Norfolk School, Arbourthorne

[DaveH]

I always remember the name as Norfolk Secondary Modern but I would stand corrected if I was proved wrong. I know that was the name in my last few

years at the school. I think Arbourthorne North was thhe name of the junior school.

I went to the Junior school when it was called Arbouthorne North to distinguish it from Arbourthorne Junior School which was just a junior school only and was on Eastern Avenue. I can't honestly remember when the word "Norfolk" was first applied or even if my Junior school became Norfolk Juniors while I was there, however I have always associated the name "Norfolk" with the comprehensive era when the secondary school had a variety of "Norfolk" based names, "Norfolk High School", "Norfolk High", "Norfolk Comprehensive" and just "Norfolk".

I think you are right and "Norfolk Secondary Modern" just immediately predates this, it was probably still called this in my first 2 years.

However, the 2 school sites were referred to as "Arbourthorne" (on Eastern Ave.) and "Arbourthorne North" (on Craddock / Brimmesfield Roads) and the problem remains that this site was a "cradle to grave" school, consisting as it did of a nursery, infants, Junior and Secondary school so I assumed it must have had an earlier name based around this. (In the mid to late 1970's it briefly also had a sixth form).

[DaveH]

I went to the Junior school when it was called Arbouthorne North to distinguish it from Arbourthorne Junior School which was just a junior school only and was on Eastern Avenue. I can't honestly remember when the word "Norfolk" was first applied or even if my Junior school became Norfolk Juniors while I was there, however I have always associated the name "Norfolk" with the comprehensive era when the secondary school had a variety of "Norfolk" based names, "Norfolk High School", "Norfolk High", "Norfolk Comprehensive" and just "Norfolk".

I think you are right and "Norfolk Secondary Modern" just immediately predates this, it was probably still called this in my first 2 years.

However, the 2 school sites were referred to as "Arbourthorne" (on Eastern Ave.) and "Arbourthorne North" (on Craddock / Brimmesfield Roads) and the problem remains that this site was a "cradle to grave" school, consisting as it did of a nursery, infants, Junior and Secondary school so I assumed it must have had an earlier name based around this. (In the mid to late 1970's it briefly also had a sixth form).

With the help of Stuart0742 I have located some "form photos" from an earlier era than my own pictures on Friends Reunited. I was particularly interested in the 1964 Prefects picture and was suprised by how many people I recognised on it.

I have also tried looking for images on Picture Sheffield, using their search, -

"Norfolk" comes back with nothing related to schools

"Arbourthorne" comes back with

"Arbourthorne Central School" (the one on Eastern Avenue)

"Arbourthorne Community School" (the modern name for this school, newly built on the same site)

"Arbourthorne North School" (our school)

There are 6 pictures under this heading, some of them are clearly of the Juniour school, eg "Class 2B Arbourthorne North Junior School, 1940's"

Other pictures show woodwork and cookery classes in what appears to be the secondary school (the woodwork picture looks like Man Smith's room)

However, one of the form pictures is entitled "School Leavers, 1953, Arbourthorne North Secondary School"

Even more however, there is a photo on Friends Reunited entitled "Class 2B, 1955, Norfolk Secondary School"

So did the name change sometime between 1953 and 1955?

I also seem to remember one of the early school badges, the one that you had on your blazer pocket consisted of a shield, divided into quarters and each quarter carrying a letter which spelt out "ANSS" (Arbourthorne North Secondary School) and my own juniour school badge had a similar design with "ANJS" on it. The shield on the badge had a banner underneath it bearing the previously mentioned school motto "ENDEAVOUR".

The later Norfolk School Badge was a monogram design with the letters NHS (Norfolk High School) on top of each other and interwoven in true monogram style.

[Guest davekowl]

Sorry DaveH but I fed you a bit of miss information about the school name when I attended.

I found a book on civics that I won as a prize in an exam in Man Whithams class in 1962 and it clearly states the name of the school

as Norfolk Secondary School. The school logo at the time was a shield with an N with 2 S's entwined on the upward strokes of the N.

