Felpham Church of England School


I've been reflecting on my earliest school days.  From 1948 – 1954 I took the 50a bus from home in Middleton-on-Sea to a little private school called the Gateway in Felpham.  We passed another school on the way.  It had sturdy flint walls and a chain link fence running across the front of the playground.  At four years old, I imagined that the children there were so wild that they needed to be kept in a cage.  Only much later did I realise it was simply a fence to keep them safe from the road and to stop footballs from flying out. As an older child, still deep in that sheltered ignorance, I had absurd visions of these caged children running riot in some kind of dark, Dickensian establishment. However, recently I’ve joined a lovely group called Flashback Bognor Regis and I asked if anyone remembered the little school.  The floodgates opened and a wonderful set of warm and happy memories poured in from group members some of whom had parents and even grandparents who’d attended.  It was The Felpham Church of England School (1888-1974) which was built with Sussex knapped flint in the Gothic style.  Some mentioned playing with coloured wooden toys and others talked about the kindness of their teachers – getting Dolly mixtures if they’d worked well or having their hand held on the busy playground.  So many talked of the warmth of the headmaster who comforted them on their first day and continued to greet them in the street long into their adult lives. 


Those ridiculous early ideas of mine have now been completely overwritten not only by a teaching career in primary schools but by these joyful memories from the group.  This photo of a beaming little five year old boy at the Felpham school proudly holding a toy rocking horse sums up all their warm recollections.  It was taken in 1952 with photos of the soon to be crowned Queen in the background.

Peter Constant at Felpham C of E School 1952

Comments

  1. Jane Lawrence4 February 2018 at 11:49

    PS, it wasn't all sunshine and roses. Several people mentioned the milk that was frozen in winter and warm in summer. Also, it was a severe trial in winter to visit the outdoor loos!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary Lou13 February 2018 at 13:26

    Children have such wonderful minds. Cages to keep the wild ones in!

    ReplyDelete

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