Schooldays in Ettingshall

"My brother and I attended Ettingshall primary school during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1930s it was known as "The Tin School" because it was made out of corrugated tin sheets. In 1939 a new brick school was opened and in March 1999 an open evening was held to commemorate 60 years of the new school.

"The memories came flooding back as I pored over pictures of faces I hadn't seen in a quarter-century Boys I'd played football with, girls I'd played kiss-chase with. I finally spotted myself in pictures of the football team. Did my hair really look that bad?

In the 73-74 season we were Bilston schools champions and Wolverhampton schools cup winners.

"Things had changed since I was last there. A new hall had been built and there was a computer in every classroom. In one corridor was a display of the different cultures represented at the school. Bilston was a multicultural community when I was at Ettingshall, but only recently have we begun to celebrate it.

"How small everything was. In the toilets the washbasins only came up to my knees. When I used the rope ladders in the hall all those years ago, they seemed huge. Now, I could reach the top of the frames.

"The most enjoyable part of the open evening was meeting some of my old teachers: Miss Potts, my old headmistress; Mr Courts, my class teacher in my final year; and Miss Fuel. I also recognised Ettingshall's longest-serving teacher, Mr Jones. He retired not long after I left and had started working there in the 1930s.

"Here's to the next 60 years . . ."