was a prime target for bombing raids by the German Bombers. All I food, sweets and clothing were rationed, and our main diet consided of powered eggs and dried milk. Nobody complained, because every one was in the same situation. As I grew up into my teens, my father who was a fully skilled boiler maker and ships platter was always on strike because of a situation, know as demarcation. Many workers in various industries were fighting for survival, and frightened of loosing their jobs. My father was often out on strike, without any pay, and our family was surviving on national assistance <a said set of money just to survive on>.To help the family food chain we had to go and collect seagull eggs, shoot wild rabbits and wood pigeons. With living next to the sea, we were all adept to catching fish, either with a hook line and sinker, or laying out long lines, a tradition which is still used today. Fish were plentiful, also we used to catch crabs, and go winkling, winkles are small sea snails that live under rocks near waters edge. They have to be boiled as does a lot of sea food, but once cooked are very tasty. I remember my Dad being out on strike for over six months in one dispute, with no money coming in the house, times were hard. But it was accepted in an industrial town, that men must fight for their jobs, regardless of hardship. My two next door neighbours were ex soldiers, one a Mr B had his own florist shop. He had a leg blown off in the first world war, so he walked on a pot leg, he was a very kind person, and helped us a lot in desperate times, as he only had one daughter was a lot older the time me and my two brothers. My other neighbour Mr C had a daughter and son, he was a keen sailor, he served in the army as a Marine, and was in many battles all over Europe. He spent the whole length of the war in the Army. His son Nelson, was a great friend when we were growing up, he went to University, and then on to be Professor of Geology at Boulder University Colorado. He has wrote many papers and world renowned in his field of plate tectonics and Hydrology. He was also a part of the Antarctic Survey team. I often wish that I had, stayed education, instead of walking away from it at sixteen. But I have had an educational life of my World as I see it, and having been in the forces my self, it gives you a good back ground to be able to tackle any situation that may have cross you path later in my life. I am sixty seven years old, and gone back to school, my subjects are English and maths, you are never to old to learn, I left school with out one pass I deeply regret it. It is the biggest mistake of my entire life and I hope to rectify it, by at least having a pass in something. If this story gives any encouragement to one school child, to stay in education, even though they may feel a failure now, it would be blessing.

By Demi

By Jessica The person I wrote about was Ms L. Ms L went to St. Louis and they wore a maroon tunic and a tie and a hat in the summer and just a maroon tunic in the winter. No calculators were allowed but they were allowed pens, pencils but no computers and they had no computers. The teachers who taught them were sometimes nuns. They had reading lessons. The lessons where peaceful but the lessons where not separate; they had to pray at the beginning and the end of the day. They had some lessons then a break and at break they had milk but it was good if you were milk monitors because they had warm milk and it was horrible so if you were a monitor you could wait for the milk to warm down. They did not have the cane at school. They had homework but not a lot you would just get reading books for homework. The schooling system was 3 tier and the teachers were really strict. The pupils did not have a detention on a Saturday just had to stay in at break time. You would just write with a pencil and school would start at 9 o clock. They would not have experiments like in middle school. For P.E they had maroon knickers and if you forgot your P.E kit then you had to do it in your knickers and vest. You would have assemblies’ everyday. For lunch you would have to eat either you packed lunch or school dinner in the basement and it would be freezing cold because they would not have any radiators down there. For swimming you would have to walk down to the swimming pool. They had a school photo graphs. There would be one teacher who would stay with you all the time and they would teach all your lessons and you would never go with other classes. You would have to be quite well; behaved because you would not want to be staying in at break time. Ms L is a teacher at Scaltback now. And her connection with Newmarket now is that she works here.

Daniel Intro on how schools have changed. School’s have changed a lot since 1934,in my project I will find info from my Nan and Granddad. Changes There have been lots of changes to schools lately. In old schools, children would have ink pots and a wooden pen to write with but nowadays children bring pens, pencils and other school equipment from home. In old schools children would have got the cane as punishment for doing wrong but nowadays children will be punished by red cards suspension or expelled Break times At break times in 1940, children would go to bakery shops to get bread. Break times in 1966, children would play on the field and play marbles and also played hopscotch, stilts, Jacks, French skipping and football. Lessons - In mid-morning children would get a bottle of milk. List of lessons - Maths R.E English Science Chemistry Cooking Equipment for lessons Counters for maths, weighing scales (pounds and ounces), Tins, and Wooden spoon Knives Spoon. Farming Whilst my Granddad was at school farmers would come into lessons to pick a child to help them on the farm with herding and milking cows and collecting eggs from chickens. My first day at schoolMy Granddad took me to the door, I was very nervous as it was my first day at a school. When I walked in I saw that everyone was sitting in a circle. My teacher told me to come and sit down with the group then my Granddad left and I soon made friends with Daniel B and Connor R.My last day at Houldsworth valley It was my last day at Houldsworth valley and I was happy to go to a middle school. Me and my class spent the whole time preparing what we had done for the last assembly. Me and my friend Shane wrote a poem about our new school and old school. My first day at Scaltback My first day at Scaltback we all stood on the playground waiting to leave with or class and I was with all my friends and class my mates were: Daniel B, Connor R, Jay P and Tom H. we got into our classroom and met Mrs C our new teacher. In Norwich years ago there were no secondary schools and you would have to walk 2 miles to school. Start of year 6 We were all lined up for year 6 when Mrs Tester came out, to take us to our classrooms and we spent the whole day doing activities. My Granddads first day at school It was 70 years ago and my Granddad had to walk 2 miles to school with his 7 brothers and sisters. They had to walk through Burbeck woods and they met Lady Burbeck and she told them she lost a hook to her grass cutter. Then Lady Burbeck said whoever found the hook first would get some apples but in the end her dog found it and got a bone. As you can see, over the years things have changed dramatically as things have got better no more canes, better education and better jobs.

