SCHOOL DAYS

This is All Saints Church Hall, used by many over the years in Cubs, Brownies, Guides and Scouts, Youth Clubs, Pensioners Clubs, Nursery, Badminton Club, Bingo and Coffee Mornings. It has also squeezed in a few Church functions too! It is now mainly rented out to the SMART Kids Club, for children whose parents work before and after school.  This is also where our Local History Exhibitions are held.

Originally though, it was used as the local school, and we are lucky enough to have copies of the original school registers. They make interesting reading, especially if you attended school there before Stocktonwood was built, as two of our congregation did.

The school log books record, amongst other things the children’s progress, diphtheria and measles outbreaks, and absenteeism due to very cold weather or very good harvests!  All village children were expected to attend, and the school was visited regularly by school inspectors, and Miss Watt and her Uncle, James Sprot. Here are a few extracts from the books.

11th FEBRUARY 1887 - Obliged to use ‘cane’ for the first time owing to the continued ‘late-coming’ (it is 9.25 every morning before scholars are all present). Also to check ‘carelessness’ and ‘neglect’ of lessons.

21st OCTOBER 1887 - Scarlet fever cases at Oglet causes the attendance to be lower this week.

15th FEBRUARY 1889 - Deep snow – 4 or 5 inches – fell on Sunday: no school on Monday, only half a dozen turning up.

15th MARCH 1889 - I continue to look up lax attenders both personally and by deputy. On Monday afternoon sent David Corns after his brother who stays at home almost when he likes: told him to tell his brother that I should fetch him myself if he did not come: I had to go: the mother only laughed. I very much fear this lukewarmness on the parent’s part is only too common in the parish.

The descendants of David Corns contacted me after reading this entry to say the family are now mainly school teachers....

12th APRIL 1889 - Bad week as regards weather: the latter in a country district like Speke acts as ‘attendance barometer’. Some children away ill, others coming in a wretchedly slipshod fashion.

23rd AUGUST 1889 - The children arrive in the mornings much more punctually than they formerly did. I give a small reward every Friday afternoon to those who do not miss any attendances, nor come late during the week.

13th SEPTEMBER 1889 - The children have had no recreation since the Holidays. During the week a ‘Long Arm’ and a ‘Horizontal Bar’ have been erected in the boys’ playground, and a swing is in course of erection in the girls’ playground.

(This is a photocopy of a piece of embroidery made in the Village School in 1886 by Annie Barber.)

 

6th DECEMBER 1889 - I commenced on Wednesday to re-assemble the school at 1 o’clock instead of 1.30pm and dismissed at 3.30pm. Some of the children have a long distance to walk and it is dark before they arrive home, sometimes, even before they leave school. The school, also, is not furnished with any lighting apparatus.

13th DECEMBER 1889 - On Tuesday morning I found that the school had been broken into during the night. The desk and cupboard had been broken into and the contents were scattered over the floor, but nothing was missing. An entrance was effected by bursting open a window in the boys’ lavatory.

5th SEPTEMBER 1890 - We were favoured with a very fine day on Saturday last so the children set off to Southport from Hunts Cross Station at 9.15 am arriving at Southport about 10 o’clock. The children had dinner at the Victoria Hall, London St at 12 noon, and tea at 4.30 pm. During dinner each child was presented with 6d to spend. Previously to leaving Southport by the 7.25 pm train each child was provided with a bun. Each child arrived back at Hunts Cross Station soon after 8pm after spending a very pleasant day which was not marred either by unfavourable weather or accident of any kind. The whole of the treat was provided by the kindness of Miss Watt and at her expense. Five of the older scholars who had left during the year were invited and all turned up.

24th OCTOBER 1890 - The school attendance officer called on Wednesday morning. A number of the children are away today potato picking.