Victoria Road

I went to Romford College too. 1953 - 1959. The headmistress was called Mme. Rowena Coghlan. Looking back it was somewhat old fashioned education but the early days were very happy for me. Sadly, by 1959 only four pupils were left, and flats now adorn the site.

It's good to hear of someone else attending this school as I can find no records in the archives. I was there right until the end and I have some strange and wonderful memories of the place - a lovely walnut tree in the garden which we were allowed to pick from and in the winter a coal fire in the classroom with the dog laying in front warming himself - I used to get very sleepy. I also remember that the pupils were very diverse and there were disabled and more fragile children than in most schools. A very different education than most would have enjoyed.

Hello Patricia! Sorry for the delayed reply but I have not returned here for a year. My friend Geoffrey La Riche (I think) had experienced polio as an infant and had a disability. I remember Sheila King and her friend Patricia (!) in my year group; we passed interesting messages on little pieces of paper, the text messages of the 50s. Strange and wonderful is a great summing-up of the place; dogs, open fires, ancient text books, grape-vines in the conservatory, Victorian furniture and inkwells all played their part. PE was called Drill too. I am on the 'Your memories of Romford and Hornchurch' Facebook page in order to get a little nostalgia from my childhood in Romford - I left in 1959 for Kent and live in Yorkshire now.

I went to Romford College to in the 50’s with my Sister Shirley and brother John, if I remember correctly uniform was yellow gingham dress in summer with straw hat, at lunch time we would sometimes go to a little cafe just down the road, and we had hot milk in winter which we used to take overtine to put in, I Also have a school photo taken about 1952.

Lovely to hear of another pupil of Romford College and yes I remember the yellow gingham dress and straw hat and in the winter a velvet hat and dark dress. It was an amazing place and quite unlike any other of my friends experiences of primary education - although I didn’t pass the 11 plus !!

Would love to see your photo

Hi, Julie and Patricia, I have just read your posts and I too attended Romford College in the early 50s. My memories of that time are a bit vague, although they are of a relaxed and happy experience with the emphasis being on enjoying lessons. My name is Andrew, my elder brother Garry also attended at the same time. I also remember the big garden and the open fire in the classroom.
I also have a school year photo of 1953.