OLDHAM EDUCATION WEEK : MAY 1925

The following, is the first part of a transcription of the 87 page book (as shown in this page header) including it's 27 monochrome photographs. The book was kindly passed to Linda Richardson, our Branch Chairman, to include on our website pages. 

PART 1    (link to Part 2)

Gallery of  Images and photographs
EDUCATION IN OLDHAM — FOREWORD

THERE is no more important national work than the proper upbringing of children and young people, for on it the progress and welfare of a nation depend. The responsibility for this great work falls almost entirely on parents and teachers, and the success or failure of their efforts depends largely on the degree of co-operation between them. No business firm could hope to succeed unless its partners consulted frequently and worked together with sympathy and understanding. The same is true of education.
Unfortunately it is not possible for many parents to see much of school work, and as opportunities of meetings between them and the teachers of their children are all too rare, it is difficult for them to realise and to understand the tremendous changes which have taken place in the schools since their own school days. It is equally difficult for teachers to understand the desires and views of parents whom they have never met.
“Education Week” is an attempt to bring parents and teachers closer together, and to arouse the interest and sympathy of all who have at heart the good of our young people. If it succeeds in doing this then all the time and labour spent in preparation for it will have been well repaid and the benefits to the community will be both real and lasting.

 Table of Schools & Institutions in the Gallery HERE

HISTORICAL OUTLINE

At the beginning of the 17th century there was a group of men in and around Oldham who appreciated the value of education. They were of the local gentry, men of culture, wealth and position. Lawrence Chadderton, Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, was chief of the number in point of learning. James Assheton, landowner and a man of liberal spirit, and practically-minded, gave half an acre of lanon which to build a small Grammar School. The site, and afterwards the school, was alongside the Market Place with farm fields lying to the other side.
A century later, William Hulme of Kearsley, near Bolton, bequeathed much landed property to be devoted to educational purposes. As Oldham was at that time within the ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich, it formed part of the area to benefit by the grant. On this narrow ledge of possible legality a successful claim was erected that some of the money should be appropriated to Oldham for a new school. Eventually, through the representations of Hesketh Booth, Mr. Joseph Travis and others, the Charity Commissioners sanctioned the grant of £18,000 towards the site and the building, and of £1,800 per year, afterwards increased to £2,050, as an endowment. That is how the Hulme Grammar School came into being in 1895.
Education was a long time filtering down to the children in mean streets. Had it not been that they were gathered into Sunday Schools and night
p.2
schools, the children of the people would have been left amongst those who could neither read nor write.
Not till 1832, did the State acknowledge its educational obligations. In that year, it made a modest beginning by putting in the estimates a sum of £20,000 for educational purposes, and in this way the voluntary school system was legally recognised; but there were no schools working under local public authority. Then came the Education Act of 1870, which enabled localities to set up School Boards in their areas. In Oldham, after much preliminary controversy, the necessary authorisations were speedily obtained; and, quite unexpectedly, the first School Board had an unopposed return. The first Chairman was the Rev. R. M. Davies; the first vice-chairman, Rev. W. Walters; the first clerk, Mr. W. Mellor, with Mr. James Rennie as his office-boy. The last appointment had much to do with the educational progress that followed.
The Board speedily set to work. The first question to be considered was whether the existing accommodation was equal to the requirements of the town. Taken as a town, there was an ample supply of school places, but, taken in detail, there was an actual shortage. There were whole districts with many children and scarcely any schools. Thus it was that the dread necessity of building schools had to be faced. Smith Street and Westwood areas came under review, and it was decided that a school should be erected in each district. There were economists who desired to build after the similitude of a barn and to whom anything Gothic was anathema. The advocates of good buildings could not however be held back. The
p.3
