I cannot remember my first day at school too well, but I do remember when I was one the infants-to-be, and went in to view the place where my education would be based for the next seven years.

At this time, I was four years old, and distinctly remember how big the school seemed and how the fourth year juniors appeared to walk around on stilts, as they towered high above me.

Mr Jones was headmaster for all my infant years, then when he retired, Miss MacGowen became my first headmistress for two years and was followed by Miss Phizacklea who only joined us for four months until Mr Wilkins arrived.

My first three or four months were complicated, for when I first became a pupil of Denton School, I was a member of Mrs Stanton’s class, then when Mum appeared two or three months later, I was moved ‘down’ into her class, and then back into Mrs Stanton’s class when my few months had ended with Mum.

It was after a couple of months that Miss Haines started teaching at the school in Mrs Stanton’s place, and was followed by Miss Higgins and then the return of Mrs Stanton.

She was my teacher for the next few months until Mr Jones retired, and Miss MacGowen became head of our school. I was moved into her class then, and was now a junior.

School dinners had not been introduced when I first started school, but by the time that Miss MacGowen became headmistress, school meals were well on the way to becoming established.

The school did not have the facilities for the meals, so Mrs Frances Jones marched us up to the village hall in a line and we had our food up there.

Of course, the food was not cooked at the hall, but was transported in thermal cans from Billing to Denton.

I believe that this arrangement still continues at the moment. It is unbelievable that the meals only cost 20p at that time – and now are 55p.

The numbers on roll were rapidly increasing, and it was decided that a mobile classroom should be erected in the back garden of the school.

I was in Miss MacGowen’s class when this monster arrived. My classroom was in what is now the library, and I remember looking up into the garden and seeing the mobile leaning as it was being placed on its base, for one moment it looked as though it was going to come through the window!

Mrs Stanton moved into the mobile, and mum had the partitioned room – with the partition open! Whereas before, she had only used half of it, and Mrs Stanton used the other half. My class stayed in the same room –today’s library.

Just before Mr Wilkins came, all the classes had a general move around and shortly afterwards a second mobile was erected in the back garden on Mr Edwin Cawley’s land.

This left the Junior classes in the main school with Mr Wilkins, Miss Hasler and Mrs Tomlinson, and the mobile classrooms housed the infants – (Mrs Stanton’s and Mum’s forms). The school still seemed rather crowded, so a new school was talked about, but it wasn’t definite that the village would have one.

A little under two years later, I left the school, over over all, I think that is was a part of my life worth remembering.