Our arch enemies at Hurlfield always claimed it stood for Norfolk Silly Sods. They payed a high price for that !

I can't remember a change of name while I was at the school .

[DaveH]

Sorry DaveH but I fed you a bit of miss information about the school name when I attended.

I found a book on civics that I won as a prize in an exam in Man Whithams class in 1962 and it clearly states the name of the school

as Norfolk Secondary School. The school logo at the time was a shield with an N with 2 S's entwined on the upward strokes of the N.

Our arch enemies at Hurlfield always claimed it stood for Norfolk Silly Sods. They payed a high price for that !

I can't remember a change of name while I was at the school .

From my previous posts Dave I think the name may have changed in the mid 1950's. However I do remember that before the NHS monogram we had the NSS one which was exactly as you described, so it must still have been Norfolk Secondary School when I started there in 1967 and remained so until 1969 when the new names came in for Comprehensive Schools.

So you also had Man Whitham for Civics.

Did you get the same option as us, - an easy time with Man Whitham or a lot of hard graft doing History with Man Dickson?

[DaveH]

Oh, and thanks for the idea Dave.

My old blazer badge may be long gone but I have a collection of "prizes" for coming top at various subjects in end of year exams. These were invariably books from the Methodist bookshop on Chapel Walk.

Each prize had a certificate in the front saying what it was for, the date and a school identity (name). Having checked my surviving prizes most have just the school name, but those from July 1969, when the school was called "Norfolk High School" have a badge logo very similar to the blazer badge showing that NHS monogram, except that it isn't in colour, doesn't look as good and is lacking that "ENDEVOUR" banner underneath.

Here's a scan from my Form 2A (Pop Wards form) end of year July 1969 Science prize, - a book on short wave amateur radio.

[DaveH]

With a bit of playing about with on the computer here is what the badge looked like in colour (on a blazer top pocket).

There should be some narrow black lines in places to make those NHS letters look interwoven with each other and not just a solid block of gold.

Notice its the same school colours, black, white (silver) and yellow (gold)

I still can't work out which way around they were on the school tie, and after a conversation in the boozer last week, neither can Stuart0742, so were lost on this one unless some other ex student can tell us.

[DaveH]

I have found a black and white photograph of someone wearing the old school tie and have enlarged it to show detail in the stripes.

The 2 outer stripes in each set of 3 are darker than the slightly broader central stripe.

This leads me to the conclusion that the central strip is white (silver) and the 2 outer stripes are Yellow (gold)

This would correspond to my design No.1 in the previous post #149

[Stuart0742]

I have found a black and white photograph of someone wearing the old school tie and have enlarged it to show detail in the stripes.

The 2 outer stripes in each set of 3 are darker than the slightly broader central stripe.

This leads me to the conclusion that the central strip is white (silver) and the 2 outer stripes are Yellow (gold)

This would correspond to my design No.1 in the previous post #149

Its slowly coming back to me.

I had a hand me down tie from somebody I can't remember or possibly even knew (when your parents ran a pub there was always somebody somewhere that had what they wanted, for a free pint), this tie I seem to remember was made of some sort of shiny material, that I think was 2 gold and 1 silver stripe, this tie would have been a few years old in 1967 when I 1st accuired it.

After I started they relented and actually spent some money and bought me a new modern tie from school, this was a standard black cotton with yellow and white stripes (as per Dave's design)

[DaveH]

These old school badge designs were so simple that when you think about it, they can easily be recreated (approximately) in an modern piece of drawing software using standard shield and banner templates and ordinary text fonts.

Here are a few examples, as near as possible to how I personally remember them.

Arbourthorne North Junior School

Arbourthorne North Secondary School

Norfolk Secondary School

Norfolk High School

[Guest pidd]

LASS MOORE

Lass Moore was the senior mistress.

