Mrs. Atkin the headmaster's wife, died on 18th September 1918. She had been the Mistress of the infant department for many years.
Mr. Atkin himself died on 23rd June 1920 after having had a throat operation 2 months earlier. He had been the headmaster of Norton Free School for 34 years and had seen many changes in educational procedure. He was succeeded by his daughter Miss Ida B. Atkin as Headmistress.
The children were awarded a half holiday in each month when the average attendance was in excess of 90% and this seemed to have happened very frequently at Norton.
The school was closed on 28th February 1922 to celebrate the wedding of Princess Mary, the daughter of King George V, later to be the Princess Royal. A further Royal Wedding took place on 26th April 1923 when the Duke of York, later King George VI, married the Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the present Queen Mother. School was again closed for the day. There was a poor attendance at school the following May when the Prince of Wales visited Sheffield.
Miss Ida Blanche Atkin died on 5th December 1924 after only 3 1/2 years in control of the school but during that short time many innovations had taken place. The children were frequently taken on nature study walks and outdoor geography lessons were usual when maps and plans were drawn of the school and its environs. Cookery lessons began at the Dronfield Centre and 18 of the older girls attended. Miss Atkin held the first ever Open Day at Norton Free School in late 1920 when a large number of parents visited the school in the afternoon and 'showed great interest in the work in progress and the specimens exhibited.'
She closed the school for a day in June 1921 and took her staff to a physical training lecture and demonstration at Dronfield. Mr. Hobson, the County Organiser visited the school some weeks later and discussed with Rev. George Walker-Hall the possibility of a field for organised games.
Miss Atkin took 36 boys by char-a-banc to Stainsby Rock Gardens, as suggested by the Inspector, and in 1922, on a Saturday morning, she and her staff and about 60 children visited the Cinema House to see the educational film 'Nanook of the North'. She took 4 girls, 2 boys and 2 'old girls' to the 1924 British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. They stayed overnight at the Park Royal Hotel and the following day had a char-a-banc tour of the sights of London, and this was less than 3 months after she had been in a nursing home for the removal of her appendix!
It had become the practice for the afternoon session to begin at 1.00p.m. and close at 3.30p.m. during December and January, instead of 1.30p.m. to 4.00p.m.
A new heating system comprising 7 radiators and the necessary pipe-work was installed in 1922 just before some very heavy falls of snow.
A regular event from 1924 was Derbyshire Health Week and the Medical Officer of Health spoke to the children about the importance of sleep, fresh air and suitable food.
Academic work seems to have been at a high level during the period of Miss Atkin's headship as the Inspector commented, less than 3 months before her death. The efficiency of this little school is considerably above the average.'
Mrs. Lucretia Marsden who taught at Norton Free School from 1920 to 1939 was remembered by one of her ex- pupils, 'She came on the bus each day and walked up from Graves Park. Sometimes we walked with her or had a lift on the milk float. She bought heavy white linen material. This was made up into pillowslips and bolster covers. Mrs. Marsden crocheted comers for the pillowslips and the whole set would be sold to any parent for 15 shillings (75p).'
The same pupil described the gardens in some detail and spoke of a rockery, presumably on the bank at the rear of the school, and below it a rose arbour down the centre of the garden with plots, separated by paths, on either side. Along the sides of the garden were rustic and trellis fences. When the boys were gardening, the girls took their sewing and sat in a fenced school garden to the west of the school. When the boys did woodwork, the girls did cane and leather work.
Norton was absorbed into Sheffield on 1st April 1934 and the school was designated; Sheffield, Norton Free School, no. 129. After a succession of three acting head teachers, Mr. Edmund Fox was appointed on 2nd March 1925. An ex-pupil recollects that he came from Bradway and was unmarried when he took up his position. He married later and had one son, John. On his wife's birthday, he would ask the children to pick flowers for her from their gardens. She died young in April 1936. Mr. Fox was remembered as a kind man 'but he did shout and use the cane with some force, occasionally.' The children had a holiday in October on Friday and the following Monday. The girls asked Mr. Fox if they could have Monday and Tuesday instead. When asked why, they explained, 'Friday is black-leading day and Monday is wash-day so we don't get a holiday.' He agreed to give them Monday and Tuesday.
