by Pam Kesteven (née Singleton)
It was with mixed thoughts that I pushed my bike past the tennis court and the school building of Foley House for the last time. It was July 1958, my final day at school. I remember looking back over my shoulder and wondering what might await me, as well as what had passed.
What events stood out in the years spent at Newmarket Grammar School? I certainly recall the frustration of crossing the High Street on race days when the Queen was expected. The Police closed the High Street at least half an hour before the Queen was due and I was on the “wrong side”, having cycled home to Ashley Road for my lunch. Luckily I knew one or two policemen who would allow me to cross, if they were on duty. If not, it was lots of smiles and a persuasive tongue! My sister too was later affected by this problem.
School dances I remember as a time of anticipation and sometimes of disappointment if the boy I fancied did not attend!
Pam at her desk
My O-level and A-level exams were both affected by disasters. The week before the O-level exams I developed a terrible pain during a chemistry lesson with Mr Masterman. As it was the day of my 16th birthday, he thought that I might be “playing up”. He quickly realised that it was more serious than this and I was passed on to a “higher authority”. The outcome was me cycling home with a 6th Form prefect keeping me company. I still remember the pain that I was in for that mile and a half. At home the doctor was called then an ambulance: within 30 minutes I was being operated on for acute appendicitis: a week later I was doing O-levels.
A-Level time and it was the morning of my first History paper. Again disaster struck. I was cycling along the very narrow street, off the High Street (where the pork butcher is). I was overtaking a string of parked cars when someone threw open their car door. I was sent flying into the air, then onto the road. Miss Hunt, who took me for English, was behind in her car and soon I was on my way to Newmarket General Hospital, which fortunately, was nearby. I had a deep cut under my chin.
I explained that I could not take penicillin, but unbeknown to me the injection that I was given did contain a very small amount, to which I later reacted. My cut was stitched up and we left the hospital. At school it was decided that I would be better off in Mrs Law’s office (the Headmaster’s secretary). It was when I sat down that I realised I had blotches on my arms and that they and my face were swelling (reaction to the penicillin). My doctor was sent for and he gave me an injection. Luckily it did work and half an hour later I was deemed fit for my exam. Halfway through the doctor returned to give me a second injection. Later I could not even remember what questions I had answered! I did manage to pass the exam, but not with the grade that I had hoped (no note was sent to explain the circumstances – those were the days!).
I did enjoy my time at Newmarket Grammar School, making a number of friendships that are still strong today. I am grateful to Hannah Blankly and Janet Wahlstrand for giving me a love of Maths and History. They were both superb teachers.
Having left school, I went on to a Teacher Training College, not far away, in Saffron Walden. I wanted to teach children of Primary age, though later I was to teach for thirteen years in a Comprehensive.
My college days were a mixture of hard work and fun. We were also given a very good ground-work for teaching. Being an all-girls establishment there were, however, a number of archaic rules, particularly concerning the opposite sex nearby in Cambridge and Writtle!
A certain friend of mine from school “saved my life” during a “dreaded” Teaching Practice. I had gone back home to work quietly and returned to college without picking up my file with all my lesson notes in it (failed teaching practice loomed as we had no car at home). My Dad took the notes across to a “very kind person” who came over on his motorbike with the precious file. Great relief!
Pam playing tennis
Having obtained a teaching job in Cambridge, a primary school near to Marshall’s Airport, I joined Madge Scarse who had only been teaching for one year. Madge and I became close friends until her tragically early death from cancer. She was a brilliant teacher and we had lots of fun teaching in classrooms next to each other.
On one occasion Madge and I had to become detectives when we began to receive rather “posh” flowers from pupils in our classes (they were coming from the local cemetery!). The children had not really appreciated that they were taking something that did not belong to them. After we talked things over with our classes Madge and I received no more “posh” bouquets.
After three very happy years teaching in Cambridge I went down to Surrey (Chertsey). The main reason for this was to be nearer to John. We had first met on the Maisons-Laffitte/Newmarket French exchange visit: he was one of five boys from The Perse School in Cambridge. The person in charge was Sam Walters (Herc).
