Todays adventure is this little Edwardian school that I visited with Tamsin, back in the glory days before Covid 19. I'm actually really lucky that my hobbies are also writing-based because if I had to self-isolate without something to do, I'd go insane. But at least everyones shut up about goddamn Brexit! Now half of the internet is old people complaining that young people are still going outside, and the other half is younger people pointing out that old people are also still going outside. And then there's me pointing out that the only reason anyone knows this is because they were outside too, while also trying to decipher all of their horrendous grammar.
Heres an idea: Why don't we spend our quarantine learning how to spell? Because sentences like "There parents should no better" don't actually make any sense. Nobody was panic-buying the dictionarys! There's plenty to go around!
But I digress. Todays location is a school, that ironically everyone needed to go to but now cant because its closed.
Following the schools closure in 1990 it became infested with rats. Thats not to say it was abandoned straight away. No, it was converted into council offices, so most of the rats had jobs here. Some of the more modern extensions were also used as a community centre. It definitely still has the vibe of a school though, as well as a few exterior indicators such as the gender-segregated doorways.
The school dates back to the illustrious year of 1904. Russia was at war with Japan, America was ending its occupation of Cuba, Women were starting to fight for the right to vote, and somewhere in the UK, someone said "Our kids are a bit thick. Lets make a school."
The pupil age range here was from twelve to eighteen, and like many buildings of its time, after the war it was added to with some nice Brutalist extensions, starting with a science block in the 1950s. The school presumably was undergoing something of a revamp at the time, because it changed its name too, to honour a former mayor of the town.
The ground floor was pretty dark, but the reception area is still here, mostly intact as the building crumbles around it. Metal thieves have long since come and gone, and whatever measures were put in place to keep people out have also been given up on.
The more modern extensions have also since been demolished, leaving only the original Edwardian building to see. This is a bit of a shame, because in 1993 they added a sports hall, and previous urban explorers have photographed the gym there. Sadly I was too late for that.
There's loads of childrens books here.
This toilet is still in better condition than the toilets in some pubs and clubs.
This cupboard was labeled standby props for Danny and the Human Zoo. This was a short movie that came out in 2015, and is based on the life of the comedian, Lenny Henry, and what it was like for a black teenager growing up in the west midlands in 1975. Given that this community centre was in the same area, they must have stored the props here. That's pretty cool!
This room with the glass ceiling was by far the most eye-catching in the entire building. The interior walls dividing it up were a later addition. Allegedly back in the day this was the school dinner hall, but also more bizarrely is that the glass ceiling was added for the council after the school closed. Prior to that, the students had an open balcony overlooking the dinner hall.
And lets be honest, anyone who thinks that its a bad idea to have an open balcony over a school canteen would be right. Student stories from the 1960s and 1970s tell of spitting over at the students who were eating, and one student even throwing a live tadpole into someones food. The most extreme story was of a student who was dangled over the balcony by his ankles.
It all sounds pretty cool, and it highlights a good point to anyone who despairs at the younger generations of today- kids are little shits no matter what era you're in.
Allegedly the deputy head, described by most who came here in the 60s and 70s as a total battleaxe, carried a leather whip that she would unleash on the students arses if she caught them leaning over.
She sounds kinda hot! Obviously back then the teachers had powers that they lack in the 21st Century. That stuff would get her sacked today!
Evidently the council decided that such a health and safety no-no was fine for children to be subjected to, but not for them. The glass ceiling was installed. It looks fine from down here, but upstairs it looks quite bizarre, as we'll see.
Along with the whip-happy deputy head, there are other teachers who achieved notoriety. Former students tell of a Biology teacher who would throw the board rubber at students and kick the lab stool out from under them if they got a question wrong, both things that would cost him a job today. However there are rumours that he also got a little too close with some of the male students, although some say that he was just regular gay, rather than the full Father Walsh.
Obviously I view the thing as objectively as possible.
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, there were actually anti-gay PSAs that warned the public that homosexuals were about, and that they demanded intimacy with the same sex, and that "they may appear normal," which actually sounds hilarious in modern times when nobody with an IQ larger than their shoe size really gives a shit, but these were pretty serious videos, and it was media nonsense like these videos that gave rise to the misconception that gay folk were more likely to molest young boys. Like Ouija LeMay so often says- "The media is full of wazzocks, and you should trust me more because even though I'm also a wazzock, at least my goals in life are victimless."
So it's totally feasable for the era that the teacher being gay was enough to fuel some vicious rumours. But then this is me being objective based on gossip. Just because the people I've spoken to have no conclusive evidence, doesn't mean there isn't any.
And don't me wrong- if he's kicking the lab stool out from under the students then he's probably a bit of a cunt, but lets not throw out such damaging accusations just because a friends friends friend said that they overheard someone say something to their friend.
However of the notorious teachers, it's the ones with nicknames that really stand out. Teacher nicknames are one of the more prevalent aspects of childhood, and the 1960s were no exception. Former students tell of a religious studies teacher who was nicknamed Clarence because he was cross-eyed. This was a reference to Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion, a movie from 1965 about the titular lion saving the day from some dastardly poachers.
Another, less exciting nickname was a teacher referred to as Minnie. There's no story there. She was just really, really small.
All these old offices, and former classrooms are pretty trashed, but quite photogenic.
Halfway up the stairs was this door labeled "Impact training." Apparently Impact Training is about communication, presentation and ensuring that you make the right impact when attempting assertiveness.
However this room has the lowest ceiling ever, so I'm wondering if the "impact" refers to head trauma. No wonder some of the teachers were so short. It was probably a recruitment requirement. Minnie probably felt right at home here.
After avoiding concussion and taking a moment to appreciate the ability to stand upright, I made my way to the top floor.
Here's the balcony area. From here, the weird glass ceiling looks mighty peculiar. It looks like it should be external. But in spite of wondering what the hell was going through the minds of whoever put this here, I actually like it. It's an unusual feature unlike anything I've ever come across before. The fact that it was installed in council offices is what baffles me. I would have thought this too quirky for normal-people sensibilities.
Climbing onto these cupboards gave me a pretty excellent view of the upper balcony and the weird glass indoor roof.
There's still a whiteboard up here, covered in council scrawling.
There's some great natural decay up here, caused more by exposure to the elements than vandalism. The wooden floors are pretty warped up here, and will no doubt collapse at some point.
This seems to be the remains of an old staff timetable.
At the opposite end of the building was another stairway, with a similar low-ceiling room midway between floors, similar to the "impact training" room.
There was a cellar too, but it was mainly used for storage.
Quite when this place closed, I don't know, but I think it would have been around 2015. The following year there were plans to bulldoze the entire place to make way for 56 homes, although some put the number at 63.The sports hall and the more modern extensions were demolished, but luckily a heritage group got involved and saved what was left. A news article from 2019 makes mention of plans to turn it into 21 apartments, but thats if the building doesn't demolish itself in the meantime.
It would be a shame. I actually really like this building. It has character. And that weird balcony-turned-ceiling is bizarrely appealing. Hopefully it will be retained, but given that it was a later addition, it might not have the same protection as the rest of the building.
Anyway thats all I got today. Next time I'm checking out an abandoned mansion, and then after that I'll be looking at an old military base. In the meantime, follow my Instagram, like my Facebook page and then follow my Twitter.
Thanks for reading!
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