The Grange School

I too was at The Grange with two of my sisters. I started in about 1961 and left when the Millers retired and the grounds were sold for development. Luckily my sisters and I were liked by the Millers and we were all given nicknames by Mr Miller but I think some other pupils had a tough time. we loved The Grange and many of the teachers including Mrs Albu who taught art. The grounds were quite amazing and sports day was, as you say, a grand occasion. Rita, the cook, conjured up some adequate dishes using the produce from the kitchen garden. I almost remember the weekly menu. Some of us decided to go to the local cafe in Welwyn thinking lunch would be better but I really don’t think it was. Just a change of scene. I remember the gym lessons and pupils like John Bowen, Nick Bowyer, Sheila Knipe, Katie Bizzey, The Danceys, The Houstons, The Hunters etc., The Kerr’s to name a few... It was a good little school and I don’t k ow what happened to the Millers once they retired? I went to Hitchin Girls’ Grammar School after The Grange and was not particularly happy there and my sisters went to Moorlands in Luton. We were the Micklem sisters... Henrietta, Charlotte and Arabella

I was at The Grange, Katie Bizzey as mentioned by Henrietta.
The good side: I am still close friends with Charlotte & Henrietta nee Micklem. Godmother to Marianne Capper’s daughter.... and more.
That’s where ‘good’ ends.
Mr Miller was a cruel sadistic man who physically abused me, force fed me & hung me from the high bars in the gym.
I developed an appalling nervous twitch, I couldn’t fully explain to my parents what was happening. But I wasn’t alone in receipt of the evil cruelty from Mr Miller. I remember seeing him, in front of us all, beat Bowyer with a cricket bat. He picked Marianne up by her pony tail, stood her on the lunch table & screamed in her face.
Today - this evil monster would be behind bars.
The best day of my entire 61 years was the day that school closed its doors for the developers who no doubt paid Mr Miller a disgusting sum of money for his land.
Yup - I was happy at last & moved to St Francis in Letchworth where I slowly learnt that burgers for lunch wasn’t a trick to get you hit if you dared to it !

I remember Penny Bowyer , I guess the sister of Nick. I think Miller , in this day & age, would have been put in prison he liked the nice girls to sit on his knees so he could fondle them! I remember Miss Kippling the dance teacher , beautifully made up with numerous braclets. Also remember Brian Hummerston , here I am at73 being able to remember so much back then , but not currently! think the heat is Western Australia has got to me , would love to go back to England.My sister Gail also went to the Grange, my brother Robert to Aldwickbury. Remembering the French brothers , & the poor boy Laurence forget his Christian name, Miller would revel in beating him , so cruel.

Hey Katie Bizzey - I am the boy you describe in your Memory of School Life at The Grange in Welwyn. Even in 1963 Miller was excessively cruel. Yes I do remember being beaten by him with the bat. Wondering why it was necessary to do that to an eight year old. I have achieved a lot in my life including working in Germany and South Africa for twenty years. thank you for your kind thoughts. Contact me if you have the time. My Mobile is 07578858294 - You are welcome of course I would enjoy hearing more of your opinions of The Grange - do you remember the cobblestone courtyard. I remember Henrietta and a boy named Hamish

SORRY FIONA BLYTH i mistook your name. My apologies,

Does anyone else have memories of the Grange and Mr and Mrs Miller? Who began teaching soon after World War One - yes Penny Bowyer was my sister. She died of Cancer in June 2003

I also remember asking my mother Pamela Corelli Bowyer what a Solar Eclipse was as she dropped me off at the Grange one day. it might have been May 1966 - i also recall sitting on a bench by the church at the end of the school day waiting two hours for one of my parents to pick me up, You would not do that to a six-year-old these days. I lived in Bramfield at Place Farm so it was a twenty minute drive to get home