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Only a name I can no longer put a face to, we have to remember in those years big kids and little kids didn't mix, some of the older generation I recall was Bob Cross his sister Carole would be there when you were. Had two cousins who went to Mundella lived in the Meadows Gillian and Jacqueline Huthwaite only about my age though.

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I have split this topic and given it its own title.

Re the Mundella School, I went to Trent Bridge Juniors/Secondary from 63-69.

I always considered Mundella pupils to be those who originated from families with money?

Looking back I was probably wrong in that assumption?

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I didn't go to Brooksby but I know the place well. We lived a bit further up Clifton and I went to Greencroft Infants and Juniors. I believe Brooksby School was burned/torched around the mid 1980s and overnight, unexpectedly, it ceased to be a school.

Last time I was around that area about 10 years ago I looked at the site and all the buildings had been cleared but the concrete foundations/footprint were still there. But the whole place had become overgrown with weeds and bushes and was turning into a mini-jungle. Going back to nature the way it had been before the estate was ever built.

I have a few photos I took at that time, and if I can find "em I'll post them.

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New Clifton School opens

This may be the first school photograph taken about September/October 1952 Can anyone fill in the blanks ? Back Row Left: Pamela Simkins, unknown, unknown, David Hodgkinson. Front Row Left: Robert Abdy, David Bilson, Ronnie ?, Eddie Binch, Peter Griffiths, unknown, Ann Whatmough. Back Row Right: David Richardson, unknown, Paul Wing, Angela Legg Front Row Right: Pamela Savage, unknown, Carol Machin, David Smith, Sharon Eyres, unknown Brooksby Lane Primary School, Brooksby Lane, Clifton

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Midlands, England1st Oct 1952

ImagerHandler2.jpg

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Afraid I can't help with any identifying, they're a bit before my time.

But here's a couple of photos at the other end of the life of Brooksby School. It had been burned down in the mid 80s, and eventually the remaining buildings were demolished, with only the concrete foundations and paths remaining.

 

This is the site where Brooksby School was, taken in around 2000. By this time it didn't look much like a school any longer.

d5iKELz.jpg
And this is the entrance road off Brooksby Lane, leading down to the staff car park and entrance. Looked almost exotic by this time.

y2X7Dm2.jpg

 

On 28/01/2012 at 3:20 PM, mgread1200 said:

I had heard it had burned down in the eighties and then transfered to Greencroft and Brinkhill, some other websites have its location on Brinkhill but as you say it was on Brooksby lane.

I think I can explain that. After the original site closed, an annexe was built next to Greencroft Infants School, and that whole building was then renamed Brooksby Infants (or something similar). So the name continued in the former Infants Building (with an entrance off Brinkhill Crescent) even though the Junior Schools remained named as Greencroft and Brinkhill. Although now, the whole site has been renamed again

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Here's an infants class photo from March 1960.

I remember some of the names but can't put many of the to their faces :

I'm (Dave Brett) standing second row from the front on the right next to Melvyn Hawley.

Centre at the back is .... Greenhalgh, far right at the back is Ian .... , there's a Rudge, Kenneth, Eileen, not a very impressive memory!

Anyone recognise themselves??

BrooksbyInfants-Mar1960-age6yr_zpsd9217d

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#8 I have been looking for years (with out success) for any school photographs of either Brinkhill or Swansdowne schools (1956 - 1960 period)

I did have some but they were unfortunately lost during a house move.

Does anyone have one stored away somewhere?

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On 06/02/2013 at 6:46 PM, tomnook said:

Here's an infants class photo from March 1960.

I remember some of the names but can't put many of the to their faces :

I'm (Dave Brett) standing second row from the front on the right next to Melvyn Hawley.

Centre at the back is .... Greenhalgh, far right at the back is Ian .... , there's a Rudge, Kenneth, Eileen, not a very impressive memory!

Anyone recognise themselves??

BrooksbyInfants-Mar1960-age6yr_zpsd9217d

Does anyone know who the teacher is the photo? I went. To Brooksby in the late 70's so she would  be a lot younger here ( but she looks familiar)... Teachers that I remember were| Miss. Harrison,Richards,Simpkin,Welch, Bennet,Beausivel,Mr Higson , Mr Harris Mr Hall  who was very tall. Mr Adkins...