buildings went on getting better and better with almost every school they built. They produced Waterloo, Higginshaw, and Derker Schools. These were locally described, even denounced as palatial buildings, examples of waste and extravagance. But parents and children learned to admire the new kind of school. Those who lived in districts apart demanded equally good accommodation for their children,- a free version of the principle of equality of opportunity. In face of a rising education rate, the better minds of the Board persevered with the policy of better schools. There arose Werneth School famous for its central hall, its spacious playground, and its gymnasium. After this, it was just imitation and improvement. Next appeared Hollinwood School, the Secondary School in Greengate Street, Clarksfield, and Alexandra Road Schools. The town speedily provided itself with a splendid array of schools.
Whilst busy with the material side of things the Education Authority kept an eye on the development of popular education in its area. Half-timers were an educational hindrance and a full-time school was opened where the children might receive further instruction. The School was soon crowded and there was no room for extension. It was removed to Waterloo School. These seemingly trifling changes were of real importance.
The next advance was in the direction of an Organised Science School with Mr. Abraham Smith as Head Master. This school was immediately popular. Children came to it from all parts of the town and were proud to say that they “went to Waterloo.“ The accommodation was soon exceeded. There was much criticism. One School Board election was fought with that as the leading issue, and the
p.4
verdict went against the school. But it went on prospering until the notorious Cockerton judgment declared it to be outside the provisions of the Elementaly Education Act in common with all other like schools. It was re-incarnated, and in one way and another the teaching was in great measure continued.
A strong ‘desire began to show itself in favour of a Municipal Secondary School for the town. The Board of Education hesitated, and sent down a company of Inspectors to view the nakedness of the educational land. Their hesitation was confirmed and they reported accordingly. The Committee declined to take “No” for an answer and asked to see the Minister of Education on the subject. The request was granted. Three members of the Education Committee went up for the interview. The case for the Schools was forcibly stated by the Rev. A. J. Viner, who addressed his audience of one with as much vigour as if it had been one hundred. At the end of the argument Mr. Birrell said there was a difference of opinion as to whether Oldham could successfully conduct a Secondary School, but he had come to the conclusion that it ought to be allowed to try. And that was how the Oldham Municipal Secondary School came into existence.
The School speedily justified itself. It had almost from the first its full complement of scholars, curiously divided almost exactly between boys and girls, a peculiarity which persisted for several years in succession. One is tempted to say that the school is one of the most successful municipal Secondary Schools in the country. It is turning out a regular flow of well-educated boys and girls. Year by year there are more applicants for places
p.5
than places for applicants. An important change was made a year ago in the abolition of school fees, which makes educational merit the qualifying test. As a result of this change no fees are now charged in any of the public day schools in Oldham. This decision was arrived at with practical unanimity both in the Education Committee and in the Town Council. Oldham may therefore claim a foremost place educationally among the progressive municipalities. The school has been admirably befriended in the matter of its playing fields and their equipment.
The latest development is that of setting up Higher Standard Centres. This is due to local initiative, which came neither from above nor abroad but from observation. The classes at the top end of many schools were engaged in the wasteful occupation of “marking time.” To remedy this defect it was proposed to establish centres into which the children in the upper standards of elementary schools could be gathered for advanced instruction. In this connection it is only right that the names of the late Councillor J. Ashworth, J.P., and Rev. A. J. Viner should be mentioned. There are now three such schools in the borough, and they are proving eminently successful. This is the kind of school which will help to give completeness to the elementary school. It will be seen that in Oldham a genuine attempt is being made to link up the various forms of education and types of school into one related whole. Moreover, by a fine provision of scholarships, Oldham supplies a continuous flow of students to the universities.
This is confessedly a bald telling of an interesting story covering 54 years of steady development. Much has been accomplished amid ill-conceived
p.6
objection and misdirected opposition which was largely overcome by the patience and perseverance of those who knew how to labour and to wait. It is safe to say, that, from this time forth, popular sentiment will be increasingly on the side of progressive popular education.
Return to List of Links on this page

