Head teacher of Walderslade Primary School unearths rare treasure trove of history spanning 120 years

Pupils are being given a first-hand insight into what it was like to be at school 120 years ago, thanks to a remarkable discovery by their head teacher.

Amy Rowley-Jones stumbled across an old log book and a suitcase of nostalgic photos of bygone days when she took over Walderslade Primary School.

And she’s putting her fascinating find to good use by helping to bring history lessons back to life.

Wartime memories of children being evacuated, air raid shelters and outbreaks of measles before vaccinations were introduced are all documented.

Records, kept up to date by many of the school’s head teachers since it opened in 1906, highlight many of the trials and tribulations which have occurred under its roof.

Amy, who attended the school with her sisters and still lives in the area, said: “It’s such a unique artefact.

“It’s the perfect learning tool to link our current practice with the history of the school, allowing our pupils to see how it has developed over time.

“Today we talk about the school being a family and that was the case when the school was formed in 1906. So, it’s lovely for them to see how the school has evolved but kept the same culture and values for nearly 120 years.”

Amy discovered the logbook and pictures in the back of a cupboard in her office and keeps items safely under lock and key when not being used for educational use in classrooms.

She said: “When Year 6 is learning about the second world war, we use it in lessons and talk about the children who were evacuated into the countryside and read extracts from it to bring the history to life.

“We find our pupils can often be in awe of it and are quite shocked at some of the things we read out. I think they quite like the link between themselves and the children in the book.

“When we talk about the evacuees, it helps them understand that this happened to children who went to our school, so it really brings it all together.”

The book shows 41 children being admitted to the school on its very first morning on Oct 15, 1906.

Fast forward to the Second World War, and the handwritten notes mention 12 children being evacuated to Oare in Faversham on August 31, 1939, and 29 children evacuated on 2 June, 1940, to Monmouthshire, as well as several air raid shelters being constructed.

During this period, Headmaster George Fletcher, notes: “School work is being upset by the frequency of the air raids.”

It shows how the school had measles outbreaks before vaccinations were introduced, with 36 children absent on one day in 1942 due to measles and mumps.

If wartime and sickness weren’t enough interruptions to studies, a school inspection report in 1909 shows that 69 children were being taught at the school between the ages of six and 14 – by just two teachers.

It reads: “This little school I was informed has peculiar difficulties to contend with. The school has been open only two years and some of the children had been for several years previous to this without schooling. These are difficulties of another sort, with children of so many grades – 69 children present in classes ranging from infants to Standard II – it is no easy task for two teachers to deal with them.

The inspector comments: “I was impressed at my entrance to the school punctually at 9am with the orderliness of the children and their notable punctuality; all but two of the 69 were present at The Prayer. This exercise was gone through with care and severance. Then followed a hymn which was sung expressively as regards the music…..so far I was satisfied with the conditions…”

Another inspection report in 1934 reads: “Good work was noted in art and handwork and the introduction of scrapbooks in connection with geography lessons is a good point, which might be extended to the history lessons.

“The pleasant relations between the staff and the pupils throughout the school are a feature which merits commendation.”

Amy said: ”I lived locally and my parents still live locally, so I wanted to give back to the school I started out at.

“I quite like the parts during the war years and reading about the celebrations they had for Kings and Queens of the past. It’s lovely to link these in with anything we are doing here on the war or Royal Family.

The school in Dargets Road is part of the Rivermead Inclusive Trust.

The current school was built in 2012.