Wigan Album

T hat must have been took in the forties, before the extension was built.

Brilliant photo. Is this from a glass negative?

The wall had gone by the 1950's when I was there and as Jimmy says, the extension was built.

hello this seems a very odd view of the school, seems like the church is in the wrong place!!! or is it just me?

i've just worked it out, the picture is taken from the back of the school..sorry..silly me.. brings back great memories though, anyone remember Miss Phythian? she used to frighten the life out of me, and of course the late wonderful Norah Anderton

I was there from 1949 - 1954 and the wooden extension classrooms were certainly there then.Remember Mr and Miss Starkey, Miss Phythian,Miss Winstanley, ~Mrs Anderson,Mr Pigot, Miss Marsden,Miss Birch (Aldridge),Mrs Lowe and ringing the gong outside Mrs Redfearns class! 60 odd years ago and I remember it as if it were yesterday!

Christine and David,

I do remember those wonderful, and not so wonderful teachers. Ah, they all meant well, I suppose. It was the spinsters that terrified me. I started around 1951-52, I am going to check this out because I still have my school reports. Arghhhh

Fred, i remember that gong that had to be rung with a metal stick,i left in 1970. I also remember a company coming to do a pantomime and being absolutelely terrified and having to sit on miss matthews knee (oh the embarassment). Also the bottles of milk at break time,Nora Anderton singing her head off at assembly,and the houses on that street leading to the church, when people said one was haunted.so many wonderful memories, and when it was the christmas fair in recent years i used to just stand in a corner in the hall for 5 minutes and close my eyes and remember..bliss

A milk cart crashed into the wall early 60's and Colin Burgess got hurt and went to hospital. Its amazing you can remember things from ages ago and sometimes cant remember what you did yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christine, you must be quite young. I left in 1957 for Wigan Grammar School after passing the eleven plus. I didn't realize the significance of that back then. I missed St John's immensely and was quite miserable at Grammar School but with hindsight it was the best thing that ever happened to me or any other student from a primary school back then.

Oh, what have we lost. !!!

Fred. I'm 52.I went to the Deanery High School from here, i remember none of the people i had known went to the Deanery, and on the first day i felt like an alien because
everyone seemed to have made friends already. I was quite a shy child so the first few days were a shock to my system.
At first i wanted to go back to St Johns, but after a while the feeling subsided and i ended up loving the Deanery.
Happy days indeed

I remember crying my eyes out for my mum on my first day there back in 1965 and then being given some toys to play with. I also remember playing that game "All Across" and colliding with Dave Ashurst (R.I.P.)where i ended up with a broken ankle and left on the floor in the playground writhing in pain while everyone went back into class. happy Days though.

anyone remember me ,ian

Ian,

Can you supply more info please? What year were you there, etc.

Christine,

You say you wanted to go back to St John's.??

Wonderful. I still want to go back to St John's. There was a contentment about the school and I believe there was also a contentment about the times...the fifties...

One day I will return to see the old school (I live in deep, dark, Cumbria and love it)

Best wishes to all my old mates...

we have 3 generations that went to St Johns, my mum went which must have been around 1931/2 my brother and myself went 1957 for my brother 1967 myself and then both my daughters in the 80s/90's upset that my granddaughter not kept the tradition on lots of good memories i cried my eyes out and refused to step out of the school on our last day haha remember miss Anderton cuddling us and tears in her eyes too

You will notice how high the windows are off the ground. I read that this was so that the children could not look out at the scenery and be distracted from their studies.

How bleak this school was but yet what character it had. The new section was quite different, but still had character. Lovely times in the fifties.

I have set up a Poll on my personal web site to see how many of us want a reunion, possibly next year. It is anonymous but you may also leave your name and e-mail for contact later on. All names are protected.

www.fredmason.com

I'm doing some research and am looking for info on St John's School 1963 - 1970. There is a commentator on this page called Christine who says she left in 1970. I'm sure she could help me. If she's reading this or if anyone knows her please pass my message on, or if you can help me with info in that period, please e-mail me on bradder.ab@gmail.com. Thank you.

@Platty

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I started in 1959 and remember well Miss Starkey's class. We could put toys out on the back table on Friday mornings and choose one to play with after morning assembly and some lessons. There was a partition between our class and Mrs Lowe's class next door. We could choose a spangle if we recited our times table correctly for Mrs Lowe. I hated the milk though. It was always luke warm but we had to drink it. Ringing the gong outside Mrs Miller's classroom was something we all wanted a turn at. Girls were in the big yard and boys in the smaller yard with the grass end. At the end of summer term, the teachers would hand out tin boxes of Lakeland crayons that had seen better days and our drawings off the wall. The hall always held a Christmas Fayre with stalls full of books, dressing table sets and baking etc. It was magical.