Frederick Bird School

Is there anyone else that left Freddies in 69/70

You could always contact Jean by using the "contact" button alongside per posting

Hi, I have just joined, and am fascinated to see so many names I remember. I was in Freddies infants and juniors from 1949-1955. I was Maureen Vaughan, and lived in Trentham Road. Would love to hear from anyone who might remember me. Here's hoping!

Hi Maureen and welcome. You must have started Freddie's the year after me. I don't recall your name but we probably crossed paths. I lived not far from you in Coronation Rd,nJanet West was my maiden name. I had two brothers and a sister younger than me. Edward (Ted), Geoffrey and the youngest Kathleen. All of us went to Freddie's but Kathleen passed her eleven plus and moved to Binley Park. The friends I went around with in the seniors were Linda Sanderson, Judith Lovick and Anne Luckett. Other names I recall are Marion Vennard, Ann Stokes and I had a cousin who went there, June West. Enjoy your time on the forum Regards, Jan.

Hi Janet My sister went to Freddie`s seniors from Southfields juniors in the early 60s as did I, my sister passed her 13+ and moved to Lyng Hall, later becoming a teacher herself, and ended up as deputy head of Freddie`s juniors and then on to become a head teacher in Longford, can`t remember the exact dates though I`ll have to ask her when she visits from Wales at the weekend

Hi Mick, good for your sister, one of the clever ones. I volunteer for Age UK and one of our other volunteers was a head at Freddie's some years ago. I know her first name is Marilyn, can't bring to mind her surname. Will have to find out.

Link from Coventry telegraph Frederick Bird School head, are you in Clarrie's class nostalgia.

Hey Doug, talking about bully do you remember Cliff Barnes? He used to get into right dust ups. I remember one night 1962 in the Orchid Ballroom, the local dancehall, we were up on the balcony looking down on everybody and suddenly the floor cleared and there's Cliff standing on his own offering to kick anybody's face in

The girl's name was Hazel Davies, everyone in school fancied her! Another girl who went there 1961-1964 was Evonne James, she was a big girl, another was June Exton, we called her ekky thump because she could beat up most boys in the school.

Music teacher when I was there was Mrs Yardley, all the lads loved her and I was in Mrs Hales' class and Mr Kent was the headmaster when I went there, good times

Have just joined the HC Forum and found this section on Freddies. I was at the Infants and Juniors from 1954-1960 leaving when we moved to Cheylesmore. Everyone seems to be talking about the Senior schools. Did any of you go to the Infants or Juniors?

I spent the whole of my school life at Freddies, so yes I was in the infants and juniors too. The headmistress was Miss Chinn,nshe had a cane on the wall in her office. If anyone fell over in the playground they would be sent to Miss Chinn's office where she kept a bottle of iodine, I always associated her office with the smell of it. Mrs Beasley used to play the piano in the morning when we went into the hall for prayers, I remember her as being a very kind lady. My very first day in the infants, I banged my head whilst playing on a rocking horse. Used to love school milk in the winter when it was frozen, through being left outside in the crates. The top would be popping off the bottle and it made you catch your breath it was so cold to drink. I'm a few years ahead of you Coventry 49, I started in the infants in 1948. Left Freddies when I was fifteen and couldn't wait to go.

Hello Mayjan! I do remember Miss Chinn, she was a Tartar. I have a memory of the cane in her office but didn't know whether it was my imagination or not, now you have confirmed it! There was a hut in the playground near the gate and I had classes in there. I suppose we were only in the Infants for 2 years and then went to the Juniors which I have very vivid memories of. I had a Mr Wild (a Welshman) for 2 years and he was lovely. He used a slipper on the boys but always took them out of the classroom to do it, not to humiliate them I suppose. We lived in Cambridge Street and it seemed and awfully long walk to school each day plus home for dinner. When I was 8 we moved to Cheylesmore but I didn't want to change schools so I travelled each day by bus (the Inner Circle bus I think) and stayed school dinners - 5 shillings a week! Frozen school milk, lovely. Were you Milk Monitor? Remember the Nit Nurse? I had two long plaits and she used to undo one and leave me for the rest of the day like that! These days I guess that would be deemed abuse!!!

I attended Freddies Infants and Juniors from 1961 to 1968. My dad and my grandmother did all of their schooling at Freddies too. When I joined the Infants the headmistress was Mrs. Jenkins and the incoming Infants teacher Miss Foulkes. The next year I had Miss Lansdowne and then, I think, Miss Foulkes again for the last year. There was an enormous rocking horse in the room the first-years had. On our first day there Miss Foulkes showed us the pointer and asked us if we knew what it was - very excitedly we shouted "the cane, the cane!". Odd how we were all so eager to see the legendary instrument of punishment when we were just four and five years old. In the hall was a low platform from which prayers were led. To the left was an upright piano and to the right was a Jungle Gym that I suppose we did some kind of exercise on but I don't remember doing any. One Christmas we did a concert and the Jungle Gym was completely covered with paper as part of the set. Hidden inside was a teacher who sang a carol at one point in the action. One of my fellow students was Latvian and I remember her family being the best, if not the only, source of exotic costuming for the Three Wise Men. There were inside and outside toilets and one of the stalls in the girls' outside toilets was known as the "fever toilet" and was never used. Sometimes we played on the big lawn that was behind the Junior School huts next to Swan Lane. In the Juniors the head was Mr. Lewis, a very kindly and grandfatherly man. He retired after I'd been there three years (not that I was the cause, I hope!) and was replaced by Mr. Holbrook. Mr. Holbrook introduced music lessons but they weren't available if you were in the last year. When it rained the roof leaked and buckets were positioned to catch the drips. We had some great sports days up on the enormous field behind the Seniors buildings next to the railway line. Southfields and All Saints (??) schools would come to compete against us. The games included the wheelbarrow race with a boy being the barrow and a girl pushing, the 3-legged race, the egg and spoon, a sack race and my favorite, the Late for School. In this last race the girls would run down the course putting on articles of men's clothing at various points - a hat, a tie, trousers, a jacket and shoes, I think. Similarly the boys had to put on women's clothes in their race. It all seemed hilarious when the kids finally staggered across the finish line but I suppose someone would be offended these days! In addition to the playground that encircled the Juniors building there was a lower playground with adjacent lawn. One part of this lower playground got icy in winter and the boys made a long slide on it. In those days the girls never slid on it but we did enjoy watching. There was also a bike shed under the headmaster's window that never had a single bike in it for the four years I was there.