School Days In Newton On Trent

A Memory of Newton on Trent.

I went to school in Newton on Trent when I was 7. The head teacher was Mrs Moore. There was a Big room and a Little Room. The Little Room had a Wendy House...and I remember reading a book about and boy who kept running around a tree until he turned to butter. I never did understand how that happened.
In the Big Room we had wooden desks that sat two pupils side by side. There were holes for ink wells. The room was heated by a pot bellied stove with a fire guard around it.

When you progressed from writing with a pencil you were allowed to use a pen and ink. For this we had to get a pen, a pen nib and the ink wells would be filled by the ink monitor. When we had written in ink we had to blot it with blotting paper.

Hot dinners were served at lunch time. They arrived in large steel containers ready cooked. My favourite dessert was Chocolate Pudding. It would arrive in a large steel tray ready cut into squares. It was like a chocolate blancmange with a small meringue in each sqaure and had a pastry base. At morning playtime we were each given a  1/3 pint bottle of milk. In summer it would be warm and in winter frozen.

Sport consisted of skipping ropes, hula hoops, bean bags but much to the excitement in the later years we started swimming once a week at a nearby Nudist Camp. We used to travel by bus and hope they had forgotten to put on their clothes but they never did. We also went on Nature Walks...walking in twos and all keeping together.

We had to catch a service bus home and used to walk up to Gelders Shop to get on. If we had money we would go into the shop to buy gobstoppers, love hearts, bullseyes, acid drops, dolly mixtures.
My friend was Elizabeth Woodford. The daughter of the local Vicar. I used to go to play at Elizabeths House and even stayed there sometimes. I am sure I gave Mr Woodford a few grey hairs in my time there but he was always patient and friendly. I remember playing in some old pig sties at the back of the vicarage and lighting a fire to cook leaves ect for our picnic. Much to the horror of the poor Vicar to see smoke coming out of his old buildings.  Also the time he walked in his front door to see two little girls coming down the banister backwards. We were very politely told that it was not a good idea as if people came to the front door they would not like to see two giggling girls descending the stairs in such an unlady like manner. The same when we were lifting and lowering our teddies and dolls in his umbrella down those same stairs.

The dentist used to arrive once a year in a caravan. I hated climbing into that caravan and sitting on the seat at the back waiting to go to the front where the dentist chair was. The drill was noisy and I hated it. Only had to have a filling once and not teeth out but still hated it.

The Dick Nurse used to also visit. Really the District Nurse but better known by the first name. She would go through your hair looking for Nits and if found a letter would go home. I don't know if we ever got them but do know we had our hair washed in tar smelling shampoo and mum combing our hair with a very fine toothed comb which was painful.

Mrs Moore let us watch the wedding of Princess Grace to Prince Rainier on the black and white television in her house. That was the nice memory of her... the not so nice was the time she slapped me across the face for holding the door handle so she couldn't come out the front door. I didn't know she was there ... thought it was a friend.

Elizabeth and I were the only ones to pass the Eleven Plus in about 1959. I went for an interview to go to Gainsborough High School and passed that but then it was decided that I would go to South Park High School for Girls as it was easier to get there from where I lived. Also my sister Maureen was already enrolled in South Park High School. I can't remember seeing Elizabeth again but did see her father a few times.
Mr Woodford was Vicar of both Newton on Trent Church and Kettlethopre Church. Two of my sisters and my brother Brian were married there and a few christenings were also held at Kettlethorpe by Mr Woodford.


Gillian Williamson

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