CHURCH GREEN ROAD CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL
Peter Copperwheat's Memories
The headteacher was Mrs Bailey, who lived in the schoolhouse adjoining the school. From day one she was determined we would all learn the 3Rs to the best of our ability. The school was separated by partitioning and divided into three classrooms, in each room the heating was by old antiquated black free-standing fires which were kept stoked up by some of the older boys. We all used to get a half-pint of milk per day, this was fine apart from the very cold weather when the milk used to freeze. Mrs Bailey's solution was to stand the milk crates in front of the fire to thaw out - the result and dismay to the majority of pupils was 'sweet milk with ice in it'.

Being a Church of England school great emphasis was given to religion. Every Wednesday and special religious days we were marched in a long 'crocodile' clutching our 1d collection to St Mary's Church, Old Bletchley, the vicar at the time was the Rev Campbell. When the weather was too bad to go to St Mary's the vicar would visit the school.

Although we had a varied curriculum, Mrs Bailey used to seem to favour subjects like English and Music. The school choir was compulsory and Mrs Bailey moved along the line of her 'captives' listening to everybody in turn. At the time I would imagine most of us were 'tone deaf', however by coercion we all ended up singing like 'nightingales'. Poetry was something I will never forgot, Mrs Bailey's favourites were The Highwayman (Alfred Noyes), The Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) and The Daffodils (Wordsworth). After the rendition of these, woe betide anybody who had not listened for we had to answer questions, if we failed we had to learn great swathes of the poems in our own time.

One of my first teachers was Mr Harrison, a great favourite with everybody. He used to specialise in taking PE and sports, whatever your ability you were all made to feel special! Once a year the athletics team would compete in the local sports at Wolverton Park, quite often we would return with the shield - not a bad effort for a small school!

After a few years Mrs Bailey retired, the new headmistress was Mrs Littlewood who lived a few doors away from the school.

For further recollections of the school click here and see Ivy Fisher's 'Old Bletchley Remembered' (Published by The People's Press of Milton Keynes).

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