OLDHAM LYCEUM

The Oldham Lyceum has from its inception in 1840 had an educational aim. Its
early efforts resulted in the establishment of a school for the study of Science and Art. This school was very successful and in 1893 became the foundation upon which the Corporation developed their Technical School.
The Directors of the Lyceum although relinquishing their school to the Corporation continued their educational efforts along other lines, and classes for the study of Foreign Languages were established which have been very successful.
The School of Music which is now under the control and management of the Directors of the Lyceum, was established in 1892 by the late S. R. Platt, Esq., J.P., D.L., for the purpose of advancing the Art and Science of Music, by giving instruction of the highest class in all subjects to pupils of both sexes, and of becoming a centre of musical study for the town of Oldham and neighbourhood. The School commenced with 39 pupils, and has continued to progress year by year, the number of Students up to date being 160.
The School comprises classes for the study of vocal and instrumental music, and has a direct connectionifwith the Royal Manchester College of Music through its Scholarship and Exhibitions.
p.7
It has been suggested to me to write about the schools of yesterday. When was
yesterday? Was it the day before, or the day before that? Was the school I went to, or was sent to sixty-eight years ago, one of these? Whether or no, it seems to be an incredible number of yesterdays since my name was first put on the register, - if there was such a thing as a register.
I have a vivid recollection of the school-house. It was one of a row of cottages. The interior included two rooms, the front one was the house part the hinder one a kitchen; the house part was the main room. Forms were placed along three sides of it and two others occupied the middle portion. The back room was for the “adults,” boys and girls of from ten to twelve years of age. Here was a long desk with tall seats where the top class was accommodated. There was also a round table, and, under that, a yellow washing mug. One of the privileges of the boys in that class was that they might have a drink at their own behest ; others had to ask permission. This was school organisation in its primitive form.
Altogether there were about 35 children in attendance, all under one Head Teacher, with no pupil teachers to assist. If, after the manner of that day, there was a monitor, his duties were exhausted when the ink wells were filled and the pens were distributed. The reading books were of the “Ready-med-aisy” order, the allowance being one book to three scholars, and, as the books were
in paper backs, the wear and tear was rather heavy. The description of the school would be imperfect
p.8 image
p.9
if some detailed account were not given of the one and only master. He was burly and strong and had a powerful voice. When he spoke it was in the Lancashire dialect. If he wanted, the seated scholars to sit together he told them to “hutch up,” which they promptly did. If the pupils were inattentive, he called upon them to “labbur that lesson” and that was enough. They did not need twice telling. His methods of discipline were equal to his methods of tuition. If he wanted to reach a scholar who seemed to be out of range he used a rod of weaver’s reeds which dropped suddenly on the head of the distant offender. If he wanted a swift messenger, the ruler was near at hand. He was a good shot and the scholars knew it. The fashion of wearing the hair was made to serve its primitive turn. It was “pow’d” all over, cut short except the forelock. When the culprit was caught in the act he was called up and duly “wrongled.” If there was nothing to “wrongle,” the master lifted the short hair which nestled in the neck hole. So much for corporal punishment.
Shall we creep along to other schools and other methods? There was one school with a master whose terror had gone before him. He was irreverently spoken of as “Paddy” being of that persuasion. He believed in the policy of “thorough.” To him repetitions were not vain, but rather the one thing needful to mental discipline. He marched about the school sometimes without cane, which was a sign of fine weather; at others, with a cane, and the cloud of anger was not far from bursting.
It aimed to be a public school of a sort. It had its annual day, a combination of Speech day and public examination. One year a city M.P. came,
p.10
another year the Mayor of the city, - turns about - who made speeches and distributed rewards. We did mental arithmetic with incredible accuracy on sums we had worked a score of times! We did slate work and the teachers told us we had to make the “pencils tick,” to the great delight of the parents and friends who came in large numbers. The parents duly admired the maps of England and Wales which hung on the walls. Aided by much guidance and some transparent paper, the two countries named successfully emerged.
That was a school of yesterday in which something was attempted, something done; but the time allowed was insufiicient for the ends and aims of true education. It was avowedly a “three R” school and all the “R’s“ were severally and jointly drummed in. Reading was treated as if it were a special subject. In my form we read from the “Third Reader” a book justly famed in its day. History, science, biography and literature were well represented. Many of the scholars never learnt much more on these subjects than they gleaned from this reader which, like our master, was English.
The pupil teacher definitely arrived in my time and quickly qualified as school drudge. There was early morning when the P. T. came at 7-something for private instruction. That was how they spent their yesterdays. As the yesterdays went by, new terms were invented to describe the almost mysterious destinies of the new pupil teachers. They might be trained, even college trained, going away to a distant town, even to London itself, and coming back with the distinction of having passed, and therefore fully qualified.
p.11
Those who did not go to college remained on at school gaining practical experience and often being content therewith. They received a number which was 50, 52, or 68, because under those articles of the code they were recognised. They were clearly of yesterday following the methods of yesterday. The school curriculum was narrow by necessity. The school life was too short to allow of the long view. The prevailing notion was to find the quick way out of school into the working world. If a child’s teeth were all right, and its birthday conveniently uncertain, and the factory doctor reasonably complaisant, the path of the child was made both straight and plain. Yesterday was the portion of time that mattered. Yesterdays were limited in number and were passing away one by one, and as they did so could be dispensed with.
But of tomorrows, there was an unlimited supply. The vista of them reached out and on and on, and yesterdays must make way for them. The schools of yesterday served their generation just in so far as they were permitted. But tomorrow will set itself to improve on yesterday which is the way to improvement, for does not the child’s riddle say that “to-day will be yesterday, tomorrow.”