John was an outstanding sports player, a superb cricketer and an even better hockey centre half: he played for Cambridgeshire, Surrey, Warwickshire and Berkshire as we ended up teaching in all of those counties.
In Surrey the school was a large one and, like Cambridge, had a mainly young staff. Many of the children came from quite affluent homes but we also had those from the caravan park, the circus and fair children. The circus children really looked down upon the fair children, which often resulted in fights. Of course their school attendance was seasonal. I got to know many of the fair children well and they taught me many things.
In this school I met my first child “sewn” into his clothes for the winter, coped with two suicide Mums and a child with lash marks across his back (this was followed up). We did a great deal of social work.
Pam at a recent reunion with Brian Leggett and Christine Wells (Skan)
In Surrey I was also near enough to go across to Wimbledon after school. You could buy a returned ticket for the evening for 2/6d (later up to 5/-). John would pick me up in the van that we shared. When John finished his degree course at London University we went up to Solihull where he had accepted a job teaching Physics at Solihull School. I too had taken a job, in Solihull, at the Junior School that Mandy Rice-Davies had attended. The staff who had known her said she was delightful, kind and generous as well as being very attractive.
1966 was a special year as John and I were married. It was also, of course, the year that we won the Football World Cup. Together with John’s hockey friends we shouted encouragement at the TV and celebrated accordingly. It was certainly an exciting time.
I mentioned one day to the father of one of the children I taught in Solihull that we needed a long-jump pit. “Leave it to me” he said, “we’ll be on strike again soon, we’ll do it then”. True to his word the next week it was done: it was the year of the strikes and “they” worked at the nearby Rover factory.
The highlight of John’s time at Solihull School was when we were chosen to be part of the team to take the boys in the middle school on an educational cruise. Around 200 boys plus about 20 staff boarded the SS Uganda for a Mediterranean adventure (The Uganda later became a hospital ship in the Falklands War).
For me the highlight of the cruise was seeing the complete range of the treasure of Tutankhamun in Cairo Museum. As Egypt was at war, spasmodically, at that time, the treasure had been stored in the basement with sand bags for protection. It felt very similar to how Carter must have seen it the first time! The blue and gold almost dazzled – absolutely wonderful.
Other memories from this busy but superb educational cruise are of standing on the deck of the Uganda and watching the mist slowly lifting revealing, building by building, a breath-taking and beautiful Venice. Also memorable was a visit to Antalya (Turkey), then a small village – rather different from today, I believe!
After three years in Solihull, we moved down to Wokingham (Berkshire) for John to gain experience in a Comprehensive School, in Bracknell. We were to stay there over forty years. I found myself teaching for a Mr Leslie Vokes who had been my own teacher at All Saints in Newmarket when I was 9 years old. It was strange to hear his voice again and to be a teacher and not a pupil (perhaps a number of ex-pupils of All Saints remember him).
I left after 4 years to have two children, David and Fiona who attended our local primary school, then the follow-on comprehensive. They both enjoyed their school days, then went on to university. Dave works in London in the computing world and, as he lives in Reading, he commutes daily. He had a narrow escape some years ago as he was on the train that caught fire in the Paddington train crash. He was bruised and shaken, but very lucky. I’ve never been as pleased to see him as I was that evening!
Fiona has always been really keen on sport doing gymnastics for 12 years to a high standard, then high-board diving and now represents GBR in Triathlons both here and in Europe. She had been planning to do an Ironman this summer, but with COVID-19 that will have to wait until next year.
I resumed my teaching career when Dave and Fiona started school and after a few years at a local junior school I decided to apply for a post in a comprehensive – a very different experience, but I grew to love that too. There were ten teachers in the English Department and I was astonished to find out that two of them were from Newmarket and had attended N.G.S. (none of us had been there at the same time, they had not been at Foley House of course).
Having picked a number of incidents in my life, nothing compares with these past few months of COVID-19. If we had read an account of what was coming a year a go, would we have believed it? I think not.
I do so hope that fellow Old Foleyans have been fortunate in escaping the virus: fingers crossed against future surges. I look forward to seeing everyone at our next get together, whenever that can be safely arranged.
Pam Kesteven (née Singleton), June 2020