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Norfolk School, Arbourthorne


DaveH

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the toilets as i remember where upstairs so they must have been moved from the time you went.

I can not recall any toilets upstairs, there were the 2 Dave has mentioned, then 2 on the ground floor in the new block, adjacent to the main entrance. There was a cloakroom on the corner, after man Chapmans but before the staffroom/library corridor. Not sure about the other end of the staffroom corridor, I suppose there must have been to make the building symmetrical.

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I can not recall any toilets upstairs, there were the 2 Dave has mentioned, then 2 on the ground floor in the new block, adjacent to the main entrance. There was a cloakroom on the corner, after man Chapmans but before the staffroom/library corridor. Not sure about the other end of the staffroom corridor, I suppose there must have been to make the building symmetrical.

The rooms you are describing Stuart were just cloakrooms but were converted into small teaching rooms (classrooms) the year we left,. Work started on the conversion while we were there but we never got to see the finished result. However in the summer holidays 1972 I spent a fair bit of time with the technician Pete harrison making hundreds of aluminium coat hooks which were then fastened to the corridor walls outside classrooms to replace the cloakrooms.

As you say the main toilets in the old block were downstairs and quite large, their upstairs replacements must have been much smaller to fit them in as there was less room upstairs with the toilet block being only one floor high.

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The rooms you are describing Stuart were just cloakrooms but were converted into small teaching rooms (classrooms) the year we left,. Work started on the conversion while we were there but we never got to see the finished result. However in the summer holidays 1972 I spent a fair bit of time with the technician Pete harrison making hundreds of aluminium coat hooks which were then fastened to the corridor walls outside classrooms to replace the cloakrooms.

As you say the main toilets in the old block were downstairs and quite large, their upstairs replacements must have been much smaller to fit them in as there was less room upstairs with the toilet block being only one floor high.

So where were the toilets upstairs

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So where were the toilets upstairs

From wayneybabes description I get the impression they were on that very generous landing at the top of the stairs but I will let wayneybabes clarify that for us.

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So where were the toilets upstairs

To avoid going off topic in another topic (Dams, Wheels and Mills on the Rivelin), DaveH referred to Mr Matthews as Man Matthews, would we not have called him Moggy Matthews.

So, where did the nickname "Moggy" come from?

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To avoid going off topic in another topic (Dams, Wheels and Mills on the Rivelin), DaveH referred to Mr Matthews as Man Matthews, would we not have called him Moggy Matthews.

So, where did the nickname "Moggy" come from?

Just being consistent with the Man and Lass system that seems unique to our school, but of course you're right. Whole generations of students must have called him Moggy Matthews (Just like we called Man Ward Pop Ward). I don't know where these names have come from because we inherited them from a previous older generation of students.

So waynetbabes, if Man Matthews was there in your day ( he stayed there until he retired I believe and I last saw him down there around 1985-ish) what did you call him?

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Guest wayneybabes

DaveH, you are quite right. the toilets where at the top of the stairs in the building that was on the far right in this picture of the middle school. the girls toilet was next to the stairs, the boys was next to it so it must have been those rooms you mentioned.

As for Matthews, i dont remember him in person but a friend in my year remembers him and yes, he refered to him as 'moggy' matthews

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DaveH, you are quite right. the toilets where at the top of the stairs in the building that was on the far right in this picture of the middle school. the girls toilet was next to the stairs, the boys was next to it so it must have been those rooms you mentioned.

As for Matthews, i dont remember him in person but a friend in my year remembers him and yes, he refered to him as 'moggy' matthews

The building on the far right of this picture appears to be the old girls toilets as it is at ground level and is only one room tall. However, just off the picture the building rises to 2 floors in a main staircase and it would be at the top, first floor level of this staircase.

Was there a similar set of boy / girl toilets at the other side of the school near the old nursery school to keep the building symetrical?

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Guest wayneybabes

just off the picture the building rises to 2 floors in a main staircase and it would be at the top, first floor level of this staircase.

Sorry, this is the building i meant!!!

Was there a similar set of boy / girl toilets at the other side of the school near the old nursery school to keep the building symetrical?

No. As i mentioned in the post with your photo under the bridge, the building at the nursery end was demolished and only left a 4 foot wall and made into a runway leading into the staircase. That will be why they moved the boys toilets next to the girls toilets at the top of the staircase at the side where the girls toilets used to be downstairs. Hope this all makes sense!

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No. As i mentioned in the post with your photo under the bridge, the building at the nursery end was demolished and only left a 4 foot wall and made into a runway leading into the staircase. That will be why they moved the boys toilets next to the girls toilets at the top of the staircase at the side where the girls toilets used to be downstairs. Hope this all makes sense!