Return to List of Links on this page

THE SPIRIT OF MODERN TEACHING

The fundamental problem of education is at least as old as humanity itself. The continuity of the life and traditions of the family, of the tribe, of the nation, or of the race, necessitates arrangements, primitive or highly-organised, by the adult for the training of the young. But the immediate aims of that training, and the spirit and methods of the teaching, will vary with place and time. Theory and experiment are as essential in education as in any other science and art; indeed, any sense of failure, any desire for change, any aspiration for the future which the adult part of the community may feel will become the inspiration of experiment in the schools, because in the young lies the hope of the old.
As the social horizon widens, as the conception of citizenship enlarges, as occupations develop and decay, as the opportunities for leisure of all classes increase, the schools react to the necessity of developing within each pupil the aptitudes which shall enable him to find opportunity for service and a joie de vivre within the complexity of modern society. It is this realisation of the uniqueness of the individual pupil, coupled with the different view of the society in which he is to live, which is the incentive in the new educational methods. Each child must have full opportunity for self-development, self-expression, and self-government. Mass-discipline and excessive class-teaching are passing; free discipline, individual and co-operative work, initiative, and responsibility are the newer principles.
Amongst others, Mr. Homer Lane in his “Little
p.13
Commonwealth” School, Miss Helen Parkhurst and her “Dalton Plan,” Mr. Caldwell Cook and his “Play Way,” Madame Montesorri and her “ Didactic Apparatus,” are no longer faddists advocating freak methods. Their experiments have been made; they have proved their value; and in every Oldham school the spirit of these pioneers and of others is influencing the methods of the teachers, even though in no Oldham school, perhaps, are any of "these plans in full and exclusive use. They all have one common element: it is not so much the children who matter as the child. The text-books say the spirit is paidocentric. Horrible word ! Happily there is a more beautiful terminology. “And He called a little child unto Him and set him in their midst.” That is the secret. Child-mind, child-study, child-psychology, child-welfare; such are the slogans of the new teaching, not percentages, and averages, and payment by results.
The “Little Commonwealth” was only one of the many experiments made by enthusiastic teachers who saw the necessity and the possibility of generating the spirit of social service and a sense of communal responsibility by affording children in their schools opportunities for self-government - to make their own rules; to try their own culprits; to decide on appropriate punishments; to choose their own leaders and committees, judges and juries.
Evidences of the spirit of these ideas will be found in the Oldham schools: the decrease in corporal punishment; the extension of the prefectorial system; the running of school clubs and societies by the children themselves; the election of the officers; the house or team system; the appeal to the opinion of the class regarding an offender
p.14
against the honour or reputation of the class; mock-trials and school parliaments; scholars’ visits to observe municipal activities and enterprises and to appreciate their present and future interests in such things.
The Dalton plan and Montesorrianism aim at the self-effacement of the teacher as a class instructor, indeed, very largely as an instructor at all. The former in senior classes and the latter in the infant and junior classes emphasise the desirability of providing suggestive environment and opportunity, and leaving the individual through his own activity, curiosity, and initiative to respond to the stimuli of his environment, to follow his own bent, and to go to the teacher spontaneously for guidance and encouragement rather than for instruction. Visits to the infant schools of the town will provide abundant proof of the extent to which Montesorri’s genius has impregnated the methods of Oldham teachers.
The “Play Way” is one of many experiments to reveal the possibilities of the imaginative, creative, constructive and dramatic instincts of the child. He writes his own story or poem or chooses an incident from history or literature; he dramatises it; he suggests his own scenery; he co-operates in allotting his part; his group reproduce their conception of it in the art or handwork lesson; he discusses it in his English class and writes his ideas of it in his compositions: and in all these activities his own suggestions and interests have first place. So play becomes not merely recreative but also creative and naturally co-ordinated.
But the spirit of the schools is not merely modern, it is classic. The Greek ideal of harmonious development of the whole man
p.15
is renascent in the schools; but with this difference. Greek education was for citizens only; it did not extend to the slave population. Greek democracy was very restricted, modern democracy is inclusive of all; and so in the schools of the people every child has the opportunity of a liberal education. This is the secret of the broad curriculum. Life is many sided, and education for life must reflect all phases of man’s activities and interests so that labour and leisure may be harmonised and enjoyed by all. Education week will give ample opportunity to realise this phase of modern school-life. Smattering and superficiality are its dangers, but dangers are to be avoided, and the remedy is not to sacrifice the whole man to drilled precision and prodigies of memory.
The influence of Bergson has helped to change the teacher’s attitude towards individual subjects. The modern aim is not to stand outside a subject and view it as an unwieldy mass of separate facts as many as possible of which pupils are supposed to learn by memory, irrespective of their correlation or application, but to get within the subject, to become identified with it, to realise intuitively its principles and growth and meaning to humanity. Arithmetic is a matter of principles not of sums; geography is physiography and not a gazetteer; history is the story of man’s relation to the universe and to his fellow men not an English date-book; English is more largely literature than language; art and music are creative and appreciative rather than mechanically reproductive; and so through all the subjects the teacher does not make the mistake of Browning’s grammarian who decided “not to live but know.”
p.16
No social phenomenon has been more noticeable or more promising than the almost continuous conferences of teachers concerning all phases of their work, and no profession has shown itself more willing to scrap its old machinery and instal new if thereby the weal of the child may increase; and it remains to conclude with the testimony of one who is not a teacher, but who has many opportunities of observation, that Oldham teachers are devotedly responsive even at much sacrifice to the new spirit in education.

