Here David describes a lack of repair in the school.
Theme: School Life
Environment
Lack of Facilities
Here Michelle describes the lack of school facilities hindering learning.
Feeling Different
Here Alice describes how she feels the school buildings highlighted her difference.
Never the Twain Shall Meet
Here Mavis talks about being separated from the ‘ordinary children’s side of the school.
Sleeping in Cots
Here Tara describes sleeping in cots with covered sides.
The Training Centre
Here Debbie talks to Ursula about her school environment.
Segregated Campus
Here Mark describes being segregated from other students within his school.
First Day
Feeling Shy
Here Joanne remembers her first day at a new school.
Disinfectant
Here Angela talks about her first memory of residential school.
Eating Plasticine
Here Christine talks about being taken to school for the first time.
Quis? Ego
Here David describes his first day at his residential school with a ‘public school culture’.
School Culture
Small Classes
Here Michelle describes the impact of being split into small impairment specific groups, in what was already a small school.
‘Crippled’ Ships
Here David recalls a military culture within his school.
Being Corrected
Here Deborah talks about the culture of ‘treatment’ within her school.
From Freedom to Regimentation
Here Angela describes the difference between going to her local special school and residential special school.
Smelt like Hospital
Here Richard recalls the atmosphere of a school he attended at age four.
Do it Yourself
Here Tara describes a school culture of doing things for yourself, without even friends being allowed to help each other.
Special and Mainstream
Here Maresa talks about the differences she found between special school and mainstream primary.
The Spacesuit
Here Michelle talks about physiotherapy at school
Individual Needs
Here Michelle talks about how her special school did not help pupils to understand each others needs.
Cotton Wool
Here Zara talks about her special school
An Ally
Here Zara talks about vital support from an officer in her local authority.
An Oral Education
Here Philip talks about having an ‘oral’ education and the equipment he had to use in school.
A Cold Culture
Here Sue recalls a harsh environment at school.
Not special
Here Gordon talks about feeling part of the school.
Visiting every six weeks
Here Ron describes Sunday afternoon visiting for parents.
No talking
Here Ron talks about bedtime at 7 pm for teenagers.
Fun at break times
Nadia remembers having fun.
Learning by Rote
Here Belinda describes the teaching method used in her school.
Distinctive Uniforms
Here Ray describes her pride in her uniform.
Lord of the Flies
Here Haq describes a ‘top dog’ culture at his school.
A Craft Curriculum
Here Anthea describes the non academic culture at her school.
School Dinners
Diet Tables
Here Mark describes having to eat on separate ‘Diet Tables’
Oliver Twist
Here Ronald talks about asking his Headmaster for more food.
No Talking
Here David describes the school dining room and the ‘no talking’ rule.
Fed Like Pigs
Here Angela describes her painful experience of meal times at college.
Mashed Potato
Here Christine describes having to eat mashed potato at school.
Oranges for Christmas
Here Mavis describes her school being sent oranges for Christmas.
Lunchtimes
Here Mark talks about being separated at lunchtime.
Ronald the Rat
Here Joanne talks about lunchtimes in primary school.
Curry by Post
Here Haq talks about receiving food from home.
Dinner time
Here Etty describes her reaction to being forced to eat food she didn’t want.
Oliver Twist and donk
Here Ron describes asking for more jam.
Fat of Lamb
Here John describes his school lunch times.
Sports
Sports Day
Here David describes taking part in the School Sports Day.
Last to be Picked
Here Clenton describes being picked last in Sport.
Fisher Price Basketball
Here Joanne talks about how she felt about being given a ‘toy’ basketball hoop to play with in her Physical Education lesson.
One Goal Post
Here Simone talks about the lack of sports facilities at school.
Jubilee Sports Day
Here Helen talks about feeling included in Sports at school.
Being the Goalkeeper
Here Miro talks about being the goalkeeper for the school.
Swimming Lessons
Here Tara talks about her first experience of a swimming lesson.
Playing Cricket
Here Paul talks about his experience of playing cricket with non-deaf students.
Cricket at Sevenoaks
Here Ronald talks about playing cricket.
Being Left Out
Here Michelle talks about not being included in activities at her special school.
Sent to Physio
Here Lynda talks about not being able to join in with PE because of being sent to Physio instead.
Missing Out
Here Sebastian describes being left out of PE at school.
Reading Instead
Here Roger recalls being sent to read instead of doing Games.
Bean Bags
Here Ann talks about having to fit in.
Picking Teams
Here Debbie talks to Stephen and Ursula about enjoying hockey and sports day at school.
Support
Feeling Included
Here Miro talks about his experience of feeling well supported at primary school, by everyone in the school.
Help with Hearing
Here Donna talks about wearing a portable hearing loop in class.
D is for Dunce
Here Clenton talks about his struggles at school due to his Dyslexia not be recognised.
Velcro Support
Here Michelle talks about the downside to having what she describes as ‘velcro’ support assistants in school.
Lipreading in School
Here Christine talks about her difficulties trying to lipread in school and how that impacted on how she felt about herself.
Inconsistent Support
Here Ajay talks about the difficulty of having a different support worker each day.
Dialogue
Here Maresa talks about learning support in school.
The Death of Friends
Here Mark talks about the lack of pastoral support at his school.
Cotton Wool
Here Zara talks about her special school
I Didn’t Know What Was Possible
Here Joanne talks about not being confident to ask for support
A Lack of Support
Here Lynda talks about having to rely on help from other children.
Exhausting Exams
Here Sebastian talks about having to do exams without any adjustments or support.
Classmate
Here Haq remembers the girl who sat next to him in school.
British Sign Language
Nadia describes some of her communication support in school.
Trips
Mr Freake
Here Mark talks about a wonderful primary school teacher.
Not Allowed
Here Clenton describes his group not being allowed to go on trips with the rest of the school.
The Walk to Church on Sunday
Here Ronald describes the shame he felt every Sunday when he walked to church with school.
Feeling Left Out
Here Joanne talks about a trip to the fair, a school journey and trips to the theatre.
Snowdon with a Pac-a-Mac
Here Richard talks about taking part in field trips at school.
Nature Walks
Here Gordon describes being pushed in a pram so that he could join in.
Dad Driving
Here Miro talks about his dad arranging for friends to accompany him in his dad’s car.
Manhandled Up the Mountain
Here David describes taking part in a school trip to the Lake District.
A Pleasant Surprise
Here Zara describes being surprised by her school’s attitude to include her on the school journey to Russia.
Being Left Out
Here Michelle talks about not being included in activities at her special school.
Sherlock Holmes
Here Joanne talks about feeling excluded from school trips.
Awful Sundays
Here Ron remembers the indignity of being marched to church.
Scarborough
Here Debbie talks to Ursula about her school trip.
World War Two
Geography
Here Ron describes learning geography during the daily wartime news discussions.
Incendiaries in the park
Here Ron describes finding bombs in the park.
War starts
Here Ron remembers the school’s preparation for air attacks.
Sheltering in the Church
Ron describes being led through the woods to shelter.
Dogfight
Ron describes arriving at his second wartime school.
Explosives
Here Ron describes discovering unexploded bombs.
Buzz Bombs and Doodlebugs
Here Ron describes the effects of relentless bombings on school life.
Shelter
Here Ron talks about the whole school sheltering in a small cellar.
The Glow over London
Here Ronald describes sheltering in the church hall during an air raid.
Greyness
Here Ronald describes a trip to London during the war.
Sharing School
Here Ray recalls moving into a nearby girls’ school during wartime.