There was much concern about overcrowding in 1955. The school was full with 120 children, and classrooms were crowded with furniture. Plans were drawn up for the erection of a new brick-built classroom with cloakrooms and toilets.
There was great excitement when the lorry loads of materials began to arrive from Spooner's of Hull in March 1957. Building was completed by 4th July when the keys were handed over to Mr Barden by the Foreman, who departed thanking the Headmaster and his staff for their kindness to the builders.
The Education Office gave permission for the classroom known as the Oakes Room Annexe, to be used on 23rd July and Mrs. Bramhald and J3/J4 took over!
In October 1954, J3 and J4 children went by coach to Sheffield Wednesday Football Ground to see H.M. the Queen and H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh.According to the log book, this was 'a splendid view on a sunny day.'
The school always showed great pride in its famous 'old boy', Sir Francis Chantrey. The Norton Parochial Church Council instituted a system of Chantrey Awards in 1952. These were certificates accompanied by gifts such as books or paints. Children up to the age of 15 who lived in the ancient parish of Norton or attended school in the area were eligible. In the junior section, two awards were made annually for drawing or painting and one for clay modelling. The entries were exhibited in the Church Hall and judged by independent art teachers. Pupils from Norton Free School were often among the recipients.
In 1957, at the invitation of the occupier, the whole school was invited to Jordanthorpe Farm to 'step into the bedroom where Sir Francis Chantrey was born, and to see the stone flags on which he used to chalk his drawings when a boy.'
A large bonfire was held in the school garden on 4th November 1955 which was recorded as having been a 'big success.'
Things didn't always go without a hitch, however, as Mr. Barden arrived at school in June 1956 to find all the windows broken in the shed in the boys' playground and it seemed as though an air gun had been used. The police were called, as they were three years later, to investigate several stone-throwing incidents when windows were broken.
It seemed that the days of the little school in the fields were numbered when the Deputy Director of Education came to view the new classroom and informed Mr. Barden that plans were in hand for building a new Secondary Modem School in the adjoining field and a school for disabled children at the end of Matthews Lane.
The severe blizzard of February 1958 caused problems of access to school. Matthews Lane was impassable and cars and lorries were stuck in drifts. Mrs. Latham, the caretaker, managed to struggle through the drifts to see to the heating and Mr. Barden and his staff together with a few children arrived during the morning. The intrepid school dinner vans got through but the containers had to be carried through deep snow - only 12 dinners were needed! As the blizzard continued, school closed earlier than usual. Conditions were slightly better the following day but still the infants were unable to negotiate the drifts.
Extreme weather conditions were again evident in the great gale of 1962. The log book records heavy rain and gales in January when the annexe boiler door was blown off and several slates removed. The entry for February 16th tells of a hurricane force gale in the night causing extensive damage in the city and the Norton area. The winds were so strong during the day that the children had to be escorted to the outdoor toilets and all children were accompanied home by an adult.
A charming ceremony took place on Saturday 8th March 1958 when the ex-J4 scholars who had left Norton Free the previous July came to see the planting of a double cherry tree, a lilac and a forsythia which they had bought to show their appreciation of 'their beloved teacher' Mrs. Bramhald. She and Mr. Barden gave them light refreshments. She left Norton Free in 1965 after 19 years service during which she had seen many changes.
Mrs. Clinton, who had taught the infant class for 12, years, left at the end of May 1958, and Mr. Barden retired from Norton Free School in December 1959 to be succeeded in January 1960 by Mr. Harry Walch.
The Oakes Room was provided with blackout curtains so that films could be shown and arrangements were also made for specimens to be borrowed from the Museum. Demonstration lessons were given regularly for physical education and parents were asked to provide all junior children with vests, shorts and plimsolls for P.E. Outside climbing frames were erected in the field adjacent to the playground and a sandpit was constructed in the same area.
The school was closed for the day on 26th February 1960 to celebrate the birth of a prince to Her Majesty the Queen (Prince Andrew) and again on 6th May for the wedding of H.R.H. Princess Margaret.
Mrs.Church, who had been called in to help in staffing emergencies over a number of years finally severed her connection with Norton Free School in May 1960 and was replaced by Mrs. Walker on temporary supply with the reception class. She remembers a small child managing to wedge its knee between the pipes and the wall in the infant classroom. The Fire Service was called to give assistance and the child was released without injury.
Mr. Walch requested the erection of a 'School' traffic sign at the end of Matthews Lane and he also instituted the 'Leavers' Service' at the end of the school year which is still a popular part of school life at Norton Free.