Interesting,

So they knocked half the toilets down in the old block (Cradock Road end), closed the other big toilet block (Brimmersfield Road end) and replaced BOTH with a 2 smaller sets of toilets at the top of the Brimmersfield Road staircase.

I assume that the school roll must have shrunk a bit from when I was there as this would reduce the number of toilets in the school quite a lot. As Stuart0742 has said previously the only other toilets in the school were in the new tower on the ground floor next to the entrance and directly beneath the school hall, boys and girls toilets being seperated by the boiler room and that funny black metal staircase at the far end.

In the 1960's Norfolk had around 650 students, but this went up to about 900 in 1969 with the comprehensive system and the closing of Wybourn school (that's why me and Stuart were in a class of 42 that year). the year after we left (1973) the school leaving age was raised from 15 to 16 (ROSLA) and this would have raised the school population again but not by that much as many students by then voluntarily stayed on to 16 in order to do CSE / GCE "O" / RSA exams, - like me and Stuart. I would estimate about 1000 students at that time. In 1977 Norfolk had, for a few years at least, its own sixth form, my brother was in it but I had to go to Ashleigh for this level of education. This would have created a handfull of extra, older, students, I estaimate no more than one form (30) in total.

More students means, amongst other things, a requirement for more toilets so if they reduced them after that presumably there must have followed a drop in students numbers.

I am also drawn to this conclusion by the demolition and removal of the annexe buildings well before the final days of the school. Instead of converting cloakrooms into classrooms as we did in 1972 they were now removing classrooms / teaching space.

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CHRISTMAS 1969

Here is a scene from the school Christmas production taken in December 1969

The location is the school hall in the new extension building.

QUIZ QUESTION

Which Sheffield History member is shown on stage in this picture dressed as Father Christmas?

No takers on this very easy question so far then?

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No takers on this very easy question so far then?

Is it the member who did one of the special effects the following year or is it me

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Is it the member who did one of the special effects the following year or is it me

You knew it was you dressed as Father Christmas all the time!

However, now you remind me, Christmas 1970.

Not a Nativity but a bit more sophisticated (until we got involved) it was Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

I was the special effects man. In the Alchemist Story (in which Michael Freeman was the alchemist) I was hidden under a table with a powerful electronic flash gun. Every time Fraz said "...and now the secret powder" and acted to add the magic powder I had to set the flash off. As it had its own external charging unit and it took ages to charge we didn't always get the timing right and I nearly blinded him with it once.

In one performance there was a power workers strike (1970's remember) and all the electrics went off, all the stage lighting, everything, - except of course that external battery powered charging unit for those effects which continued to give service as normal.

Anyway, you were in that Christmas play as well. What did you play in that? I can't remember who you played and I have no photos of you in it because I was stuck under a table charging up a flash gun!

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Guest wayneybabes

Just a few pictures taken yesterday with my phone

1: The site of the old Spring Land Care Home

2: View of middle school taken from Spring Lane

3: Spring Lane towards tram stop

4: The Dinnerladies 'Cookhouse'

5: First School Hall

6: View of school from Spring Lane tram stop

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Just a few pictures taken yesterday with my phone

1: The site of the old Spring Land Care Home

2: View of middle school taken from Spring Lane

3: Spring Lane towards tram stop

4: The Dinnerladies 'Cookhouse'

5: First School Hall

6: View of school from Spring Lane tram stop

Thanks wayneybabes. The old cook house. Now 2 of my aunties worked in there as cooks so this meant I was always first in the queue for extra helpings. I believe part of this building has been demolished, the kitchens are shown in your picture but they were once joined to a large dining hall which was split into 2 for junior and senior school. Some of your other pictures indicate that the dining hall has gone.

I was at junior school from 1963 tp 1967 so probably all the teachers I knew there had already gone by the time you go there.

In junior school it was Mr / Miss / Mrs rather than man and lass.

Headmaster, Mr. Rackham

Deputy Head, Mr. Walsh

Teaching Staff

Miss Lander, Mrs. Alcock, Mrs Rowland, Mr. O'Leary, Mrs Smith (an old lady known as "granny Smith") and a couple of others I can bearly remember, Mr Beaumont?? and the woman who had the library??

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I was at junior school from 1963 tp 1967 so probably all the teachers I knew there had already gone by the time you go there.

In junior school it was Mr / Miss / Mrs rather than man and lass.