Q-What year was your school built? A- St. Johns was founded in 1872 and moved to its new site in 1888, and is now a nursery school. Q- How many classrooms were there in the school? A- There was only two classrooms, the smaller room had primaries one to three in and the larger room had primaries four to seven in, there was also a small cloakroom and a small toilet block with small sinks for the pupils to wash there hands in. After primary 7 the pupils had moved up to the high school. Q- How many teachers were there when you were there? A- There were two teachers, Mrs M, who was the head teacher from 1956 until her retirement in 1976,she taught in the small room and Mrs N who taught in the big room. Q- Where there any other members of your family in the school? A- Yes, at one time there was three of my sisters in different classes, split between the two rooms. Q- How did you get school dinners etc? A- The school dinners were delivered to us in large metal urns, in separates compartments, the dinner ladies just served it up pink custard was delicious!!!! Q- Did you get milk? A- The children all received free milk, and in winter it was so cold that the milk froze in the little bottles. The milk monitors duty was to bring the milk crates in and sit them in front of the fire to thaw out before playtime. I was usually one of the milk monitors. Q- Did you have a television? A- Very few people had televisions then, although two of the pupils did and the school was divided into two groups, and went to the pupils houses, because we were allowed to watch the queen opening the Forth Road Bridge. Q- What about Christmas? A- Christmas was a special time, each class was allowed to sit around the wireless (radio) and learn the Christmas carols from the pamphlets. Q- How many pupils were in the school? A- In 1920 the school roll had risen to over 100, but by 1943 the roll had dropped to only 29 pupils, although I wasn’t in school at that time!!! I started school in 1960. Q- Did a bell ring to tell you when the lessons were to begin? A- We had a hand bell and if you paid a 1/2p to the life-boat fund you were allowed to ring the bell. Q- Was there separate play-grounds? A- Yes, primaries one to three had the little play-ground and primaries four to seven had the bigger play-ground. Q- Have you kept in touch with anyone from your schools-days? A- Yes, after 27 years I have been in touch with my teacher, she is 93 years old.

Connor R 26

I had a conversation with Robert P, aged 56.The reason for this is to find out about the history of schools in Newmarket for my h0mework project. He is now a car mechanic and runs a local business called Contact Garage at Laureate gardens which will be mowed to Willy Snaith road. Robert went to All Saints primary school at the age of 5-11.He then went to secondary modern school which is where Newmarket college is at the age of 11-15.He then spent 4 years at West Suffolk College. He also took biology, motor engineer, electrics and welding courses. When I spoke to him he told me many stories about his childhood and schooling. The one specific story that stuck in my head was when he wads in secondary school which ids now known as Newmarket college at the age of 13. One day during a lesson taking place in the library, the whole class had been asked to read the same book and to give a spoken review to the whole class to show their different opinions about the book. This was also to see who had actually been reading the book. While the whole class was reading this book, Robert got a bit bored and thought it would be quite amusing to make a noise that sounded like he was breaking wind by blowing a raspberry into his hands. The teacher was not amused by how inappropriate it was to do such a thing in a lesson and especially in a library where you have to be very quiet at all times. Everyone began to laugh and his teacher Mr F was starting to get angry and asked him to leave the library and go to Mr J who was the headmaster. When he got there Mr J wasn’t in his office so he had to wait outside on chair until he returned. When the headmaster arrived he saw Robert waiting outside his office. Mr J asked him why was he there and Robert told him that he had been sent to the office by Mr F for being rude in the library during his lesson. Once he had heard all the details Mr J told him that his punishment for being rude in the library was six strokes of the cane across his backside. He also said that he was very disappointed with the lack of respect he had shown to his teacher and fellow class mates in the library. During his punishment Robert said he felt humiliated and ashamed of what he had done. Afterwards he could barely sit down because of the pain the six strokes of the cane across his bottom gave him. This didn’t stop him from doing further naughty things but that’s another story.

I can now recognise the differences between the punishments we receive at school and the punishments which they received. We would get detentions and red cards when they would get the cane for the same disruption.

