Schoolday Memories

(Copyright Coxhoe Local History Group)

MEMORIES OF CORNFORTH LANE SCHOOL (COXHOE PRIMARY SCHOOL)

Julie Cook shares her interviews with former staff of the school.

During my research into the history of education in Coxhoe, I interviewed two teachers who taught at Coxhoe Primary School, previously Cornforth Lane.

The first was Tony Potts, who, having graduated from Sheffield training college started his teaching career at Coxhoe in 1955 and remained there until moving onto pastures new in 1968. His first class was the ‘Scholarship Class’ consisting of those children who were preparing to sit the 11 plus, and he was based in the prefab classrooms, which were know as the HRSA classrooms.  These classrooms were built to accommodate the extra children attending school due to the raising of the leaving age in the 1940’s. HRSA stood for ‘Huts for Raised School Age’.

Tony caught the ABC bus from Chilton to work, as in those days only Head-Master, Ben Potts (Tony’s uncle) had the privilege of owning a car!  However, he does recall with wry humour, several occasions when his colleague Trevor Airey insisted on giving him a lift home on his scooter. The only catch was that Trevor used to undertake and did not have a spare crash helmet for Tony!

Another colleague he recalls is Harry Mears, who joined the teaching staff at Coxhoe soon after leaving the RAF in 1945. Harry ran the athletics team and later left to become the first head at Coxhoe Secondary Modern School. There was also George Trewick, who taught woodwork in the free-standing classroom between the Infant and Junior buildings, the site upon which the school hall now stands. Frank Davison and Stan Edben were also teachers, Dorothy Potts was the cookery teacher, Jean Mann had the role of school secretary and Elsie Cookson was the cleaner.

There was also a collection of formidable spinsters who had the children and, especially the older lads, ‘to a word’. These ladies included Gladys Gayle who, always smartly dressed, often wore a hat, Amy Parkin, Flora Parkin, Elizabeth Slater, and Lil Nichols. The teachers sat at huge wooden desks with big legs, which made them look even more intimidating. Wooden partitions separated many of the classrooms, and Tony remembers one day he thought the children in the adjoining classroom had gone to sleep, until he peeped through a gap in the partition and saw them diligently working away under the able supervision of Miss Gayle!

Tony recalls with humour his first visit to the staff-room.  At this point the Infant and Junior departments were run as separate schools and they each had their own staff rooms. There was a big open coal fire and he made a bee-line for the chair next to it.  However, he had to make a hasty retreat as he was told there was a pecking order and that was the Deputy Head’s seat! He soon learnt that his chair was nearest the door!  However, by the time he left in the late 1960’s he was triumphantly occupying a seat in close proximity to the fire.

Another measure of length of service and therefore your place in the ‘pecking order, was how big your pile of money was on pay day, as the staff was paid in cash. The Head Master cashed the pay cheques at the Co-op every month and the money was then piled up on the Head Master’s desk. The staff then went in turn to collect their pile.

In the late 1950’s an Asian Flu epidemic struck the school and Tony remembers having to take his class out of the building every two hours for fresh air.  Tragically, one boy from Cornforth Bridge died during the epidemic.

The motorway arrived in 1960 and Tony speaks with affection of the influx into the school of the labourers’ children who lived in caravans near to the emerging motorway.  Then one day they did not turn up for school – they had moved further along the line.

Always a keen sportsman, Tony coached the school football team and recalls Billy Robinson as being an exceptional football player.  On one occasion he was amongst staff who took several boys to Wembley stadium to watch the ‘School-Boy International’. They travelled by train, which they caught in Hartlepool. Whilst there, he took a trip to Petticoat Lane to buy a clock, which he still owns. Over the years he, along with friend and colleague Mr Mears also took several groups of boys hiking in the lakes. Pupils were also taught to swim at Kelloe baths.

Tony recalls one humorous occasion based around the events of Appleby Fair. A certain pupil who shall remain anonymous, mysteriously got a ‘bad belly’ every year during the week of the fair. One day after hearing the usual excuse of ‘bad belly sir’ the Headmaster said ‘Well you must have a twin lad, because I saw him on the television parading horses around at Appleby Fair!’

During this period school meals were cooked on the premises. Tony remembers that his uncle Ben, was renowned for loving the school cabbage and often went back for seconds or even thirds!

Teachers did not tend to socialize much out of school.  However, a highlight of his career was when Mrs Shucksmith, who joined the staff as Head Mistress of the Infant Department in 1958, treated them all to a night out for Christmas at the ‘Top Hat’ in Spennymoor.

Eventually, after thirteen happy years at Cornforth Lane promotion beckoned and Tony left to start a new career at a school in Ferryhill.

The second person I interviewed was John Heron, whose path did not cross with Tony’s as he didn’t join the staff at Cornforth Lane until 1969.  This was John’s first teaching post and as a young graduate some of the more mature ladies took him under their wing.

Sometime during the mid 1960’s the Cornforth Lane had become a primary school, with children graduating either to Coxhoe Secondary Modern or Spennymoor Grammar School at the age of eleven.

Mrs Shucksmith, as previously mentioned, joined the school as Headmistress of the Infants in 1958. However, she was now Head of the whole school and always brought her spaniels to work with her. She could often be seen taking them ‘walkies’ around the school playground.

Miss Gayle, who was now Deputy Head, still cut a formidable figure in school and especially in the staff room just as she had done in Tony Potts’ day. John recalls one particular occasion when she terrified the poor secretary out of her wits over the making of a cup of tea.  The kettle was a huge old fashioned type which gave off sparks whenever it was switched on or off.  The secretary was tentatively standing over it, when Miss Gayle bellowed ‘For God’s Sake Mrs …. will you switch the damned thing on or off!’

Other members of staff at this time included Pat Frazer, Mrs Mason and Mrs Virgo who were the Infant teachers. Before Mrs Virgo was employed in 1972, Infant Three struggled to find a permanent teacher and John recalls a series of supply teachers, one even having to leave her pram and baby in the corridor whilst she conducted a lesson!  How things have changed.

The Junior teaching staff consisted of Sylvia Hope, Eleanor Hepple, Mona Blythe (who became Deputy Head in 1970 after the sudden death of Gladys Gayle) and John taking on the role of Junior Four teacher.  John was a keen  sportsman and coached many a successful football team during his career at Coxhoe.

John also remembers with fondness one occasion when the remedial teacher, Audrey Robinson, well know for her thorough approach to work, was so enthusiastic in her cleaning of a cupboard that she cleaned the spots off the dominoes! From then on ‘cleaning the dominoes spots off’ became a catch-phrase for thoroughness!

Promotion came for John in 1983 in the form of a Deputy Headship, a role he occupied until 1988 when he left Cornforth Lane for further promotion.

He still ‘lives’ his experiences at Cornforth Lane and remembers those times with great affection.

I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to both Tony and John and was fascinated by their vivid recall of pupils’ names and personalities, and the clarity with which they spoke of specific events as if they were yesterday. Both teachers have had a positive impact upon the formative years of many pupils. Their experiences at Cornforth Lane School were obviously treasured and I felt privileged that they had invited me into their homes to share some of them with me.

Julie Cook : Coxhoe History Group