Headmaster, Mr. Rackham

Deputy Head, Mr. Walsh

Teaching Staff

Miss Lander, Mrs. Alcock, Mrs Rowland, Mr. O'Leary, Mrs Smith (an old lady known as "granny Smith") and a couple of others I can bearly remember, Mr Beaumont?? and the woman who had the library??

Having named all the teachers I can remember from junior school we now come back to the secondary school.

When I left Norfolk in July 1972 all the girls seemed to have autograph books and collected autographs of their school friends and teachers with some personal messages of best wishes for the future amongst them.

Always being one to "go one better" I went round with my camera and photographed all the teachers (or as many as I could). I developed and printed the pictures during August after leaving and mounted them in an album, my alternative to an autograph book. In September, having started A levels at Ashleigh I returned to Norfolk on a visit to get the teachers to sign (autograph) my album, which they did. To this day it remains a memory of "the best years of my life" at Norfolk school.

The photos which follow, all from 1972, have graced the pages of Friend Reunited (Norfolk School) since July 2004. It was there in 2008 that our member Karen Marsh saw them when she was doing research for ex-students who made the film "Dead Easy" with teacher Eric Smith and the 70's and of course then came into contact with me. The pictures got a lot of attention both on Friends Reunited and at the region on film showing of Eric Smith's films where they were on display. I hope that ex-members of the school visiting Sheffield History enjoy them as much.

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MAN THOMPSON

Man Thompson was the headmaster.

My original comments on him on Friends Reunited were,

Mr Thompson, the headmaster, sat at his desk in his office in 1972.

If ever you were sat in his office getting this view of him it usually meant you were in big trouble

He had this seat which you sat in just about where I am stood to take this picture, you sort of sank in to it so that you were lower than him and easily intimidated by his highness and posture. Most people, but not all, that got a view of him like this were in big trouble (remember these were the days when corporal punishment was acceptable and normal for most offences).

Sometimes trouble could start from the most trivial of things, Stuart0742 may remember a day in 1971 when we were both summond to his office, seperately, to receive this view and a good telling off and dressing down from him even though we were the schools star students at the time having just returned from Science Fair 1971 at Granville College (see seperate thread).

Our offence on this occasion, - we had laughed and joked about the predicament of a fellow student, a "friend" of ours who had been permenantly excluded (expelled) for stealing from the school.

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Guest shellybarnes

In the Norfolk Park in the 1970's thread I have posted several pictures of the estate taken from the top floor of the tower block which used to stand between Northern Avenue / Spring Lane and Park Grange Road.

Whilst going through my old negatives I find I had the sense at the time to go to the other side of the block and take pictures facing the opposite way, towards Arbourthorne and the Manor. Directly in front of this block was my old school, Norfolk, now mainly all demolished except for the old Junior school on Brimmersfield Road which is now the pupil referral unit.

I thought these pictures would be of particular interest to my friend Stuart0742 and SteveHB as they are both Norfolk old boys who once wore that black tie with white and gold diagonal stripes.

Hi Dave i am fairly new to the site and have been reading through the norfolk school topic, I went to norfolk from 74 to 76 i was from the wybourn but dont know if i was sent to this school because of that, i went to park hill primary (another school that is no more) and I think that you would have gone to norfolk or hurlfied from there anyway.

I found your topic very interesting and fetched lots of memories back about names and palces within, great pictures as well Thankyou Michele

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Hi Dave i am fairly new to the site and have been reading through the norfolk school topic, I went to norfolk from 74 to 76 i was from the wybourn but dont know if i was sent to this school because of that, i went to park hill primary (another school that is no more) and I think that you would have gone to norfolk or hurlfied from there anyway.

I found your topic very interesting and fetched lots of memories back about names and palces within, great pictures as well Thankyou Michele

Thanks shelly, and welcome to Sheffield History!

74 to 76, -only 2 years at Norfolk? You must have left early and gone to another secondary school as well, or started there late from another secondary school.

Park Hill Junior School (the one in the middle of the Park Hill flats complex) had always been a feeder school to Norfolk even before the closure of Wybourn school in 1969 when Sheffield Education Committee introduced the comprehensive system across the City, so anyone going to Park Hill Junior would be expected to go to Norfolk.

When Wybourn did close its students were "bused" to other local schools. There was a choice but one of them was Norfolk (hence the large classes that year and another was Hurlfield. I think some may have also gone to my wifes old school, Waltheof.

Interestingly Norfolk secondary school had its swimming lessons at Park Baths first thing in the morning, easy for the Park Hill / Hyde Park kids to get to but for us it was a bus ride using a free "bus token", made of plastic which looked exactly like a milk token.

Later when Hurlfield had its own swimming pool we used to go up there instead during normal school lesson time as it was much nearer.