Aaron Peart 27

Jordon McMurray Lisa McMurray I was born in Newmarket in 1967, and have lived here all my life. Where I live now is not far from where I lived as a child. I started work when I left school at 16 and I am still there now. The firm that I work for is in Newmarket. I started school when I was 4 and a half. That school was called Paddocks Primary I was there until I was 9. Then I went to Scaltback Middle until I was 13. I then went to Newmarket Upper until I was 16 and left after passing 7 CSE’s. After I left school I started working. The date was 15th December 1977. When I was in my second year at Scaltback, we were out playing on the field at lunchtime when there was a strange noise in the air. When we looked up there was a plane in the sky and it had flames coming out of it, we all had to go inside the school as they thought the plane might come down on the field. The pilot managed to steer the plane away from the school and it went over Scaltback estate and missed Paddocks Primary as well. The plane crashed into a field in Hamilton road. The pilot and the captain ejected from the plane at the last minute and both survived the crash.

You could see the black smoke from the crash miles away. It was reported on all the local news stations and in the local papers. It must have been a lucky day that day because it was a miracle that nobody was hurt. The plane was a F-111 and the field were it landed in is now a place were horses are kept.

Luke Paterson At school Mr C got the cane once because he was round the back of his school and a window got smashed and he was near where the incident happened so he got blamed and he got the cane across his backside 4 times. Summercroft was his first school his favourite teacher was Miss W, no relation to the one at Scaltback she taught him Maths, English, basic science, art and crafts his best friend was Paul C. They were in the same class but they don’t see each other anymore Paul got caned with Mr C when the window got smashed. He now lives in the north.

Sophie Age 12

John B(Dad)

John B works at Beehive coils, he has worked there since he was 16.This was after he had finished school .He is originally from Newmarket and was born in Newmarket hospital in 1962, this was when there was a maternity ward there. His job is to build big metal frames for air conditioning units and for freezers such as the ones in Tesco’s. He is one of the best workers and has worked there longer than most of the people there. He enjoys his job and has asked to be one of the bosses but sadly turned it down because he didn’t want all the pressure and the money wasn’t that much more than what he is getting paid now. His first school he went to was called All Saints primary, which was right near his house, he was there until he was 9 years old. He then went to Scaltback Middle School but left when he was in year 6 because St Felix had been built and it was closer to his home, in Nat Flatman Street. After he had left his middle school he went to Newmarket Upper School until he was 16 and then left to work at beehive coils. A story my Dad remembers from when he was at St Felix Middle School was when he went on a school trip to the Scilly isles, it was in 1974. About 40 people went on this trip. He went all around the island on a boat and had to do a project, he choose his to be about crabs because there was lots of them lying around. On his poster he did about the size and species of crabs. A funny part of the trip was when they got attacked by seagulls. The reason for this was because the seagulls had their nests on the ground and when people went near them the seagulls would attack! The Scilly isles are made up of St Marys which is the main island and the capital is Hugh town. The other islands are St Agnes, Tresco, Bryher, St Martins and Samson, and Anne. The last two islands are uninhabited. In his time there him and his friends had a football match against the local side which they lost miserably. Their camp sight was situated about 100yards from some old battlements which over looked the lovely sandy beach. This was the beach that he used for his crab project. The camp sight they stayed on was very nice and they had no more than four people per tent. My Dad shared his tent with: Eric B, Gordon Burrell and David Middleton. They travelled down to Penzance Ants by train and then caught a helicopter to the airport to St Mary’s. Because the islands are so far south on the island of Tresco there are tropical gardens with palm trees and various other tropical plants as well as some tropical birds. He enjoyed the trip very much and would love to go again.

Name: Dean Age: 13, I’m writing about my, Dad Geoff S I’m writing my project on my Dad, Geoff S. He moved from Chester to Newmarket aged 15 to serve 5-year apprenticeship with the horse trainer Alf Dalton. During his 38 years within racing he’s rode in races as a jockey and looked after two famous horses who won 3 Derby’s between them. Currently Darley Pre-training employs My Dad. (Godolphin) My Dad went to two different schools, Canadian Avenue Junior School from 1959-1969. In junior school they didn’t have the cane and the other severe punishments. The next school he went to was Kingsway Secondary Modern from 1965-1969 at this school they did have the dreadful punishments such as the cane, ruler on knuckles. The uniform at both of his schools was Blazer and Tie with smart shoes. Girls weren’t allowed any makeup and watches were the only piece of jewellery permitted. At junior school my Dad joined the Chester Swimming Club aged 9. Before leaving junior school to go to Kingsway Secondary Modern he began to compete in swimming galas for his club. In Secondary School Geoff was very sporty and played football for his school. He was also talented at gymnastics and was part of the team that put on displays at open evenings. Aged 13 my Dad and his friend John C were able to do different P.E. lessons from the rest of the class. The substitute lesson was swimming training; because they both swam for the school the transport they used was one of the teacher’s cars to go to the local pool. While at Kingsway Geoff won the under 13’s Chester School Boys 50 yards breaststroke and broke the Chester School Boys record for that distance, still 13 he went on to be placed 3 rd in the Northwest Counties Race. Also 13 he swam in a race called the Dee Mile which took place in the river Dee in Chester, at that time he was the youngest person to complete this exhausting race, in a time of 27 minutes. In this race he was swimming against adults. My Dad was placed 16 th, but some people from his swimming club didn’t finish and were collected by the rescue boats. In the school holidays when he was 13 Geoff went to visit relatives in London. He went to one of the swimming pools in Staines and managed to complete his bronze, silver, and gold standard swimming awards. Swimming made my Dad feel physically fit and still does, it also made him proud of his achievements and his parents Florence and Geoff felt very proud of their son and always have been. While at Kingsway my Dad was given all the punishments you could get including the cane across the backside for, scrapping snow off the headmaster’s car to make a snow ball for a snow ball fight in the play ground. The slipper for misbehaving in class when he got hit by the slipper it was across the backside, ruler across the knuckles because he was talking in class and not paying attention, and last of all a clip round the ear hole for talking and not paying attention. This is the swimming story during my Dad’s school life.