Housewifery classes were then held at Woodseats Centre and handicraft classes for the boys at Carterknowle Centre. Two woodwork benches had been delivered to the school in 1928 and one weekend in 1931, the boys' workshop was broken into. Some damage was done and some tools stolen.
Parties of boys were taken to the Annual Ploughing Match at Hazelbarrow and inter-school football and cricket matches were played, mainly against Greenhill School; honours seem to have been about even.
The county Physical Education Organiser visited the school regularly to advise and to watch classes in progress. Country dancing was taught and in 1930 when Norton Church Garden Fete and Sale of Work was held at Norton Green House, the children demonstrated their skill in morris and country dancing.
Swimming lessons were introduced into the curriculum in 1924 when 5 girls and, a day later, 10 boys, began a course at Heeley Baths.
Occasional school visits were organised - Mr. Fox took Class 1 (22 children) to the Great Yorkshire Show, also the upper classes were taken to Greenhill School to see films about the work of the R.S.P.C.A.
The school was closed when the teachers went to an Educational Conference in Chesterfield and a P.E. Demonstration in Dronfield.
Electric light was installed in the school in 1927 and a new Granwood floor in 1930. A new head teacher's desk, a piano and some new desks for the children were also supplied.
The Rector of Norton, Rev. George Walker-Hall, trustee, manager and correspondent of the school died on 3rd December 1928 and his successor was Rev. John Stanton Pegge, who visited the school regularly as had his predecessor.
Diphtheria was the cause of many deaths among the children in the days before immunisation and when there was a case in Mr. Fox's family, he had to stay away from school for several days. The Medical Officer of Health visited the school to investigate other contacts and sent a boy home who had suspicious symptoms. He advised that all children with sore throats should be kept at home for 7 days as a precaution.
A new timetable in 1935, included hygiene and geometrical drawing and from 1938, and as an alternative to the scripture lesson on Ascension Day, the children attended a service in Norton Church. An ex-pupil of the 1930s remembers that the infant classroom off the main hall had a coke stove in the comer where the teachers used to make a mid-moming drink of Horlicks for the children. The coke was kept in the cellar and the older boys used to delight in escaping down there to stoke the boiler.
General Elections meant a day's holiday as the school was used as a polling station and there were more Royal events to be celebrated. The school was closed for a day to mark the weddings of the Duke and Duchess of Kent on 29th November 1934 and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on 6th November 1938. Two days holiday were given in May 1935 for the celebration of King George V's Silver Jubilee. Mrs. Bagshawe presented each child with a Jubilee Medal provided by the City of Sheffield and 2 days later, the children marched to Graves Park where they met children from other schools for games before returning to school for tea. The King died 6 months later and school was closed for a day when his funeral took place. The next Royal holiday was a full week in celebration of the Coronation of King George VI in May 1936. The children were given a tea on the afternoon of the 10th and Mrs. Bagshawe presented each child with a box of chocolates. The boys were also given a knife and the girls a pair of scissors. The next day, Mr. Fox took 10 of the senior children to see the Coronation Pageant at Bramall Lane. The King and Queen visited Sheffield the following October, and again the school was closed.
From 1934, a day in late September was celebrated as 'Peace Day' when the children had a talk on peace and the League of Nations and sang patriotic songs, followed by a holiday in the afternoon. It seems ironic that three days after the last 'Peace Day' in 1938, the school was used as a distribution centre for gas masks.
The Second World War was going to cause more disruption to the lives of the nation's children than had the First and almost a year later teachers from Norton Free School were assisting at a rehearsal for the evacuation of children. Three days afterwards, official notification was received that this would be put into effect on 1st September. There is no evidence of children from Norton being evacuated as part of the national scheme but the school was closed at 4p.m. on 31st August until further notice.