There was some concern among parents about the inadequacy of toilet provision as school numbers continued to rise. To alleviate the situation, children were not admitted until the term after their 5th birthday.
Work was at last begun in March 1963 to extend the school and join up the Oakes room to the main building. The outdoor toilets and sheds were demolished and new temporary toilets opened. The outdoor climbing apparatus also had to be re-sited. From late June, the Jl and J2 children were temporarily housed in the new Chantrey and Oakes Park Schools which had been opened two months earlier. When conditions returned to normal, they were complimented upon their good behaviour under difficult circumstances.
The Headmaster's desk was no longer in a classroom and the telephone no longer in a cupboard. Both had been transferred to the lobby of the Oakes Room Annexe but obviously the situation was far from satisfactory. A new Administration Block, consisting of the Staff room, Staff toilets, meter room, stock room and Head's room was built onto the north wall of the school.
The pre-fabricated building of Derwent construction which links up the main building and the annexe consists of 5 classrooms with stockrooms, on either side of a wide corridor containing children's cloaks space and boys' and girls' toilets, a small caretaker's room and the entrance and library areas.
Work was well in hand with this at the beginning of the summer holidays and immediately the school was closed, work began on the conversion of the old building. The two classrooms separated by the partition, which had latterly been occupied by Infant 2 and Junior 1/2, became the hall, and the Infant I/ Reception classroom, the dining area. The washing-up point and Infant cloakroom was converted into the kitchen, with a serving hatch and the Junior cloakroom became a P.E. store. New gas-fired boilers were also installed.
The new extension was joined to the Oakes Room Annexe forming the infant cloakroom, and the annexe boys' toilet became the medical room. The girls' toilet was converted for use by the infant girls and the annexe boiler house was enlarged for use as a toilet for the infant boys. The annexe classroom was cleaned and re-decorated for the use of Reception/Infant 1 and the floor was re-laid during the Christmas vacation. The hall was re-wired and new lighting installed to replace the low hanging clusters of glass fittings which were totally unsuitable for activities such as P.E. and games. All of the classrooms, with the exception of J4, were equipped with new furniture and the terrace was laid on the south side of the school.
Mr. Walch visited regularly during the summer holidays to check on progress, but it soon became apparent that the remodelling of the school would not be completed by 1st September as promised.
He held a meeting on 9th September to acquaint the staff with the situation - 5 classrooms and the junior toilets would be ready for use. The next day, Mr. Walch welcomed the children to their new school - there were now 146 on the roll.
Among the finishing touches added during the next term were display boards, new roller-type blackboards and radio amplifiers in each classroom. The latter, as well as 2 amplifiers in the hall, were connected up to the radio receiver unit which was installed in the Headmaster's office some months later.
The stone commemorating the rebuilding and enlargement of the school on School Lane which Mr. Barden had rescued from the demolition of the old school, was deteriorating and the inscription was showing signs of weathering. Permission was given by the Education Committee for its incorporation into the building of the new entrance hall so that it would be protected and conserved.
With the development of large housing estates at either end of the Parish, a number of new schools were opened. Mr. Walch was present at the official openings of Jordanthorpe Secondary School for girls in May 1961 and Gleadless Valley Secondary School in October 1962. From then, school meals were prepared in Gleadless Valley kitchens. They must have been more popular than before as when the children requested chips, they were provided. Mr. Walch had to order additional furniture, crockery and cutlery in 1965 to accommodate the increase in the numbers of children staying for school dinners.
Early links were formed between the two schools through shared football matches, and for a number of years a party of older children from Norton Free were invited to Gleadless Valley School sports days at the end of the summer term. Infant 2 children were given tea and entertained with games on several occasions by Gleadless Valley older girls as part of a Child Care Course and they also spent time in the classroom with the children as did girls from Jordanthorpe School as part of the same course.
Quite an innovation in 1962 and worthy of inclusion in the press was the idea of a parent who arranged an exchange of conversations on tape between 11 girls from Norton Free and their American 'pen' friends.
There have been many interesting visitors to the school over the years. Dr. Timperley, who was an archaeologist, gave J4 a slide show in 1962 which was followed up by a visit to a local site.
With the completion of the new extensions, children were again being admitted to school at the beginning of the term in which they had their 5th birthday.
A number of visitors came to the re-modelled school including education officials from New Zealand and Pakistan. The Primary School sub-committee of Sheffield Education Authority paid an official visit and expressed themselves well satisfied with the building, the interest and enthusiasm of the children and the high standard of work.