Binley Park / Binley School

Does anyone know where Binley School was situated (I assume it was in Binley Road!!) but am not sure how far along it was or whether it is still there? My mother, who would be in her 90's now had she lived, told me that, being the eldest, she had to walk there with her two younger sisters, all wearing their black boots and carrying their tin mugs, from the end of Lower Ford Street where they lived, and up Gosford Street to wherever the school was in Binley Road. No school run in those days! And I thought I had a hard time getting from Tile Hill all the way to Stoke Park School on the bus back in the late 1950's!

I think you are probably talking about Binley Park School, Janey. This school was demolished in 1990 and I am not sure what the older school which stood there was called. If you go to the top of Binley Road turn right the school was on the left near Willenhall Lane.

Thank you for the info NormK. I got the impression from my mother that she had a long way to walk with her younger siblings in tow, so it sounds as though Binley Park School probably replaced the older Binley School.

I was there about 1949-50 as far as I can remember it was just Binley School. there was a junior and senior school I think the headmaster was Mr Pancot (Parncot - Parncutt) probably the wrong spelling there was a shop over the road that sold all sorts of things including sweets I think ration cards had finished by then. We lived in Brookvale Ave and walked to school although there was a school bus each day which we used when it was raining.

I remember playing football for Ravensdale Junior school against Binley Junior school (we won 3-1!!) way back in 1966. Binley always had a decent school football team. As I recall Binley Park school was right next door.

When I attended 'Binley Infants' from about 1967-1969, the headmistress was Miss Reeves, who married and became Mrs Roff (not sure of the spelling there - my apologies). I think I recall a teacher called Mrs Pilbeam, who painted a lovely mural in the school hall, and whose son Nick was in my year at KHVIII. We travelled to school on the (number 11?) bus, which I boarded near the Biggin Hall and dropped us off right outside the school.

Hi. The entrance to Binley Park School known locally as Binley School was on the Brandon Road roughly where the bus stop is today. Go to the top of Binley Road towards Brandon, turn right at the "chippy" onto Brandon Road. Then travel two to three hundred metres and on the left you will see the some new buildings. This is now Binley Business Park, many years ago the school stood. I hope this helps

I recall Binley Junior School was a large Victorian-style building, situated roughly opposite the junction of Brandon Road and Willenhall Lane. It was effectively surrounded on 3 sides by Binley Park School's playing fields. I didn't attend the school but I knew the deputy headmaster quite well. He was David Moore, a big man with a huge, booming voice. He was president of Coventry Referees Association, which is how I knew him as I often refereed at the junior football tournaments he staged at the school. He was a lovely chap, universally admired and respected, and I have always been grateful that he was responsible for the only two occasions on which I officiated at Football League grounds. I wonder if anyone else here remembers him.

Was David Moore one of the two Coventry referees that taught the Rules of the Game to upcoming Coventry referees back in the mid/late 60's, on behalf of the Birmingham County FA? I was one of the youngest at the time to have qualified as a referee back in 1968. I distinctly remember that one of those gents was a large chap; the second was somewhat smaller. Having qualified, I officiated at a few school games at Woodlands to gain the experience, and refereed and played in the superb 5-a-side league that was held at Binley Park Comprehensive on a Monday evening. Does anybody else remember that? Unfortunately my 'career' as a referee failed to blossom due to non-regular shift work, making it impossible for me to guarantee availability.

It sounds like you and I were almost contemporaries, Ron. I qualified as a referee in 1969 and the BCFA chap who took the exam told me that I was at that time the youngest to become a registered referee in their association. You were not allowed to take the exam until you were 16 and I was fortunate that the exam date was 3 days after my 16th birthday. There was also a lad of 14 on the course but he wasn't allowed to qualify as there were no youth referees then. We also had the first woman to take the exam on our course and she passed but was told she couldn't actually be registered. The referee courses were held at that time at the Humber Hotel (as were most local football meetings) and in 1969 the instructors were Alan Richardson and Frank Lyddieth, the latter being a 'large chap'. I believe David Moore may have been involved at some earlier time, and I have a feeling he was later also one of the examiners, although not when I did mine. I was also involved in a 5-a-side league around that time which was run by Coventry Council's Youth Service, the organiser being Eric Hagard. We had a couple of teams in the league and played at various venues once a month, including Coventry Boys' Club, Stoke Aldermoor Youth Club (in the open air) and possibly Binley Park too. Could this have been the same competition? I remember it being really competitive, run on a mini-league ladder basis with monthly ups and downs. I used to referee in the league too when I wasn't playing.

Janey, Binley School was not in Binley Road, Stoke, but in Binley village, not far from Binley Pit and the pit workers' houses. You turned right at the Craven Arms pub junction which had Bentley's newspaper shop next to it and it was somewhere along that road. The children next door to me attended there but I went to Stoke National, and from age 8 to Folly Lane School.