BOY SCOUTS

Another remarkable experiment in Education which has proved of far-reaching permanent value is the Boy Scout movement. A close examination of its methods will reveal a spirit analogous to that of the educators enumerate above, but adapting itself largely to out-of-school activities. General Baden-Powell must be ranked high amongst educational reformers.
It is highly satisfactory to record that in Oldham the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Church Lads’ Brigade, and Boys’ Brigade number some 3,500 officers and members.
p.17 image

Return to List of Links on this page

THE EARLIEST YEARS IN SCHOOL LIFE

“To tend the little child fresh from the hand of God, to train the eyes to see and the ears to hear, the heart to feel and sing, the mind to wonder and worship, the little hands to fashion, and the whole being to rejoice greatly is to reveal a reverence and a beauty of service which is perhaps the highest and most satisfactory form of religion.”
J. M. MACBAIN.

In no branch of school life during recent years have there been such sweeping changes as in the Infants’ Schools - all due to the deep thought and experiments of enthusiasts in their profession. Modification and improvements may be said to be in the air. The teacher has to be a true student of child nature with large sympathies, enormous patience and unabated enthusiasm. Her work makes her so, as the demands are endless.
The Nursery Class - The child, leaving the sheltered care of the mother, early discovers if love is offered to him in his new sphere and if his teacher can sympathise with his fear of the crowds of children that surround him. In the Nursery Class the teacher talks to him in gentle tones, is interested in him and is ready to encourage his efforts with his toys.
Whatever has been his early environment the child who enters school is gradually unfolding his inborn instincts and daily gathering impressions. The important things for him are not those which concern the conscious life, but the sub-conscious. Therefore the tone of the teacher is more to him
p.19
than her words. The colour of the pictures on the wall affect him more than the subjects, and the unconscious looks, movements and manners of all the little persons around take hold of him through his plastic mind and mould him. Hence the importance of the harmonious surroundings of the classroom and the gentle and cultured tone of the teacher.
The restless hands of the little children are now recognised to be among the teacher’s most important allies. The appreciation of this is chiefly due to the persistence with which physiologists and psychologists and other reformers have shown the intimate connections between the hand and the brain. The essence of life is movement and the essence of development is ordered, progressive and organised movements.
Therefore games, physical training, and educational handwork are all designed to satisfy the needs of life and to assist its development.
“Greatness is not always largeness.
Help your child to understand,
Strength and skill are happy comrades;
’Tis the mind must guide the hand.”
Happiness is the spirit of the Nursery Class. Even the casual visitor will at once realise this. What an atmosphere of busy happiness the children present at their varied occupations!
We do not now find the old galleries, with rows of weary babies expected to sit still, learning by rote all sorts of unintelligible facts because they may be needed some day: but instead we see light, easily-moved tables and chairs and plenty of floor space, with busy babies growing healthily in playful activity living through a variety of experiences of intense interest.
p.20 image
p.21
The life of the young is essentially one of play. The world is all new and full of interest to the child fresh to school, and by play he comes to know his environment. With bricks, sand, sticks, shells, toys of all kinds he is imitating and dramatising what he is interested in. Here he is given plenty of opportunity for movement, and in game and music he is helped to regulate and develop his wild energy until it becomes rhythmic and purposeful.
His natural love for animals and plants is fostered in the schoolroom by the care of flowers and plants, and of pets whenever they can be suitably housed. All the while he is receiving incidental training in language expression, by story, song and chat. In considering the young child’s physical needs one of the most neglected is his need for sleep, and rest periods are a recognised feature of our
baby-room programmes.
From the commencement the children of the Nursery Class must become associated with discipline in the use and storage of apparatus. The care of plants and pets, and class co-operation in the orderliness of the room, form a very important part of his training. He is encouraged in the formation of good personal habits; the spirit of helpfulness is engaged; and he is expected to conduct his life giving thought to the welfare of others.
Infant Classes - Usually at five years of age, the nursery children are transferred to the Infants’ Department, where by the use of a well-graded scheme, they become efficient in reading, are able to do simple calculations, and to express themselves in writing.
How pleasant and interesting to learn with such
p.22
attractive material at hand! When letters can be actually handled, traced matched, etc., and the whole made into a game. Each child now travels as quickly as he wishes and does not wait for anyone lagging behind. The days are past when he sat with his fingers pointing to a word and wearily waiting whilst some backward member of the class puzzled it out letter by letter. He now works, sometimes alone, sometimes in a small group, and he quickly realises that there is a story told in the words and he has an incentive to master it.
Number is taught in a similar manner. There is such material at hand that a child unconsciously learns to count by means of beads, counters, shells, dominoes, etc. Number is associated with his every day life and concrete material is used until a certain facility in the use of the fundamental operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is acquired.
The early stages of writing are now much simplified. A good, bold style of printing is taught, and the many advantages of correlating the learning of reading and writing in the manner made possible by this method are obvious to all.
Simple but systematic nature-study is developed from the keeping of pets, the germination of seeds and the growing of plants. The response to rhyme and rhythm is stimulated by music and dancing, song and poem, marching and orderly action. The dramatic instinct has full stimulus in story and play, for the child loves to dramatise what he sees and hears,-
“As if his whole vocation
Were endless imitation.”
p.23 image
p.24 image

