From my Mayor of Hyndburn Facebook Page - part of my Blog for Wednesday 26th March - re Reunion on Saturday 13th September:- Wednesday 26th March – The clock was turned back this morning as I went on a visit to Accrington Academy, now the much-changed site of my old school, Accrington High School for Girls. As some of you will know, I’m organising a Reunion for the 75th Anniversary of the School on Saturday 13th September. The school actually opened on 8th September 1939, the opening having been delayed for a week by the outbreak of World War Two. The special 21st Anniversary edition of the school magazine, published in 1960, the year I started at school, includes an article by a former pupil who remembers an unfinished corridor leading out to an open field – no Health & Safety or Risk Assessment back in 1939! The school has had various reincarnations since it was opened. It ceased to be Accrington High School for Girls in 1975, when the “Comprehensive” system of education was introduced in the newly-formed Hyndburn Borough (1st April 1974). Several 11 to 16 Comprehensives came into being, most of which were previously Secondary Moderns – Rhyddings, Hollins, St. Christopher’s and Norden. Paddock House Girls’ Convent Grammar School and Holy Family Secondary Modern were combined to form Mount Carmel R.C. High School, though for many years it still operated from two sites. Accrington Boys’ Grammar School and Girls’ High School were combined to form Moorhead High School. A few years ago, Moorhead ceased to exist and became Accrington Academy. Much building work has gone on over the years. When I visited Moorhead in 2000 the old High School buildings were in a “time warp” – hardly anything had changed since the 1960s. In 2005 there had been a lot of “new build” but the interior of the old High School buildings was still more or less recognizable. However, fast-forward to 2014 and it’s a very different story! The entrance to the school is now on Queen’s Road West. I tried about four doors before I managed to get into the building, where Mr. Tony Rodia, the Sports and Leisure Manager, was awaiting my visit. I was there to prepare for our Reunion in September and see what facilities would be available to us. There was a teachers’ strike on today, so the building was very quiet. I saw state-of-the-art facilities rivalling those of any private leisure club. Exercise bikes, treadmills and other sophisticated equipment were a far cry from our school days, when we had to go outside for hockey in the freezing cold. The gym teachers, Mrs. Taylor and Miss Tomlinson, used to come out all muffled up in their tracksuits but for us it was, “Sweaters off, girls!” The swimming pool at the Academy is up to competitive standard and is used outside school hours by local swimming clubs and private individuals. Again, a far cry from the old Baths in St. James’ Street where girls trembled in fear of Mrs. Broadley, the Superintendent’s wife! The sports hall was a massive room with lines marked on the floor in different colours for different sports. I was also taken into a multi-purpose hall which could be used for sport, dance, conferences, presentations, etc. Tiered seating can be pulled out or pushed back according to requirements. This may be the room we mainly use for our Reunion, dependent on numbers attending. I was hardly aware of walking into the old part of the school, though the beige wall tiles and the red floor tiles should have given it away. I suddenly realised I was walking along the downstairs corridor where Rooms 1 to 5 were situated. Rooms 1 to 4 used to be First Form classrooms – I was in 1H (Miss Hindle) in Room 4 – and Room 5 was a Fifth Form classroom – I was in 5S (Mr. Reeves). On arriving at the top of the corridor past Room 5 I recognised in front of me the rooms that used to be cloakrooms and washrooms. Looking to the right there was no exit out to Radnor Street but just internal doors into the more modern part of the building. I turned left and told Mr. Rodia that the room on the right, just before the entrance hall, used to be Miss Horne’s office, and that on the opposite wall of the corridor was the portrait of Miss Brown, the school’s first Head Mistress. I walked into what used to be the Entrance Hall, forbidden to all but Sixth Formers and staff. The front door is now completely blocked up and there is no exit onto Cromwell Avenue. I was most disappointed when I saw that our wonderful Hall had been divided up into a few rooms. One was the former stage, with a small amount of space in front, but barely recognizable! I called into the Staff Room but the adjoining Library was now used for a different purpose. There is a new Library but I didn’t manage to see it! I walked down the corridor past the Domestic Science Room – remember those tables we used to scrub? Now of course all state-of-the-art! My upstairs tour took me past the Art Room and the end of the Sixth Form Corridor, then along past the Science Labs. At the other side of the building I relived memories of the Geography Room (Room 16) and the History Room (Room 11). Happy days with Miss Mellodey and Miss Scotney – or were they? Remember that board behind the door in the History Room? Each month Miss Scotney used to slot in the names of battles and other significant historical events that had happened on particular dates. I don’t suppose History is taught like that now! I said I was sorry to find that there was no plaque or other indication that Accrington High School for Girls had ever existed. A friend from the Academy office said there were still a few old photos and that she would look for them. Mr. Rodia said that the Academy would be very glad to welcome us to their premises for our Reunion on Saturday 13th September. I’ll be contacting Mrs. Jones who organised the 50th Anniversary Reunion in September 1989 to get an idea of what numbers we might expect. Then I need to start spreading the word! I’ve been posting on the Accrington High School Facebook Page for about a year so have already had lots of interest expressed! I quite often get e-mails from “old girls” living in other parts of the country, saying that they’ve heard about the proposed Reunion and that they’d like further information. I’ll get back to them all in due course. The Reunion is likely to begin at 11 a.m. and finish by about 4 p.m., so that those who have a long way to travel can manage without an overnight stay in the area. Watch this space!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 18:26:54 +0000