Pam (& Ian) Harvey, Blacktown New South Wales

"My father and I now live in Sydney Australia but were once residents of Stanmore Road in Wavertree.
My father attended the Bluecoat School from 1924-1931. He remembers his days at the school very clearly.

The Bluecoat school tower - to the side of the tower is the boardroom.

Every time new boys came in the masters had a large ruler which they placed on boys heads to determine the height, and the boys were numbered in size order from 1 to 180 with corresponding lockers. The holidays were in May and September, at times when the state schools were in school.

Christmas was spent in the school with ten days without lessons. On Christmas day mothers and guardians were allowed in to visit from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm. The Christmas dinner consisted of beef and potatoes and gravy.

There was a parade of 24 Christmas puddings carried around the dining hall by old Blue Coat boys. The size of the puddings ranged from two carried by 4 boys to two carried by 2 boys to several carried by individual boys. There were the old silver threepenny bits in the puddings so the boys ate the pudding quickly to get second helpings and therefore more money!

Every week from when he was 13 until he left school he had the job of going round the school with the clock man to carry the step ladder. None of the clocks were electric. At the end of the round he had to climb the spiral staircase to the top of the clock tower and stand on a big box and use crank lever to wind up the clockwork and the strike. The disk which was grooved to give the number of strikes was smooth from 10.00 pm to 6.00am so that the clock didn't strike and wake people up."

Sandra Hamlett, Australia

"My mother attended the Bluecoat School from 1930 until 1938, and I used to love hearing the stories about life then, things like at that time it was an orphanage, the kids never had any sweets and my mum used to walk around the schoolyard eating toothpaste!

The Chapel

And how every Easter the city of Liverpool donated a huge chocolate egg that would be broken up and distributed to all the kids. Also how at aged eight the girls all had to knit their own full length woollen stockings.

My Mum's maiden name was Joan Elizabeth Lambert, and she attended the Bluecoat from 1930 until 1938 along with her sister Edna (Edna resides in Houston, Texas, U.S.A.) I don't recall many other stories from my Mum, just that her best friend Frances died of T.B. which I am sure was rampant in those days, and that she had a teacher called Miss Hipkiss, and all the kids would go behind her back slap their hip and blow a kiss!!

The Shirley Hall Corridor

My Mother was born in 1922 and taken to the U.S.A. with her parents and siblings as her Father was in the American Navy. He passed away aged 28 years and my Grandmother decided to return to England. However, her in-laws had different ideas and kidnapped my Mother!!
My Grandmother returned to England and my mother was sent back 18 months later. I guess in those days it was very hard to try and rear three kids without a Father, so that is why they were put in the Bluecoat.

After my Mum left the Bluecoat she worked in Grange Lane, Gateacre as a Nanny to a Major's children. (In later years I went to school at Gateacre Comprehensive and used to go past this grand house every day!!!).
Mum later went on to join the WRAF, and there she met my Father and they were married and had my brother and I, and then we emigrated out here."

Marian Wilkie (nee Lee), Orillia Canada

"I was at the Bluecoat from 1945-1949. I was one of the last of the girls in the school. We (the girls) had to leave in 1949 as the school was being changed over to a boys only school.

If you go through the main entance of the school and turn right, my picture used to be on the wall alongside another female classmates' pictures. So if the pictures are still on the wall , one of them is me.

When I attended the school Mr Watkyn was the headmaster. Mrs Hipkiss was my form teacher, she lived in Birkenhead. I went to her house a few times after leaving the school. I later went to Windsor High school just further down Wavertree road at Penny Lane. Then I went to the Liverpool Art college. I later married my Canadain husband, and came here to Orillia Canada in 1966.
If anyone would like to get in touch - bfoorillia@orilliapronet.com"