| History |
|
Bramley was founded in 1945 by two teachers called Miss Chambers and Miss Flint (known as Flinty) as a day school for boys from 5 to 8, and girls from 5 to 12 or 13. Looking for a suitable property, they found an empty house, uninhabited and locked up. It had been used during the war by the Canadian Army as an officers' mess - which is exactly what it was inside. The place was filthy - every door had been kicked down, fires had been started on floors, stair banisters had been used as logs for the fires, all the stair-treads were broken. After substantial repair and redecoration, the school opened for business in September 1945, and local people helped them stock it with desks, chairs and textbooks. There were 50 pupils in that first term, and the school roll never dropped below that number. There were just three classrooms in those days - one downstairs and two upstairs. Miss Chambers and Flinty lived 'above the shop' so to speak. In due course, they raised enough money from parents to build what was known as 'The Hut'. This was used for all school gatherings. 'The Hut' no longer exists in that form, but has been expanded substantially and is now where the kitchen, dining-room and main performing area is. In those days there were only a few other teachers employed at the school, most notably Miss Butcher who had been at the school since it opened. She had come over from her native France to marry a local Englishman, and taught French at Bramley until she was forced to retire - in her 90s! - in 1990. She was a delightful person and a loyal servant of the school, and eventually died aged 103, maintaining close links with the school till the very end which she visited regularly. During the early 1970s, Flinty retired and, to safeguard the future of the school, it became an Educational Trust, with a Board of Governors. During her thirty years at Bramley, Miss Chambers spent just one day ill in bed. According to her, on that day she left her class working alone in the classroom opposite her bedroom. They put their work outside her bedroom door at the end of each lesson for her to correct, after which she put it back outside the classroom door for them to pick up. She said that she never heard a sound from the pupils all day. How times have changed .... Miss Chambers handed over to Mrs Liz Soulsby in 1975. She in turn was succeeded by Mrs Brenda Johns, who was followed in 2003 by Mrs Paula Burgess. Many pupils have passed through Bramley's doors since 1945, and there have - inevitably and thankfully! - been many improvements since the school started all those years ago. But in all the really important areas, Bramley hasn't changed at all, something which is consistently recognised whenever we undergo an inspection. It remains a very special and unique place which provides a wonderful education; a strong sense of caring, community and friendship; terrific opportunities; and, most importantly, happy times for all its pupils. 
Balloon release at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
|