Return to List of Links on this page

THE JUNIOR CHILDREN & THEIR SCHOOLS

To the Home, the Nursery, and Infants’ Schools belong the important work of beginning to lay the foundations of a child’s education.
A stage is now reached when a clearer distinction comes between work and play, and the Junior children take their natural place in the school community. They are the corner-stones and their setting must

be true and strong if the full development of their powers during school life is to take place. The atmosphere for the Junior children should give scope for effort in the right direction. Their interests lie in the joyous world of activity around them and under right guidance grow the will to work and the power to concentrate. The larger keys for unlocking knowledge are still being forged and the work goes on with a merry swing. Reading with the kindred subjects Poetry and Literature, as taught in the schools, will now unlock wider and stronger doors than ever were opened by the old methods of teaching. Here, after a Reading Lesson a class is dramatising “Alice in Wonderland.” There, boys and girls are revelling in scenes from Hiawatha’s childhood.
Now the younger children are living their own childhood in Robert Louis Stevenson’s poems.
The increasing power of concentration shews itself clearly in the Arithmetic lessons. Here the child through concrete illustrations gets a wide knowledge for future work.
The true development of the child should circle around its interest and its needs.
Here a class is exploring the Geography of the neighbourhood - another is giving concrete form to scenes beyond the seas. There again are children’s maps with interesting associations.
p.26
At this stage the ideas of the children are more pictorial than abstract. In History the aim is to suggest the heroic, the tender and the true - to suggest right behaviour and noble striving. Here is a frieze of “Scenes of Early Times” made by the children. There, a childish representation of Bayeux Tapestry shew a knowledge of Saxon and Norman Times. A Crusader’s March is in progress and a picture in the making of Columbus and his discovery of America.
In Drawing, the child has a more critical attitude towards his work. The child is searching after truth, and under guidance, this comes through proportion, truth of outline and colour. Here is a true representation in colour from the actual object, there a drawing from a flower. Beauty of thought, and beauty of expression often shew themselves in the Junior School.
The section of the school is engaged with Needlework. - “I too will something make and joy in the making” seems to be the thought. Here are dolls dressed in knitted and coloured materials. There useful articles for the home are in the making. Simple pinafores and frocks shew the result of nimble fingers.
Now it is happy recreation time and the teacher sees in it a training for the Rhythm of Life. Dancing and Physical Exercises give grace and beauty to developing sturdy limbs. Playing the game brings control and true comradeship.
The training of voice and appreciation of music give a glow and melody to the life of our children. The parents are frequent guests in our schools. With the loving self-sacrificing teachers they are workers in the Garden of Life, leading the children to the source of all goodness - “ The Great Builder.”

Return to List of Links on this page

CLOSING YEARS IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL
HIGHER STANDARD CENTRES