My original comments on her on Friends Reunited were,

Miss Moore was the senior mistress, a sort of female version of Mr. Whiham who had the job of putting the same degree of fear into naughty girls as Mr. Whitham did with naughty boys.

Lass Moore was formidable, not only did she terrify the girls she also frightened the boys.

Me and Stuart0742 had her for music in the days when a music lesson consisted of Lass Moore sat at the front plonking away on the piano while the rest of us were expected to sing along to dreary old songs written in the 18 and 19th centuries from books which looked as though they dated from the 18 and 19th centuries. No modern stuff, no Jazz, Blues, Pop, Rock and Roll and certainly you had to sing, - no instruments to be played or learnt. We certainly didn't enjoy our music lessons although we did both have an interest in music.

Because Lass Moore also frightened the boys she did actually look after the girls, sorted out their teenage "girls problems" and kept boys at a distance from them, - no sexual hanky panky with the girls while she was around, not even mild flirtation. Then again if you were a "naughty girl" she held the same degree of fear as Man Whitham did for the boys.

Stuart and I met Lass Moore at the Eric Smith film show last November. She certainly remembered who we were and was pleased to see us and know what we had done since leaving school as well as talking about our days at the school 40 years previously. She came across as a nice elderly lady totally different from how we judged her at school. She probably always was a nice person, its just that our judgements have changed as we have grown up.

Miss moore was strict but i remember her as a really nice woman.She encoraged me to sing in the girls choir as my voice was high at that time.I also sang as a choir boy in St Johns church

[Guest pidd]

Hope pidd finds this thread after starting another one asking if anyone went to Norfolk School "about 50 years ago"

Were we called "Norfolk School" in the 1950's?

Or was it something like "Arbourthorne North Secondary School"?

Over to you pidd and DaveKowl

I remember getting wacked fromPiercy with the Tsquare, cane from headmaster and steel ruler from metalwork teacher.

Didn't like sport so had run ins with mr Green.I was too interested in the girls.

[DaveH]

I remember getting wacked fromPiercy with the Tsquare, cane from headmaster and steel ruler from metalwork teacher.

Didn't like sport so had run ins with mr Green.I was too interested in the girls.

Yes in Man Piercy's drawing room the T-square was a favourite punishment, but the cane was most highly favoured. Being hit with another object such as the "double whack" slipper, or ruler were favourites of particular members of staff, while other staff were experts at throwing things at you (like chalk or blackboard rubbers) but my day, the late sixties, being picked up off the ground by your sideburns seemed to be all the rage amongst staff.

[Guest davekowl]

Yes in Man Piercy's drawing room the T-square was a favourite punishment, but the cane was most highly favoured. Being hit with another object such as the "double whack" slipper, or ruler were favourites of particular members of staff, while other staff were experts at throwing things at you (like chalk or blackboard rubbers) but my day, the late sixties, being picked up off the ground by your sideburns seemed to be all the rage amongst staff.

The sideburn thing was started in my day by Man Whitham. He used to creep up behind you if you were larking about and drag you by the sideburn to

the front of the class where he would proceed to give you a mighty rollocking if you were lucky. If not you got the dreaded ruler. To counteract it I had

mine cut short but he just grabbed the skin instead.

[DaveH]

The sideburn thing was started in my day by Man Whitham. He used to creep up behind you if you were larking about and drag you by the sideburn to

the front of the class where he would proceed to give you a mighty rollocking if you were lucky. If not you got the dreaded ruler. To counteract it I had

mine cut short but he just grabbed the skin instead.

In our meeting with Lass Moore last November she told us that they all copied this sideburn thing from Man Whitham.

[DaveH]

MAN HEADLEY aka "Deadly Headley"

Man Headley was head of 3rd year and our "substitute" for an art teacher.

My original comments on him on Friends Reunited were,

Mr. Headley was in charge of year 3 and was one of the hard case teachers brought up from the old Wybourn school when we went comprehensive in 1969. One lesson a week we were split from the girls and had to suffer a "reading lesson" with him while the girls did more interesting things.

