Education

Mr. Knox was a short, tubby man, with bright blue eyes, pink cheeks and a beard that grew greyer as he grew older. He was always very neatly and quietly dressed. His salary was very, very small and on this he brought up a family of eight. To eke out his income he was overseer and church organist.

Mr. Knox had a very keen sense of humour, but no child dare laugh or even smile in school. His jokes were not recognised as such. When a child wanted to leave the room he would put up his hand and say "Please may I go out?" Sometimes Mr. Knox would say "Oh, you've got the gout, have you?"

Out of school, or with adults, Mr. Knox was a jolly, friendly man. When he went on an evening trip to Carlisle he was the life and soul of the party and was up to all sorts of pranks, and when the attendance officer called, he and Mr. Knox had long talks, interspersed with much laughter.

Mr. Knox must have had a very arduous task. Although he had an assistant for many years, she was in the same room as he was, and he was responsible for the discipline of the whole school. He was due to retire at the end of 1907, and was looking forward to it tremendously, but he took ill in the Christmas holidays, 1906, and died on January 8th, 1907 at the age of 64. Most of the children went to see him in his coffin, as was the custom in those days; they subscribed to a wreath and went to the funeral. As they passed the open grave they each dropped in a sprig of boxwood. The villagers subscribed and erected a granite tombstone to his memory. When speaking of him in after years, his old scholars would speak of his harshness and strict discipline, but often said " But he was a good schoolmaster and turned out some good scholars." 

Mrs. Knox was a very nervous, highly-strung person and was very frightened during a thunderstorm. If one happened during a needlework lesson, the girls had a lovely time, for their teacher sat cowering with her white apron over her head. The poor woman met with a tragic end. She was with her daughter at Threlkeld Station in January, 1914, when she fell in front of a train, and died as the result of her injuries.

The school curriculum never varied much. In the morning the children assembled and knelt on their seats for prayers. One morning a girl's clog fell off while she was so kneeling. She promptly got the strap and prayers continued.

Every morning the older scholars had to do two tots. These were long addition sums in £ s. d., and two had to be done in three minutes. Mr. Knox always put the answers on a piece of paper under the inkstand on his desk, and if anyone could manage to copy down these answers while Mr. Knox was out of the way, he and his friends got both tots correct that morning. The big girls liked to dust the master's desk so that they could have a look at the answers to the tots.

After the tots, half an hour was devoted to Scripture. This consisted of Bible reading, each child reading a verse in turn-or in repetition,

mostly the Church Catechism. Children were taught the Catechism at a very early age, then on Palm Sunday a special service was held in the church, when most of the children said their Catechism." Any new suits or dresses were worn that day, and all the children stood in a line from the altar steps to the door. Then the vicar asked each child a question in turn. It was considered a great disgrace if anyone made a mistake or forgot the correct answer. Many little children under seven years old were able to say the Catechism to the end of the Commandments, and older children had to know the whole of the Catechism. As a reward for their efforts on Palm Sunday, the children went to the Vicarage on Easter Monday morning and were given a Pasch-egg and an orange.

The principal subjects taught in school were the "Three R's." When children first started school, all written work was done on slates, and these were gradually superseded by exercise books. Those who used slates were expected to carry about with them a sponge box, which was generally a small tobacco tin containing a horrible, smelly piece of sponge, and also a slate cloth for drying the slates after washing. Woe betide any boy who was caught spitting on his slate or using his coat sleeve !

Arithmetic consisted mainly of the four rules, and these were taught thoroughly but mechanically. Sometimes during an arithmetic lesson the tiny tots took their slates and pencils and sat amongst the big boys and girls, who set and marked sums for them.

Reading lessons were always taken in the same way. The children were each given a book, and took it in turn to read aloud a paragraph. Books were very scarce articles. Three or four books had to last for a year, and bright children could recite long passages from memory.

Once a week, copy books were given out in class. On the top line of each page was written a proverb, such as Waste not, want not, in beauti- ful copperplate writing. The children had to try to copy this beautiful writing. Five lines were written during the lesson (five minutes for each line) and no-one must start the second line until Mr. Knox gave the order. The books would have been filled too soon if children had been allowed to write at their own speed! Economy was most carefully considered. Towards the end of Mr. Knox's time, several other subjects were taught, namely, Geography, History, Grammar, Drawing, Singing and Poetry.

