I vividly recall my time at Kinson and I can in all honesty say it was one of the happiest times of my life. In those days we didn’t have such things as playgroups so the only children we mixed with were either those who lived in the same street or family. It therefore opened up a whole new world for me. I was at least fortunate in that my cousin started the same day so had some moral support but others must have found it very traumatic.
For the first couple of years I went home for lunch but once my brother started I stayed for hot lunches. Now these I do remember were disgusting but to add insult to injury one of the dinner ladies lived opposite my cousin so on the rare occasions when it was something decent she would give him more than the rest of us! I seem to remember they were 6d a day which is 2 1/2 pence in todays money. We played similar games to the ones played now. Skipping, hoops, clapping games, chase, what’s the time Mr. Wolf and, something which wouldn’t be allowed now, leapfrog. In the summer of course we went onto the field.
The grounds were a lot larger than they are now. What is now Fryers Close was part of the school and had two wooden classrooms known as Hillside. I can’t remember being particularly cold but others I’ve spoken to said it was freezing. The stream wasn’t fenced in either( no Health and Safety worries) and I seem to remember a lot of lessons revolved around it. One teacher in particular, a Mr. Jones, was really keen on natural history. Our classroom was a menagerie of tadpoles, newts and stick insects all of which had to be taken home during the holidays. I took the newt home and much to my Mothers horror I was allowed to have a few stick insect eggs – well rather a lot actually- which, after they’d hatched, escaped and we had baby stick insects everywhere for weeks afterwards.
As now, the school took part in activities within the community. The opening of the Village Green was one such event. We did maypole dancing and country dancing (boys as well )to the accompanied by Oakmead School Band. I saw the maypole and ribbons the other day so beware boys! The Winter Gardens carol concert was another tradition. It was a more traditional concert than it is now. I even seem to remember B.B.C. Radio Solent came to record it one year broadcasting it on Christmas Day.
Leeson House was another happy memory which was why when I was asked to go as an adult I was thrilled. When I came to Kinson Leeson was owned by Bournemouth council so each school in the town was able to go several times a year. You didn’t have to make your bed or tidy up there was a proper housekeeper and staff. The boys still tried to frighten us with tales of ghosts and flashed torches into our bedrooms so nothing changes. We also did a lot more walking mainly because we had no transport.
I can’t remember going on many school trips. The school didn’t have a minibus and even when Kinson Swimming Baths opened we had to walk there and back. A group of us who were in the top group went to Stokewood Road Baths but how we got there I can’t remember. Perhaps it was public transport. Similarly I can’t remember much in the way of inter-school tournamounts. Maybe that was also due to lack of transport. I do remember, however, taking part in a district swimming competion where I came 3rd in the backstroke! The only times we went on a proper visit the excitement of being on a coach almost rivalled that of going somewhere. The only outings I can remember were Porchester Castle, H.M.S. Victory and Fishborne Roman Villa.
We also had a fire at the school !!! You can imagine that to us children this was all very exciting. “Was the school burnt down” but unfortunately it was only class 4 (what is now Miss Blake’s room ) although the fact that it happened to be my class made it even more thrilling. No hope of getting out of lessons,however. The library (now the I.C.T. suite) was converted to a temporary classroom.
As for technology well apart from a couple of televisions that was it. School programmes were broadcast every morning covering various topics and I also seem to remember we crowded into what is now the library to watch the first landing on the moon.
Perhaps the most important thing that came out of of my time at Kinson was that it is where I met my future husband. We were in the same year and on several occasions the same class. I now find myself back at Kinson adding to my store of memories.
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Can you recognise Mrs. Mannering?