I am doing my project on my Dad, his name is John B and he is 43 years old. His birthday is on December 22nd and he was born in 1964. He works for Kwik fit mobile and he is a tyre technician. He also has a wife and two girls. He was 5 when he first started school which was Houldsworth Valley Primary School and he liked doing spelling. Then when he was 9 he went up to Scaltback Middle School and his favourite lesson was woodwork and metalwork. He went to Newmarket Upper School when he was 13 and he enjoyed gardening. He didn’t go to university, he just went straight to a job. My story: One day when he woke up for school, he said I don’t want to go to school today and his Mum said why? He said because there is this boy in my school called Kamron and he is being really horrible to me and is bullying me, his Mum said why didn’t you tell me and when did it happen? He said because I know you would on done something and it started last week and she said why didn’t you tell me because I could have gone down the school and reported him. Well I don’t see the point of reporting him because it will only get worse if we do that and I don’t want that to happen, I want it to get better. His Mum asked what the boy was like and he said; tall, brown hair, blue eyes and quite evil looking. She said ok and how exactly is he bullying you she asked and he said he is calling me names like; ugly, 2-faced, freak, dork and he keeps pushing me in to walls and everything and he gangs up on me. She said right that is not on so I am going down to school and reporting him whether you like it or not. The next day his Mum went to report the boy to his teacher which was Mr. Eastham and the teacher was very shocked and he went to find him, then he contacted his parents, who came to the school immediately, they all sat together and talked. The slipper was discussed as a punishment, which is what they had in those days, or even the cane. But Kamron was very sorry, so the teacher decided to let the parents talk to him at home and for them to decide a punishment. But my Dad felt that this wasn’t good enough but it wasn’t up to him or his Mum. So my Dad carried on at school thinking everything would be ok, but after a week or so he started bulling him again.

My Dad unfortunately got very angry and ended up having a fight with him because he thought it was the only way to get him away from him. They both ended up getting the cane, but Kamron never came near him again after that and my Dad stayed away from him too and after that they both became friends. Melissa

My Dad’s memories of school were not very good. While he was at Scaltback he was not treated very well. On one occasion the teacher accidently trapped his finger in the door. When the teacher noticed he didn’t even say sorry! The next day my Dad went to the teacher and showed him his finger the teacher shrugged his shoulders and said ‘so’. He hated school so much he tried to fake being ill but it never worked as his Mum knew that he hated it. My Dad was sitting in assembly his teacher came up behind him and told him to move forward. There was no room to move anywhere so he said that he couldn’t. The teacher was not very impressed with his answer so kicked him in the back until he moved. During my Dads lesson at Newmarket Upper School he was beaten just because he was talking. The teacher gave him the slipper three times while he was doing that he would make this weird noise like aaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!! it sounded like he was putting all his anger into it. Since that day my Dad was never naughty at school again. My Dad is now a Forklift driver, and has to work shifts to earn decent money. He works for a company which transports haulage all over the country.That was around 1994-1995, here are some completely different; punishments what they did if you done something good and some achievements. These are going to be from my Granddad now. The School that my Granddad went to was Risby Primary School. He attended there from 1952-1958. In that time there would be no sports or games and you would just stay in class. There were two classrooms 5-7 years old there were about 25 pupils. The otherclass had 7-11years and had 25-30 pupils .They all came from three different villages. The only lessons he was taught were English, Arithmatic, a little Geography and History. The toilet was outside,which was a wooden box and Granddad had to go and ask for paper before he went. The Headmistress use to give him about 5 sheets of paper only, and sent another pupil to inspect the toilet after. Granddad used to wash his hands in cold water. If you misbehaved you would have to stand and do your work at her desk for the rest of the day. He would sometimes get his knuckles rapped with the side of the ruler. When he was 11 years old he should have been entered into the 11+ exam but only the chosen few were put in for it and the other pupils didn’t have a chance. If you stayed for School dinners you would have to eat everything up. Granddad was pleased to change schools when he was 11years old, Granddad’s occupation is. He works at the local American Airbase as an Superintendent of Customer Care, which being in control of the works needed for housing, etc and building maintenance on the base.

