The day Rosalind was the only child at Lister Street School

Ten out of 10 to Rosalind Cooper for some wonderful school memories.
Lister Street School in Hartlepool.Lister Street School in Hartlepool.
Lister Street School in Hartlepool.

Rosalind spent more than two years at Lister Street School in Hartlepool in the 1960s and still remembers one particular incident.

“I remember one day getting to school and thinking I was late as I entered the schoolyard as everyone had already gone in, I distinctly remember the feeling of panic, I was quite a compliant schoolgirl!

Rosalind Cooper.Rosalind Cooper.
Rosalind Cooper.
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“I went inside and couldn’t see or hear anyone. There was total silence. I went to my classroom but it was empty.

“I was really scared not knowing where everyone was. I remember wandering from one classroom to another and they were all empty.

“I had begun to cry a little, I think. Eventually, the caretaker found me in the main hall and asked why I was there.

“It turned out that there was no school that day, I don’t remember why. Maybe it was a bank holiday and my mother had just forgotten or another one-off holiday.

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“Anyway, I turned up back home, to my mum’s surprise. She was very sorry to have put me through that experience.”

Art provides another memory for Rosalind. “We had powder paints which were in big drums and we had to ask the teacher if we wanted a colour.

“She would then mix it for us in a jam jar. When she was occupied with another pupil, the boy who sat next to me went to the red powder paint drum and scooped a handful of power and threw it all over me!”

It led to her parents writing a very stern letter to the family of the boy.

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But as Rosalind pointed out: “It sounds like my memories are all traumatic – but not at all!

“I remember playing Mary in the school nativity and my own doll was the baby Jesus – a highlight. I also remember vying with my best friend, Jackie, to get the top marks in our year tests.

“These consisted of 10 sums, 10 spellings, some writing and reading – 10 marks each, a max total of 40. We had to make a cover for our work to take home to parents.

“Mine consisted of a border decorated with circles in different colours made with the end of a straw dipped in paints. Jackie and I both got 39 marks, a tie. I still have that folder!”

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Rosalind went to Lister Street from 1966-68, but then her family moved to Nottingham.

She said: “I took my family to Hartlepool in 2006 and looked for the school based on childhood memories only, and finally realised that it no longer existed.

“The block where the school was is now houses and flats.”

Thanks to Rosalind for some great memories. Do you have your own?

Email [email protected] and tell us more.