A new School and a new Site

The school was too small, what were they to do? They needed a new school, but hadn't the funding for it. There was no way that the Church could provide a new school, so a little 'wheeze' was dreamt up. The actual school and the land belonged to the Weaver Navigation Company, so it was decided that the Weaver Navigation Company really did need that space for the work on the docks and that they were giving the school notice to quit. The school had to move, land had to be found and that's when land was designated off Castner Avenue, where the present school is. It was quite a 'fudge' really but the local authorities could then start to build a new school. The Inspectors noted that, not only did the school not have a football pitch, but they had all these wonderful fires that kept going out, the children were cold, and somebody had to collect the coal and tend to the fires. The Inspectors said that a new school should be built, which it duly was. It was opened by Dennis Vosper, the local MP, on 28th June 1963. A new school was built off Castner Avenue up on the field. This was before the expressway was built, and it had a football field. But what happened then? They put the new road in, so what has to go? The football field! The local authority decided that they would buy more land and put the football field above the school. There is a very high wall right around the playground and the school to retain the land. In fact the school has a perimeter fence of a mile, it's a heck of a large site. There is now a woodland area, lower down, near the expressway, but above it is the football pitch.

The new school was opened. It's interesting to note the costs. The wage of the caretaker, one full-time caretaker (there is only a part-time one now) was £10 18s 9d a week, plus 4s for overtime or call out. There was a school cleaner, a school meals service and central heating - no more fires! And it had a lively, hard working staff team.

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