Norfolk School, Arbourthorne

[Guest wayneybabes]

Picture 6

That picture of Man (woodwork) Smiths woodwork room taken in the 1930's when the school was new looks exactly the same as when I was there in 1970, not changed at all.

I could even tell you which bench me and Stuart worked at

I thought the same thing. Also, the home economics room (picture05) was my form room in my first two years. i sat at the bench at the back next to the open door leading to the other classroom

[Guest wayneybabes]

Picture 4

Only 4 houses and not 6 in 1953 then , I suppose the school was smaller then in number of students and only needed 4 houses.

Having said that, the school I work at is MASSIVE, nearly 2000 students, and that only has 4 houses, in comparison Norfolk had 650 students in 1968 before going comprehensive and about 900 a year later when it took in students from the Wybourn. I suppose on the late 1970's when it briefly had a 6th form it could have topped 1000'

I am having difficulty identifying teachers, and recognise no students in this 1953 picture.

My friend, the ex school technician Peter harrison would probably know as he left around this time, possibly a year or two earlier.

Think i mentioned earlier in this thread that by the time i went to the comprehensive, they had done away with the houses. we just earned merit points

[DaveH]

I thought the same thing. Also, the home economics room (picture05) was my form room in my first two years. i sat at the bench at the back next to the open door leading to the other classroom

Never got to use the home economics rooms (a "girls subject" at the time) and they were never form rooms, but obviously I know where they were and what they were like.

There was also that "housecraft flat" which seemed to be out of bounds to boys as well.

[DaveH]

Think i mentioned earlier in this thread that by the time i went to the comprehensive, they had done away with the houses. we just earned merit points

I thought the main purpose of houses was just for school sports and sports day type contests.

As a teacher I know that house systems did go out of fashion in the 1980's and 1990's BUT became popular again after the release of the first Harry Potter film because Hogwarts was most definately a "House System" sort of school.

[Guest wayneybabes]

I thought the main purpose of houses was just for school sports and sports day type contests.

As a teacher I know that house systems did go out of fashion in the 1980's and 1990's BUT became popular again after the release of the first Harry Potter film because Hogwarts was most definately a "House System" sort of school.

......come to think of it, they did away with the sports day as well.

remember doing it in the Junior School. Never won anything though!. Also remember the swimming galas down at park hill baths....now i did win something at one of those, again, in the Junior School

Hence, this is why the Juniors, for me, was the best of the three schools

[Guest wayneybabes]

Never got to use the home economics rooms (a "girls subject" at the time) and they were never form rooms, but obviously I know where they were and what they were like.

There was also that "housecraft flat" which seemed to be out of bounds to boys as well.

A womans place is in the kitchen or behind a sewing machine

i'm going to hide before Auntie Suzy comes on here

EDIT: Just realised that i took up Textiles in my options for the final two years he he

[DaveH]

......come to think of it, they did away with the sports day as well.

WHAT!!!!

Me and Stuart had to suffer, and I mean SUFFER sports days because we hated them and they always tried to get us involved in some way.

then, after we leave they scrap sports days and everyone after us gets an easy time of it!

Typical!!

They even introduced those fancy technological language laboratories with booths and tape recorders after we had left after suffering 5 years of learning every variation of French irregular verbs by rote

Now all say together,

"Etre, means to be, Je suis, Tu es, Il et, Elle ette, Nous Sommes, Vous Etes, Ils ont, Elles ont"

{Or something like that}

[DaveH]

A womans place is in the kitchen or behind a sewing machine

i'm going to hide before Auntie Suzy comes on here

EDIT: Just realised that i took up Textiles in my options for the final two years

When auntie suzy sees that you are so dead.

How much not to send her a PM to tip her off about it? ;-)

[Guest johnbaz]

I attended Norfolk school for just a few weeks when my parents were fiddled out of their deposit on a house so we had to move in with my granparents for a while on Dagnham road, this was in the mid 60's..

I was a bit of a nuisance and was always fighting, when i left to go to another school, all the kids formed two lines to the gate and gave me the slow clap- couldn't wait to see the back of me

It's all a little embarrassing now

John :)

[Guest wayneybabes]

When auntie suzy sees that you are so dead.

How much not to send her a PM to tip her off about it?

i'll see if i can wangle you into the Junior School to take some piccies!!!

Deal?

he he

[Guest wayneybabes]

I was a bit of a nuisance and was always fighting, when i left to go to another school, all the kids formed two lines to the gate and gave me the slow clap- couldn't wait to see the back of me

What about the teachers, what did they do?

[DaveH]

I attended Norfolk school for just a few weeks when my parents were fiddled out of their deposit on a house so we had to move in with my granparents for a while on Dagnham road, this was in the mid 60's..

I was a bit of a nuisance and was always fighting, when i left to go to another school, all the kids formed two lines to the gate and gave me the slow clap- couldn't wait to see the back of me

It's all a little embarrassing now

John

Was this the Junior or Secondary school Johnbaz?

With a reputation for fighting and with Norfolk being a fairly rough school perhaps being slow clapped out was a fairly mild departure.

I was at Norfolk Juniors 1963-67 and secondary 1967- so we are probably quite similar in age.

I certainly know several ex students from Dagenham Road, which was after all directly opposite theIinfant & Nursery school entrance

[DaveH]

i'll see if i can wangle you into the Junior School to take some piccies!!!

Deal?

Well, seeing as you wangled yourself into the school and did such a good job of BOTH the pictures and the video I can see my way to letting you off this time.

It may be a different ball game trying to get back in now though wayneybabes,

The school has now reopened and is in daily use as a "referal centre" or whatever its posh modern politically correct name is.

