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Schooldays in Haslemere

Between the 1940s and 1960s, Haslemere had a variety of different schools. Private schools included St Ives, which at this time was a school ran by the Parents’ National Educational Union and as such emphasised the teaching of nature studies and the arts. The Haslemere School on Chestnut Avenue was opened on 22nd April 1900. It was originally designed for some 220 pupils and built by public subscription. There were also smaller schools such as Hillside School, situated for a time on the Petworth Road and run by the formidable Miss Welland, and Shottermill School in Lion Lane. Woolmer Hill, today the only secondary school in Haslemere, was built in the 1950s to satisfy requirements of 1944 Education Act.

Track 12 Hillside Dictation

Credit line: Elizabeth Boniface talks about dictation lessons at Hillside School.

Transcription:

Interviewee: Hillside School was opposite Woolworths and had two rooms, a downstairs and an upstairs.

Interviewer: Was that Miss Welland’s school?

Interviewee: Yes, Miss Welland and Miss Irish and Miss Randall.

Interviewer: You’re smiling. I wonder why you’re smiling.

Interviewee: There were about four people in each class and you moved up, never mind when you would do anything, you got a bit old for that class so you moved up one but you only moved up a couple of desks and if we were having dictation she would have about six books here and she would start with the little ones and that sort of thing and then she would move to the next one, then the next one, then the next one so you couldn’t keep it in your head because you heard all the others.

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