Stewarton School

Sixty Years Ago

By H L Warden, J.P.

TIME has rolled along in such a wonderful way that to me has fallen what I consider an honour to tell briefly what I remember of Stewarton School and my youthful experiences there.

The school was opened on 9th November, 1876, the pupils enrolled on the occasion coming from the Institute and High Street Schools. A small school known as the Parish School (near the present Laigh Kirk) had been closed a short time previously.
In the New School, as it was known for some time afterwards, there were four large departments—the Senior, under tlie care of the Headmaster and occupied by Standards V. and VI.; the Middle, under the care of the Second Master and occupied by Standards III. and IV. ; the Junior, under the care of an Assistant Master and occupied by Standards 1. and II.; and the Infant Department, under the care of the Infant Mistress. With the exception of the Infant Department there was attached to each of the others what was termed a Classroom. The name was so given as sitting accommodation for 60 pupils was found on long " forms " with backs, and such subjects as Reading, Spelling, Grammar, etc., received attention in tliese rooms. As slates were used for Arithmetic this subject on occasion was also " tackled " in them. It sometimes happened that the sitting accommodation was not adequate for the number in the Class, in which case tlie pupils were lined along the two sides of the room—particularly was this so in the Junior Division—an arrangement not very satisfactory for either pupil or teacher. The Infant Mistress had the services of two Pupil Teachers, while in each of the other Departments there was found work for one. The Headmaster and the Second Master having each been previously in charge of one of the Schools in the Burgh—were remunerated at the same rate (£170 per annum), the former having a dwelling-house in addition and the latter £20 in lieu of house rent.

The rooms were heated by means of open tires, two in each of the larger rooms (placed in corners) and one in each of the Classrooms. This arrangement certainly necessitated a great amount of work for the caretaker chiefly in the morning, but on the whole produced quite a pleasing degree of comfort.

Shrubs were planted in two corners of the front playground, but after a time these gradually disappeared, the whole space having to yield to the claims of recreation.

Fees were charged and were graded according to the Class in which the pupil might be enrolled. The amount ranged from 8d per month in the lowest class to 1/4 in the highest.

The geographical situation of the town allowed of pupils (chiefly from farms) attending from the Parishes of Dreghorn, Dunlop, Fenwick and Kilmaurs. There was quite a fair number who had to walk daily three miles or so.

Holidays were not on the same liberal scale as we find them in 1936. Two Fast days during the course of the year, two or three days at the Cadgers' Fair in May, the same at the New Year, and four weeks exactly in Midsummer were considered quite satisfactory for all concerned. Then, as now, a School had to be open 400 times during the course of the year. Very few schools now have openings above that number, whereas in those earlier days a school might have 450 openings or even slightly over.
 The Inspection of the School was conducted annually by notified visit, and in the case of Stewarton, along with some others in the neighbourhood, this took place some time during the month of November. Even' pupil who had made 250 attendances or over during the course of the year had his or her name entered on a Schedule which had columns for Date of Birth, Number of Attendances made and Standard in which being examined. There were, in addition, columns (left blank) headed by the words Reading, Writing (including Dictation and Composition), and Arithmetic, and in these were marked (generally by a blue pencil) by means of an 0 the failures ; the clear spaces indicating passes. On the number of passes certain grants were paid, so that every effort was made to have as few failure marks as possible. The Class subjects, such as History and Geography, were paid on two different scales according to the general appearance made by the Class as a whole, the terms used being Fair and Good.

If the total financial result of this annual inspection worked out at the rate of 17/6 per pupil in average attendance, this was considered satisfactory. If above that sum was secured, then promises were made that by maintaining the higher figure a bonus might be awarded to some if not all the Teachers. This whole system was known as Payment by Results, but luckily for all concerned it is a thing of the past.

It fell to my lot to be the first Pupil Teacher apprenticed in the School, the date of my indenture being 1st November, 1876, and the term five years. The following year three additional P.T.s. were appointed, but on account of a change in the Regulations their appointment was for a period of four years.

For two years I was attached to the Junior Department, and there secured some knowledge of the work of Standards 1. and II. At the end of that period I was transferred to the Senior Department, so that as a P.T. I had no experience of work done by Standards III. and IV. I was given a share of most of the work done in the Senior School. The three R's, as they were termed, received chief attention, but the other subjects got a share. A favourite form of Composition exercise in Standard V. was writing out the substance of a Narrative read twice to the Class. In this part of the work the pupil with a good memory scored. Music was taught mainly by the ear. Some little time after the opening of the school Latin was added to the curriculum,

For the services which I was able to render in the ordinary working of the School I received what was then considered a liberal education and a salary which was at the rate of £10 the first year, rising by £2 10/- to £20.

The P.T's. had their lessons from 9 a.m. to 9.30 a.m., the hour when the school opened.

 We had periodic Examinations generally on a Friday-, and when attending to these we had to have an extra hour or so after the School closed. During the last year of our apprenticeship we had quite a fair share of the afternoon work. This meant teaching for 21t hours, and attending to studies from 10 to 12 hours per week. It certainly served as a good preparation for the work that had to be " tackled " in after years.

A common saying is " all good things come to an end," and so did my apprenticeship which had quite a pleasing touch given to it at the finish, when the goodwill of the pupils (which it had been my lot to enjoy in good measure all along) found expression in the gift of a handsome Gladstone travelling-case. No matter what might be carried in it afterwards, it always carried with it pleasant memories of my sojourn in Stewarton School.