A system of Home Service Education was instituted in Sheffield from 18th September. Under the scheme, groups of about 10 children met in various houses in the area and the teachers went round teaching the groups from their own classes in turn. Ex-pupils have described having lessons at various venues, Jordanthorpe House, Jordanthorpe Hall Farm, The Nailmakers' Arms, Cloonmore Drive and lessons with coffee and cake in the Norton Park area. One gentleman remembers being taught at a house in Norton Park Crescent on two mornings and occasional afternoons each week. He also remembers the construction of the gun site on Cinderhill Lane when a horse fell into the pit that had been dug and had to be shot.
An underground air-raid shelter was constructed at the school and full-time education was resumed on 18th March 1940 as it was considered that the children were now adequately protected from enemy air-attack.
The shelter was in the shape of a letter U with chemical toilets at either end. There were two entrance/exits with steps to the surface ending in large steel doors which, when viewed from the playground, were about one brick high and raised slightly in the centre to allow for drainage. An ex-pupil of the late 1940's remembers how wonderful these were for 'tap dancing.' Wooden benches supported by small brick pillars provided seating for the children. One ex-pupil remembers being marched to the shelter in a very orderly way for practice and another remembers singing songs during air-raid rehearsals.
School life seems to have returned to relative normality for the short period of the 'phoney' war although holidays were shortened, perhaps to compensate for the disruption in late 1939 / early 1940. The 1940 Whitsuntide holidays began on 10th May but instructions were received over the wireless for schools to be re-opened on 14th. Summer holidays for that year were from 26th July to 6th August and from 17th to 26th August.
Paper for drawing was obviously in short supply in the war as ex-pupils remember taking used blue sugar bags and left over wallpaper to use.
Disruption from enemy air attacks began on 28th August 1940 as school opened at 1p.m. and continued until 5p.m. owing to an air-raid warning during the previous night. The following night, two delayed action bombs were dropped in the immediate vicinity of the school which was closed until 6th September when the danger of explosion had passed.
War came to Sheffield with the first horrific air raid on the night of 12/13th December 1940. According to the school log no children arrived at school the next morning and only 4 were present in the afternoon so the registers were not marked for that day. After the second raid on the night of 15th/16th December all Sheffield schools were closed, not to re-open until 20th January 1941. This opening was short-lived at Norton Free as the school was again closed in the afternoon of the same day owing to flooding from a burst radiator. An ex-pupil remembers the fun to be had in the hard winter of 1940-41, skating on Oakes Park and Graves Park ponds during the enforced school holidays after the blitz. One of the Graves Park staff used to keep one end of the pond free of ice for the ducks.
Mr. H.E. Fox, Headmaster, terminated his employment at Norton Free School on 31st January 1941 and on 3rd February, the Rector introduced his successor, Mr. Frank Morley Barden to the staff and children at the morning assembly.
The air raid alert sounded at 3.30p.m. on 12th February so the children went to the shelter to emerge a quarter of an hour later when the all-clear sounded at 3.45p.m. It was almost 2 years later before the siren sounded in school time again - this time at 9.00a.m. when the children were marched to the shelters and the all clear was at 9.40a.m.
In March 1941, Sister Thule, from Norton Hospital, began a series of first-aid lectures to the senior pupils, and Pilot Roy Nelson of the R.A.F., who lived on Norton Lane, and Midshipman Jack Merchant of the Merchant Navy, who lived on Cloonmore Drive, came to talk to the children. Mr. Merchant told them of his experience of being in the water for 5 1/2 hours after being shelled and torpedoed by a submarine, 100 miles from Freetown in Sierra Leone. Sadly, in May, Pilot Nelson crashed and was killed. A senior boy and girl represented the school at his funeral in Norton Church. Midshipman Merchant survived the war and went on to be a Captain and Master Mariner.
After the air-raids in Sheffield, the school was overcrowded due to children coming to Norton because their own school had been bombed. Several suggestions were put forward for the provision of additional accommodation. Norton House was the chosen venue which was then occupied in the evenings only, by the Home Guard. The Junior 4 class were transferred there in the charge of Miss Elliott on 3rd May 1943.
