Letter brought memories flooding back

She said: “We would like to create a 40-year timeline and living museum containing photographs and memories from the last four decades.

“We are hoping our past school community may be able to help us and are keen to hear from anyone, past and present, with a connection to the school who would like to join in the celebrations.

“If anyone has any old photographs, school reports, newspaper clippings or anything that will reawaken the past we would love to see them.”

The report was read by Debbie Barwell, nee Sheehan, who has written into Nostalgia  with her memories.

Ms Barwell, from Moseley in Birmingham, said: “I joined the school when it first opened 42 years ago at the rather ancient site of Victoria Boys’ School.

“I remember Miss Fennell, the kindly headmistress, with great affection and have some very hazy memories of the old school buildings.

“I can remember sitting on the floor of a high ceilinged classroom and feeling immensely proud that some of my artwork (never my strongest school subject) was up on the wall.

“One of my infant teachers was Mrs Moss, a warm caring teacher. My best friend in the infants was Karen Reynolds.

“Sadly once we moved to juniors at the new Vicarage Road site, we were separated into different year groups.

“Karen followed me to the grammar school but we lost touch years ago.”

She continued: “Moving to the new school building was very exciting. I remember my class singing “Food, Glorious Food” from Oliver! in the hall, perhaps during an assembly, and various Christmas performances, notably one where we all dressed in medieval costumes and sang about a boar’s head.

“I can also remember dancing in a flower costume, when the whole school was involved in a production of the Nutcracker.

“My little brother (Philip Sheehan, now a tube driver and father of two) was a Chinese dancer dressed in his finest blue pyjamas.

“I can also remember being allowed into the staffroom with another child to cook a Roman recipe (I seem to recall it being an apple based dish) on a Baby Belling cooker and feeling immensely grown up.

“I still have the copy of 101 Dalmatians that I won as a prize at some stage in the juniors. I cannot remember what the prize was for but I can vividly remember the feeling of pride.

“I also remember an assembly in which the school was asked if anyone knew the name of the man who invented the television.

“A number of children tried their luck but no-one had come up with the right answer.

“Being a very shy child, I waited and waited and finally plucked up the courage to put my hand up.

“My name was called and I said ‘Baird’ only because it was a word written on our TV set at home. I was made to stand up and repeat my answer.

“I felt guilty because I hadn’t really known the answer after all, but it taught me to have a go.

“I also remember going to the Ernest Reid concerts at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Saturday mornings.

“With hindsight, the school was quite brave taking us there, given the IRA’s active bombing campaigns at that time.

“Miss Slade called me ‘Madame Teardrop’ because I used to cry whenever anything went wrong.

“She once sent me to her cupboard to fetch something. The item was on a shelf that I could not reach and so I just stood there crying. She had to send another child to find me.

“She also used to tease me about my spelling skills and on the one occasion when I made a mistake in the spelling test she pinned the sheet on the wall for all to see.

“The humiliation of only getting 39 out of 40 has lived with me ever since.

“She used to tell the children to come to me for help with spellings whenever she left the room (not sure what Ofsted would make of even the briefest teacher absences from the classroom nowadays) and was an inspiring and much loved teacher.

“Miss Mathers infected me with her passion for history. I can picture the brightly coloured alpha and beta maths text books we used in her class and I wandered around the playgroup with a measuring wheel.

“My best friend when I was in Miss Mathers’ class was Sandra Bartholomew. Sandra’s twin sister Helen was also at the school.

“Sandra and I have stayed in touch and she now lives in Solihull. She has worked in banking since leaving university and is happily married with a young son.

“I think it was 1974 when we went on a residential trip to Swanage. It was a great trip and the first time I had been away from home.

“I can picture my smart blue suitcase and stopping on the way to eat our sandwiches outside Salisbury Cathedral.

“I can remember Angela Hills, Lorraine Cashmore, Isabel Sleight, Tracy King, Tracy Dangerfield, Andrew Scarfe, and Tracy, Naomi and Howard from my junior class.

“The boys used to argue constantly with us about which pop act was better – Slade had their vote and we favoured The Osmonds. We all had sound judgement, as there were no votes for Gary Glitter.

“Although these teachers didn’t teach me, I can remember the guitar-playing Mr Pickford (one of my brother’s favourite teachers), the two Miss Elliotts and Miss Polska (who returned to Germany).

“At one stage I was a milk monitor, with the privilege of being able to drink any left-over milk. It was just a shame I couldn’t stand the stuff.

“I’m afraid there are few happy memories when it comes to school dinners – Spam fritters and lumpy custard (mercifully, not on the same plate) are an abiding memory. I’m sure the menu was more varied that than in reality.

“I left Laurance Haines School in 1976 and went to the Girls Grammar School, leaving in 1983. I then studied biochemistry at Birmingham University, until graduating in 1986.

“Since then, I have worked as a trading standards officer, investigator for the Local Government Ombudsman, examinations officer in a secondary school and a teaching assistant in a Birmingham primary school.

“I have two daughters, aged 16 and 14, and look back on my school days with great affection.

“Laurance Haines School gave me the start in life with a truly inspiring headteacher.”

Ms Barwell was also brave enough to send a copy of her school report, dated July, 1976.

It reads: “Deborah is still a very shy girl, but she has friends and gets on well with the other children. Her general personality is quiet and she never tries to be bossy or demanding.

“Her attitude to work is excellent, and over the past two years her standard of work has shown a steady improvement. She is very trustworthy, reliable and co-operative and generous with her possessions.

“Her English work is good. Deborah has imagination and her written stories are very stimulating. She has developed her own style of poetry and the results are very pleasing.

“Punctuation and spelling satisfactory. She reads fluently, but would do well to read for pleasure if she has the time.

“Her maths is satisfactory and Deborah has coped with the processes and concepts presented to her.

“Her topic work is neat, well illustrated and copious. She has worked well with reference books and seems to enjoy finding out information for her herself.

“She enjoys all forms of creative work, and draws neatly and carefully. She has been taking sewing this year for her craft club.

“She seems a little awed by the machine, but did her best and made a very attractive skirt.

“She joins in games, music with her recorder and has been a faithful member of the Folk Dancing Club after school.

“She took part in the festival at the Town Hall. Deborah regularly went to the Ernest Reid concerts on Saturday mornings.

“We shall be very sorry when Deborah leaves as she has a very good influence on the other children. I hope she will adapt to her new school, she seems to be looking forward to the experience.

“She mustn’t be afraid to exert her own personality in a larger community and put forward her ideas. We wish her every success and feel sure she will do very well.”

Do you have memories of Laurance Haines School? Do you still have your school reports? Are you brave enough to send them in? Please write and tell us.

This Nostalgia column was first published in the Watford Observer on November 16, 2012. Some of the questions posed here may have been answered by our readers in subsequent weeks so keep an eye on this website. All will be revealed as subsequent columns are added over the coming weeks.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford's history – we are always pleased to hear from you. Contact Nostalgia, by clicking here <a href="mailto:abinnie@london.newsquest.co.uk?subject=Nostalgia">abinnie@london.newsquest.co.uk</a>