In Geography lessons, everything was learnt by rote. First, children had to learn the definitions of the various physical features. They used to chant all together "The top of the map is the north; the bottom of the map is the south; the right-hand side as you look at the map is the east ; the left-hand side as you look at the map is the west." Or, "An isthmus is a narrow neck of land joining two larger portions," and "A cape is a piece of land sticking out into the sea," and so on. When these definitions were more or less mastered, a large map of England was hung on the easel and children learnt the capes and bays, mountains, islands, etc. Every- thing was learnt by rote, and repeated in unison in a sing-song fashion.

A little Grammar was taught, consisting mostly of parsing. A great deal of attention was paid to Spelling, and Dictation lessons were a regular feature.

When children arrived at the top half of the school, drawing lessons commenced. The first lesson consisted of drawing a four-inch square with a pencil and ruler. For the second lesson, the square had to be drawn freehand. Many were the rubbings out and startings again. One poor girl in particular spent many weary hours drawing her second square. She pressed on hard with her blunt pencil, but somehow the lines would not go straight. She rubbed and drew for lesson after lesson. Mr. Knox must have seen how things were, but he said nothing, and whenever he passed the girl, she put her arm round her book and buried her head over her work. In the end she rubbed the lines into holes and the square was only held in place by the corners. Similar exercises were given week after week, until any boy or girl who showed any aptitude was given cards to copy. These were simple objects at first, and gradually became more difficult, until some children could make very presentable copies of sprays of roses, brambles, etc.

For many years Mrs. Knox went to school for one or two afternoons each week to teach needlework. She had had no training in teaching, but her methods were very thorough, and she turned out some good needle- women. Her methods were simple, but uninteresting and very tedious for little hands and young eyes. Little girls of five were given a small strip of white calico on which Mrs. Knox tacked a narrow hem along one side. Very fine needles were threaded with fine pink or blue cotton and the children were shown how to hem. The stitches were wild and uneven at first and the "specimens were usually decorated with blood from pricked fingers, but eventually the end was reached and the other side hemmed in the same way. Dozens of these specimens were sewn until Mrs. Knox passed them as satisfactory. After that, two small pieces of calico were tacked together, and the children shown how to do a "seam and fell." Again, dozens of these were sewn and thrown into the waste paper basket or the fire. Any children who showed any aptitude at sewing were at last allowed to hem dusters, handkerchiefs, teacloths, etc. Later, girls practised sewing gathers into a band, sewing on buttons and tapes, making buttonholes and gussets, sewing patches on flannel, calico and print, etc. In fact, every girl received a very good grounding in plain sewing. When proficient at the various stitches, they were allowed to make garments-pinafores, aprons, nightdresses, shirts, and so on. They were also taught to knit, but only socks and stockings. Economy was a great feature of needlework lessons. Girls were only allowed a very short length of sewing cotton at a time, and could only obtain more by standing up in their places until Mrs. Knox gave them permission to go out and get some off the reel on her table. She was somewhat temperamental : sometimes she scolded a girl for getting cotton without being told, and at other times for wasting her time instead of getting some. If anyone lost a needle or thimble or piece of cotton she had to look for it until she found it, and if it was not found by play-time or four o'clock, all the rest of the girls had to stay in and look for it. One afternoon a little girl called Emily lost her thimble. She spent most of the afternoon looking for it, without success. At four o'clock all the rest of the girls had to stay and help in the search. It could not be found, so the girls were told they could go home. They marched past Mr. Knox at the door, and as Emily went past him she was holding her head down, so he put his finger under her chin, saying "Hold your head up, child," when out dropped the missing thimble !

