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Gosport Weather

The heating was old and unsatisfactory.  When it was turned on, the pipes leaked and the corridors were flooded.  Fortunately, the summer was coming and the workmen would be able to install a new oil-heating system during the summer holidays.  On arriving back in September however, the heating system was not ready and it was only in November that it could be used.

With all the improvements, the school was now more like a new school.  There was more space than in the old school.  Indeed, there were classrooms to spare.  One spare classroom was used as a library and another, as a music-room.  There were indoor toilets and corridors all the way round, so that no classroom was used as a passageway.  There were also 2 halls, one each for the infants and the juniors.

Dinner-times were easier and more comfortable.  There was now a separate hut with a kitchen attached, where school dinners were cooked and served.  No longer did dinner-ladies have to move the tables and chairs and put them on a platform. There was another hut at the end of the playground where games equipment could be stored and a building at the other end of the playground which had been a science room.  It became an art and craft room for the juniors.

Dinner-times were easier and more comfortable.  There was now a separate hut with a kitchen attached, where school dinners were cooked and served.  No longer did dinner-ladies have to move the tables and chairs and put them on a platform. There was another hut at the end of the playground where games equipment could be stored and a building at the other end of the playground which had been a science room.  It became an art and craft room for the juniors.

It seemed that the school was now ready for the official opening.  This was arranged for Wednesday 27^th September 1967.  The official opening took place in the Infants’ playground, which was enclosed on three sides by the school building.  All available chairs were brought into the area, so that children and parents could mostly be seated.  E.H. Littlecott, Esq. B.A., D.P.E., performed the opening ceremony.

The school managers were present as well as the personnages listed on the programme below.

The Vicar, The Rev. L.C.G. Munro, B.A., R.D.

(The Vicar), Chairman of Managers

Dr. L.F.W. White, M.B.E., B.Sc., Barrister-at-Law, Borough Education Officer.

E.H. Littlecott, Esq., B.A., D.P.E.

The Right Rev. J.H.L. Phillips, M.A., D.D. (The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth)

The Rev. Canon C. Foster, Ph.D., M.A., B.Sc., Diocesan Director of Religious Education.

P. Fagg, Esq.

Exterior view of the Infant School in 1967 (before the move to Grove Road)

Infant Hall

The acquisition of Grove Road School buildings for St. John’s School was a satisfying achievement to all concerned.  The negotiations by Dr. White, The Vicar and the Managers had resulted in success.  Much hard work had been done by Mr. Stainer in making arrangements for the move, for the settling in, and for the alterations and improvements to the building.

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