From the School Magazine, 1946-'7
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From North Hill, to Greyfriars
In 1919 the Colchester County High School, which was housed entirely in the North Hill building, was full to over-flowing. The Staff Room was taken over for a form room, there were classes in the corridor, coaching in every corner and even the gallery was used, a wooden trellis being erected to prevent those from above who were more interested in gym than geometry from joining the class below head first.
Great was the relief when the Essex Education Committee took over Grey Friars and it was decided to house the Junior School there, together with Miss Harris and the Preparatory which had hitherto been functioning in St Peter’s Rooms. During the second half of the Autumn Term and all through the Christmas holidays we worked feverishly, under Miss Crosthwaite’s lead, to get the building furnished and habitable. At last the finishing touches were put and we were ready. Imagine our horror at finding one Monday morning in the first term that the roof was on fire! The telephone had only just been installed and its first call was for the fire brigade, which turned out to be a mere hand-cart and hose. Imagine our dismay when the hose burst on the top corridor and water poured through the ceilings, down the stairs in a torrent and out at the front door. It meant a day’s holiday for us and might have meant much longer. Face to face with impending disaster we realised as never before what a precious possession Grey Friars was to us.
M Collier and JD Thornberry - CCHS Mistresses
PS – We should like to tell of secret passages and nun-haunted rooms, but we must leave these to the imaginations of the Upper IVs! MIB and MMO
Can anyone give any help in identifying MIB and MMO?