The large garden adjoining the main school building was still being cultivated but we can assume that vegetables only were grown. The children kept poultry very successfully until the fowls mysteriously disappeared! Mr. Barden took parties of senior boys to 'Dig for Victory' exhibitions in 1942 and 1944 and gardens were also cultivated at Norton House. Two bee hives were kept there and an ex-pupil remembers wearing woollen gloves to remove a honeycomb and suffering 25 stings to his hands. Mr. Barden was once surprised by a member of staff with his foot in a bowl of water and disinfectant - he had been stung by the bees.
Mr. Barden organised two evening 'talking cinema shows' for parents and children in 1941. Collections were taken and the first one realised £1.6s.6d for the garden fund and the second, 7s.9d for chocolate for the forces and £1.3s.0d for the Comforts Fund, also for the forces.
The centenary of the death of Sir Francis Chantrey was celebrated in November of that year. The children visited Chantrey's grave and monument and were taken into church to see the plaster cast of him. This was followed by a visit to Oakes Park where Miss Bagshawe invited them to see the terrace, designed by Chantrey for her great-grandfather. Sir William Bagshawe, and the two large ornamental vases given to him by Chantrey. The children were then shown the only piece of Chantrey's work in the district - the bust of an unknown man.
An open day was held in December - the first for many years and parents were invited to visit the school during the afternoon session. This was a great success and became a regular event.
September 22nd 1942 marked the beginning of the provision of school dinners at Norton and 81 children had a meal costing 5d (about 2p). An ex-pupil does not remember the dinners with relish - they came in containers from the Woodseats canteen in The Dale and were, in his opinion, far from palatable. The next month, 5cwt of potatoes and 11 doz. kale were supplied to the Norton Meals Centre from the school garden and on one occasion, 90 dinners were served using home grown produce.
The first ever injections for immunisation against diphtheria were given to 31 children in February 1943.
Early in June of that year, the school took part in the 'Wings for Victory Week' which was organised by the Norton, Greenhill and District Savings Committee. The hope was to raise £40,000 to buy a bomber but in fact £117,565 was raised - almost 3 bombers! Many competitions and events were held and the Norton Free event in the children's sports was a tug-of-war between teams of boys representing the two 'houses' - Bagshawe and Chantrey. The winners were presented with a silver cup. A similar event took place in 1944 but this time it was called, 'Salute the Soldier Week' and the silver cup was again competed for by the tug-of-war teams.
The Inspector's report of 1943 mentions a large classroom aquarium, a class magazine having been produced by the older children and, for the first time, school broadcast lessons to the children aged 10+. An ex-pupil credits these broadcasts with his life-long interest in classical music. The Inspector also mentioned the 'make-do-and-mend' activities of the older girls as being a feature of the needlework classes.
All the children attended the National Day of Prayer at Norton Church on 3rd September - the 4th anniversary of the outbreak of war.
The Rector, Rev. J.S. Pegge, died on 15th October 1944 and the induction of his successor, Rev. R. Gledhill took place in April 1945.
An extra week's holiday was enjoyed by the children whilst 'the old type of closets were converted to water closets.'
V.E. day came at last on 8th May 1945 and the 3 extra days' celebratory holiday was used to prolong the Whitsuntide vacation. The first of the annual Church Garden Parties took place in the Rectory gardens in July and Norton Free Children entertained with plays, country dancing and singing. This must have been most successful as they gave two performances in 'the hut' at Norton House in aid of the fund for building a new church at Greenhill and raised £14.
The 1944 Education Act had the aim of the overhaul of the National System of Education and recognised the three stages of primary, secondary and further education as being a continuous process and the prerogative of all children. The term 'elementary school' now became obsolete.
The original intention was that under the act, Norton Free would become an Infant School but objections were voiced by Rev. Gledhill and the final decision of the Education Committee was in favour of its becoming a mixed Junior and Infant school with Church of England Controlled status. This meant that the church had the right to appoint two foundation managers and a teacher selected to give the type of religious education suitable for a Church of England School.