Memories of Pitsmoor

[Texas]

Ponsonby, did the teacher, Mr Fearneough, you are referring to, teach metalwork at Burngreave Secondary Modern? I hope you appreciate I have given 'Burny' its full title.

[Ponsonby]

Texas - sorry, I didn't go to Burngreave, so I don't know any of the teachers there - my brother did. I was replying to Glen 'cos I used to live a couple of doors away from her and her family.

[Kidorry]

Ponsonby, did the teacher, Mr Fearneough, you are referring to, teach metalwork at Burngreave Secondary Modern? I hope you appreciate I have given 'Burny' its full title.

 

Yes. He taught metalwork when I was there 1948-52.Mr.Cherry was the woodwork teacher.

[darra]

Yes, Hancocks was on the corner of Andover St and Rock Street and had a smell of parafin when you walked in.

Mr Hancock I remember him well being tall thin with grey hair and always wore a gray smock.

 

Remenber him well used to check batteries and bulbs before he sold them to you

[darra]

Hi Texas,

 

I think there were four classrooms with the stepped floor, two at each end of the school in sort of wings/extensions to the building.

 

Do your remember how high the windows were? So you couldn't look out unless you were standing on the desk.

 

Also how thick the walls were? One of those classrooms - maybe all of them - had caupboard built right into the wall with a sliding door.

 

A few things that you may also remember:

 

The floor in the (upstairs) hall was at two different levels: the Grey Street end of the hall was higher than the other end, only by a couple of inches. Both floors were level but where they came together in the middle, there was a sloping section about three feet long to correct for the difference.

 

Its possible the upstairs may have been run as two different schools (girls and boys) at sometime in the past. They may have only discovered the difference in floor levels when the took down a wall or divider to make it one school.

 

Another thing when I was there was the old piano with the big cast iron wheels in the middle so it could be moved around.

 

You will remember that because there was no music room as such, the boys in their last year used to have to move it from class rooms at one end of school to ones a the other end or into the hall for a special assembly. When the kids were moving it and there were no teachers around, some of them really got it going.

 

Also, do you remember the short corridor with sinks where the dinner ladies used do all the washing-up. It always smelt of gas around there. Suprised there was never an explosion.

 

Regards

 

Remember the stepped classrooms well I used one when I was in Miss Wheelers class. Imagine if you are stood on Gray Street looking at the front of the school ours was at the back right hand corner.

[Texas]

It was a Mr Needham who taught woodwork when I was there Kidorry . Mr Fearneough, man, I broke his heart.

[Kidorry]

I left in `52.Mr.Scawcroft was the headmaster & Miss King was his secretary.Do you remember a big Jamaican lad called King who was an expert with the catapult.He lived on Burngreave Rd. beside the catholic church.

[swervin]

i remember neddy bubble,he used to put a length of 3" by 2" across the first 2 woodwork benches,he was always leanning on it,when he was out of the room we partially saw'd through it he went arse over t-- not a very happy chapie. hee hee

[graystreet]

Remenber him well used to check batteries and bulbs before he sold them to you

 

Some more memories of Hancocks shop, remember the penny tray, covered with clear plastic, they would sell single jammy dodgers 1p, 4 black jacks/fruit salad chews 1p, gob stoppers, even lozenges, remember them? brown oblong tablets with the corners off.(too hot for me as a kid)

I also remember they would'nt sell you certain items on Sundays unless you had a shopping bag.

[Redfyre]

Re Burngreave School in the very early 1950s, has anyone any memories of the headmaster Scowcroft --a little balding man. Also Jasper Holdsworth --he was a good teacher, 4A. Can anyone remember the name of the teacher of 3B in 1951-53 period. He was a young guy with fair hair, always grinning, but lethal when you got the wrong side of him! I remember a lad called Parrott, well-built lad, having a right old ding dong with this teacher.