Wigan Album

I love these old school photos! They remind me of my primary school days. I actually have a 1950s double-desk, complete with inkwells, in my spare room. My grandchildren love it!

This is how I remember the Juniors at St Pats with the partition dividing the classes. Very nostalgic ! Remember the double desks as well with the hole for the inkwells. I would love to lift the desk top to look inside!

At a time when schools have every possible facility ,note the monitor is connected to the light fitting obviously no power point available. Times have changed dramatically mostly for the better ,but somethings less so, respect for the teacher and school property, good manners .Thanks for the photographs Keith ,they bring back memories of my school days ! I must admit not the happiest days of my life, particularly at secondary school.

The chapel staff run a coffee morning in the school rooms on Thursday mornings. Visitors are welcome.

What would you see, Vb, in the desks? Maybe a Janet and John reading-book; Exercise books in different colours for different subjects, with conversion tables printed on the back....ounces into pounds, feet into inches and strange measurements like quarts and bushels and furlongs. Wooden Pencil Boxes. If you opened the lids of MY 1950s school desk, in my back bedroom, Vb, our Edie's side is a model of tidiness, with books, papers, pencil case etc. all laid out in apple-pie order. Our Oliver's side looks like a bomb's dropped in it!

Have just realised the desks were more like a shelf with metal sides it would have been difficult to keep things tidy. I remember the exercise books -squares for sums and lines for writing. One thing I remember is learning times tables by rote -which to my mind was the best way. Children these days seem to learn arithmetic in a complicated way -not a way I could help my grandchildren with! It's all very different now Irene.

Vb, I agree with you. My friend's friend is a teaching assistant at a school where they have just re-introduced the rote system and the staff are amazed at how the children have taken to it and have improved in their times tables. One thing about the sing-song-style "One two is two, two twos are four".....it certainly stuck, and we "of a certain age" can say what six sevens are at the drop of a hat! If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Thats right Irene ....we could reckon up in our heads without the aid of a calculator... And give the correct change without the till "telling" you what to give back! Mind you it is amazing what kids today can do with computers at school now from such a young age.

I remember those school televisions on the tubular iron stands so they could be moved from one room to another, also remember the school wireless sets in light oak cases. There were a few iron framed oak double desks still in use when I was at primary school.

I wonder if the picture is in the 60s .....I don't remember any visual aids as such in the 50s

I don't think the thing on the stand is a television. I think its an Epidiascope which sort of back projected and magnified images that were laid flat on a surface behind it.. They were widely used in schools before the advent of TVs and other modern audiovisual aids.

I agree with you Carolean, although I am not familiar with the device you describe. Partially hidden to the right looks to be a projector of some description. Also, TVs were not commonplace in the classroom in the 50s/60s and TVs of the time would not have anything like so big a screen as the area on this equipment.

I remember we had a big wooden speaker on the wall at Ince Central, with a fancy cut-out design, and we listened to "Radio Broadcasts for Schools". I can't recall a telly, but if I was off school due to sickness, I used to enjoy the schools programmes on the telly at home. About once a month, in school, we had a film-show, (usually educational films), in exciting, giggle-inducing semi-darkness in our classroom. Anything that deviated from the norm was welcomed by us.....we were easily pleased in those days!

is there any landgaters who could put a date/names to this photo,Sylvia/Eileen U,have a try.

It's a mid fifties photo. The bottom part of the Queen's coronation coach is pictured on the wall. The two birds in the cage are woodcocks.