Children's dress in the early part of the century, and before the turn of the century, was cumbersome and ungainly, and the girls wore several layers of garments. Besides vest, chemise and drawers, two petticoats (one a flannel one in winter) were the usual rule. Every girl wore a pinafore over her dress, thick, long black stockings and clogs. The latter were a necessity in those days when roads were so rough and bad. Girls' clogs were quite light and neat. They only reached to the ankles, had brass clasps and toe plates, and, of course, had to be blackened every day until they shone. Boys' clogs were terribly clumsy, heavy things. They were higher than the girls', almost like boots. They were made of stiff, thick leather, and must have been uncomfortable to wear. The bigger and clumsier the clogs were and the better the boys liked them. They would not have been seen in a pair of girls' clogs under any consideration. Most boys wore corduroy trousers and cloth coats and waistcoats. For many years after Mr. Knox came to Culgaith School there was no caretaker. The big boys and girls had to take it in turn to get in the coals, chop the sticks, sweep the floor, etc. In the morning, the children dusted their seats by sitting on them, then a duster was passed round and each child had to dust the part of the desk in front of him. At one time the boys who were responsible for lighting the fires had to supply their own kindling sticks. Mrs. Grace Hindson, who lived opposite the school, was the first caretaker. At first she received half-a-crown a week, and when she asked for a rise she received three shillings and sixpence. Out of this she had to supply kindling sticks and her own cleaning materials.

There was no water laid on at the school in the time of Mr. Knox. In the boys' yard were two earth closets, and the girls were similarly provided for. There were no wash basins in the porches, but there was a well in the boys' yard, and over this a pump was built, and children wanting to wash their hands had to use the pump trough. A cake of carbolic soap was provided and there was one roller towel for boys and one for girls. Usually the number of scholars on roll was about sixty, so no doubt the towels became somewhat grubby before the week was out!

At that time all girls wore their hair long and not confined in any way. It hung over their shoulders and down their backs, and spread over the desks when they were writing. There were always at least one or two dirty families in the school, with dirty heads particularly. It can be understood that all girls at times got vermin into their hair, and clean mothers spent a considerable amount of time combing heads with small-tooth combs. Some girls' heads were disgustingly dirty, full of lice and nits. Sometimes

when Mr. Knox saw a girl scratching her head, he would ask " Caught it ?" "No, sir," would answer the embarrassed girl. "Never mind," Mr. Knox would say, "We'll set the hounds after it at playtime!

There were no organised games at school in Mr. Knox's time, but every playtime boys and girls went into separate yards and spent a joyous time shouting and running about. They must have needed those breaks after sitting perfectly still for so long. Both boys and girls were able to organise games for themselves. They would often "choose sides," and play team games quite amicably. 

Mr. Huddart's ideas on teaching were many years ahead of his time, and many of his ideas are being carried out today in many Cumberland schools. He believed in children learning by doing things. He was enthusiastic about handicrafts, gardening, Poultry Keeping and all practi- cal subjects. The making of the Recreation Ground is described in another chapter. The outstanding success of the Recreation Ground came to the knowledge of Sir George Newman, then Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education, who, in his letter of congratulation, said that, so far as he knew, it was unique. In 1935, Mr. Huddart lectured on "The Social Work of a Country School" at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, under the auspices of the Ideal Education Society. Then in 1939 came the honour of M.B.E., clearly an official recognition of services which merited special reward.

Being a very enthusiastic teacher, Mr. Huddart encouraged many of his pupils to enter the profession and trained them as pupil teachers. He never lost his enthusiasm for teaching, and even when he reached the age of 65, he still carried on, as there was a great shortage of teachers during the war. His health broke down in 1944, and he died in a Newcastle hospital on 28th February, 1945, after an operation. He was 65 years of age.

After his death a local committee of old pupils and others was set up to take in hand the question of a memorial. It was decided to rebuild the pavilion in the Recreation Ground, as this was considered a most suitable memorial. However, as it was difficult at that time to obtain labour and materials, in the meantime the committee decided to present to the school a photograph of Mr. Huddart. It was hung on the wall of the large class- room, behind the head teacher's desk. It was an excellent likeness, showing Mr. Huddart with his M.B.E., and bearing underneath a silver plate with his name and the period of his headmastership, 1907-1945. Mr. G. B. Brown, Director of Education for Cumberland, unveiled the photograph in October, 1946.

Mr. Alan Parkin took up duty as Headmaster in January 1960 with 64 scholars on the roll, ages ranging from 4 to 15 years. The Infants Teacher was Miss Winter. An important milestone was reached in July 1960 when all pupils of 11+ left to commence the following term at Secondary Schools in Penrith. 27 children left, 25 to those Schools and 2 to begin work. A Closing Service was conducted by the Vicar.

