Dilys Paes
I was fortunate enough, and so was Gwyn, and later Selwyn that we all went to the local grammar school. When I got to the age of 14 something quite different happened, Bill was away with the RAF, keeping in touch with us, of course, and I reached the age of my 14th birthday in August and Mum and Dad decided that perhaps I'd like to leave school, have a job and start working. It was all done so quickly. I had a job serving in our local grocery shop called Bells. It wasn't bad. There were four other assistants with Mr. Davis the manager. I didn't mind doing all the serving but it was when it was a weekend, when people would have all their goods there and you have to add it all up in your head, which wasn't very good for me. I've always had a fear of huge numbers to add up ever since, but one of the oldest assistants used to write it up for me.
Just before half term, Bill came home on leave and he was absolutely furious that Mum and Dad had allowed me to leave school and not get any qualifications. The upshot of this was he went to see the Headmaster Mr. Reese T Davis, who had been his headmaster, and Miss Cooke, who had been his headmistress. The result was that after half term I returned back to school. It took a little while to get settled in, but I really did. That was my fourth year. Then fifth year was what we called the school certificate year, now O levels and GCSE, but when we were studying, you didn't get your school certificate unless you'd passed in six subjects. The minimum of six subjects, two of which had to be maths or a foreign language, but you could study both and you had to have arithmetic. Well, I did really quite well and I passed all my subjects. I got, I think, a few credits and the remainder were passes. Then you could, when you got a school certificate, go up to the sixth form for two years, which was prior to going on to higher studies, but I decided that, as I was only 15, I would stay for another year, in the fifth form, and do another set of school certificate subjects. I got a few distinctions the second time and more credits. I really did quite well.
I wanted to teach, I was desperate to teach, so instead of going to the sixth form, which I could have done, I did 12 months student teaching observation in the local infant school. I had to go back to school, I think twice, two days in school where I studied home craft and hygiene but I still had to do the odd subject and the other days were again in the infant school with Miss Amy Blacken-
This infant school was something like the schools, if anybody has read them, the Miss Reed books all based on village life. Miss Reed was the headmistress of the school and everything focused on the school. The description was so like Spring Gardens infants school, it was incredible. It was one room for a reception class. You could have up to sixty children and at that school they had a huge fire going in the fireplace, which heated all the water. The children all sat at a desk, two to a desk and the walls were bottle green tiles, but halfway up very high windows. You couldn’t look through them. I remember the fireplace had a huge brass topped fireguard around it. When the weather was wet and the children got caught in the rain or the snow, they would put their coats over the over this fire guard. There was a huge hall which was divided into two classes and with sliding partitions. These could be moved when there was a special occasion. Again, the children were sitting two to a desk. There wasn't a headmistress’ room or a staff room. The staff would meet in the reception classroom because that was the warmest, most comfortable for lunch. They say Mrs Magrattan Williams had her desk in the corner of one of these rooms, which was half of the hall.
The toilets were at the far end of the playground. Going to the toilet was done at certain times of the day and you’d see the processions from the classes going to the toilet, and of course, during playtime and lunchtime you could go. There always was a teacher and I never forget as a student teacher I was involved in playground duty as well. I can remember there was a bit of a kerfuffle in the boys’ toilets, and I mean, I was only 17. I do remember going to see what it was about. These three little boys each trying to see how far they could shoot their wee up the wall to see how high they could go. I didn't know where to look at and I managed to get my voice and say something to them. My goodness, they stood to attention and I don't think one of them had quite finished what he wanted to do, so he had to sit with a wet patch for the rest of the day, but it was so funny. Nowadays, of course, the toilets would be added to the school building. They wouldn't build schools like that, but it was a good experience for me. I learnt a lot from that school.