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What School Did You Go To And Has It Changed Much Since You Left ?


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But surely there is a maintenance contract built in to the tender and if not why not? Is the question I would be asking. Even if the maintenance contract was for a fixed period, say 3 or 5 years it could be re- tendered for so that the upkeep of the property was to an agreed standard. I know other government astablishments, departments etc have them built in more and more as privatisation takes over.

But under PFI, the school never belongs to the local authority, they pay a whacking great wad of money every year to the developers for the privilege of using the facilities. Most are built by major contractors with years of experience of such contracts, and legal departments who can run rings round any local authority.

One of the first PFI schools in Sheffield had trouble because the teachers set out the computer suite at the end of the day, ready for the first lesson the following morning. But when they came in, everything had been changed, because the contractor rented out the suite to an outside organisation in the evenings, because the school and its facilities were theirs and they could do it.

Similarly local residents complained to the Council about the floodlighting installed on the playing fields, which were on full until late every night. The Council complained to the contractor, who said that the income from the floodlit playing fields had been factored into their contract, and if they didn't have that income the Council would have to compensate them.

MP's go on at length about the debts we have to pay off so as not to leave future generations to pick up the bill, but PFI and similar schemes are going to be an even greater burden in future years. Yet these same MP's are happy to continue these schemes because they don't show up in the accounts.

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But surely there is a maintenance contract built in to the tender and if not why not? Is the question I would be asking. Even if the maintenance contract was for a fixed period, say 3 or 5 years it could be re- tendered for so that the upkeep of the property was to an agreed standard. I know other government astablishments, departments etc have them built in more and more as privatisation takes over.

I am not that well up on matters of local Government finance (except for paying my rates and taxes :( ) and don't know many answers here.

Fortunately Bayleaf has come up with a reply and in my experience what he says about PFI schools sounds correct.

We cannot use our school buildings after 6:30 without permission, granted annually against a school calendar of events (to include parents evenings, open evenings, concerts and plays, presentation evenings gym & dance displays, speech days and any other events envisaged to go on beyond that time). We cannot alter the building or make any changes without first contacting the company that owns / runs the school. In the evenings and school holidays the building and its facilities are frequently used for other purposes by various groups who effectively hire its use creating extra income for the owners of the building.

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Oh well seems that we can't do anything, again so I don't know why I bother TBH. All I know is that the pupils that want to learn do and as I said have a wonderful place to do it in, so my money must be doing something right !!

What I will say is that The PFI is a way of creating PPPs by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital, is there another way ?

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Oh well seems that we can't do anything, again so I don't know why I bother TBH. All I know is that the pupils that want to learn do and as I said have a wonderful place to do it in, so my money must be doing something right !!

What I will say is that The PFI is a way of creating PPPs by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital, is there another way ?

Yes. PFI was created as a way of carrying out infrastructure projects without them appearing as public borrowing. The old method was for the government to borrow the money, or give local council's the authority to borrow what was needed. The schools, hospitals etc were therefore public property, under public control, and the government/local council paid back the loan.

Under PFI, a developer/contractor signs an agreement to build the project, and the government/council then rents the school, hospital etc from them for a set term. The expenditure does not therefore constitute a loan, and so doesn't show up as such in the public accounts. The government of the day then tells everyone that they are cutting their loan requirement and takes the credit. Meanwhile hospitals and local authorities are saddled with years of payments for facilities they'll never own.

PFI was invented by the Tories, and roundly condemned by New Labour when in opposition. Then they became the Government and carried on with the system, which was now criticised by the Tories and Lib Dems. Who then became the government and carried on with the system...

PFI has been condemned by a whole raft of studies and reports as poor value for money and more expensive, but all parties find it useful as a way of cooking the books and making the figures look good. The liabilities are now so great that none of them would dare bring it to an end and expose just how deep in debt they truly are.

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I've seen a debate about this before. It seems that a decent school building would have to be built to such a high and heavy duty standard that the cost would be 50% greater than a typical modern PFI school. Just consider the old board schools which can be seen still in use after over a century. They were built in heavy duty stone and MASSIVE gable ends to allow plenty of light into the classrooms.

My own infant and junior school on parkside road appears to be still going strong.

