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  1. Around 1976 the bottom left class was Mr Charltons music class then Mr Smiths then Mrs Nath then Mrs Gilmore I may have the last 2 the wrong way around. Mr Ferguson used to be upstairs and that’s all I can remember. Mr Harker was headmaster. If we we went too far right at play time you got near his window and he’d shout at you to get back in front of the class windows. At dinner times we were allowed up the little hill on to the big field. You weren’t allowed to go home over the big field even though there was no fence but we did sometimes.

  2. Moving onto the Berwick Hills Estate in 1952 with my family 2yrs prior to the school being built, meant that the Protestant children (inc.myself) on my road had to attend Brambles Farm Infants School, whilst the Roman Catholic children attended St Alphonsus School in N.Ormesby.

    Usually, we walked there from B/Hills accompanied by one of our mothers each morning, though at one point my own mother used to ride there on her bike with myself in a small seat to the rear. At that time the Pallister Park housing-estate was unbuilt and that area was mainly an expanse of allotments to the rear of the park itself.

    Originally, getting back home after school, usually involved us 5 and 6yr olds walking in groups, along the cinder track which later became Cranmore Rd, though at a later date, buses were provided from outside the school gates.

    It seems a very long way today, but at the time before any of our parents ever thought about owning a car , we simply classed such walk, on our own, as being quite normal.

    I recall Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation, of June 1953 took place whilst we were attending Brambles Farm, plus the parents in my road, organised a coach trip to Seaton Carew for us kids the day after.

    When Berwick Hills Primary School was completed during 1954, we who had attended Brambles Farm became the first stream in the Juniors section, under a redoubtable new head-teacher, Miss Hayes, (a woman quite unlike Mrs Crass who had been head at B/Farm) and who we came to regard as being quite fearsome over the next 4 years.

    Teachers? I recall a Ms. Brown and a Ms. Appleton plus Mr Carruthers (a very genial teacher) and the firm, but fair, Mr Mazza.

    In 1959 we all sat our 11+ Exam at the school, immediately after which I had to go into hospital at Northallerton for an operation on my left leg. I was in there for around 5weeks before returning to school.Thereafter using a wheel-chair pushed each day by my class mates for around a fortnight!

    I was still in that wheelchair when I learned that I had passed the 11+ Exam and would be going on to a grammar-school.

    A friend of my mothers had a younger brother who had just left Acklam Hall School and he still had some of his uniform, plus sports kit,-so that seemed a good choice. In fact, my best pal at B/Hills school, Steven Dixon (who’d also passed his 11+) agreed that if I went there, he would too.

    Steven and I had lots of joint interests. At one time we were both members of N.Ormesby Parish Church choir, were both in the Scouts and we enjoyed sketching, drawing and painting together, both in and out of school.

    However, sadly and stupidly, when it came time to sign the necessary ‘school of choice’ papers during the summer break of that year, I opted to go to the M’bro Boys High School. This, after (whilst on a visit to Stewart Park) having seen the ‘futuristic’ brand-new schools which had just been built at the top of Marton Rd,

    Problem was, I’d forgotten to inform my pal Steven Dixon! He having stuck to our agreement, and opted for Acklam Hall School!

    More tragic was the fact that all nine of the other classmates (both boys and girls) who passed the 11+ exam that year, had also opted for the new High Schools.

    The result being, that after leaving Berwick Hills Junior School in the July of 1959 and after the summer break was over, Steven and myself happened to go separate directions in the September -and as a result, we never really saw each other again.

    Thankfully, due to the coming of social-media, I found him online, living in Lancashire and after 50 years, was able to apologise fully!

    I was surprised to learn that he had not gone into a career, like myself, related to art or design and was then still working as an IT Consultant.

    My own path, had taken myself to Art College and then into graphic-design and ultimately architectural-interiors.

    Amongst our other classmates at B/Hills Juniors was Tony Lee (of Barden Rd) who had become very well known in professional football circles, at one point managing Whitby Town. Plus, there was Sid Barras (of Crossfell Rd) who became a world-class road racing cyclist winning many International trophies and coming very high-up when competing in the famous Tour de France cycle-race.

    Berwick Hills School was a very happy time in my life and I have much to thank it for. It all seems a very long time ago, -in fact next year it will be an astonishing 64 years since I last walked through the school-gates!

  3. When I think back to the kind of teachers I had, including Miss Appleton , Miss Corkish and Mr Ferguson I was given a first class junior school education.

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