Gatley Primary School 1961 1964

A Memory of Gatley.

I have so many clear memories of Gatley Primary.
My mother used to take me by car in the morning, but in the afternoon I walked down Cedar Road to wait at the bus stop. There was a wonderful sweet shop there.
The headteacher was Mr Pearce. He used to have a funny way of saying "Hewld hands!" when we had to walk in pairs to the canteen.
The food was disgusting: I remember telling my mother the custard had bones in it - meaning the bits produced by a big stirring spoon scraping the burnt layer off the bottom of the vat. Everyone's favourite pudding was semolina, as we were given raisins or sultanas to stir in. When it was wet, we stayed in the canteen and boxes of comics came out for us.
The school was overcrowded. My first year class was taught in the hall. In my third year, when a new boy arrived, I remember the teacher saying that if we had 3 more, the class would be "half a hundred".
One time, everyone had to bring regulation gym shoes. I had black shoes with navy blue laces. For some reason my teacher was delighted with the laces, and dragged me around the other classrooms so she could show everyone my laces. I was bemused. All my mother could say was that she'd dyed the laces in ink.
One Christmas we had fun making paper chains to go around the classroom. The following Christmas, the teacher said we couldn't have any decorations up as the classroom was to be used for a film show. I remember the film show - Mickey Mouse being played backwards fast, very funny - but I also remember thinking what a miserable woman.
I used to get my hair cut around the corner from the Tatton Cinema. When I wrote about it in class, I was picked to read out my account on stage in front of the school, at some end of term event. My finest moment!

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