Early Memories of Peartree Spring School

Peartree Junior in the 1950s

By Sally Walker Née Copeland

I moved with my family to Stevenage (Leaves Spring) in July 1955 and started at Peartree Spring juniors in the September.  Well, I say Peartree but at the time various classrooms at Peartree were still in the process of being completed and so some pupils had to go to Heathcote for a short time.

Unlike most newcomers to Stevenage, we did not move from London but from very rural Northamptonshire.  The little Victorian village school I attended in Northamptonshire had approximately 50 pupils in total and so at the age of 8 having to go to Heathcote was terrifying.  At the time Heathcote was majorly overcrowded in its own right and so with us little ones from Peartree plus the whole of the Girls’ Grammar school (waiting for their school to be built) there was probably two thousand plus pupils at the school.  We had lessons in a corridor, in the dining room and at Broadhall Community Centre.

I don’t think I went to Heathcote for long, probably only half a term, before we moved to our new classroom at Peartree, which I remember smelt strongly of new paint.  I was in Schweitzer house (blue).

As I mentioned, I lived in Leaves Spring and I remember you Christine Burwell née Banham, you lived in the same little cul-de-sac as me.  I believe you lived at number 90 and we were at number 82.

I did not attend Heathcote School after leaving Peartree in 1958 (a few months before Tony’s panoramic photo was taken); instead I went on to an all-girls school in Hitchin.

It’s nice to reminisce.

This page was added on 26/09/2015.

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  • I lived in Leaves Spring from 1955 to 1960 then moved to Chester. At that time Peartree Spring was a great school and a pet farm and in Sir Edmund Hilary House our teacher was Mr Haywood and Mr Gardiner. Our parents helped to dig out the swimming pool and was opened by Ian Black.

    They were great days

    By Bob beetles (04/02/2023)
  • My comment about Mr Jones…of course it was Mr Bolton. Apologies.

    By Carole Taylor (12/04/2021)
  • I remember those days so well. The swimming pool being opened on the Blue Peter programme. I was lucky to be in the pool at the time. Mr Bolton [corrected 13 April 2021. Ed.] our form teacher…agree very scary but I have never forgotten my times tables to this day. I lived in Shackleton Spring until I was married in1968.

    By Carole Taylor..née Quick (12/04/2021)
  • I remember the photo being taken and was also 8 at the time. I also lived in Leaves Spring, in the same cul-de-sac at no 86 and remember Christine and Sally. Mr Boulton was my teacher for the last 3 years at Peartree and he was scary but a really good teacher. I remember the swimming pool being built, my Dad helped, and it was opened on Blue Peter.

    We moved in 1964 to Southend on Sea but went back to visit Christine’s family as my parents were really good friends with hers.

    I have lovely memories of my time there.

    By Lynne Richardson nee Underwood (17/12/2019)