Photos of Wigan
Photos of Wigan
Album Contents
Album Contents
Wigan Album
St Michael & All Angels, Swinley
1 Comment
Staff of the school, c1905.
Photo: Brian Elsey
Photo: Brian Elsey
Views: 3,068
Item #: 389
Item #: 389
Staff of the school, c1905.
Too late for my gran (Nellie Smith), she was there in the 1890's. She remembered Mr Shardon the head (is that him in the middle?) who was a Francophile and introduced french-style class numbering starting at 4 (7-8 yr olds) finishing with class 1 - still in use in my day. Those were the days of chronic teacher shortage, when the leading lights among the older kids were pressed into service taking classes - 'pupil-teachers'. Gran was one, and at age 12 when her contemporaries all left, she stayed on as a fulltime teacher, continuing her training at evening classes - until her marriage in 1900. Most of the ladies in this picture look no more than teenagers, like my gran.
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