Miss Joss who took over from Miss Harrison as head circa 81.

 

Can't work out why this site is not a school as it had fantastic grounds to run and play in...

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Hi. My dad was deputy at the school for years - I remember the fire really well. It was devastating for the staff, kids and parents. Dad had to go and help work out which animals had died.... and we lost a lot of things that Dad had taken in over the years to use and show the kids. It was a terrible thing to happen. They did move site to a school that had been 'mothballed' by the council... Same site as Brinkhill and another one?? .... we all have v fond memories of Brooksby on both sites... My dad was incredibly proud to eventually become its Head at the new site and of the school it became when it amalgamated (Dovecote) . It's quite an important birthday for him soon.... So if anyone has any NICE memories of Mr Harris... Please leave them on here perhaps? 

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24 minutes ago, LLJ said:

They did move site to a school that had been 'mothballed' by the council... Same site as Brinkhill and another one?? .... 

 

I think the building they moved to was Greencroft Infants, which was alongside Greencroft Juniors and Brinkhill. I went to the two Greencrofts in my younger days, and the setup of primary schools in the area was surprisingly complicated.

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I went to Brooksby School from 1960-1967.  I remember some teachers names (Miss Bembow?) Mr Elkin: Mr Adkin: Miss Knowles: Mr Matthews.  I can’t ever remember having any photos taken at school- does anyone else?  I would love to see them if they relate to my time there.  

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Really interesting to read about and be reminded of my first job in Nottingham. I taught at Brooksby when Miss Harrison was headteacher. I remember playing Cat Steven's 'Morning has broken' in my Assembly which she didn't approve of, only now can I respect her reaction.  

 

What a completely different world we now live in. I would certainly been out a job I think. 

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I was at Brooksby from '66 to '71.

 

Mrs Harrison was the headmistress. I remember Mrs Bembow (she was my favourite teacher at the time). Mr Adkin was still Class 9. We had Mr Damon (allegedly the brother of Stuart Damon, the actor) in Class 7, and was it Mr Spate/Speight in Class 8? Damned if I can remember the other teachers' names as I passed through.

 

Then there was the time the Brook flooded and one of the pupils - Mark Darch - was drowned when he fell in it.

 

The photo posted earlier was in the Gym/Hall building - I recognised those shutters to the kitchen. Who remembers the liver they used to serve once a week? I hated that. Don't get me started on the lumpy mashed potatoes and lumpy custard, or that spicy sponge dessert they did. And days when you prayed it would be foggy, because that was pretty much the only reason they closed early and sent people home. Mrs Harrison would do that if she couldn't see the houses on Brooksby Lane from the top end of the schoolyard on that side of the school. I think it happened 2 or 3 times while I was there.

 

I can remember the fire in the 80s (I was watching an episode of the first run of The Young Ones when it happened). Apparently it was arson. By that time, I was either close to leaving Fairham, or had just done so.

 

As I understand it, the reason they didn't rebuild Brooksby was the same as why there is now only one secondary school in Clifton rather than the original three. When Clifton was first built, it was the largest council estate in Europe, and it was stocked with young couples with kids. That provided enough pupils to fill all the schools (we sometimes had 30 in a class at Fairham, and at it's peak there were around 2000 pupils there). The authorities expected a turnover of residents, but that didn't happen, so the population gradually aged and didn't move out, and all the kids grew up. Charnwood closed as a secondary school first a long time ago now. Fairham closed maybe 10-15 years ago, and by the time it did there were less than 200 pupils there. So now there's only Farnborough. Rebuilding Brooksby even in the late 80s/early 90s wasn't justified because of the falling numbers of pupils.

 

Fairham was demolished a few years ago now because the derelict buildings were repeatedly set on fire - the last time, it was quite a big one, so they demolished everything to stop it happening again.

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That's a pretty good summing up of the history of Clifton and its schools over the years !

 

You're obviously a few years younger than me, although I saw and knew most of the things you've mentioned. I went to Greencroft Infants and Juniors in the 1960s, but remember being herded down to Brooksby playing fields on a Friday afternoon for 'Games'. 

 

In 1969-70 I did a paper round for George Parker's newsagents which included me going the full length of Brooksby Lane, so I might've delivered to your house.

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