==
Mrs Tania Howells I remember may pole dancing on kinson village green.We got on of the patterns wrong and had to reverse the dance to unwind it. One of my memories is of being in a class in the wooden huts these are where Fryers Close is now. We always walked up to kinson baths to have our swimming lessons. I remember Miss Bruckshaw she frightened me.Her classroom was Miss Kirks room. If people messed around in her lesson she would grab them by the ear and lead them to the front of the class.If they were really naughty she had white tennis shoe she would hit them once on the leg with it. Ms Kim Vincent I remember my first day at Kinson School. There were two Reception Classes, Class 1 was Mrs. Collins and Class 2 was Mrs. Oats. I was in Mrs. Collins class, she was a very pleasant lady with white hair. I remember the slide at the back of the classroom but we were only allowed to use it as a treat. I remember going over to Hillside - a group of wooden built classrooms over a small bridge crossing the stream. We also had country-dancing lesson and were able to use the Maypole. We practised the dancing in the hall. A group of us went to teh village green to use the Maypole in front of tee parents gatherd to watch. We each had aribbon and had to waeve in and out of each other to form the pattern at the top of the pole. I was also in the choir and played the recorder. When I was in Mrs. Bruckshaw's class we had a concert in front of our parents after school. We all stood on the stage and sang and played the recorders - I distinctly remember being on the stage and being very nervous! When I was in Mr. Wilson's class I enjoyed doing a project (all about different dogs) because we were able to do lots of drawings! For history we had cards on the desk taht had information and facts and we had to write answers to the questions. I sat next to a boy called Dean who was an amazing artist - such attention to details. I remember having my photograph taken in the hall - sat on benches. One occassion, in particular, I didn't have my school uniform as it was in the wash! I also made lots of friends especially with Trudy Mannering and Christine Rogers who I still keep in touch with today. Mrs Carol Turner One of my best memories is the wonderful time we had walking up and down to Kinson Road to the swimming pool. I was in the swimming team so I got to do this quite often. Another one is the really tasty hot school dinners and the stodgy puddings we had afterwards, they were really yummy! One of my fondest memories are the times I went to Lesson House. I was very lucky and got to go several times. Each time got better and better. We always loved the time we spent when dancing around the maypole. Unless of course you got left to the end and had to dance with the boy who had big ears.....you know who you are....... One of the few smells I remember is MR JONES's hacking jacket. I guess thinking about it now, he smoked! Another smell was the school hall..it always smelt of sweaty feet. I guess the cleaners weren't as good as they are nowadays. My worst memory was the uniform. My mum believed in real schoos shoes, tie and shirt and had knitted cardigans, not my choice at all! When I went to senior school ... I soon put that right! I have just remembered the many brillant trips to the Marine Center where we were taught to canoe at Christchurch.
Mr Nigel Tiller - 1969 I started at Kinson School in during the Big Freeze and remember walking to school in the snow. My first teacher was Miss Collins and we used to take a biscuit to eat with our milk at break. I think that this was always kept by the radiator as it was always warm! In the Infants, we usually had to have a rest in the afternoons and had to fold our arms on the desk and put our heads down. School dinners could be OK but I didn’t like the carrots. Once I was made to eat them up even though they were cold as it was wasteful to leave them as one of the teachers told me. The school meals were eaten in what is now the Studio and the kitchens were where the Playgroup is now. I remember we made bread once and we took the dough over to the kitchens as it was warm there and the dough rose. There were two wooden class rooms over the stream called “Hillside”. We liked being over there as it was away from the main school. We used to have stories read on the grass next to “Hillside” when the weather was nice. I remember Mrs Monahan as one of my teachers there. We used to go to Stokewood Road swimming pool in an old Bournemouth single decker bus until the swimming pool in Kinson was opened in 1969. There were two football teams and we always played “tip and run” cricket in the summer. I ran in the Town Sports which was held at playing fields in Castle Lane. At the School Sports days as well as running and jumping events, I remember taking part in a slow bicycle race and a go kart race. The idea of the slow bicycle race was to finish last but you had to stop if you put your feet down. The go karts were home made using pram wheels and needed a driver and friends to push. There were a few accidents! It was great playing on the field during the summer – we had a lot of fun. We had two trips to Leeson House over two weekends. I remember it was exciting; it was the first time away from home. We also had trips to Red House Museum in Christchurch and Hengistbury Head. We had a fancy dress competition once and I won a big bar of chocolate but cannot remember what I was. We had some school plays and remember we sang “Consider Yourself” from Oliver although I didn’t know that then. We had to be auditioned to get in the school choir. Miss Willis walked amongst us while we sang but I didn’t get in the school choir as she thought I was tone deaf. When the 1968 Olympics took place in Mexico, we had a display in the corridor (from the old school entrance to the hall) and I had to post the results. When the QE2 was launched we watched it on a TV in one of the big classrooms. I remember being disappointed about not being chosen to go and see the Queen when she came to Bournemouth on a visit, but I think we had a day off. I remember the opening of the village green in 1969 and the maypole dancing. I wasn’t good at the dancing and so a couple of us boys had to sit on the bottom of the maypole so it didn’t fall over! Sometimes I used to catch the No 3 bus to school but would walk home as I could spend the bus fare (2d or one penny) on sweets, usually blackjacks and penny chews, in what is now Kinson News – it probably was then. Wimborne Road was not as wide then and there used to be a lollipop man outside the Dolphin (now Gullivers). The Headmistress was Miss Willis and other teachers I remember were Miss Smith, Mrs Bruckshaw, Mrs King, Mr Tucker and Mr Ridout. I enjoyed my time at Kinson but didn’t think I would go back after I left in 1969. However, my sons James and Thomas went there, my wife Janet teaches swimming and I have been a governor since 1996. I am proud to be a member of the Kinson community.
