The meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday 23rd June was rather special. St. Kenelm's School, Romsley, has been on the same site for 100 years this year and of course the RHHS was delighted to celebrate such an important event. Thanks must go to Ruth Harper for all her hard work. She had asked former pupils, past and present members of staff and anyone who had worked at the school to contribute to the evening's entertainment, which was illustrated by a display of photographs, shown by Julian Hunt.
Mrs. Shackleton and her staff welcomed everyone to look around the school. The children acted as charming guides for the visitors, including many former head teachers and Mrs. Ruddick, the widow of Mr. Ruddick. The meeting took place in the school hall, which was as full as it could be. It was hard to realise that this hall was the entire school a 100 years ago, when it was built in 1915, and even harder to imagine that three classes worked in such a small area, although the pupils did go to the Church Hall for their dinners.
There were so many memories and reminiscences going back to the 1940s and beyond, read by the people who had actually attended the school. Gradually a picture of the development of the school evolved. As the school changed over the years it expanded to cope with the growing population of the village. Several extensions were added including inside toilets, and the ages of the children ranged from 5 years to 11 years. It even incorporated the pre-school playgroup in one of its classrooms, so children were coming into the school environment from the age of 3 years.
In the early days discipline was strict and the answer to all the problems seemed to be the cane! However, that didn't deter some mischievous children from getting into trouble. Even the Vicar's daughter, Ruth, in her revelations, revealed that she was no angel as a little girl and there was much laughter at the antics of the pupils and some of the teachers!
Now in 2015, there are over 200 pupils with 8 full-time teachers. Over the years there have been many changes and new challenges, especially in technology, but the school has maintained a wonderful atmosphere and is a really happy place to learn, in the heart of the village, in a caring community. Let us hope that the next 100 years will be equally successful!
The next meeting of the History Society will be on Tuesday, September 22nd. Everyone is welcome.
Pat Evans