School re-opened in September with 38 on the roll, 4 of whom were new starters. During the Summer Holidays a V.H.F. Radio with extension loudspeakers was wired up ready for use and Mrs. T. Falder began her duties as Infants Teacher

In early May 1966 lessons began in Victoria Institute while the School buildings were modernised, this continued until May 1967. When the new School buildings were occupied an Assembly was taken by the Vicar with Mr. T. Lancaster and Mr. G. A. Stamper present as Managers. Mrs. C. Miller took up duties as Cook-in-Charge with Mrs. L. Eastham as Kitchen Helper. The Official Opening in September was carried out by Mr. G. A. Huddart, retired Headmaster in the presence of invited representatives of Cumberland Education Committee and Diocese of Carlisle, parents and children who were later entertained to tea. The architect was Mr. T. G. Jackson and builders T. F. Thompson. Television was installed in 1969.

In May 1970 the Centenary of the Education Act was celebrated with the School open to parents and members of the public. The Exhibition of School photographs dating back to 1876 was a special attraction to the 40 people who attended in the evening, some staying several hours.

Changes were pending in 1973 when pupils of 8+ were to be sent to Langwathby School. A petition was organised by the W. I. against the change and it was signed by someone in every household. This had no effect and as from July 1974 Culgaith ceased to be a Junior and Infants School and became a First School with pupils from 4 to 8 years of age, 19 children left at that time. School re-opened in September with 30 on the roll, 14 from Skirwith where the School had closed. A Meeting was held and arrangements made for the start of a Nursery Class for Monday to Wednesday afternoons. This was opened on 30th September with 13 children and 10 mothers.

Mrs. Falder left in July 1976 after more than 12 years of loyal and conscientious service to Culgaith School and a presentation was made to her with three School Managers present.

Early 1977 the School was closed for several days because of severe weather with 16 to 18 degrees of frost and failure of electricity and heating. In October 1977 Mr. T. Lancaster was presented with a shooting stick when he retired as a Manager after 46 years and correspondent for 40 years. During the Easter holiday 1980 Mr. Parkin left the School House to live in Penrith and later that year Mrs. Wallace took up the post as Infants Teacher.

The winters of 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 brought more problems with severe weather and the heating of the School. The fellside villages were cut off by road conditions and the children were unable to travel.

In 1983 Mrs. J. Males was appointed 2 mornings a week for remedial work, and a computer was purchased in September, the Governors defraying the cost. Culgaith was selected with 5 other Cumbrian schools to take part in PRISM Research Programme over the next 2 years by Leicester University.

Another milestone in 1984 was the retirement of Mr. Alan Parkin after almost 25 years as Head of Culgaith School. After the Sports in July a Ceremony was held in School, when parents, past and present pupils and many people from the three villages gathered to pay tribute to Mr. Parkin. The Chairman of the Governors presented him with a camera and a cheque from well- wishers over a wide area. Mr. Parkin showed his appreciation for all the support given to him by everyone connected with the School over the years of his Headship.

In September 1984 Mrs. Rosalie Graham was appointed Headmistress with 39 children on the roll. February of the following year brought about the formation of a School Committee and a Spring Fayre was held raising £384. 50p. for School funds. The Vicar Rev. Moatt attends regular- ly to take Assembly, and School Sports are held in July each year, with Nursery children also taking part.

In 1986 Mrs. C. Siddle, Mrs. Beglan or Mr. Barraclough attend to play the piano for music lessons. Mrs. A. Lancaster takes a group for pottery and Mrs. S. Leathers of Special Educational Needs Service spends one morning a week working with a small group of children. Severe weath- er in 1987 caused problems again. Mrs. S. O'Neill was appointed Part-time Non-teaching Assistant. There was a Best Kept Village Painting Competition and Mr. Seddon (Voluntary Action Cumbria) came to present badges and pens to the children who had entered.

Mrs. M. Thompson became a Non-teaching Welfare Assistant (Part-time) in 1988 and the Governors agreed to purchase a video recorder. Mrs. J. Rogers attends School one morning per week to cater for children with Special Educational needs.