1970-71 football team - my brother Mark is in the back row (last right)
Can you recognise Mr. Tiller in this class?
Christina Butt now known as Tina Mitchell at Kinson School from 1953 - 1959
I joined the school when I was 7years old. My first classroom was at Hillside, an annex to the school which we reached by going over a bridge away from the main building of the school. In my memoies Hillside was for the Juniors. There was a small room between the classrooms in which I once heard a teacher cryng, I remember the horrible bottles of warm milk which we were given every day-It was found that I was allergic to milk so had a note from my Doctor excusing me from the dreaded milk. Mental Arithmatic and TimesTables were the lessons that stand out for me. My favourite lessons were Country Dancing, Music and English, especially writing compositions. I quite enjoyed Art but was put off because my teacher smelt of cigarettes with yellow stained fingers. History was good, I remember doing a project on the man who said "Dr.Livingstone" I presume" Also we used the book Transport Through the Ages from which we had to copy certain pictures.
None of the teachers stand out for me except, of course, Miss Ward the head mistress. She frightened me especially when she pounced on me to take a spelling test.
From now on I am going to write the name of items about my time at the school that I recall and add any personal memories they trigger:
Blue curtains in Hall :- I was one of two girls who were asked to tie them back every morning before assembly ;
School Dinners :- at first I walked home for lunch,then finally persuaded my Mum to let me stay at the school. This was so that I could play with my friends not the food. Most of my memories are of food that I didn't like such as jam roly poly with custard Also I have a memory of a boy sitting opposite me who vomited into his macaroni pudding. I have never eaten that food ever since that day ;
People I remember: - pupils: Linda Comptom, Christine Fuller, Jennifer Fairbanks?, Frank Smith, Michael and David Suter, Maggie Campbell, Susan and Sally? Eric? Kathryn Healey, Bronwyn and Susan Bridge Lynda?- I recall sitting on a garden roller in the field with a friend discussing the boys in our class
Teachers - Miss Ward, Miss Willis, Mrs Sage?,Miss Collins
Mental arithmatic: - we had no such thing as calculators. Times tables, money was in Pounds shillings and pence;
Singing classes: - we sang a lot of folk songs,at one point we were tested for the school choir;
Nits: - every so often someone would come to check our heads for lice. We called her 'the nit lady' - As I wore my long hair in plaits I had to undo one of them so she could check my head. I didn't know how to do up again so went around for the rest of the day with one side of hair loose and one side with a tied plait;
Playtime: - There were separate boys and girls playgrounds - games were seasonal, not that I can remember what game matched each season. All I remember was that the boys played marbles and jacks, while the girls played skipping games and many other group games, such as Farmers in the Dell or 'It'. Later dirty jokes were swopped. I didn't know any so just listened!;
Concerts: - We put on a performance of Midsummer Nights Dream. I think I played the part of a fairy. - I remember a concert in which I humiliated myself by dancing without any music. At another a friend and I sang 'Rose of England' - Some friends and I tried to put a play together. We practised in an empty classroom but it didn't come to anything;
School: - There were two entrances to the school, one at the School Road e nd and one in Kinson Road. Parents were not allowed on to school property unless they had a special reason. I think the main entrance was where the two ends of the path met. We were only allowed on the path lunchtime and end of school time; During the flood everyone had to stay in the school until our parents picked us up. This meant I had to stay to school dinners.