For the first 2 years we had Lass Bray for art. Her name, Lass Bray, frequently became corrupted to "Loose Bra" after an incident that happened in an art lesson (Don't ask!).

She had a large art room which was in the middle of the quad. Neither Stuart or myself were much good at art and she didn't like it when we discovered photography, mastered it and could easily produce a picture which was a perfect likeness of the original scene without any artistic talent and without spending hours with pencils and paintbrushes, - in short art had become pointless. We just got on with art, the teacher was OK, but we didn't really push ourselves.

Then in the third year, shortly after we had gone comprehensive she announced that she was getting married and leaving.

There were no other art teachers in the school at the time so classes were redirected and rearranged. Our massive class of 42 was split into boys and girls, I don't know what the girls did, except that they had Lass Moore, but the boys got Man Headley, a new teacher to the school recently brought here from Wybourn School which had been closed by the comprehensive reorganisation. Wybourn had a reputation as a rough school and all the teachers they sent to us were hard cases.

Man Headley got his nickname "deadly Headley" from the accuracy with which he could throw a piece of chalk or a board rubber across a classroom to strike any selected student, - only Pop ward could come anywhere near him in this ability.

Our Art lessons Man Headley now turned into "reading lessons" with a hidden agenda, - as he was a head of year anyone who was any good at all at reading in these lessons would be "selected" or "volunteered" to read on stage in the hall in front of the whole year group 2 days later when it was his assembly. If I remember correctly, "Art lesson" (reading) was on Tuesday and his assemblies were on Thursday.

The object of these lessons for us was to read as badly as possible so as not to be selected for assembly reading but without getting shouted at for messing him about or having something thrown at you for for mispronouncing a word or hesitating. It was not an enjoyable hours lesson.

Needless to say, we were glad to see the end of these lessons at the end of the third year, and regardless of our interest or otherwise in art, Lass Brays sudden departure had made taking art as an examination option almost impossible.

[DaveH]

MAN BULL and MAN TANZA

Man Bull and Man Tanza were the "new" music department.

My original comments on them on Friends Reunited were,

Mr Bull (left) and Mr. Tanza (right) taught music and came from Wybourn in 1969. Before that music lessons were nothing more than a sing song with miss Moore or miss Grant plonking away at the piano, but with these two there were guitar groups, choirs, orchestras, bands, all playing modern music and putting on school concerts. This picture was taken after a concert featuring Beatles and Shadows music in June 1972.

Music lessons were really rubbish for us in the first 2 years of secondary school. Given that this was still the "swinging sixties" and that Britain was leading a musical revolution this didn't show in musical education in our school. Books containing hymns, old folk songs and songs from the eighteeth and nineteenth centuries were handed out and we had to sing along to whatever was chosen. frequently this would be a hymn like the school hymn "fight the good fight" which we would have to sing as a practice for the next assembly.

Our singing was accompanied by a piano, the only instrument in the "music room" which was otherwise just a normal classroom, except for a few plaster busts decorating the room of classical composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and Bach. The piano was played by either Lass Moore or by our first year French teacher Lass Grant aka "FiFi".

After 2 years of this we were fed up and had no intention of taking music any further, although some of us that had been to Norfolk Juniour School had almost taught ourselves how to read a bit of basic music and how to play a mouth organ or a few guitar chords which was possible due to a legacy of Man Rackham (head of the junior school) and his excellent music lessons and recorder groups.

Then along came these 2 guys just when it was too late for us to make any difference. They had a music room in the annexe, full of all sorts of instruments, they encouraged students to play rather than sing along and arranged peripatetic teachers for different instruments. They ran a song writing contest to write a "jingle" for the new style "radio station" assemblies, they set up choirs, orchestras and small groups all playing modern music to a reasonable standard and the musical input into school plays and shows increased dramatically. A group of brothers called "The Cosgroves" played electric guitars and they did The Shadows to perfection. Keith Cosgrove left school and worked with guitars in what was Bradleys Music shop in town.

