Whitehawk Primary School

Whitehawk School from the air

By Peter Groves

Education Week 1939

This photo is from my Education Week booklet  of 1939 and shows Whitehawk School from the air, probably soon after its construction in 1933. 

Sexist Comment of 1939 or Reality?

Its interesting to note that the booklet states that the Children and Young Persons Act of 1933 has extended the responsibility of Education Committee in regard to anyone under the age of 17 who is brought before the Juvenile Court.  Under the Act the Remand Home to which boys are sent has been placed under control of the Education Committee.  Boys are to receive educational instruction and handicraft while games and books are to be provided for their leisure........no mention is made of what happens to the girls!

Photo:Whitehawk School c. 1933

Whitehawk School c. 1933

From the Education Week booklet owned by Peter Groves

This page was added on 17/10/2017.
Comments about this page

I attended all three of the schools at Whitehawk and think that this photo is actually of the Senior Schools, Girls on the left hand side of the photo and Boys to the right. The Infant and Junior schools were both detached buildings built to the left hand side of the picture, separated from the Senior schools by the twitten, with wooden annexes for the 'overspill'.  The infant school building was at the bottom of our garden, along with an old canteen building that was converted into classrooms at a later stage.

By Barbara Etherton (22/10/2017)

Hi Barbara, I agree with you regarding it being the Senior School, the word Primary seems to have been added to my page during editing!

By Peter Groves (24/10/2017)

The playground was divided separately between boys and girls. I don't remember anyone ever crossing the line.

By Marilyn (25/10/2017)

Hi Peter, so glad we agree on this.  Not sure if we went to school together or if I was there with Richard Groves.  Did you live opposite the shops in Whitehawk Avenue?

By Barbara Etherton (26/10/2017)

Hi Barbara, no I lived over in Hangleton!

By Peter Groves (27/10/2017)

Both my dad and I went to Whitehawk secondary boys' school and my sister to the girls' school. There was a metal fence about two foot tall with a gate in the middle between the girls and boys playground, my dad had his little finger crushed by the gate in 1940.

By Paul Buss (13/11/2017)
Add a comment about this page

If you're already a registered user of this site, please login using the form on the left-hand side of this page.