Schools of the type known in Oldham as Higher Standard Centres, and designated Central Schools or “Higher Tops” in other parts of the country, have all come into being within the past eight years. In the closing years of the war it was made quite clear that thoughtful parents desired for their children better educational facilities than had been available in their childhood days. They were willing to make sacrifices to attain this end, willing to allow their children to remain at school longer than the statutory period, and it is not surprising to find that, when in October, I917, the Oldham Education Committee decided to make provision for higher standard centre work at Waterloo, 143 boys and girls, gathered from 26 different schools in Oldham and district, were enrolled on the opening day of the session, for a stipulated two years course. The history of the Waterloo Centre, though brief, has been a very bright one; from its very inception the new idea has proved beneficial in all its phases, and, when in 1921 new contributory causes brought about a much greater demand for similar educational facilities in other parts of the town, centres were established at Derker and, in temporary premises, at Hollins.
These new contributory causes were the abolition of the half-time system and the raising of the school leaving age in 1921 from 13 to 14 years. Immediately the higher classes in the elementaryschools became full to overflowing; school
p.28 image
p.29 image
p.30
accommodation was taxed to its utmost capacity; equipment in many cases was scanty, and all over the country education committees were compelled to deal with the important problem of providing adequate facilities for boys and girls during their last and most vital years in the elementary school. Here in Oldham the Waterloo Higher Standard Centre, providing accommodation for 500 scholars, was already in existence and the Derker and Hollins Centres were able to admit an additional 400 children.
Until recently children entered the centres at the age of I2, and thus passed the last two years of their elementary school life in the new surroundings; but in 1924 the age of entry was reduced to 11 years so that in every case at least three full years will be spent in the higher standard centres. In every probability the Committee will shortly extend the period to cover four years, thus providing continuous higher elementary education from 11 to 15 years of age.
Two new centres are in course of erection. The temporary premises at Hollins are being replaced by a fine new building in Heron Street capable of accommodating 400 scholars, while in the Northmoor district in Ward Street another school of similar accommodation is being erected. Thus in 1926 the four Higher Standard Centres in Oldham will provide places for approximately 1,600 children.
Entry to the centres is by selection. Each year, in May, examinations of the whole of the children in Standard V are held, and the scholars securing the highest places are offered the privilege of passing forward to the Secondary School, the
p.31
Grammar School, or to one of the Higher Standard Centres.
In the main the curriculum of the centres is similar to that of the higher classes in the elementary school, though French has been added during the present year. The Higher Standard Centres are essentially schools for those boys and girls who at the end of their school life intend to pass into industry, into commercial pursuits or into domestic occupations.
Building upon the solid foundations laid in the elementary school, the centres provide sound practical training in Mathematics, broad and general instruction in English, French, History and Geography; for boys, Manual Instruction and Science; for girls, instruction in Needlecraft, Domestic Subjects (Cookery, Laundry, Housewifery), Handwork and Domestic Science; whilst Music and Drawing provide training for the aesthetic sense. During the final year at the centres the children are encouraged to make known their vocational bias, and definite work is attempted to fit boys and girls for the practical work of life. In at least two of the centres training in commercial work forms an established part of the curriculum for the senior scholars, while boys who are attracted towards technical pursuits are allowed to devote extra time to Practical Drawing, Mathematics and Science. Moreover, every centre has its playing field, its gymnasium and its organisation for games.
p32 image
p33 image
p34

Return to List of Links on this page

PHYSICAL TRAINING

Realizing that a system of Education which provided for mental training only was wasteful and ineffective, the Local Education Authority has, for thirty years, made efforts to ensure that the cult of the body kept pace with that of the mind.
In 1898, the first “Syllabus of Physical Training” was issued, the number of fully equipped Gymnasia was increased from two to seven, and a staff of efficient instructors employed. In later years the Board of Education introduced an Official Scheme of Physical Training, and this is now in general use. The Syllabus provides for the physical development of the child throughout its school life, first, by informal, and later, by more formal, methods. The perfect control of a well-balanced body, coupled with the development of good breathing capacity, is the primary object of the system.
In the Infants’ and Junior Departments the young child’s natural love of movement and of self-expression is cultivated, encouraged and directed to advantage. Rhythmic exercises, dancing, and games form an outlet for its abounding energy. Every part of the body is fully exercised with an abandon and cheerful alertness, which produce excellent physical and mental results.
In the Upper Departments, although the “Drill” movements are reduced to a minimum, more formal methods are, of necessity, introduced. A progressive table of exercises is followed by each class, but the recreative element, in the form of dancing and organised games still occupies an important place in the scheme. The “Team” system, which leads to co-operation between
p35
teacher and scholars and promotes a healthy rivalry and spirit of sportsmanship amongst the older scholars, has been adopted in many schools with success.
In common with most large industrial towns, the scarcity of open spaces, on which field games may be played under decent conditions, is keenly felt in this district.
The Municipal Secondary School and Higher Standard Centres have been supplied with playing fields, but the majority of the Elementary Schools are severely handicapped in this direction. Notwithstanding this difficulty, the Scholars’ Sports Association, which was formed in 1896, has for many years done excellent work in the formation of Schools’ Cricket, Football and Basket Ball Clubs. Many teachers devote much of their spare time to coaching their pupils and to teaching them to “Play the game” in every sense. The opportunities thus afforded of studying character, of developing initiative and the true sporting spirit, are invaluable to the teachers, who are amply repaid for their self-sacrifice by the “Camaraderie” which is engendered on the field.
“Sports Day" is one of the most popular local events of the year. The Sports Committee, as a result of long experience, have developed an organisation which enables them to deal expeditiously with the thousands of entrants, and to provide the parents with an opportunity of seeing what is being done in the Schools for the physical development of their children.
Demonstrations of dancing, gymnastics, and games are given, and the programme concludes with a “Mass Drill” in which every school in the town is represented. This is not only spectacular, but
p36
instructive, as the exercises are arranged in the form of a “Table,” similar to those in daily use in the Schools.