By Sam

I ntroduction; This project is about my Mum, Sharron and she is 38. My Mum’s school was very strict about uniform, girls weren’t allowed to show their knees and they had to wear above the knee high socks or ankle socks. The teachers were also very strict. My Mum went to Clay Street Primary School at the age of 5-11 and then she went to Soham Village College from the ages of 11-16. If the pupils were naughty they got detentions and the cane! And they also had pretty much the same lessons as we do now. Story. It was a normal school morning; I got up at 7 O’clock when the alarm clock sounded. I dressed in my clean, neatly ironed school uniform. I did my hair and made myself look nice. I was thinking about the great time me and my friends were going to have that day, there were three of us that had planned to bunk off. My friend, Lucy was bringing the cigarettes and John was getting a lighter from his older brother. My job was just to make sure that my Mum thought I was going to school. I wasn’t doing very well at school and I felt unhappy, so taking this day off, with my two best friends, was going to be our Freedom Day. Besides, I wanted to see what smoking was like. We met at the cricket pavilion and the morning past quickly. I ate my packed lunch that my Mum had prepared. We thought we were being clever; no one ever went up the pavilion on a school day! I was coughing on a drag of smoke, when the pavilion door opened. My heart went into my mouth, It went silent, my teacher stood in the door way blocking out the light. That was it, I knew I was in trouble; my Mum was going to kill me! Mine was the nearest house, we arrived on my doorstep, the teacher holding my hand, his other rang the door bell. I saw my Mum’s shadow come to the door; I couldn’t look her in the eyes. The teacher left me there, I had to explain to my Mum where I had been and what I’d been doing. I felt so ashamed. My Mum was so angry; she made me go to my room. My Mum knew that I was unhappy at school, but she knew the importance of me attending. It was fate on the next day after my Mum had walked me to the school gate, that I would be given a project in the only lesson I enjoyed, which was art and design. I had to make it up to my Mum somehow. I wanted her forgiveness. I worked really hard on making the hanging basket. I was so proud, when the teacher told me it would be displayed in the school for parents evening. I looked into my Mum’s eyes when she saw it, and she hugged me. I had her forgiveness and I never took another day of school.

Jena

My person is my friend called Luke.. Background information My Luke is now 15. He goes to Kegs he went to a school in London (I can’t remember the name). His Dad works as a Bank accountant. In a bank in Bury. Luke has a sister aged 20.she is called Rebecca but she likes it better when people call her Beckah. She goes to West Suffolk College. During school.. Luke didn’t like school when he was younger and he still don’t like it now. He says he is stupid and can’t work harder than he already is but I know he is just saying that so he doesn’t have to try harder. When Luke puts his mind to it he can get things done rather well but that is when he puts his mind to it! A story that has happened to Luke.. When Luke was ten years old, he was playing on his trampoline one day then he stopped because he heard a bang coming from inside his house. So he quickly comes off his trampoline to go and see what was going on. As he was stepping into his house, his sister Beckah was sitting on the floor crying her eyes out. He would usually just leave her there but today it was different because he could see she was upset. It wasn’t just a little thing that made her like this. So he went over to her and asked her “Are you ok?”. It took her 5 minutes to answer him. So she quietly replied “Of course I am and I always will be. You know that don’t you?” He just nodded his head to her. The next day she was acting like usual. In the morning until her friends came knocking on the door Luke went to answer the door but just before he went she said top him. ”Tell them I am already out ok?” So Luke told them that she was out but they just didn’t believe him. So they just push past him and walked into his house. So Luke grabbed his phone from the front room and rang his Dad. Then he ran up stairs to check if Beckah was ok still. As he was going up stairs he got stopped by a friend of his sisters. He knew the boy it was and said “Is it you lot that made my sister upset yesterday.” Half an hour later his Dad came home not happy at all. Beckah and her friends were still up stairs and Luke was down stairs with the boy who stopped him from going up to see Beckah. As his Dad came in the boy with Luke stood up and said “Hello how are you? Did you have a good day at work?” At this point the boy could tell Luke’s Dad wasn’t happy at all. So he then said “I will just go up stairs now.” Luke’s Dad turned around and said “NO you can just get out of my house!” This time the boy didn’t stutter he walked straight to the door and left. Luke was worried about Beckah up stairs with the others.

So he told his Dad about them being up stairs. His Dad went up there and opened the door but they were just messing around but because he had to come home from work he kicked out everyone and took Beckah down stairs for a chat. It all got sorted out and all was ok.

Elisabeth

The Person Who I Interviewed was :My Nana. The Infants School my Nana went to was: St Lukes The School my Nana went to next was: St Lukes Junior The next school she went to was: Chesterton Senior She went to the Infant School. She was 5 and left when she was 7 Then she went to Junior when she was 7 to 11 Then she went to a senior 11 to 15 and then she left school.

