The Infant School

A Memory of Corby.

I started in the Infant School in 1949, the year my family came to Corby - I was 6 years old. I can remember the huts with the old coke stoves. Each classroom had a partition and there was a stage in the last one where we used to have concerts. I remember being in a play at one of them. The headteacher was Sister Agatha- a tiny little woman whom I adored. I made my first communion there and we had a breakfast after Mass. I still have a photo of me in my white dress and veil. I then went on to the junior school. I remember Mr Moon who I didn't like, but Sister Veronica who was headteacher was great, as was Sister Mary Hilda whose class I was in when I took the 11+ which I passed. They used to have 'at homes' in the school where the ladies would take a table and invite guests. I remember mum making sandwiches and cakes and there was a dance afterwards with Jimmy Cahill's band. When St Brendans Church opened we went there as we lived in Chelveston Drive. I remember 'buying bricks' to build the school and the church which Father Dan Cronin was parish priest. I got married in St Brendan's and we moved away from Corby in 1965. My parents moved to Masefield Way and returned to Our Lady's. My Maiden name was Moira Donnelly. I have a brother Patrick and a sister Catherine; she was born in Corby and Christened in Our Lady's, she was also married there to James O'Brien. They moved to Australia in 1973

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Added 13 March 2013

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I went there in 1955 and remember those old huts with the stoves. Proceeded up thru the Lynch sister, Mrs Buoy of course Sister Veronica and my favorite in Pope John Sister Francis.Brilliant days

By anthony.irwin on Sun Mar 15th 2015, at 1:39 am

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I attended the infant and junior schools from 1954 to 1961 before donning the red cap and going to the Grammar School. I remember Tony but Moira would have been too far ahead for me to know. I have a different opinon to Moira on Mr Moone. He was my teacher in the 3rd and 4th years of junior school. He was one of the most influential teachers I came across during my education and I still think highly of him (GRHS). In our final year the football team (1960/61 season) win everything they entered. When it came to district team trials they made a team up from all of the other schools in the district to play us. We played one half in that format and we were beating them. In the second half the selection committee mixed the teams up so we never had a full result, but I still reckon we won. Happy days

By Damian Tracey on Thu Jun 4th 2015, at 8:35 am

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Hi Damien. Those wonderful red caps with the large peaks stick in my memory. Yes I was ahead of you having started the Grammar school when t opened in 1955 but you may remember my wild brother Patrick Donnelly and his mate James O'Brien. Pat moved to the new St Brendans before going on to CGS. James stayed at Our Lady's until he too went to the Grammar School. My memories of Mr Moone are not good ones. He was a bully, especially with the slower children and there was always a line of small children waiting for the cane for not being able to answer questions. As far as I remember he became Head of St Johns after the first one left [can't remember his name but it might have been Mr. Lynch] My sister started at Our Lady's in 1955 and then moved to St Brendan's . She went on to the Senior School at Our Lady's. She later married James O'Brien and the emigrated to Australia in 1973. The OBrien's were a large family who lived in Clark Road. Another of his friends was Eddie Andrews who lived up the road from us in Chelveston Drive.
This September is the 60th anniversary of the Grammar School opening and we were the first "First years" We're having a "Do" for our year on 19th Sept at the Rockingham Forest Hotel. We had one there for the 50th Anniversary and I think this will be the lest one as we're all in our 70s now! When you started at the Grammar School, Andrew Pettigrew and Jean Stuart would have been Head Boy and Girl. Andrew is Professor of Business Studies at Oxford and was awarded the OBE- not bad for the son of a Steel Worker. At our last reunion ten years ago, Mr Bott and Mr Holmes were able to attend but Mr Holmes passed away a few years ago. Good to share old memories. We left Corby in 1965 with my Husband's job and though we've moved around several time have only ever paid visits until my parents died in the 1980s.

By Moira Jones on Mon Jun 8th 2015, at 3:00 am

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