Interestingly the Juniors at Norfolk had a bus laid on to take them to Woodthorpe School which had its own baths.

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Guest shellybarnes

Thanks shelly, and welcome to Sheffield History!

74 to 76, -only 2 years at Norfolk? You must have left early and gone to another secondary school as well, or started there late from another secondary school.

Park Hill Junior School (the one in the middle of the Park Hill flats complex) had always been a feeder school to Norfolk even before the closure of Wybourn school in 1969 when Sheffield Education Committee introduced the comprehensive system across the City, so anyone going to Park Hill Junior would be expected to go to Norfolk.

When Wybourn did close its students were "bused" to other local schools. There was a choice but one of them was Norfolk (hence the large classes that year and another was Hurlfield. I think some may have also gone to my wifes old school, Waltheof.

Interestingly Norfolk secondary school had its swimming lessons at Park Baths first thing in the morning, easy for the Park Hill / Hyde Park kids to get to but for us it was a bus ride using a free "bus token", made of plastic which looked exactly like a milk token.

Later when Hurlfield had its own swimming pool we used to go up there instead during normal school lesson time as it was much nearer.

Interestingly the Juniors at Norfolk had a bus laid on to take them to Woodthorpe School which had its own baths.

More memories bus tokens, cant remember when or why I used them but definately did, Unfortunately I was a problem child (not like yourself) and the two years I was there I didnt go very often, much to my dissapointment now, I then went to live with dad at parsons cross and went to yew lane school.

I do remember all the names Mr Headley was the headteacher and mrs Moore was the dep head I think.

I hated doing P E and every week I refused or deliberatly forgot my kit I would be sent to Mr headley or Miss Moore for the cane and to sit outside the office untill PE was over, Untill one week the pe teacher (I forgot her name but was the same as the male pe teacher ? Smith) decided she had enough of sending me to the office and fetched in A kit for me

This was several sizes to big, big white baggy t shirt and enormous navy blue pants slippers a couple of sizes to big, and off i was marched down to netball.

I played netball trying to hold the pants up and kicking slippers everywhere it was really funny and despite everything I really enjoyed it.

My other memory of the school was being allowed to work in the office for two weeks making coffee and learning to use the telephone system which was an original switchbouard you know the ones you used to pull out and connect into another, I think I eventually got the hang of it, but not without a lot of mistakes like cutting everbody off

and putting people through to the wrong ones good fun. I spoke to my mum and she said I would have gone to Norfolk anyhow, I lived on the hyde park flats previously. we moved to the wybourn as I was going from one to the other.

I think from what I have read about you you did photography at Norfolk, I have two pictures of sheffield city centre which my sister debs did whilst at norfolk (she is two years younger than me ) That I would like to add but dont know what sizes they need to be could you help, One is taken from a roof top and she can remember where, I am sure someone will know.

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More memories bus tokens, cant remember when or why I used them but definately did, Unfortunately I was a problem child (not like yourself) and the two years I was there I didnt go very often, much to my dissapointment now, I then went to live with dad at parsons cross and went to yew lane school.

I do remember all the names Mr Headley was the headteacher and mrs Moore was the dep head I think.

I hated doing P E and every week I refused or deliberatly forgot my kit I would be sent to Mr headley or Miss Moore for the cane and to sit outside the office untill PE was over, Untill one week the pe teacher (I forgot her name but was the same as the male pe teacher ? Smith) decided she had enough of sending me to the office and fetched in A kit for me

This was several sizes to big, big white baggy t shirt and enormous navy blue pants slippers a couple of sizes to big, and off i was marched down to netball.

I played netball trying to hold the pants up and kicking slippers everywhere it was really funny and despite everything I really enjoyed it.

My other memory of the school was being allowed to work in the office for two weeks making coffee and learning to use the telephone system which was an original switchbouard you know the ones you used to pull out and connect into another, I think I eventually got the hang of it, but not without a lot of mistakes like cutting everbody off

and putting people through to the wrong ones good fun. I spoke to my mum and she said I would have gone to Norfolk anyhow, I lived on the hyde park flats previously. we moved to the wybourn as I was going from one to the other.

I think from what I have read about you you did photography at Norfolk, I have two pictures of sheffield city centre which my sister debs did whilst at norfolk (she is two years younger than me ) That I would like to add but dont know what sizes they need to be could you help, One is taken from a roof top and she can remember where, I am sure someone will know.

When I was there Man Thompson was headmaster (photo in post #67 above), Man Whitham was deputy head and Lass Moore was senior mistress (deputy head-ess in charge of girls things, mainly discipline). At the time Man Headley was a head of year, I think the third or fourth year. Photos of all 3 of these to follow in future posts.

