Shipley School

A Memory of Shipley.

My children attended the Shipley School, having only a total of around 50 pupils it was a very family orientated school. Mrs. Slack was the headmistress at the time, a lady who loved the pupils and the school, she even undertook training the football team, not an easy task for a woman to take on.
The summer fete was something to behold, every parent was involved in making, creating and helping with the supply of goodies and running the stalls. People would flock from all around and fortunately the weather was always perfect for the fete.
The school was involved heavily with the local Shipley Church and the minister would visit each week and on special religious occasions the children would walk down to the Church to take part in that occasion.
Eventually the time came for my daughter to go on to The Weald, a huge school, and as a parent of a child used to being in such a small family orientated school there was a trepidation as to how she would cope. I had no need to fear, when she arrived on her first day children who had been ex pupils of Shipley came forward and took her under their wing.
I think my greatest memory of the kindness and family that the school was - when my daughter was very ill and was away for school for a long period and she received regular letters and cards, and when she did return to school she had actually lost some of her hair, she refused to wear a scarf to hide this and the day before she went back to school Mrs. Slack had a chat with the children at morning assembly explaining how brave my daughter was and that everybody should be kind to her and not to stare or make fun. I only found out about this after my daughter went back to school - on the day my daughter went back she was greeted and made to feel at ease - only at a small village school would you get such a wonderful treatment of a fellow pupil.
I am convinced that both my daughter and son benefited from being part of this school.

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