Her Story One day, my Nana had a cookery lesson. The teacher left the class room to get some more mixture for the cookery lesson. So my Nana and some of her mates went into the store cupboard. There was dough they had left from the cookery lesson. they was throwing the dough up in the air. And then all of a sudden the teacher walks in the room. The teacher goes “What are you naughty girls doing in the store cupboard?” The Teacher says; “Get out of my room now.” When they walked out of the cupboard, the dough that they had throwing in the air fell down on her head. The punishment they had in those days was different to ours now. There was a card. When you were bad you would get points taken off. But if you were good, you would get points put on. My second story was about my Nanas last day of school. My Nana and her mates got the fire extinguisher and turned in on. And the hall was full of fumes. My Nana wasn't all that naughty. She loved school. She was just enjoying school. She never bunked off school and she had the best attendance in the school.

Abbigail

My nominee is : Sarah T

job : rides for Henry Cecil

age : 37

Sarah's story My Mum first went to a primary school called Silchester primary school. The village my Mum lived in was called Silchester so she went to school in the same village because of transportation. She had to walk home too and from school. There was not much choice in school dinners back then so she had packed lunch most days but they were home made by Sarah because back in those days, if you didn't do as you were told you got the slipper or the cane or the belt across the backs of the legs!!! You can see that things are much easier for us kids now days than it was for kids at home then. At school, the day was 9:30 to 3:30. Nearly the same as us now and unlike today we didn't have red card, b.i.s's and all the after school detentions that you have because we had the cane! Corporal punishment hat was what it was called back then was very strict and consists of the cane, lines, lunch detention and the slipper. The Hurst secondary school was the middle school of my Mums when she was 11 year of age. She transferred from Silchester to the Hurst because in her day they had the two tier system like we are changing to. The bus to school was outside at ten to eight and she had to take it because her new school was 8 miles away and it took half an hour to get there. But that was just the good bit because if my Mum missed the bus. My Nan wouldn't come and pick her up because she said it was her own fault so she had walk 8 miles if she missed it, can you imagine that!!! But my Mum is a strong walker now because of that, so its not all bad. School started at the same time as Primary School but now we finished at 4:30 so we had to school even longer than normal meaning I was mostly late for the bus so walking was like a chore. But in the dining area at her school there was no dinner ladies like you have at Scaltback middle. the was no help for people who didn't understand in anyway and we didn't have any new technology that we have today such as computers, smart boards. But they had less lessons than children in schools today and there weren't many clubs and outside school activities. She moved here because the racing brought her here because she has been into racing since her late teens. But she also came for the education of her son which was important. The Hurst secondary school had its own swimming pool, cross country course next to school in woods, A big hall and stage, tennis courts, drama studio and hockey pitch. Her school was a 2 floored school and had a big flag on the roof. But a big distinctive feature was the windows because they were about 6ft tall and wide they looked so big close up!! my Mum eventually moved to Newmarket because of the horse racing.

BY LEWIS

Sam Caruana Maurice C Maurice Cis my great Granddad, he comes from Malta. He was born on 29th June 1916 in Sliema. Malta is a small island with less job opportunities. In October 1937, Maurice moved to England. He retired to Wickhambrook, because he wants to be near his friends and family. Maurice went to St Johns Academy in Sliema. The families had to pay for school, because all the schools were private. There was no cane, the punishment was food taken away. The teachers were friendly and the students respected them. Each day, they had to speak a different language all day. Maurice's Stories Maurice and his friend’s hair started to fall out at a young age. One of their friends told them that if they shaved the top of their heads, the hair would grow back stronger. One day after school, he and his friend went to the barbers to get the top of their hair shaved off. On the way to school the next day, people were staring at their heads. Maurice felt really embarrassed. When they went into class, all the children went into an uproar. The teacher sent them home because they looked disgraceful. He was sent to school by his Mum, but every day the teacher sent him home again. Maurice's Mum said he wasn't allowed to have any dessert until he was allowed to go back to school. Finally Maurice asked the head teacher if he could wear a hat. His teacher agreed and things went back to normal. He even was allowed to eat dessert after meals again! Another story that my Great Granddad told me, was when he nearly drowned. He was at school near a river that flowed through Malta. The school had no playgrounds, so the children had to go to the public playgrounds and if they wanted a swim, they went into the river. The prefects had to go with a group and look after them. Maurice was at the river with his friends. They were playing water polo. Nearby a boy from their school was being taught how to swim. The boy tried to swim, then grabbed onto nearest person. Unfortunately the person was Maurice. Maurice was to trying to keep above water, but he and the boy kept going down. A prefect saw them and dived into the water. He grabbed the boys and pulled them to shore.