During the last decade I did several years of night classes at sheffield college. At one stage I did an A level which was based in Tapton School, a new PFI school. It had all kinds of equipment like lifts and built in PC connected projectors, but the fabric of the building looked like it would last about ten years before the walls get holes kicked in them.

Even the new Hillsborough College is not terribly well built.

They made it with an environmental design to prevent requiring too much heating. But depending on the room and the time of year it was either far too hot or far too cold.

I would have much rather been at the old Norton College building again (which though old was a far better learning space), but sheffield college has to use the new PFI buildings, probably because of the complexities of the finance.

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At one stage I did an A level which was based in Tapton School, a new PFI school. It had all kinds of equipment like lifts and built in PC connected projectors, but the fabric of the building looked like it would last about ten years before the walls get holes kicked in them.

Sounds exactly like the building I currently work in.

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Gleadless Valley School

I thought that this was now Bents Green School , but I am informed that it is in fact "long gone"

Yes, long gone, replaced by the houses here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=matthews+lane&ll=53.336754,-1.46013&spn=0.00706,0.018089&hnear=Matthews+Ln&gl=uk&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=53.33694,-1.459436&panoid=BYQTp0IgRkpHZyrcYXFf9Q&cbp=12,154.54,,0,12.06

Bents Green is miles away, can't be any connection there.

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Yes, long gone, replaced by the houses here: http://maps.google.c...154.54,,0,12.06

Bents Green is miles away, can't be any connection there.

Well, a couple of years ago I took these 2 photos within minutes of each other while out walking

The road sign was directly opposite the school.

I was suprised at the sign saying Bents Green school as I had expected it to say Gleadless Valley.

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Ah ha! Right, that's the old Oakes Park school, which became Talbot School. It was a school for special needs. It's closed now, my guess is that it was used temporarily for Bents Green during a refurb.

Edit - the Google Street View image is dated September 2008, and the sign still says Talbot School.

http://maps.google.c...,111.41,,0,10.3

This link on sheffield forum confirms there was a rebuild and a temporary relocation: http://www.sheffield...ad.php?t=524161

Second edit: looks like Oakes Park/Talbot/Bent Green (temp) was demolished in January 2012. http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=915614

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Guest darren.40

I went to frecheville comp.I left 2 years before frecheville and thornbridge merged to create Birley comp.All the kids from frecheville moved over to thornbridge. Iam not sure but i think thornbridge was previously called birley and after the merger went back to being called birley comp.

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Ah ha! Right, that's the old Oakes Park school, which became Talbot School. It was a school for special needs. It's closed now, my guess is that it was used temporarily for Bents Green during a refurb.

Edit - the Google Street View image is dated September 2008, and the sign still says Talbot School.

http://maps.google.c...,111.41,,0,10.3

This link on sheffield forum confirms there was a rebuild and a temporary relocation: http://www.sheffield...ad.php?t=524161

Second edit: looks like Oakes Park/Talbot/Bent Green (temp) was demolished in January 2012. http://www.sheffield...ad.php?t=915614

Thanks RichK, that has sorted out my confusion on this matter perfectly

I knew I had the photo of it with a Bents Green sign outside

Your post clearly indicates that it was Talbot school in 2008 (before more photos)

That Bents Green was being refurbished and so temporarily relocated in 2010 (which is when my photo was taken)

..and sadly that in 2012 the school is no more. - another one to add to our list of schools now gone.

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I went to frecheville comp.I left 2 years before frecheville and thornbridge merged to create Birley comp.All the kids from frecheville moved over to thornbridge. Iam not sure but i think thornbridge was previously called birley and after the merger went back to being called birley comp.

I have always been confused by which of these schools (Birley / Frecheville / Thornbridge) is which.

Perhaps school mergers over the years could be a reason for this.

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Guest shelagh scholfield

My sisters and I went to Philadelphia .Does anyone remember anything about it.Some names of the teachers were,Vaughan,Lunt,who was great at singing opera,Bonnet, Burke, Eggleston and Davis.The lovely old building has now been demolished.

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I went to Hurlfield. A friend of mine Darren Winnell sent me this photo of him and his classmates around 1974/5. I wasn't in his class so I'm not on. But it does feature a couple of the Grey tripplets who were always in the Star for just being tripplets!

