Branscombe School in the Past

Class 1 had a visit from Mr Bass (Grace’s Grandad) to share his experiences of life at Branscombe primary school, which he attended from 1954. He discussed how the building has developed since the 1950s and the children enjoyed asking questions to learn about the past. They found out that the school owned an allotment in the village and grew vegetables for the headmaster, Mr Squires, who lived in School House, next to the school. The children were interested to hear that there wasn’t any electricity in the village until the late 1950s and instead of watching TV after school,  Mr Bass would help out at Mr. Gibbon’s farm, milking cows. They also found it funny hearing stories about the children trying to aim tennis balls at the outside school bell and running up and down the steep verge behind class 1 at playtime. The all agreed that they would not have enjoyed the strict punishments for misbehaviour or lack of technology. It was lovely to hear all  the fond memories Mr Bass has of the school and as a follow up task the children created a timeline where they sequenced school photographs in chronological order.