Unfortunately things didn’t improve and during the summer he was admitted to Stafford Infirmary, where he died on September 5^th. This would have come as a great shock to the staff on their return from the summer holiday. Mr. Mayland commented in the school log book that “The School has sustained a great loss.”

His funeral took place on September 11^th and was attended by Miss Haigh and Mr. Mayland. Floral tributes were sent from the school including a number from his old pupils. He was greatly missed.

She reached the second and final milestone in 1967 when she retired. The schools annual prize giving took place on July 13^th. The prizes were presented by the Chairman of the school’s managers, Councillor Mrs. Wilkinson. During the proceedings she presented Miss Haigh with a Wedgewood tea service from the children, a table cloth and napkins from the staff, and a cut glass vase from the school managers.

She is a well remembered member of the teaching staff, mainly because she had the reputation of being a strict disciplinarian. Many of the children greatly feared her, and if anyone stepped out of line they would receive a sharp wrap across the knuckles with a 12inch ruler. Her nickname for many years was “Polly”. Every Friday afternoon each child in her class had to bring along a small bottle of vinegar, some furniture polish in a match box, and two cloths to clean their desk. The vinegar was to remove any ink marks. Children at the time had a habit of writing their initials on their desk. If she found anyone defacing the furniture in any way they would be in a lot of trouble. As a result she had the cleanest, and possibly the longest surviving desks in the school. On a recent visit to the school I saw a few of the old desks that still survive, and it is thought that they came from her classroom.

She was a devout Christian lady who for many years was looking after her elderly mother.

I noticed in the school log book that she had changed her address some time before her retirement, moving into a small, quiet road off Stafford Road, Wolverhampton. This was presumably to be her retirement home, after her mother had died.

During the 1960s other members of staff left, and new members arrived. In December, 1961 Mr. West who had been at the school for 5 years was transferred to the Cannock Division, and in July 1966 Mrs. W. Ingles left to have a baby.  The school’s Deputy Head Mr. J. Mackenzie left in December 1966 and was replaced by Mr. R. Butt who commenced duty in April 1967. Other leavers included the Infants Welfare Officer, Mrs. L. Jenkins who left in July, 1967 and was replaced by Mrs. Bourne. Other new members of staff included Mrs. P.E. Holt, Miss S.A. Richards, and Miss M. James, who all started in September 1967.

As in previous years the school attendance fell during the early winter weeks through illness. On the 23^rd January, 1961 only 184 children were in attendance because of flu and gastric troubles, and one month later the attendance fell again, this time to 210 due to the spread of measles amongst the infants. In January 1964 a combination of snow, measles, and colds led to an attendance of only 177. Things were even worse in March when heavy blizzards resulted in only 115 children being present.

Another bad month was January 1966 when there were poor attendances throughout the later part of the month. On the 21^st January only 197 children were present due to sore throats and sickness. Three days later only 47 infants were present in the whole school, and on the 28^th January the attendance fell to 141 due to an influenza epidemic.

Much the same occurred the following year when there were many cases of mumps, measles and whooping cough. In April 1967 there were 63 cases of chicken pox and 3 cases of German measles.

From January 1960 to January 1968 the number of children on the school roll was as follows:

The school also took part in the Town Sports in June 1960, and in the same year the school’s football team played in the final of the Knock Out Cup, loosing 1-0. The Cycle Proficiency Tests continued to be held in the school playground. In February 1964 nine children passed with marks ranging from 87 to 94. Another test held at the school was the Royal Life Saving Society’s Preliminary Artificial Respiration exam. 35 children took the exam on the 30^th June, 1965 and every one passed.

One of the highlights at the end of each school year was the school trip, and the leaver’s trip, where the children visited varied and interesting locations.

The school trips between 1960 and 1967 were as follows:

1960    6 coaches went to Southport.
1966    The Royal Show at Stoneleigh Abbey.

The school leaver’s trips between 1960 and 1967 were as follows:

1960    48 children visited Wollaton Park and Nottingham Castle with Mr. Scart and Mr. Mayland.
1961    36 children visited Blenheim Palace and Oxford.
1962    Kedleston Hall and Alton Towers
1963    Blithfield Hall and Alton Towers with Mr. Mayland, Miss Cole, and Miss Cartwright.
1964    Coventry and Drayton Manor Park.
1965    Junior 4 visited Tamworth Castle and Drayton Manor Park accompanied by Miss Jones and
            Mr. Mackenzie in poor weather.
1967    Alton Towers with Mr. Mayland, Mr. Butt, and Miss Sjoerdsma.

