Recently, the school received a wonderful hand written letter from a 91 year old, ex-pupil. The text of the letter is reproduced below.
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| Edna Cornish - 1928 |
Recently it came to my notice that the school had celebrated 150 years and that your oldest visitor had started in 1932. I started in your school in 1926 (approx). I am now ninety one. This brought back many memories.
The lovely old rocking horse in the infants room. Kind Miss Bunch and her assistants Miss Hinds And Ayers! (I visited Miss Bunch long after I left the school too). Those old toilets that were ‘scary’ because big girls frightened us saying ‘someone is hiding in there’ The cookery room, learning housewifery and cooking. Malted milk drink or malted milk tablets in the infants.
The smell of woodshavings in the carpentry shed. Our little gardens we had. I had some red flowers that didn’t smell very nice. I think they were called LAVETRIA. Sewing the stiff white pillowcases, breaking the needle – sore fingers. We used to go outside and bury the needle behind the cycle shed. Going up those little steps in the churchyard for Ascension Day services in church. Empire Day singing patriotic songs.
Trying to leap frog on the grass outside the school house and I mustn’t forget Mr OLDHAM headmaster, and in the big class where we sang something about ‘a Cornish lad and true’ he would tap me on the head with his book as my name was Cornish! My two younger sisters also went to Sandhurst C of E School, one has passed on and the youngest one is 86.
Happy Days. I did not want to leave.
The last time I visited Sandhurst was 2000 so I expect that I would find many changes?
Good luck to the future years of the school.
Edna Phillips / Cornish
P.S. I still have books as prizes for Scripture, Cookery and Handwriting (in those days!)