I am writing about an eighty three year old lady called Rose. Rose always goes to Newmarket every day. She goes there to get her shopping, Medicine and to see her friends and she goes there to get some breakfast there to. Rose also goes to Newmarket to see her older sister violet how lives near the high street in a House by herself. Rose liked school very much she used to get very good marks she used to do cooking, knitting, sowing and Physics. Rose was very good she never had the Kane but once and a while she got some cork thrown at her but Rose hardly had that done to her. Rose has never owned her own house her Mum and Dad started the rent on the house and when her Dad unfortunately died her Mum took over it and when her Mum died she took over. She lives on her own and has a cat called Mira. She has never been married and has one liven relative call violet. Rose never had a proper kitchen until my Mum said she shod get one. She used making a cup of tea on a gas hop and she was burning the bottom of the pot and making lots of smoke. But my Mum goes to see Rose on a Monday, Wednesday and a Friday night she used to do her washing but now Rose has a propped kitchen my Mum does not have to now because Rose can fit in a washing mashing in there now and a bigger sink and a fridge. She has a three bedroom house and used to live with her Mum but her Mum died ages ago. She has lived in the same house for her whole life and worked for Cadburys and she world catch a bus from outside her house at five clock and word come home at seven at night. Rose used to bike everywhere but she had something rung with her hip and had to stop. Instead she walks or gets a bus. Rose spends most of her time out or with friends or doing her shopping and sometimes she goes to the beach. Because Rose is eighty three I go round and cut her grass and dig up her potatoes and get her runner beans. Rose also comes and spends Christmas with us and we give her the presents we got her and she word give us Ares. My Dad sometimes goes round to help mend her shed or put down traps in the shed for her. My Mum word go and get the cat down from upstairs for hear and help give mira a bath and brush her. My Mum also helps Rose by making her beds all three of them even no Rose only sleeps in one of them. Everyone goes to help Rose. my Mum goes to see her at night and Rose tells her all the gossip and who has died and things like that. Rose goes to see her Doctor on Monday to pick up her proscription and then goes to see her sister. Rose is a very nice lady

By Charlie

By: Daniela13 Writing about Vincent P Vincent P is a driver for Cannon for 7 years. He was born in Manchester and came to live here in 1978. He came to work with Horse Races but his family still lives in Manchester and so does his brother. In school he was a bit bad. Back then they still had breaks and lunch but they didn’t have one break, they had two. The school he went to was called Sale Moor Secondary School it had big fields with football pitches, playground and sports hall. At that time, they had 8 lessons all day and sometimes the same ones. They still had Assembly with the head teacher speaking in front of the hall assembly. They had Sports day and had every week a disco during lunch only if you behave. They had different teachers for boys and girls and also there were schools only for boys or girls. They had uniform-grey trousers with a tie or navy blue or green jumper. Some people had red jumpers because there were cheaper. Once he went to school with his friends and they were messing around really badly and also they were throwing rocks at each other and one of his friends threw a rock at him and he missed. It went to his teacher’s car so the car started to make funny noises because the alarm went off. So if you can imagine they had to run really fast so they wouldn’t get in trouble. It was while they were coming down the stairs of the playground, they fell over a very tiny rock and went directly to the floor and he dislocated his right foot. At the time he didn’t know so he tried to get up but he couldn’t so someone had to carry him to a teacher and it was the same teacher’s car they had thrown the rocks at. The teacher asked why was he running and he just couldn’t say because he knew he was going to get into trouble so the teacher called his parents and the hospital. After that he went to the hospital and he had to have a gypsum mould for 3 months but he still went to school.

Now if he hurts his right foot again he will have to have an operation. But he didn’t get into trouble by throwing the rock!

When my Mum went on a school trip to France When my Mum was at school, she went on a school trip to France with about forty or fifty other kids. They went on a ferry to France and it was a very rough journey because the weather was all windy and stormy. Almost everybody was sick (even the teachers) on that ferry, except for my Mum (she was really happy because she had not been sick). When all the school kids and teachers and my Mum had eventually got off the ferry, they went on a minibus to the hotel that they were going to stay at for the next three or four days that they were going to be in France for. The hotel was near a town called Rouen and it had about five floors and all of the kids were on one floor, three or four to a room. The beds in the hotel were really big and the mattresses were stuffed with straw. Every morning my Mum and the rest of the kids took a packed lunch with them and the teachers took them somewhere. That morning they went to Rouen in a minibus and went to the place that Joan of Arc (or Jeanne d’Arc in French) was burned at the stake. On the second day my Mum went to see the Bayeux tapestry of when the Normans invaded England; it was massive. The tapestry was only about two foot wide, but it must have been about sixty or eighty feet long. The tapestry was made to show the battle when William the Conqueror of France beat King Harold of England in 1066 and king Harold got shot in the eye by an arrow. My Mum said that it may have been propaganda about king Harold getting shot in the eye, but nobody knows. When my Mum went to look at the Bayeux tapestry it was dark with just red lights. This was to protect the tapestry from light. On the third day my Mum went to a Benedictine Monastery and looked around. She saw real monks! In the gift shop there was Benedictine liqueur and Benedictine chocolates. My Mum bought some chocolates to take home to her Mum. On the last day my Mum and all the other kids and teachers go home on the ferry again, but this time it isn’t stormy and the sea is quite calm. My Mum said that she had a great time, but she was glad to be back when she got home. She did feel a bit guilty though because she had eaten the chocolates that she had bought for her Mum!