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C'mon Graham, don't be so modest / secretive. We can see from your avatar you are the tall kid on the back row. :)

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My sisters and I went to Philadelphia .Does anyone remember anything about it.Some names of the teachers were,Vaughan,Lunt,who was great at singing opera,Bonnet, Burke, Eggleston and Davis.The lovely old building has now been demolished.

Here are some of the teachers from around 1958.

BACK ROW. Left to right

Mr Popple. Miss Wood. Mr Hughes. Mrs Russell. ??? Miss Waters. Mr Howland. Miss Hart. Mr Sanderson. Mr Carter.

FRONT ROW. Left to right.

Miss Radford. Mrs Golota. Mrs Egglestone. Mr Smith. Mrs Burke. Miss Rowland. Miss Darley.

Mr Smith took over as head teacher from Miss Bonnet.

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Guest shelagh scholfield

I recognised ms Burke,ms,Eggleston and mr Howland .He moved to Chaucer.He also taught dancing at Philadelphia. There was recreation centre in the school in the evenings. There was basket making,darts dancing,there was a room where children could paint, draw and glue.Its a pity schools don't do that now.Thanks for the photo.

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I recognised ms Burke,ms,Eggleston and mr Howland .He moved to Chaucer.He also taught dancing at Philadelphia. There was recreation centre in the school in the evenings. There was basket making,darts dancing,there was a room where children could paint, draw and glue.Its a pity schools don't do that now.Thanks for the photo.

I can't put my hand up to doing the basket making and dancing [ didn't know Mr Howland did that . ] but I know I was one

of the kids that did the painting , drawing and glueing. Yes we used to call it " Play Centre " , after time school with no lessons involved.

It kept the kids off the streets.

Can I ask whose class you were in?

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Thylacine

I'm afraid not :mellow:

Here's who they are: Back: Robert Brown, Ni Shapuri, Susan Nuttall, Diedre or Melanie Gray, Michelle Gray, Pamela Gregory, Darren Winnell, Neil Palmer.

Front: Lesley Hamilton, Wendy Clarke, Elaine Winter, Mrs Matthews (teacher), Julie Fell, Beverley Shepherd, Jackie Thomas.

Here's what I looked like then:

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I also went to Philadelphia school. I can't remember many of the teachers on the photo but I do remember Mrs Burke and Miss Egglestone. Miss Egglestone also taught my mother who went there in the 1930's. I was always terrified of Mrs Burke. She took us for handwriting . We used to walk to Upperthorpe Baths for swimming lessons past the old wash house. I went to Philadelphia in the late 50's early 60's. Shelagh Scholfield who put an earlier post in is my older sister she went there in the mid 50's. Our maiden name was Muscroft and we have twin sisters who also attended Philadelphia. It was a lovely school and a beautiful building.......HAPPY DAYS....... :rolleyes:

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Guest shelagh scholfield

I went all the way through Philadelphia.I also didnt do basket making but I did dance,to a record player and also did gluing and painting.I cant remember the teachers name.The dancing was in the infants assembly room and later in juniors.I was there in the mid 50's until the end of the fifties. My sisters and I lived in Cross Bedford St.Did you go to Philadelphia?

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I went all the way through Philadelphia.I also didnt do basket making but I did dance,to a record player and also did gluing and painting.I cant remember the teachers name.The dancing was in the infants assembly room and later in juniors.I was there in the mid 50's until the end of the fifties. My sisters and I lived in Cross Bedford St.Did you go to Philadelphia?

I went to Philadephia and lived in Montgomery Terrace Road not far from you.

I've a feeling by what you have said you could have been in my brother or sisters class.

Do you remember any of these faces?

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Guest binsted71

I can't put my hand up to doing the basket making and dancing [ didn't know Mr Howland did that . ] but I know I was one

of the kids that did the painting , drawing and glueing. Yes we used to call it " Play Centre " , after time school with no lessons involved.

It kept the kids off the streets.

Can I ask whose class you were in?

I too went to Philadelphia and remember doing basket making. I made my mother a shopping basket. You usually started with something simple like a 'spill holder'. I also made a tray with the plaiting all the way round the edge. But I really can't remember who took the class.

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Guest shelagh scholfield

The first person that springs to mind that lived on Montgomery Terrace Rd was Christine Smart.If I was in Sheffield my mum my sisters and I could put our heads together and come up with a few more names.I think there was a family called Pass from Montgomery Terr Rd.

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