The head teacher was Mr. Beynon, who on retirement was succeeded by Mr. Jack Clochler. Other members of staff were Mr. Florence and Mr. Charles Boyd, who were my main teachers. Also there was Miss Jones, who taught Welsh as well as her own class and was a kindly lady who would always give ‘house’ points for good behaviour; Mr. Pressdee, who taught handicraft. Each teacher had their own class, but sometimes we went to other classes for singing etc. There was also a class in the hall, taught by Miss Pack (now Mrs. Buckland). Mr. Mansel Lovering succeeded Miss Jones on her retirement.

          School hours were 9am until 4pm and most days began with an assembly with the usual hymns and bible readings. One I remember was ‘Over the sea there are little brown children’ (Imagine this being sung today!) and another was ‘Jesus bids us shine’. Lessons consisted of maths, English, history, singing and games and occasionally, art and handicraft and the books used were ‘The Essential Spelling List’ by Fred Schonel, ‘Duncan’s Mental Arithmetic’, ‘Word Perfect’ and ‘First Aid in English.’ TV and radio programmes were also big parts of school life. In the hall, we watched the large black and white TV, which was on a stand with wheels, and the windows blacked out with curtains. Programmes included ‘Discovering Science,’ ‘People of Many Lands’ and ‘Watch.’

           The school doctor, dentist and ‘nit’ nurse were part of school life, when every so often we had our hair checked and yellow forms given out to some pupils prior to the visit of the school doctor for the dreaded injections.

          Exams were given near the ends of terms, the questions being duplicated on a ‘banda’ printer—the smell of the ink used evoking a distinct memory. The major exam was of course, the ‘Eleven Plus,’ which decided if you went to Grammar school or not.

          Other memories include carrying a tea service down to Oystermouth Square for Miss Jones when she retired. She lived in Sketty, but asked two of us to carry it to the bus stop to catch the 85 bus home.

          School dinners were eaten in Victoria hall, supervised by Mrs. Dorothy Bennett, Mrs. Margaret Charles and Mrs. Cornelius, where discipline was strict. There were many bent spoons due to them being banged on the table to keep order!

          Some amusing events to remember include the day we were sorting out hoops and mats for gym at the back of the hall, when one of the girls let out a deafening scream, as she had  found a pair of false teeth belonging to the caretaker! Another is of one of the teachers, who would often fall asleep at his desk while reading a story. We used to keep quiet until it was nearly going-home time, when we would make enough noise to wake him up!

Ah! Happy Days!