Highfield Special School

[ceegee]

Whilst researching the family history I've just come across a girl who attended Highfield Special School in the late 1920's. I've never heard of the place/school and so any information on its history and function would help. Am I correct in assuming that the school was specifically created for children who had some form of physical impairment?

[SteveHB]

Whilst researching the family history I've just come across a girl who attended Highfield Special School in the late 1920's. I've never heard of the place/school and so any information on its history and function would help. Am I correct in assuming that the school was specifically created for children who had some form of physical impairment?

Hi ceegee,

I have reason to believe that one of the buildings in Sharrow Ln school was at one time reffered to as being a 'special school'

But going on my recent track record, 'I could well be totally wrong.'

Think it was the building standing between the 'y' and the 'dot.'

our fellow forum member plain talker, may well be able to help out with this one.

From map #269

[Guest plain talker]

Ooh! *perks* do I hear my name being taken in vain? hehehe.

Yes, that building on the map was definitely the building I knew as Highfield Special School. (Sharrow Lane School stands just above the school on this map, between South View Road and Vincent Road, they aren't the same school, incidentally)

I can't tell you exactly what the score was with the school back in the 1920s., unfortunately. (I can tell you the building is a typical example of a Sheffield sandstone school-board school, from the latter part of the 19th century; 1870-odd onwards)

I heard mention elsewhere, that it was a girls' senior school up until the 1960s.

I can certainly tell you that in my time (I grew up round the corner from the school,on Mount Pleasant Road, and went to Sharrow Lane School, just above the school in question) the school was a special school. The pupils had learning difficulties (generally what we would have called a bit "slow" back then in the days of non-PC) not physical disabilities.

Two friends of mine, and the brothers and sisters of one of those friends (the whole family had mild to moderate LD'S) all attended that school, having leaning difficulties. This happened from the mid-sixties up to about 1980. (one friend is in her early fifties now, and the other is one year older than me, she is 45)

The ages of the pupils was secondary school age. The school friend who was a year older than me, was in my class in "J4" at Sharrow lane school, having been "held back" a year, in the hope she'd "catch up". When we all transferred out at the end of the year, to our Secondary school (eg Abbeydale Grange and High Storrs) this girl went to Highfield for her "Senior schooling".

Hope that information helps?

[ceegee]

Excellent information Plain Talker - the girl in question was born in 1917 and attended the school in the late 1920's. My hunch is that if the girl had a moderate to severe physical impairment, she would have been sent to a more formalised institution eg school of the blind etc. If the girl was "a bit slow on the uptake" like you suggest. it would make more sense to send her to a school that may have had better facilities, teaching etc. As far as I'm aware she did live at home

The only chance I stand of finding out if she had a physical disability is in the 1921 Cenus - a mere 13 years wait!

[Guest plain talker]

Excellent information Plain Talker - the girl in question was born in 1917 and attended the school in the late 1920's. My hunch is that if the girl had a moderate to severe physical impairment, she would have been sent to a more formalised institution eg school of the blind etc. If the girl was "a bit slow on the uptake" like you suggest. it would make more sense to send her to a school that may have had better facilities, teaching etc. As far as I'm aware she did live at home

The only chance I stand of finding out if she had a physical disability is in the 1921 Cenus - a mere 13 years wait!

OOh, right, the girl would have been the same age as my grandma, then (grandma passed away in 2001 aged 84)

I reckon, like you are thinking... If the girl had had nothing more than a mild-to-middling level of impairment, she may very well have managed at home, but anything more may have meant that she would possibly have been in a care institution, as was very frequently the case even up to my own sister being a tot in the 1960's. (more about her below)

if she had been blind, no doubt she would have attended something like Tapton Mount School.

It's got me pondering, about Highfield school, because I have spoken to people who AFAIK haven't got any learning difficulties, but who say they went there as a girls school, yet I know for a fact that my classmate was definitely transferred there in the mid 70's as someone with LD's and who certainly could not cope with the demands of mainstream secondary education. And a friend and her siblings also went there as LD.

Re my sister, She was diagnosed as autistic as a tot, of about 2 1/2 or 3 years old, and the docs said to my mother

"Ah Mrs Talker, put her in an institution and go away and have another child, she'll never do anything, you'll be lucky if you get her to walk and talk, and feed herself."

My mother told the doctor to *coff* "Foxtrot Oscar" *coff* and said "No chance, mate! This is my child you are talking about!"

Anyway, today, forty years on, my sister is 42 years old. She is married, and has three kids of her own, ( 21.. 19 next week, and 16 yesterday) they own their own home, and I am so darn proud of that lass!! *beams with pride and love"*

This lass who the docs wrote off, saying she'd would make nothing, is a proud mother and a fantastic lass, whether she has autism or not:- she's champion, in my eyes!