Miscellaneous: There was no school uniform - I had crushes on Frank Smith and David Suter.
My memories of being at Kinson school were all in all not very good ones, however it has given me a connection to the village of Kinson which I treasure.
Dr Tony Butt 1966-1970
Most of my memories of Kinson Primary School are a blur, but some are so vivid that it seems like last week. For example, there was a fire in one of the classrooms and it was quite shocking to see the burnt remains the next morning. The smell still sticks in my mind.
My first day was quite traumatic at first, but this only lasted what must have been about half an hour, after which I was invited to play ‘Batman’ by Gary Jeans and Shaun Burton. I had never seen that show on TV and the only sort of bat I knew about was a cricket bat, so I tried to visualize what ‘bat-man’ could have meant. My mother had told me to remind the teacher that I could already tell the time and spell my own name, but she didn’t seem particularly interested; the first day was just for playing.
We went on to learn to read and write using a type of phonetic alphabet which I think was called the Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA), after which we moved on to grown-up reading and writing. I couldn’t understand why adults didn’t use ITA.
Mathematics was done using wooden blocks of different lengths and colours to represent different numbers, which I still think of when I visualize numbers in my head.
We were taught French but all I learnt were the names of the different items in the classroom in an English accent. I never actually heard a French person speak until years later.
My favourite lesson was called ‘nature studies’ with Mr Jones, our own version of Jack Hargreaves. Mr Jones would take us on ‘field trips’ up to the stream in the school grounds where we would collect tadpoles. We had a science class for a while with Miss Willis, the headmistress, which I also really enjoyed.
I thought of myself as a bit of a scientist, and after school once I somehow managed to cause an electrical problem in the block of flats where my best mate Peter Carter lived. His mother came to the school the next day and I was ordered to sit as far away from Peter as possible.
I really enjoyed swimming, which I think was at Kinson Pool but then I vaguely remember getting a bus to Stokewood Road Baths, with Mr Tucker. I also remember being in the rugby team and I think we had to play on Saturday mornings. But my favourite sport was the go-cart race, especially since it involved making your own vehicle. Ours was called ‘Apollo 2000’ which was supposed to be like the Apollo spacecrafts but far more advanced.
School dinners were a nightmare. The dinner ladies would stand behind me until I ate foods that I hated like jelly and blancmange, and tapioca pudding. All my life since then I have never been able to face those foods.
.
Mrs carol Holdcroft (nee Napier)
My memories of KInson school are very happy one's. I don't remember much of the younger years, I can remember doing May pole dancing in year 5 on the front playground. When we had the summer fete's we would all dress up and the school did a parade throught Kinson. We started at the entrance of the field at the Broadway and walked along the road up to the school field and then the fete was open.
In year six our class room's were over at Hill side which is now Fryer's close. In the winter when the stream flood we had to come back to the main school and it would be very cold over there.
We went to Lesson house in year 6 for the week and it was great fun. On one of the walk's my friend got her foot stuck in the mud and lost her boot and then that night she fell out off bed. I made lot's of friend's that week and i'm still in contact with some of them. I have since been lucky to return to lesson house with the school and it brought back lot's off good memories. We also did pantomine's at Christmas time. The staff, pfa and the children that wanted to do took part and we had lot's of fun.
At lunch times we would have to go over to the canteen to have our meal's which is now play group, the studio and the kitchen. The kitchen then was were playgroup is now.
All of my family came to Kinson Primary school and my own children went here too. Both my parent's were on the pfa and alot of there friends would help at alot of the event's.
