The first day of term at Noremarsh Junior school saw new Year 6 students interviewing past pupils and staff, invited back to share their experiences of education and memories of the from bygone days.
Armed with clipboards and prepared questions, the children became investigative journalists for the afternoon as they delved into the past and uncovered facts about Noremarsh Junior School from talking to their primary information sources.
Common questions included How were you punished? How has the school’s appearance changed? And – Did you wear a school uniform?
Sue Victory, retired Deputy Head who joined the school in 1988 brought in some class photos from over the years. Children were delighted when they were able to identify their own parents as well as spot some of the visitors.
Year 6 Teacher, Claire Sexton explained why they had chosen this as their first topic of the year, “Noremarsh is this whole community with a lot of love and support in it and extra things going on and has this fantastic history as well.”
She continued, “Noremarsh actually opened its doors for the first time in 1842 at a different site, before moving to its current site on the 9th of September 1968. The children are really lucky to have the chance to speak to adults who attended the school decades ago.”
Children were able to learn more about how the school ran from an original logbook which detailed the day to day running of the school from 1968-1988 and were surprised at how many activities and equipment remained the same.
The visitors were able to confirm that “not much had changed” since their time at the school included the wooden flooring in the hall and the general layout of the school although many rooms now had different functions. This was highlighted during a tour of the school where they were able to see the brand-new library that is now housed in the old ICT room.
Year 6 are now looking forward to using all their newfound information to write historical accounts of Noremarsh’s history and are looking forward to finding out more about the school’s past in the coming weeks.