HEIDI

Name: Tony R Age: 62 (born 9th November 1946 Brighton) Occupation: Retired (due to medical reasons) Lived: East London School: Pretoria Comprehensive (East London) Lives now: In Brandon near my nan. I know Tony because he is my Nan and Granddad’s best friend. Tony was born in Brighton, but lived in East London until a few years ago. Now he lives with his wife Jean in Brandon, near my Nan. He does cooking, cleaning and housework. Every Tuesday Tony and his wife go out with my Nan and Granddad to the Hungry Horse pub for a meal and then go home and play Kaluki (cards). Tony went to Pretoria Comprehensive School in East London. On his first day at school some kids grabbed him and tried to push his head down the toilet and flush it. He said they could do what they want, but he would tell his friends (who were older) and see what happened from there. His favourite subjects were maths and history. They also learned: English, PT, games, geography, and types of science. He enjoyed school. If there was bullying, his headmaster used to box the bullies in the school hall in front of the school. He always won because he was the regional champ. He told me a story of one of his school trips, to some Roman ruins. The bus was very grotty and very old. This was his class’s first ever school trip and his class was very excited. When they got there (boys will be boys) they climbed all over the ruins and were told time and time again not to. When they got back lets just say the ruins were a little bit more ruined than when they got there, and needless to say they weren’t allowed on any more trips. One of his teachers used to carry two books, one to read, and if you were talking you got hit in the back of the head with the other one. Another teacher pulled pupils by their sideburns, but when he did this to Tony his Dad told his teacher if he did it again he would put Tony in another school. The school was split in two, one side for boys one for girls. At break there was a yellow line down the middle of the playground and if a girl crossed the line she got told off but if a boy crossed it he got ‘six of the best’. There were only English kids at the school and they were all white. A lot of famous people went to his school like: Billy Walker, Joe Brown, Chester Barns and John Charles. Teachers registered pupils before each lesson to make sure no pupils had bunked off and if you were ill for more than 3 days a member of the school board came around your house to see if you were really ill. However, if you weren’t you were sent straight back to school. When Tony changed schools his Dad asked his new headmaster what they did to stop truancy. The headmaster told him that every Tuesday he went round town, and if he found anyone in town, he would bring them back to school. They would get the cane and be sent to lessons. Tony’s Dad said “So on every other day they can play truant and even on Tuesday they will just go to the pubs”.

By Jordan 43

Name: Tallianne

Age: 12

Who I am writing about: I am writing about my Mum, when she went on a school trip to France. What my Mum does now My Mum was brought up in Cambridge. She used to live in a horse-drawn wagon (caravan) and she now lives in a Bedford T.K horsebox and she has got a horse called Keira. Now my Mum weaves baskets, builds wagons and carts, drives horses and does wedding transport with Keira and one of her carts that she has made. What my Mum’s school was like My Mum went to Colville primary school in Cherry Hinton. She then won an assisted place to The Perse. My Mum’s school was quite an old building with wooden floors. My Mum went to a private girl’s school that she did not like very much. The school that my Mum went to had lots of little winding staircases and corridors; I think it sounded a little bit like Hogwarts. My Mum’s school was in the centre of Cambridge and she had to cycle four miles to school and four miles back again every day.

School in the old days My Mum and our family now live in Snailwell. She moved here in 1982. She worked in Newmarket in an electronics factory for eight years before she had me and my brothers. She now works as a cook in a semi-secure hospital in Newmarket and has been there for six years. My Granddad was in the R.A.F, so my Mum moved around to varicose schools in her childhood, she first went to a kindergarten in Canada. After returning to England she went to primary school in Ilfracombe, Devon. Then briefly to another primary school in Longstanton. She finally settled in Soham for the remainder of her schooling, from infants, junior and second education. My Mum says that corporal punishment was accepted as normal during her time at school. She remembers when she was 10 at Soham junior school and one of the boys was punished, the boy was annoying a girl at his table by stealing her hair band and things when he was supposed to be listening to the teacher. The teacher noticed the girl in distress and found the reason for it. He then asked the boy to go to the front of the class in front of the desk and give back the hair band. The teacher pulled out a slipper, told the boy bend over, and he repeatedly slapped the boy whilst saying he wouldn’t tolerate such behaviour in his classroom and that he was there to learn. My Mum, as me, had mixed feelings we felt sorry for the boy but also felt he did deserve it. Surprisingly the teacher didn’t stop there he said the boy must have been desperate to be girl if he wanted a hair band so much. He told a girl to get the lost property. The teacher pulled out a pleated P.E skirt and made the boy change into it. The boy was forced to wear it for the rest of the day and the teacher said if he wanted to be a girl he should know what it is like. In my opinion he went way to far. When she was at Soham village collage the warden used canes. She didn’t know why the headmaster was called a warden; perhaps he thought he was running a prison camp. My Mum never actually saw the canes but she frequently saw lines of boy waiting outside the head office for the cane. After all the questions and stories of her schooling I think we are very lucky that this kind of punishment no longer exists in England today.

Tom Houghton