The children also attended a number of concerts and plays. On the 14^th October, 1960 Junior 4 went to a concert at King Charles’ School that was given by C. Dolmetch and Saxby. On the 22^nd February, 1962 the juniors went to the Regal Cinema to see “Swiss Family Robinson” and a Walt Disney nature film, and in February 1964 Junior 4 and Mrs. Jones visited Darlaston Grammar School to attend an orchestral concert given by the Cardiff College of Music.

Performances were also given in the school hall. In July 1962 a visiting theatre company presented their version of Cinderella, and in June 1963 the Theatre for Youth gave a performance of Rumpelstiltskin. In January 1967 Mr. Jellings of British Rail gave the school a talk about safety on the railways.

Another interesting event attended by children from the school was the Festival of Queens that took place in Wolverhampton Civic Hall on the 29^th March, 1967. Those taking part included Maureen Hyde, who was Queen, with her attendants Karen Benton and Janet Prickett, and her purse bearer, Michele Morris. Mr. Mayland, Mrs. Boddic, and Mrs. Patrick also attended the event which was in aid of the Children’s Homes.

The school open days in July continued to be a great success. In 1960 both the infants and juniors open days were well attended, with Councillor Mrs. Wilkinson distributing the prizes. The following year it was held as an evening event with the prizes given by Councillor Sutton. Again it was well attended, and would remain as an evening event throughout the decade. In 1962 many parents attended, inspected, and discussed the children’s work. The prizes were presented by Councillor Mrs. Wilkinson, Councillor Sutton, and Councillor Mrs. Hitch. This continued to be a successful event as can be seen from the attendance record for 1965 when about 200 parents came along.

The annual Christmas celebrations continued as in the 1950s, with plays, a carol service, a party and the distribution of presents and ice cream. The celebrations in 1966 included a nativity play which was watched by about 100 parents. At Easter, 1967 Junior 4 gave three plays to all of the school, which they had produced and written themselves.

The school hall in the 1960s.

The school still encouraged children to save their money. In 1961 a total of 200 savers saved £2,000, a lot of money at the time. In 1964 the total reached £1,175, and £1,200 the following year. On 3^rd October, 1966 prizes were given at Walsall Town Hall for the National Poster and Jingles Competition to mark the anniversary of National savings. Prize winners from the school were Kerry Watton, Mark Flowers, and Roy Jarvis.

Collections were also made for good causes. In November 1962 the juniors raised £44.1s.4d. for the blind and in March 1966 £45.10s. was raised for Sunshine Homes. Mrs. Butler of the National Institute for the Blind gave a talk about the work of the blind in the school hall in January 1968. During the talk she appealed for funds, which resulted in a total of £74.4s.3d. being raised for the blind. Quite an achievement.

During the 1960s the school managers attempted to get the school playing field project underway. At a meeting in September 1960 they were informed that the purchase of the land was progressing well, and could be completed when Darlaston Council had re-housed the 4 families, who were still occupying the houses that were to be demolished in Moxley Road. Things moved extremely slowly and in October 1966 the managers were told that the council were still negotiating for the purchase of the land.

The managers also attempted to improve the approach to the front of the school. At the time the whole area was full of ruts and pot holes, which would fill up with water. In 1961 a request was made to the County Council to extend the existing road as far as the school gates. They were informed in October 1962 that work on the approach road was held up because of a lack of communication with the executors of the late Pat Collins, who owned the land. In May 1963 the managers sent a letter recommending that a Council Purchase Order should be made for the land in an effort to make the executors answer their correspondence. Sadly it all came to nothing in the end. After much effort by the managers, a letter was received from the County Council in January 1966 stating that “some of the depressions in the approach road have been filled-in with surplus tarmac from the resurfacing of the playground. They hope this will bring about an improvement in conditions.” Mr. Mayland summed it all up in the school log book by stating that “This was an unsatisfactory end to a struggle of almost 10 years.”