The building's have changed alot over the years, the main entrance was where Mrs Jone's office is and all the classroom's had there own door leading out onto the play grounds. The school has grown alot and now i work back at the school as a ta and breakfast club supervisor and have made many more great friends. :)
I vividly recall my time at Kinson and I can in all honesty say it was one of the happiest times of my life. In those days we didn’t have such things as playgroups so the only children we mixed with were either those who lived in the same street or family. It therefore opened up a whole new world for me. I was at least fortunate in that my cousin started the same day so had some moral support but others must have found it very traumatic.
For the first couple of years I went home for lunch but once my brother started I stayed for hot lunches. Now these I do remember were disgusting but to add insult to injury one of the dinner ladies lived opposite my cousin so on the rare occasions when it was something decent she would give him more than the rest of us! I seem to remember they were 6d a day which is 2 1/2 pence in todays money. We played similar games to the ones played now. Skipping, hoops, clapping games, chase, what’s the time Mr. Wolf and, something which wouldn’t be allowed now, leapfrog. In the summer of course we went onto the field.
The grounds were a lot larger than they are now. What is now Fryers Close was part of the school and had two wooden classrooms known as Hillside. I can’t remember being particularly cold but others I’ve spoken to said it was freezing. The stream wasn’t fenced in either( no Health and Safety worries) and I seem to remember a lot of lessons revolved around it. One teacher in particular, a Mr. Jones, was really keen on natural history. Our classroom was a menagerie of tadpoles, newts and stick insects all of which had to be taken home during the holidays. I took the newt home and much to my Mothers horror I was allowed to have a few stick insect eggs – well rather a lot actually- which, after they’d hatched, escaped and we had baby stick insects everywhere for weeks afterwards.
As now, the school took part in activities within the community. The opening of the Village Green was one such event. We did maypole dancing and country dancing (boys as well )to the accompanied by Oakmead School Band. I saw the maypole and ribbons the other day so beware boys! The Winter Gardens carol concert was another tradition. It was a more traditional concert than it is now. I even seem to remember B.B.C. Radio Solent came to record it one year broadcasting it on Christmas Day.
Leeson House was another happy memory which was why when I was asked to go as an adult I was thrilled. When I came to Kinson Leeson was owned by Bournemouth council so each school in the town was able to go several times a year. You didn’t have to make your bed or tidy up there was a proper housekeeper and staff. The boys still tried to frighten us with tales of ghosts and flashed torches into our bedrooms so nothing changes. We also did a lot more walking mainly because we had no transport.
I can’t remember going on many school trips. The school didn’t have a minibus and even when Kinson Swimming Baths opened we had to walk there and back. A group of us who were in the top group went to Stokewood Road Baths but how we got there I can’t remember. Perhaps it was public transport. Similarly I can’t remember much in the way of inter-school tournamounts. Maybe that was also due to lack of transport. I do remember, however, taking part in a district swimming competion where I came 3rd in the backstroke! The only times we went on a proper visit the excitement of being on a coach almost rivalled that of going somewhere. The only outings I can remember were Porchester Castle, H.M.S. Victory and Fishborne Roman Villa.
We also had a fire at the school !!! You can imagine that to us children this was all very exciting. “Was the school burnt down” but unfortunately it was only class 4 (what is now Miss Blake’s room ) although the fact that it happened to be my class made it even more thrilling. No hope of getting out of lessons,however. The library (now the I.C.T. suite) was converted to a temporary classroom.
As for technology well apart from a couple of televisions that was it. School programmes were broadcast every morning covering various topics and I also seem to remember we crowded into what is now the library to watch the first landing on the moon.
Perhaps the most important thing that came out of of my time at Kinson was that it is where I met my future husband. We were in the same year and on several occasions the same class. I now find myself back at Kinson adding to my store of memories.
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Mrs Tania Howells
I remember may pole dancing on kinson village green.We got on of the patterns wrong and had to reverse the dance to unwind it.
One of my memories is of being in a class in the wooden huts these are where Fryers Close is now.
We always walked up to kinson baths to have our swimming lessons.
I remember Miss Bruckshaw she frightened me.Her classroom was Miss Kirks room. If people messed around in her lesson she would grab them by the ear and lead them to the front of the class.If they were really naughty she had white tennis shoe she would hit them once on the leg with it.