Unfortunately it was only in my last term, and even then only when the pressure of exams had all but gone, did I really get into music at school, - what a missed opportunity.

[DaveH]

MAN PYLE

Man Pyle was "the new teacher".

My original comments on him on Friends Reunited were,

Mr Pyle was new to the school in 1972, having started the year I was leaving. I don't know what he taught (English I think) but he represented one of the new generation of teachers that were coming into the school as its status changed from secondary modern to comprehensive and with the impending raising of the school leaving age to 16 in 1973 teachers like him were going to be needed.

It was called ROSLA (Raising Of the School Leaving Age). It came in in 1973 and meant that all students had to stay at school until they were 16.

At the time Norfolk was 5 form entry, so had forms 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E which went through the school by just altering the number each year so that in the fourth year there was 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E at which point, aged 15, it was possible to leave and get a job. As it happened about 30% - 40% of students already stayed on to take exams, so we had forms 5A (5 Academic) which did mainly CSE with the better ones doing O-levels as well and 5C (5 Commercial) made up mainly of girls who would be taking City & Guilds or RSA exams in subjects like typing.

But from 1973 there would have to be 3 extra forms, 5B, 5D and 5E to keep on all those students who would resent the fact that they would have to be at school for an extra year. That would mean, amongst other things, extra teachers who would be able to offer something useful to these "ROSLA kids"

Thats where teachers like Man Pyle, and the other teacher who started that year Man Kite came in, along with a hosdt of others that started just after I left.

To get the story of these 2 and the others that followed them we need to ask our younger members and ex students of Norfolk such as Shellybarnes and Wayneybabes who were taught by them.

It would appear from what has been said about them earlier that both of them had long careers at the school and were there almost until the day it closed.

[DaveH]

To get the story of these 2 and the others that followed them we need to ask our younger members and ex students of Norfolk such as Shellybarnes and Wayneybabes who were taught by them.

I have now completed moving all my 1972 staff pictures from my leaving book from Friends Reunited onto Sheffield History.

Of course I have a few "extras" that never made it onto FR and I have stories with no pictures about other members of staff which I will put on here as and when.

However, if other members have pictures / stories about staff either before or after the period I have covered please post them here. I know both myself and Stuart0742 would be particularly interested in the earlier history of the school and of its final demise.

[DaveH]

Information obtained from my old school reports (yes, I have still got them!)

NORFOLK HIGH SCHOOL, July 1968

FORM 1A, tutor, Man Everatt

Religious Education Lass Johns

English Lass Kerr (later, Man Everatt)

French Lass Grant

Mathematics Man Everatt

Geography Man Gill

History Lass Kerr (later, Man Dixon)

Science Moggy Matthews

Art Lass Bray

Technical Drawing Man Piercy

Metalwork Man Cooke

Music Lass Grant

Physical Education Man McDermott

We also had a lesson in the library with Man Naylor

Lass Kerr was an interesting case, she started the same day as us (probably newly qualified going by her age) and lasted exactly 1 term until Christmas. She made our first term hell and she definately didn't like teaching boys. We were in trouble every lesson for the most trivial, ridiculous and deliberately construed reasons. "your pens the wrong shade of blue" (we had to use a fountain pen and not a biro), "your homework is too brief" (she set us 6 side essays for the following morning), "You haven't written it out twice, - once in rough and once in neat" (it had to be presented in copperplate handwriting using a school pen which cosisted of an old nib on the end of a piece of dowel and some ink in an inkwell). She taught us English and History so there was no getting away from her, in any case we spent almost every break and dinnertime writing out endless lines for her. "When I've broken your fingers by thrashing you with this ruler edge I want you to write out 100 times...." Her departure at Christmas was sudden and unexpected, - even Man Everatt described her departure as a "moonlight flit" but it was a real relief for us as the lessons became so much more relaxed that you could actually pay attention to them and learn something rather than worry about been in trouble all the time. Not only were we very glad to see her go I must admit she was the only teacher at the school that I really disliked because of the way she treated us. Some of the other teachers may have been strict disciplinarian hard cases but at least they had a sense of fairness which Lass Kerr seemed to lack.

