L A 1973

Leicester Advertiser, Friday, 16 November 1973. page 9

County Learning A to Z

by Jill Goodman

Thriving school that once might have been closed

HARBY PRIMARY SCHOOL lies in King Cheese country in the heart of the Vale of Belvoir. To the casual onlooker it has changed little in its 112-year history. But villagers know there has been a quiet revolution inside those attractive walls.

The school was built in 1861 mostly through the prolonged efforts of villagers who raised over £250, and the persistence of local clergyman, the Rev. M. O. Norman, who contributed £140 to the total cost of the building — £861.

This amount included the £55 fees paid to the architect and the cost involved in building the school house!

The school was built to house 100 children up to the age of 14. Conditions must have been cramped. Now there are 73 pupils and the school has spilled over into the village hall.

The village and its school have had a chequered life. Population and numbers in school have risen and fallen frequently.

In the late 1950s the school was threatened with closure when numbers dropped to an all-time low of 20. Then came a last-minute reprieve. New council homes were built and soon there were more pupils. Numbers began to rise steadily and the school never looked back.

Now it takes in four-year-olds who are housed with the five, and six-year-olds in the village hall under the direction of infants teacher, Mrs. Pam Simpson. The seven to tens — the school loses its 11-year-olds to Bottesford high school — work in a team teaching set-up with headmaster Mr. B. T. Garwood and Miss Dixon.

The village hall was brought into use five years ago when numbers began to creep up. Now more new homes are promised with a limited amount of infilling between existing houses and further development imminent once the village sewage works is completed.

The school is hoping to have an extra classroom built on part of the playground — but no firm plans have yet been made.

Even with an extra room, staff say there will still be severe overcrowding.

The juniors — 45 of them — work in a two-room environment in small groups.

The school does not group children according to ability but allows them to work at their own pace.

The infants work a completely integrated day. A great emphasis is placed on reading and number work. Children read every day ' without fail and anyone who drops behind has the benefit of the guidance of Mrs. Simpson later in the school. She acts as general reading "overseer" throughout the school.

The infants room is arranged in organised work areas. If some youngsters show an affinity for mathematics they are allowed to pursue the junior course; no-one is held back.

Although infants and juniors are divided physically — the village hall lies several hundred yards from the main school — there is no division in educational work.

Children make an easy transition from the infants class.

Mr. Garwood finds that the great advantage of his small school is that everyone knows each other so well.

"On a recent visit to Wales we had no trouble with the children — even the seven-year-olds who were away from mum for the first time. Town children would probably have felt homesick, our children did not," says Mr. Garwood.

Harby lies a long way from the town. Most of the residents feel their strongest ties with the City of Nottingham. The village lies on the very edge of the Leicestershire border with Nottinghamshire. rhe school draws its pupils only from the village itself and outlying farms.

The school lies in the shadow of the Stilton cheese factories where many of the parents work.

Because of problems of space Harby can operate only one evening class for parents — so the school loses out on the chance of becoming the focal point of the village.

But the school is an "open house," says Mr. Garwood, and parents are welcome to go along any time they wish to discuss their problems.

Good teamwork with staff, parents and pupils working successfully together has helped Harby to lose its tag as a dying village.

Parents and staff arrange fund-raising efforts each year and children organise their own annual garden fete to boost school funds. The money has enabled the school to buy two record players, a radio, cassette recorder, slide projector and books.

To ease the cramped conditions the school has taken over the neighbouring school house. The head and his staff gave up lunchhours and spare time to redecorate the house and turn the rooms into a library, television, room and staff area.

The school is grateful for any extra space. There is no hall and meals have to be taken in the classrooms. But there is a well equipped kitchen, built five years ago, and new cloakrooms were added about six years ago.

Mr. Garwood has been head at Harby for five years and says that he feels the school is now really on the map. The school is among the first to receive a colour television from the county. Although Harby is not included in the county plans for nursery education, neighbouring villages are and the head sees this as a sign that the Vale of Belvoir is getting recognition.

There are frequent visitors to the school now, ranging from casual callers, to advisors from County Hall. A kiln is being installed at the school to encourage elaborate art work and the staff make full use of members of the teachers centres at Loughborough and Thurmaston.

"We certainly don't feel neglected. Since the 10 plus system was introduced with children going onto Bottesford we have certainly become more a part of the county," says Mr. Garwood.

Mr. Garwood is enthusiastic about the ten plus system and says he has experienced no difficulties with the transfer.

The school enjoys good contact with the high school which is boosted by the links of a husband and wife team. The husband of infants teacher Mrs. Simpson is head of the reception centre for ten-year-olds.

Harby joins other schools in the area for a variety of activities. They join with Hose for regular swimming sessions and the two schools link with Stathern for sports days.

Once the new kiln is installed its use will be shared by children from Stathern and Barkestone.

The school enjoys a good working relationship with the rest of the village, its close neighbours and those from afar. It asks for nothing more.

(The Illustrations to this article are to be seen in the Harby in Old photographs 0798 to 0802 click here.)