Ms Kim Vincent
I remember my first day at Kinson School. There were two Reception Classes, Class 1 was Mrs. Collins and Class 2 was Mrs. Oats. I was in Mrs. Collins class, she was a very pleasant lady with white hair. I remember the slide at the back of the classroom but we were only allowed to use it as a treat.
I remember going over to Hillside - a group of wooden built classrooms over a small bridge crossing the stream.
We also had country-dancing lesson and were able to use the Maypole. We practised the dancing in the hall. A group of us went to teh village green to use the Maypole in front of tee parents gatherd to watch. We each had aribbon and had to waeve in and out of each other to form the pattern at the top of the pole.
I was also in the choir and played the recorder. When I was in Mrs. Bruckshaw's class we had a concert in front of our parents after school. We all stood on the stage and sang and played the recorders - I distinctly remember being on the stage and being very nervous!
When I was in Mr. Wilson's class I enjoyed doing a project (all about different dogs) because we were able to do lots of drawings! For history we had cards on the desk taht had information and facts and we had to write answers to the questions. I sat next to a boy called Dean who was an amazing artist - such attention to details.
I remember having my photograph taken in the hall - sat on benches. One occassion, in particular, I didn't have my school uniform as it was in the wash! I also made lots of friends especially with Trudy Mannering and Christine Rogers who I still keep in touch with today.
Mrs Carol Turner
One of my best memories is the wonderful time we had walking up and down to Kinson Road to the swimming pool. I was in the swimming team so I got to do this quite often.
Another one is the really tasty hot school dinners and the stodgy puddings we had afterwards, they were really yummy!
One of my fondest memories are the times I went to Lesson House. I was very lucky and got to go several times. Each time got better and better.
We always loved the time we spent when dancing around the maypole. Unless of course you got left to the end and had to dance with the boy who had big ears.....you know who you are.......
One of the few smells I remember is MR JONES's hacking jacket. I guess thinking about it now, he smoked! Another smell was the school hall..it always smelt of sweaty feet. I guess the cleaners weren't as good as they are nowadays.
My worst memory was the uniform. My mum believed in real schoos shoes, tie and shirt and had knitted cardigans, not my choice at all! When I went to senior school ... I soon put that right!
I have just remembered the many brillant trips to the Marine Center where we were taught to canoe at Christchurch.
Mr Nigel Tiller - 1969
I started at Kinson School in during the Big Freeze and remember walking to school in the snow. My first teacher was Miss Collins and we used to take a biscuit to eat with our milk at break. I think that this was always kept by the radiator as it was always warm!
In the Infants, we usually had to have a rest in the afternoons and had to fold our arms on the desk and put our heads down.
School dinners could be OK but I didn’t like the carrots. Once I was made to eat them up even though they were cold as it was wasteful to leave them as one of the teachers told me. The school meals were eaten in what is now the Studio and the kitchens were where the Playgroup is now. I remember we made bread once and we took the dough over to the kitchens as it was warm there and the dough rose.
There were two wooden class rooms over the stream called “Hillside”. We liked being over there as it was away from the main school. We used to have stories read on the grass next to “Hillside” when the weather was nice. I remember Mrs Monahan as one of my teachers there.
We used to go to Stokewood Road swimming pool in an old Bournemouth single decker bus until the swimming pool in Kinson was opened in 1969. There were two football teams and we always played “tip and run” cricket in the summer. I ran in the Town Sports which was held at playing fields in Castle Lane.
At the School Sports days as well as running and jumping events, I remember taking part in a slow bicycle race and a go kart race. The idea of the slow bicycle race was to finish last but you had to stop if you put your feet down. The go karts were home made using pram wheels and needed a driver and friends to push. There were a few accidents! It was great playing on the field during the summer – we had a lot of fun.
We had two trips to Leeson House over two weekends. I remember it was exciting; it was the first time away from home. We also had trips to Red House Museum in Christchurch and Hengistbury Head.
We had a fancy dress competition once and I won a big bar of chocolate but cannot remember what I was. We had some school plays and remember we sang “Consider Yourself” from Oliver although I didn’t know that then. We had to be auditioned to get in the school choir. Miss Willis walked amongst us while we sang but I didn’t get in the school choir as she thought I was tone deaf.
