Memories Of Hersham House School

A Memory of Hersham.

I attended HH from mid 70's until '78 - I left after I had taken my 'O'levels there. I remember very clearly Mrs Hewlett, Mrs Earwaker (and her laugh!), Mrs. Poulter, Mrs Turnbull and her son Ffion who drove the school bus after Mr Vaness retired (he was always covered in dog hair due to having an alsation!). I also remember finding 'presents' under the desk occasionally, after one of Mrs. Hewlett's many cats had decided to pay a visit but couldn't find a litter tray!

I used to love the swimming at Oatlands Park Hotel and remember taking part in the annual long distance swim event where we just kept going until the last person had done as many lengths as they could! I managed to win in '78 just before we finished school there for the last time.
Mrs Hall was a lovely Scottish teacher who I studied dress and design with and I also had a very nice French teacher who took me for lessons in the piano room by myself as I was the only one taking my French 'O'level. My exam was nearly a disaster....my oral test was on a Saturday and as my parents were out, I needed a lift to get to school. Mrs Hewlett very kindly offered to pick me up, but her car played up so we ended up being late! We arrived at the school where the examiner was waiting. Mrs. H went off to make tea (to calm our nerves!) and the kindly examiner started chatting away to me in French about how my day was going etc. etc. I replied in French and waited for the exam to start. As it was, that was the exam - the examiner put me at my ease by not letting on I was already being examined!

TBH, the school wasn't the best academically but I had so much fun....my friends included Louise Coe, Lynne Barton and Kim Moran-Watson. Don't know where there are now sadly. I remember in the summer though, we sat in the garden by the mulberry tree and listened to the top 40 on the radio at lunchtimes. When we were in our last year, we were allowed to decorate the lean to next to the house and use it as our 'den' at breaktimes. Kim was a good artist and decorated the walls with a giant drawing of the Peanuts characters, Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

I wonder how many people have experiences like that....idyllic days...


Added 10 January 2024

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Comments & Feedback

I was at HH from around 1976 to 1983 when it closed, because Mrs Hewlett had dies and her daughters didn't want to continue it. I remember Mrs Earwaker (she was scary), the changing rooms where we changed for swimming (which always stank of cats piss), before we went to Oatlands Park pool. I remember fish always on fridays, I only had the salad, bread and cheese, with all the slops going to the dinner lady's pigs. I remember saying the lords prayer in the hall every morning, at the back of which there was a kitchen for home economics (I guess, as I never got to the age to do that there). Sometimes we were allowed in the back garden, and sometimes if Mrs Earwaker was feeling nice, we were allowed on the front garden in the bushes. I was also bus two 2nd run, always the last one to go home, we used to rejoice if our bus came in for the 2nd run before bus one! I remember little bottles of milk every breaktime, and the dreaded nit inspection every so often. i remember really clearly being allowed to watch the mary rose being raised, on the tv in the front lounge, by the big stairs that we were never allowed to go up. And of being taken to the park on Friday afternoons. If I close my eyes I can still picture the layout of the school, some 40 years on.

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