CCHS

Memories of School Games

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How many reached the heights of a school team?  I was a member of the school netball tam in the early 1950s.  We were a very successful team thanks to the inspired coaching of our sports teacher.  Originally from one of the Scandinavian countries her name was, I think, Miss Van de Spey (though I have to admit my memory is rather foggy on names!).  She taught us various “set piece” moves, “the grapevine” took the ball rapidly up the court to our brilliant goal shooter, Abby, who rarely missed a shot.  On the team I played at wing attack.  In the critique in the school magazine was a comment on me which amused my mother very much: “she springs well”!   Our sports teacher also took gym (PE) and ran an after school group for Scandinavian country dancing which I enjoyed.  On special occasions she wore her traditional national costume to add atmosphere to the dance group.

 

For netball matches I think we wore a short navy blue wrap-around skirt (I remember struggling with press studs and hooks and eyes to keep it in place), white blouse, white socks and canvas plimsolls.  The plimsolls had to be perfectly clean for a match; the laces had to be removed and the shoes and laces whitened with liquid “Blanco” which took ages to dry.  Our team colours were shown during school hours by a girdle, a long loosely woven red and white webbing sash worn round the waist and fastened with a necktie type knot on the left side for the netball team and at the back for the hockey team.  The tails of the girdle reached down to the hem of our school skirt.  One away netball match remains in my memory.  It was against New Hall, a private girls’ school near Chelmsford.  Not only was this the farthest away we had travelled to a match, which we won easily, but we were entertained afterwards to a lavish (by post-war austerity standards) sit down tea served in the school refectory.

 

Throughout my time at CCHS I enjoyed sports including rounders at Grey Friars.  Another team game which was great fun was when a line of girls stood one behind the other, about an arms length apart, and a netball sized ball was first passed between our ankles to the girl behind.  The last girl in the line ran to the head of the line and this time the ball was passed over our heads to the girl behind.  This was repeated until each girl had a turn at running to the head of the line.  I can’t remember what this was called or how many were in a team but it was played competitively against other classes.  Does anyone remember the name of thi game or how many were in a team.  It was such a good game combining the need for co-ordination, agility, flexibility and speed.  An answer to present day obesity amongst the young, perhaps!

 

At North Hill I enjoyed tennis in the summer but was never very expert at it so I learned to be an umpire as I did not want to lose the contact with the sport or the boys at CRGS!

 

Hockey, played on the sloping sports field at the lower end of the North Hill grounds where the Sixth Form College now stands, was my least favourite sport.  I was often placed on the left wing, rarely getting a touch of the ball but getting very cold with number hands!  A long jump pitch was also on this lower field but during my time at North Hill it was discontinued, the reason given - “it was dangerous to the girls’ internal organs.”  No comment!

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