When the 1968 Olympics took place in Mexico, we had a display in the corridor (from the old school entrance to the hall) and I had to post the results. When the QE2 was launched we watched it on a TV in one of the big classrooms. I remember being disappointed about not being chosen to go and see the Queen when she came to Bournemouth on a visit, but I think we had a day off.
I remember the opening of the village green in 1969 and the maypole dancing. I wasn’t good at the dancing and so a couple of us boys had to sit on the bottom of the maypole so it didn’t fall over!
Sometimes I used to catch the No 3 bus to school but would walk home as I could spend the bus fare (2d or one penny) on sweets, usually blackjacks and penny chews, in what is now Kinson News – it probably was then. Wimborne Road was not as wide then and there used to be a lollipop man outside the Dolphin (now Gullivers).
The Headmistress was Miss Willis and other teachers I remember were Miss Smith, Mrs Bruckshaw, Mrs King, Mr Tucker and Mr Ridout.
I enjoyed my time at Kinson but didn’t think I would go back after I left in 1969. However, my sons James and Thomas went there, my wife Janet teaches swimming and I have been a governor since 1996. I am proud to be a member of the Kinson community.
Christina Butt now known as Tina Mitchell at Kinson School from 1953 - 1959
I joined the school when I was 7years old. My first classroom was at Hillside, an annex to the school which we reached by going over a bridge away from the main building of the school. In my memoies Hillside was for the Juniors. There was a small room between the classrooms in which I once heard a teacher cryng, I remember the horrible bottles of warm milk which we were given every day-It was found that I was allergic to milk so had a note from my Doctor excusing me from the dreaded milk. Mental Arithmatic and TimesTables were the lessons that stand out for me. My favourite lessons were Country Dancing, Music and English, especially writing compositions. I quite enjoyed Art but was put off because my teacher smelt of cigarettes with yellow stained fingers. History was good, I remember doing a project on the man who said "Dr.Livingstone" I presume" Also we used the book Transport Through the Ages from which we had to copy certain pictures.
None of the teachers stand out for me except, of course, Miss Ward the head mistress. She frightened me especially when she pounced on me to take a spelling test.
From now on I am going to write the name of items about my time at the school that I recall and add any personal memories they trigger:
Blue curtains in Hall :- I was one of two girls who were asked to tie them back every morning before assembly ;
School Dinners :- at first I walked home for lunch,then finally persuaded my Mum to let me stay at the school. This was so that I could play with my friends not the food. Most of my memories are of food that I didn't like such as jam roly poly with custard Also I have a memory of a boy sitting opposite me who vomited into his macaroni pudding. I have never eaten that food ever since that day ;
People I remember: - pupils: Linda Comptom, Christine Fuller, Jennifer Fairbanks?, Frank Smith, Michael and David Suter, Maggie Campbell, Susan and Sally? Eric? Kathryn Healey, Bronwyn and Susan Bridge Lynda?- I recall sitting on a garden roller in the field with a friend discussing the boys in our class
Teachers - Miss Ward, Miss Willis, Mrs Sage?,Miss Collins
Mental arithmatic: - we had no such thing as calculators. Times tables, money was in Pounds shillings and pence;
Singing classes: - we sang a lot of folk songs,at one point we were tested for the school choir;
Nits: - every so often someone would come to check our heads for lice. We called her 'the nit lady' - As I wore my long hair in plaits I had to undo one of them so she could check my head. I didn't know how to do up again so went around for the rest of the day with one side of hair loose and one side with a tied plait;
Playtime: - There were separate boys and girls playgrounds - games were seasonal, not that I can remember what game matched each season. All I remember was that the boys played marbles and jacks, while the girls played skipping games and many other group games, such as Farmers in the Dell or 'It'. Later dirty jokes were swopped. I didn't know any so just listened!;
Concerts: - We put on a performance of Midsummer Nights Dream. I think I played the part of a fairy. - I remember a concert in which I humiliated myself by dancing without any music. At another a friend and I sang 'Rose of England' - Some friends and I tried to put a play together. We practised in an empty classroom but it didn't come to anything;
School: - There were two entrances to the school, one at the School Road e nd and one in Kinson Road. Parents were not allowed on to school property unless they had a special reason. I think the main entrance was where the two ends of the path met. We were only allowed on the path lunchtime and end of school time; During the flood everyone had to stay in the school until our parents picked us up. This meant I had to stay to school dinners.