SWIMMING

It is safe to say that Oldham is better supplied with bathing facilities than any other town of equal size in the Kingdom. The seven fully-equipped baths are so situated as to be within easy reach of the schools, and efficient instruction is provided all the year round for boys, and during the summer months for girls. The scholars attend during school hours, the average weekly number in attendance being 800 boys and 600 girls.
Each year over 1,000 certificates of proficiency are awarded. The successful pupils are then admitted to free membership by the Senior Swimming Clubs and are thus afforded further opportunities of improving their swimming.
On leaving school, twelve months’ free admission to the Baths is granted by the Baths Committee to scholars who pass a fairly easy test. By these means, continuity is secured not only of the practice of a valuable and health-giving exercise, but of those habits of cleanliness which are inculcated during school-life.
Five trophies for boys and three for girls are offered for competition annually. Keen interest is taken in these competitions, and the number of teams entering increases yearly. This proves that the boys and girls of Oldham are not only “Fond of Sport” but are “Sports” - terms which are not always synonymous.
p.37

HOME CRAFT : ITS VALUE AS A SCHOOL SUBJECT

Domestic skill is an art - an art that does not come to every woman naturally and instinctively, but one that can only be acquired by careful concentration and apprenticeship. The rapid increase in the number of Domestic Science Centres during the last forty years is in response to a long-felt need for them. Domestic Science includes not only Cookery, Laundry, and Needlework, but the art of managing a home. It covers all the duties that may be expected of a good housewife.
The vast changes in our industrial and social conditions have caused a remarkable decrease in the number of girls who receive good training in domestic service, and this is largely responsible for the prevailing tendency for the average working girl to enter into married life, ignorant of the many responsibilities which must needs fall to her lot in the keeping of a happy, comfortable and well-managed home. Since time does not allow for a working girl to study the art of housekeeping in full after leaving school, it must be to the school that we turn to see the desire for love and order, cleanliness and activity awakened in the home-makers of the future.
Cookery was the first of the combined subjects to be introduced into the school curriculum, and its value and importance there can be readily recognised by the fact that the benefits derived from its introduction, have rendered it desirable to include Laundry and Housewifery as compulsory subjects as well, and it is generally recognised that all are subjects which should form part of every girl’s training.
p.38
The knowledge gained on the part of the scholar will depend entirely on the way the teaching is done. The instruction given must be of real practical value, imparted so as to make the pupils observe and think, and not to work in a mechanical imitative way. Besides giving a thorough practical training, the lessons should be of educational value as well. The principles underlying the various methods must be impressed. While it is essential to teach carefully and thoroughly the preparation and cookery of food, it is also necessary to teach the food value and price of the dishes cooked, their use and work in the body, and the component parts necessary for rebuilding and strengthening the worn-out tissues of the body. A knowledge of this should prove invaluable to the housewife, as it will enable her to have a good idea of what food is suitable for infancy, for childhood, for the strong and healthy, for the invalid and the aged. The dishes taught should be such as can be easily made with the equipment likely to be found in a child’s own home.
Principles of order and strict economy must be taught and thoroughly impressed, as it is the skilful cook who will turn out some tempting and appetising dish from the few odd fragments which the careless one despises, and here it might be emphasised that no matter how simple or elaborate a dish may be, careful forethought in preparation and cooking is absolutely necessary to ensure success, and any inaccuracy or carelessness in carrying out the given instructions, whether in weighing, preparation, or actual cooking, is more than liable to spell ruin to her efforts.
Daintiness in serving and arrangements adds to the tastefulness of a dish - but nothing to the taste.
p.39
A fresh sprig of parsley, a dainty doyley, spotless linen, a sprinkling of sugar, are all details which make perfection, and perfection in itself is by no means a detail.
Methodical arrangement of the work is a most important factor. The importance of cleanliness and personal hygiene cannot be over-estimated, while the unquestionable economy of home-laundried[sic] linen may be impressed. Careful teaching of the nature of various chemicals and their action is a matter of great importance, as well as thorough instruction in the treatment of various
kinds of fabrics.
The Housewifery section covers all work from the choice and methodical cleaning of a house, the care of furniture, floor and wall coverings, laundry work, the cooking of wholesome dinners, the laying of tables for meals, the value and economy of home-made cleansing agents, to the careful division of the weekly wage, so as to make it cover all the necessary expenses of a house, and at the same time, have a reserve fund.
The exact value of Domestic Science in the schools is a matter which has been much discussed.
Not its least value is the ease with which its various aspects may be used to help to unify the school curriculum; but undoubtedly it may be said that if the children in the Elementary Schools are given a good grounding in the Domestic Arts, it is at least one step towards raising the standard of health and happiness among the people, and it will lead eventually to a higher standard of attainment in woman’s greatest calling, - the home.
p.40 image

 Return to List of Links on this page