Spondon House School: Praise for school which gave education for life

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Enter That Ye May Benefit was the motto of Spondon House School where Glynne Eaglesfield,of Rolleston-on-Dove, was a pupil in the 1940s. Looking back, he says the school certainly lived up to its motto. He has nothing but praise for the staff and the excellent education he received and he says it benefited him for the rest of his life.

Excellent school: A 1948 photo of pupils of Spondon House. Glynne is third from left, middle row. His friend, John Fitzhugh, is back, second from right

I started at Spondon House School in 1945 and left in 1949. Because of illness, I had only taken part of my 11-plus but, with time, I became very pleased that this was the case.

At 13, I was given the chance to take an exam which, if I passed, meant I would go to a grammar school. But, as I was really happy at Spondon, I declined the opportunity, something which did not please my parents.

Spondon House was a wonderful school. The motto was Ingredere Proficias (Enter That Ye May Benefit). It was a very large, old house set in some lovely grounds.

These consisted of a large playing field, orchards, lawned area, vegetable garden, a large grassy mound and an avenue of huge trees with a cinder path running through them.

For some reason, this was always referred to as the Burma Road. Looking back, I suppose that was quite topical at the time.

In the corner of the grounds was a small, thatched building which housed rows of rabbit hutches, which held a variety of rabbits. The children volunteered to go in and feed the rabbits during the school holidays.

There was also a duck pond with ducks and a flock of geese wandering around.

Mr Walton was the headmaster. He was very strict but fair. Anyone sent to him was always given the opportunity to explain their version of events.

If you were given the cane, you could choose to have it on your hand or your backside.

Mr Walton was a leading member of the Spondon Choral Union which, I understand, broadcast on the BBC a number of times.

The trouble was, he inflicted his passion on us pupil, having us sing all sorts of songs. I remember Nymphs and Shepherds being one of his favourites.

The standard of education was high and everyone in the three top streams had to learn French.

The school was very sport- orientated, always entering two athletic teams in the Trent Valley sports, which were held in the grounds of Pastures Hospital in Mickleover.

The school always had a number of pupils in the Derbyshire team participating in the All-England School Championships. I was fortunate enough to be a member of the county team two years running – not that I came anywhere but it was a great experience

Members of staff willingly gave up their own time to coach us and we also had coaches from Loughborough College, which was a great boost.

When I first started school, the woodwork classes were situated in the old stables but, eventually, two new purpose-built workshops were erected. In addition to the workshop benches, the building housed lathes and even a blacksmith’s hearth.

Mr Waldren and Mr Redfern were the two instructors and they were excellent – strict but always good for a laugh.

Eventually, the girls started doing woodwork and the boys did cookery, as we called it, the official title being domestic science. This situation caused a few problems and some humorous incidents.

The photograph above was taken about 1948. Some of the boys I can remember include Eddie Clark, Peter Hampson, George Hickman, my best friend John Fitzhugh, Reese Jenkins, Peter Hind, Mick Smith, Ian Cudworth, Clive Allen, John Chell, Colin Fowler, Stanley Mayhew, Dennis Hough and Colin Scattergood.

The girls I recall are Vera Blurton, Janice Lea, Muriel Rhodes, Marion Streets, June Jepson, Francis Kidger and Shirley Barnforth.

I don’t know where most of them are now but I hope some of them remember their school days with as much pleasure as I do.

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This article is from the Derby Evening Telegraph and is reproduced online here.