[DaveH]

NORFOLK SCHOOL, July 1969 NOTE, now SCHOOL, not HIGH SCHOOL

FORM 2A, tutor, Pop Ward

Religious Education Lass Johns Oh dear she left early in the year so we had Pop Ward for Maths instead!

English Lass Harty

French Lass Curry

Mathematics Pop Ward

Geography Man Gill

History Man Dixon

Science Man Bridson

Art Lass Bray

Technical Drawing Man Longland

Woodwork Man Smith

Music Lass Moore

Physical Education Man McDermott

[DaveH]

NORFOLK SCHOOL, July 1970

FORM 3A, tutor, Man Gill

Religious Education Man Headley Oh dear, "assembly reading" would be a better name for it.

English Man Wright

French Man Chapman

Mathematics Man E. Smith

Geography Man Everatt

History Man Dixon

Science :

Biology Moggy Matthews

Chemistry Moggy Matthews

Physics Man Riley

Art Lass Bray Oh dear she married and left, so another reading lesson with Man Headley instead!

Technical Drawing Man Piercy

Woodwork Man J. Smith

Physical Education Man McDermott

[DaveH]

NORFOLK SCHOOL, July 1971

FORM 4A, tutor, Man Rosenberg

English Man Wright

French Man Chapman

Mathematics Man Rosenberg

Geography Man Gill

Civics Man Whitham

Science :

Chemistry Moggy Matthews

Physics Man Riley

[DaveH]

NORFOLK SCHOOL, February 1972

FORM 5A, tutor, Man Chapman

English Man Wright

French Man Chapman

Mathematics Man Rosenberg

Geography Man Gill

Civics Man Whitham

Science :

Chemistry Moggy Matthews

Physics Man Riley

By the time we had finished our CSE / O-Level exams in July 1972 the record at the top of the charts was Alice Coopers "School's Out", and for most of our year group, including Stuart0742, it was!

[DaveH]

Back to school names,

My 1967 25 yards swimming certificate from Juniour school refers to the school as

NORFOLK COUNTY JUNIOR SCHOOL

A strange name for 2 reasons

1]

I don't remember the school ever being referred to by this name

2]

The word "Norfolk" comes from the Duke of Norfolk who owned the land in south east Sheffield that the school was built on (hence "Norfolk Park", "Norfolk Park Estate", "Norfolk School" etc.

But "Norfolk County" sort of implies that the school should be near Norwich somewhere in East Anglia.

[DaveH]

NORFOLK JUNIOR SCHOOL, Brimmersfield Road, Sheffield. 1963 to 1967

Headmaster Mr. Rackham

Deputy Mr. Walsh

Form 1B, Miss Lander

Form 1A, Mrs Alcock

Form 2A, Mrs Rowland

Form 3A, Mrs Smith (aka "Granny Smith")

Form 4A, Mr. Walsh

At Junior school we started using the "Man and Lass" notation but usually stuck to the more formal style of address given here.

I feel sure that there were 2 forms (A's and B's) in every year but can't remember any of the ones I didn't have.

I think there was also a librarian, and there were certainly specialist staff that worked with the disabled students on that forbidden top corridor to the "special unit".

There was also a male teacher who's name I have forgotten that was brought in just to teach us French from the second year as part of an experiment to see if starting a foreign language early made you better at it. So by the time NJS students got to secondary school, they had a 2 year start on kids from other Junior schools at French and they could see how we compared at the end of secondary education. Most of us that went through this, myself included, are living proof that starting French at age 9 instead of 11 makes no difference at all to how good you will be at it when you get to 16.