The use of outsized "borrowed" sports kit seemed to be a standard punishment for forgetting your own. Like you neither me or Stuart0742 liked the sport lessons and "opted out" as soon as we could. In our case the school was only too willing to let us do that as it allowed us to "opt in" to something else more academic which would give us another exam grade and look better in school exam achievements.

Now that telephone switchboard, - it was fitted by the school technician, Peter Harrison (also got pictures of him) in 1972. He had a nack of finding old unused obsolete equipment and putting it to good use. I helped him do it in July 1972 after my exams but before I left (along with doing those coat hooks down the corridors as well). We also went up on the roof to put the wiring in and down the air raid shelter under the annexe to investigate running a line down to the Gym. Unfortunately my partner in crime had left school straight after his exams and missed out on this because he was not staying on in school education and already had a job lined up, - as a telephone engineer!!! (could have ended up fittinf old switchboards in). His name Stuart0742 is based on the old dialing code for Sheffield, later to become the current 01142.

At the Eric Smith film do last November one of the people we met was the old school secretary that used to work with that switchboard. We recognised her straight away and she certainly remembered us, even after 36 years, but strangely neither of us can now remember her name, - and I don't have a picture of her either.

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I think from what I have read about you you did photography at Norfolk, I have two pictures of sheffield city centre which my sister debs did whilst at norfolk (she is two years younger than me ) That I would like to add but dont know what sizes they need to be could you help, One is taken from a roof top and she can remember where, I am sure someone will know.

The actual size of the photographs in terms of print size is not important as they need to be scanned to get a digital copy on your computer.

When they are scanned to make this copy the resolution in dots per inch (dpi) will need to be set and the output file type which is usually jpg.

The important thing about size is that to upload to the site the file must be less than 2megabites (2Mb), so when scanning the original print the resolution and jpg compression should be set to give a file of around 1 to 1.8 Mb for best results.

Getting the picture into this file is the hard bit, to get it uploaded into your post is easier.

When you are posting a message go to the box under the message but above the add new post button which is called attachments. This box has 2 buttons, Browse and Upload.

Click the browse button, this opens a smaller window in which you can find the picture file on your computer that you want to put in the post. When you find it, click on it and click open, this causes the smaller window to close but the name and location of the file will appear in the attachments box. When it does you can click the Upload button. It will then take a minute or so with an animated circling logo showing to upload your picture and it will say upload OK when it is done.

If you now click the normal add reply or add post button your posted message will include a reduced thumbnail of your picture. Clicking on this, when signed in as a member, will display the full picture.

Look forward to seeing some of your pictures.

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More memories bus tokens, .......................... I have two pictures of sheffield city centre which my sister debs did whilst at norfolk (she is two years younger than me ) That I would like to add but dont know what sizes they need to be could you help, One is taken from a roof top and she can remember where, I am sure someone will know.

Hi Shelley, we have quite a few ex Norfolk pupils (DaveH seems to call them students) on here, but there again the police call prisoners, customers these days.

Anyway to your photos, the important thing is the file size once they are scanned, it must be less than 2Mb. Once you have these you can simply add them to a posting.

If you need help uploading them, either myself or Dave will help

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Hi Shelley, we have quite a few ex Norfolk pupils (DaveH seems to call them students) on here, but there again the police call prisoners, customers these days.

Anyway to your photos, the important thing is the file size once they are scanned, it must be less than 2Mb. Once you have these you can simply add them to a posting.

If you need help uploading them, either myself or Dave will help

Remember that DaveH is, quote you Stuart, "an old school teacher" who teaches sciences, so in my definitions.

STUDENT, a person carrying out an approved course of study which if successful will achieve a recognised qualification. This usually refers to older students, e.g. college and university, but these days is also used for school aged "pupils" as they fulfill the requirements of the definition as practically no one leaves school without a single qualification of some sort these days.

PUPIL, a word used in biology, anatomy and optimology to describe the black central part of the eye which is the aperture in the iris through which light must pass to enter the eye. Not much about going to school or studying in that definition!

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Guest shellybarnes

Hi Shelley, we have quite a few ex Norfolk pupils (DaveH seems to call them students) on here, but there again the police call prisoners, customers these days.

Anyway to your photos, the important thing is the file size once they are scanned, it must be less than 2Mb. Once you have these you can simply add them to a posting.

If you need help uploading them, either myself or Dave will help

Hi Stuart I have tried to download load pictures without any luck, as soon as I click on the picture the download button dissapears. What do i do now I have reduced them in size is it possible to send you by email Thanks Michele

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