HISTORY OF CLIFTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

This page was developed with the help and support of Val Hart and Chris Sutton of the Balsall Heath Local History Society.

Clifton Primary School has a long and rich history. We are very lucky that we still have access to many artefacts and primary sources of evidence that have helped us piece this together and that have given us an insight into school life in the past.

The Early Days

Clifton Road School opened in 1878 with three separate departments; Girls, Boys and the Infants. It was a 'Board School', set up by the Kings Norton School Board.

Clifton Road School c1900.		Clifton Road Boys School (Group 4) 1922.
Science equipment being taken around the schools, 1900.		Girls School Netball Team.

We know a lot about these early days as we still have the school Log Books from the Girls and Infants schools; the Log Book was a 'diary' kept by the Headteacher. They include an early Inspection report written in 1879, very similar to our OFSTED inspections today.

Inspectors Report 1879 (Girls' School Log Book) 'The Girls' Department is taught with much care. The answering of many scholars shows the traces of previous neglect and bad teaching which cannot speedily be obliterated, but there is also much gratifying evidence of progress auguring well for the future. Sewing is very fairly done, though it is a new subject to many of the children. The neatness and respectful bearing of the girls do their teachers credit. More attention must be paid to the instruction of pupil teachers and their candidates in Geography and Mapdrawing.'

The Infant school was large and at the time of the 1881 Inspection, there were 444 children in the school. This would have created very large classes for the six staff, three of whom were pupil-teachers.

One outstanding feature of the Girls school around this time was its high moral tone and good behaviour of the pupils; in 1884 the Inspectors praised 'the respectful and refined demeanour of the girls and their perfect discipline'.

The curriculum included 'moral lessons' which covered the themes of 'Honour', 'Love of Home', 'Peace', 'Government of Temper', 'Forgiveness and Forbearance' and 'Punctuality'. Discipline was strict and it was forbidden to talk to the boys at all.

The Boys school also achieved good standards and had specialist woodwork and metalwork departments.

Extracts from the Log Books

The Log Books are excellent sources for finding out about the past. We found out lots of information about important events in history and how they affected life at Clifton School.

1978 - Junior School We found this very exciting entry in the log book in 1978. It is the year that Mr Tatton became the 'Acting Head' - he recently retired after 29 years of being our Headteacher. It is the year that a young Miss Barnwell started - she is now Mrs Brown, our Deputy Head!

Extracts from the Punishment Books

Teachers in the nineteenth and early twentieth century were very strict. No talking was allowed in class and children were often punished for being late for school. Children who were naughty were 'caned' by the teachers on their hands and their names were written in punishment books. Here is an extract from the Girls' School from 1909:

Special Events - Empire Day 1917

We have lots of evidence of many special events that have taken place over the years. One event that took place in May each year was 'Empire Day'.

On this day, the children dressed up from other countries around the world which were part of the British Empire. They often sang songs or performed plays and invited the parents in to watch. They sometimes collected money for a good cause.

World War II

We have found some interesting evidence about Clifton's role in World War II.

Below, on the left, is a letter to a member of staff that has been called up for military service. It states that the 'Education Committee undertake to re-instate you on their teaching staff, but I am afraid that the exigencies of the service would not permit the Committee to give you a definite assurance that you should return to the position you occupy on the staff of the Clifton Road School'.

We also found letters asking teachers to help with the evacuation of children. Below right is an example of a letter asking for help from the Council.

Letter to staff member called up for military service.

Letter from Birmingham Council.

More Recent History

To celebrate the 100 year anniversary in 1978 the separate Infant and Junior schools came together for a special celebration.

The Infants moved to Brunswick Road in 1979. Roy Hattersley officially opened the site in 1980. In the same year, Prince Charles also visited Balsall Heath.

Roy Hattersley MP opening the new Infant school building in 1980.

Prince Charles also visited Balsall Heath in 1980.

In 2000 the Junior School also moved to a new site on St Paul's Road. Here are some pictures of our Key Stage 2 building being built.

The old Junior School building remains on Clifton Road and is used by many community groups. One of the rooms has been developed into a Victorian classroom by the Balsall Heath Local History Society. This means that pupils from Clifton Primary and other local schools can get a taste of what school was like in the past

Amalgamation - 2005

In September 2005, 127 years after opening, the Junior and Infant Schools finally amalgamated to become Clifton primary School, with Mr Tatton as the Headteacher.

He retired in July 2007 after 40 years of teaching at Clifton School. Mrs Mitchell became our current Headteacher in September 2007.

If you would like to find out more about the history of Clifton School or of Balsall Heath, you can contact the Balsall Heath Local History Society on 0121 464 1888. Alternatively their website is www.balsallheathhistory.co.uk

Read the full version of the History of Clifton Primary School (pdf)