St. Kenelm's C.E. Primary School, Romsley
Centenary Celebrations
1915 – 2015
Memories of Mrs Betty Shaw - Pupil - 1940s
My memories are rather vague as it was a long time ago.
I started school in the 1940s just after my fifth birthday. I remember my first day as it was cold and snowy. When I walked into my classroom there was a big coke fire in the corner and hanging nearby were the coats to keep warm. There were only fifteen children in my class and our teacher was Miss Payne. She was the most kind and wonderful teacher. We were taught the alphabet, times tables and how to tell the time. We were all given a small bottle of milk to drink at break time and in the winter Miss Payne warmed the milk and added cocoa powder as a treat.
Year 1 and Year 2 were mixed. Year 1 sat on one side of the room and Year 2 on the other. Our teacher then was Mrs Marshall, who was much stricter but still very nice. Each morning we had to recite our times tables until we got them right. Both boys and girls were also taught how to knit and sew.
There were only three classes in the school. I didn't go into the third class (Mr Dudley's) as I left to go to Tenterfields in Halesowen.
The school entrance was at the back of the school and the toilets were outside. The boys and girls had separate playgrounds.
Because I was at school during the war if the siren sounded we all had to troop down the road to a house that had a very big cellar. We had to stay there until the all clear was sounded.