Miscellaneous: There was no school uniform - I had crushes on Frank Smith and David Suter.
My memories of being at Kinson school were all in all not very good ones, however it has given me a connection to the village of Kinson which I treasure.
Dr Tony Butt 1966-1970
Most of my memories of Kinson Primary School are a blur, but some are so vivid that it seems like last week. For example, there was a fire in one of the classrooms and it was quite shocking to see the burnt remains the next morning. The smell still sticks in my mind.
My first day was quite traumatic at first, but this only lasted what must have been about half an hour, after which I was invited to play ‘Batman’ by Gary Jeans and Shaun Burton. I had never seen that show on TV and the only sort of bat I knew about was a cricket bat, so I tried to visualize what ‘bat-man’ could have meant. My mother had told me to remind the teacher that I could already tell the time and spell my own name, but she didn’t seem particularly interested; the first day was just for playing.
We went on to learn to read and write using a type of phonetic alphabet which I think was called the Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA), after which we moved on to grown-up reading and writing. I couldn’t understand why adults didn’t use ITA.
Mathematics was done using wooden blocks of different lengths and colours to represent different numbers, which I still think of when I visualize numbers in my head.
We were taught French but all I learnt were the names of the different items in the classroom in an English accent. I never actually heard a French person speak until years later.
My favourite lesson was called ‘nature studies’ with Mr Jones, our own version of Jack Hargreaves. Mr Jones would take us on ‘field trips’ up to the stream in the school grounds where we would collect tadpoles. We had a science class for a while with Miss Willis, the headmistress, which I also really enjoyed.
I thought of myself as a bit of a scientist, and after school once I somehow managed to cause an electrical problem in the block of flats where my best mate Peter Carter lived. His mother came to the school the next day and I was ordered to sit as far away from Peter as possible.
I really enjoyed swimming, which I think was at Kinson Pool but then I vaguely remember getting a bus to Stokewood Road Baths, with Mr Tucker. I also remember being in the rugby team and I think we had to play on Saturday mornings. But my favourite sport was the go-cart race, especially since it involved making your own vehicle. Ours was called ‘Apollo 2000’ which was supposed to be like the Apollo spacecrafts but far more advanced.
School dinners were a nightmare. The dinner ladies would stand behind me until I ate foods that I hated like jelly and blancmange, and tapioca pudding. All my life since then I have never been able to face those foods.
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Mrs carol Holdcroft (nee Napier)
My memories of KInson school are very happy one's. I don't remember much of the younger years, I can remember doing May pole dancing in year 5 on the front playground. When we had the summer fete's we would all dress up and the school did a parade throught Kinson. We started at the entrance of the field at the Broadway and walked along the road up to the school field and then the fete was open.
In year six our class room's were over at Hill side which is now Fryer's close. In the winter when the stream flood we had to come back to the main school and it would be very cold over there.
We went to Lesson house in year 6 for the week and it was great fun. On one of the walk's my friend got her foot stuck in the mud and lost her boot and then that night she fell out off bed. I made lot's of friend's that week and i'm still in contact with some of them. I have since been lucky to return to lesson house with the school and it brought back lot's off good memories. We also did pantomine's at Christmas time. The staff, pfa and the children that wanted to do took part and we had lot's of fun.
At lunch times we would have to go over to the canteen to have our meal's which is now play group, the studio and the kitchen. The kitchen then was were playgroup is now.
All of my family came to Kinson Primary school and my own children went here too. Both my parent's were on the pfa and alot of there friends would help at alot of the event's.
The building's have changed alot over the years, the main entrance was where Mrs Jone's office is and all the classroom's had there own door leading out onto the play grounds. The school has grown alot and now i work back at the school as a ta and breakfast club supervisor and have made many more great friends. :)