[DaveH]

What about the teachers, what did they do?

As a teacher I suppose I should have an answer for that!

...but I haven't :unsure:

[Guest wayneybabes]

right, here goes......

here are a few of my school reports!. These are the only ones i have left after the floods of 2007 destroyed most of them (they are in a drawer at work!)

firstly, a couple from the Junior School

and three from the Comprehensive School

go on Dave, do your worst

[Guest johnbaz]

What about the teachers, what did they do?

Ha!!- it was alot of years ago, i couldn't remember the pupils never mind the teachers if my life depended on it!!

Was this the Junior or Secondary school Johnbaz?

With a reputation for fighting and with Norfolk being a fairly rough school perhaps being slow clapped out was a fairly mild departure.

I was at Norfolk Juniors 1963-67 and secondary 1967- so we are probably quite similar in age.

I certainly know several ex students from Dagenham Road, which was after all directly opposite theIinfant & Nursery school entrance

Hi Dave

I'm 52 years old now , it was the junior school i think...

We only stayed at my grandparents a short while until a house came up, i think the next school i went to was Arbourthorne central, again it was only for a short while but i do recall getting a small bible/hymme book, apparently as soon as you learnt to read, you were given one with your name inside!!

Cheers, John :)

[DaveH]

right, here goes......

here are a few of my school reports!. These are the only ones i have left after the floods of 2007 destroyed most of them (they are in a drawer at work!)

firstly, a couple from the Junior School

and three from the Comprehensive School

go on Dave, do your worst

I'm not going to comment on someone else's report that I personally was not involved in the teaching of or the writing of the report.

Will say one thing though.

Not many schools have reports like that any more,

handwritten!!!!

one short sentence for each subject!!!

These days most reports are done on computer using advanced systems like ePortal or SISRA and you would get a full page in a report book for every subject.

[DaveH]

Hi Dave

I'm 52 years old now , it was the junior school i think...

We only stayed at my grandparents a short while until a house came up, i think the next school i went to was Arbourthorne central, again it was only for a short while but i do recall getting a small bible/hymme book, apparently as soon as you learnt to read, you were given one with your name inside!!

Cheers, John

Probably missed you by a year or 3 then johnbaz, and you will have missed my younger brother by a similar amount in the opposite age direction

Now a move to Arbourthorne Central wasn't that far, just up along Eastern Avenue.

Did you get a house on the Arbourthorne?

Now as far as I know Arbourthorne Central kids moved up to Hurlfield school for secondary.

If you went to Hurlfield then the Norfolk kids really would have disliked you :o

[DaveH]

Ha!!- it was alot of years ago, i couldn't remember the pupils never mind the teachers if my life depended on it!!

I'm sure that Man Rackham (headmaster) and Man Welsh (deputy head) would have sorted out any bullying if they knew what was going on.

[Guest wayneybabes]

i know its not Norfolk School but heres a few pictures on picturesheffield.com of spring lane/city road before supertram

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t04201.jpg

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t04209.jpg

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t02152.jpg

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t02148.jpg

[Guest wayneybabes]

and just the one of norfolk school

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/s22918.jpg

[DaveH]

i know its not Norfolk School but heres a few pictures on picturesheffield.com of spring lane/city road before supertram

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t04201.jpg

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t04209.jpg

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t02152.jpg

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/t02148.jpg

Some nice links there wayneybabes,

2 shots of what appears to be the building of the supertram network along Spring Lane and City Road

2 shots which predate Supertram,

One of them shows the Travellers Rest on City Road when it was actually still a boozer, even if it was full of grumpy old men

Other shows the road junction and has the block of 2 houses on the corner (the green house and its semi detached neighbour) which were demolished to allow the Supertram to take the corner.

Supertram can't do sharp bends apparently

[DaveH]

and just the one of norfolk school

http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/s22918.jpg

Great picture though.

The old school, the bridge, the tower block, the main entrance, Man Thompsons office, the hall, -all exactly as I remember it.

Those scratches make it look like an amateur shot and it seems to date to around my time.

At first I actually thought it was one of my pictures (it isn't! )

But it goes well with my picture in post ~16 which is taken of the same area from a different direction and viewpoint.

Both shots have a VW Beetle in with the staff cars, wonder if it is the same one?

I think the one in my picture belonged to Miss Halford / Mrs Mayhu (Lass Halford to us) who taught, amongst other things, science.

[DaveH]

The signs referring to the "STUDENT INCLUSION SUPPORT CENTRE" seem to have been removed and replaced with this one at the main entrance, now on Spring Lane

So now we are called "SHEFFIELD EAST MULTI AGENCY SUPPORT TEAM"

When I was walking past the newly refurbished school to take a closer look I noticed that the new building in front of the old disabled students corridor still has disabled access, a ramp that you could get a wheelchair up.

Whats more, the steps have been removed near the main entrance to the old headmasters office and this has become a ramp as well.

Then there are those windey paths outside which, think about it, avoid internal stairs

Basically the school has been made "disability friendly"

Then there's the new name "multi agency support" rather than "referral unit"

I now get the impression that the school has retained and taken on extra in the way of support for physically disabled students rather than being an exclusion unit for unruly students from other schools across the City.

I hope so,

I feel much happier about my old school being a caring place for unfortunate youngsters with disabilities rather than it being a dumping ground for the juvenile delinquent "unteachables" that nobody else wants.

[Guest wayneybabes]

Just been lent the official opening booklet from the school to scan in and put on here

enjoy peeps!!!

apologies for the image sizes