Schools

Christmas Eve at the Front

An interesting letter has just been received by Mrs Packer, of Broadclyst, from her husband, Corpl Packer of A Company, 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment, who is serving with the Expeditionary Force in Northern France. In the course of a letter he describes a remarkable incident which occurred on Christmas Eve between the British and German trenches.

Popular with the audience

Originally characterised a concert given by pupils of Torrington County Secondary School in aid of the fund to provide a swimming pool, and held in the school last week.

The accent was on the spoken word and two short plays were written and produced by Mr B. Nash, the English Master. They were, ‘The Ghost on Winkleigh Moor,’ and set during the great plague, ‘Hopeful Hearts’.

Another one-act play, ‘King Alfred and the Cakes’ was produced by the Headmaster (Mr J.W. Bastin) and, equally popular with the audience of about 250 parents and friends was ‘Widdicombe Fair,’ devised by Mr F, William, the famous son being illustrated, as the picture shows, in a delightful manner.

The photograph shows the grey pony signing her will.

Recorder music was another feature of the varied programme, which began and ended with selections by the school choir. Miss M. Godsland was accompanist.

Article dated 2 December 1960

Blue Coat Concert at Torrington

Funds for Swimming Pool

There was an audience of 250 parents and friends at a Christmas concert given by pupils of Torrington Blue Coat School at the Secondary School.

Mr Barker, headmaster, his staff and the children were congratulated by the Vicar, Rev P G Harrison, on the standard of the entertainment.

Proceeds from the concert amounted to £20. A Christmas draw organised by Mr D Marker raised £96 and donations totalled £1 10s. The whole amount went to the school swimming pool fund.

Tickets in the competition were drawn by the Mayor and Mayoress, Mr and Mrs W Cockram, winners being Mrs J Bond, Mrs Y Matthews, M Foley, J Alford, J Johns, Mrs P Woodward, P V Clarke, D Baker, L Marker, E Davison, E Cotton, Mr Coward, I Wooldridge, P Pedrick, Mr Wedgewood, Mrs M Butler and Mrs V Shelton

Gazette article dated 18 December 1970

They Know How To Make Arithmetic Fun

Making Christmas decorations

The children seen in the above picture made their own decorations for their school’s Christmas party – during their arithmetic lessons!

The arithmetic was not neglected, however, as the children received plenty of practice measuring the decorations and working out how to arrange them in the school room where the party was held.

The children are pupils of Little Torrington Church School, and when the picture was taken they had been decorating the room where the party was held on Tuesday.

Gifts at the party were distributed from a gaily decorated Christmas tree by Mrs G F Stevens-Guille. The gifts had been bought from money raised by holding ‘beetle’ drives in the school room during the past two months.

A special guest at the party was the school’s former headmistress, Mrs L Parsons, who retired last year, and now lives at Hatherleigh. The school is also to lose its present headmistress, for Miss S I Fairbass, who took over the post in April of this year, will be leaving the district at the end of the present term to take up another post in Yorkshire.

The two adults seen in the picture are Miss Fairbass and Miss Balkwill, another teacher at the school.

Article dated 28 December 1956