History of the School - 1915-1934

"I am glad to note that no child has vermin or nits"

On 12 April 1915 Miss Esther Bowers (later to be Mrs Croxson) began her 21 year tenure with Miss S. Murray as her supplementary teacher. Her first entry in the log book recorded the arrival of stock from Arnold & Son and Philip Tacey, firms who remain the school's suppliers to this day.

1918 began with a measles epidemic which closed the school for a month, immediately followed by a flu epidemic which closed it for a further month. Although there are references to children being excluded for being verminous or having scabies or impetigo the County Medical Officer wrote in 1923: "I am very glad to notice that no child was found to have either vermin or nits. This is a very satisfactory result and I have no doubt it is due in large measure to efforts to inculcate in the children a sense of self respect".

The curriculum had broadened to include domestic economy, nature study and PT. County scholarships to other schools were now recorded regularly, chiefly to Eggar's Grammar School.

By 1925 all 72 children, aged 4 to 14, were still being taught in one classroom (a situation which remained until 1938, when a jumble sale finally raised the funds to buy a partition). However, the Inspector states that "the general air of the school is one of brightness and vivacity and the attainments of the children in general reach a creditable level."

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Miss D Jacobs
Meonstoke

 

There were 60 or 70 of us in the old part of the school, with a green curtain across the middle to separate the infants from the older class.

The teachers were Miss Bowers and Miss Murray who came to live at Laurel Cottage in about l904. Miss Bowers married Mr Croxson, a dentist from Southsea who used to pull our teeth out.

Mrs Croxson was a good teacher and very strict. She used to cane the naughty boys (Ted Trigg was one). The extra naughty ones were taken into the Porch where she caned their "bottoms".

Yours sincerely
Daphne H Jacobs
(pupil 1919 to 1930)

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The children were particularly talented musically. In 1928 Mrs Croxson took 25 children to the Petersfield Musical Festival where they won the banner for the highest aggregated marks, and gained first place in the sight reading. They repeated their success in four more consecutive years, in competition with choirs from many other schools.

More unusual additions to the curriculum were a lecture on Alcohol and Blood from a Mr Joliffe, and a "talk by Mr Thompson, a North American negro, entitled Life on a Cotton Plantation". Empire Day was marked by "an address by Rear Admiral Sullivan".

In May 1931 Mrs Croxson started to supply the children with Horlick's Malted Milk for which they paid 3d (just over a penny) a week. This, it is reported, so took over from milk in popularity that the local dairy owner, Mrs Jacobs, decided it was not worth continuing to supply milk at all.

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Mrs E Abraham
Lymington
Hants

My first memory is of a teaparty given by Miss Murray for me and my twin brother on our fifth birthday in November 1921. I think we were the only twins at the school then.

I can remember helping my brother carry the banner up Buckshead Hill which the school won taking part in the Music Festival at Petersfield. Concerts were held every year in the Old Meon Hut.

My mother went to the school, as did the six of us in Our family - Albert, George, Charlie, Mary, Nora and myself. My granny, Mrs Bignell, was the caretaker at the school and used to tell us how she had to carry all the hot water from the Porches to the school for cleaning.

I still visit the village, and look up the school and Church, and our school mates Ted and Eileen Trigg.

Yours sincerely,

Edith Abraham (formerly of King's Farm House)
(pupil 1921 to 1930)