A Full Day Except for a short period at the beginning of term when Mr James, the Science Master, was required by the Middlesex County Council Education Department for special work in connection with the re-distribution of secondary school pupils, no subject has been omitted from the school curriculum. (Scripture has one period. English 3. French 4. History and/or Geography 3. Mathematics 4. Woodwork or Needlework 2. Art 2, Music 2, Games or Gym 2.) With the help of extra homework, the pupils have had very nearly a complete secondary school education since they have been in attendance. Plans that the Head had laid for giving rather more attention to handicraft than is usual in secondary schools, did not mature owing to shortage of time, Staff, and materials. Mr Withrington seems to be showing the strain a little when 'The County Authorities found it necessary to terminate Miss Walker's appointment. Miss Walker was employed as a County teacher on a temporary part-time basis, and her appointment has been terminated in favour of a whole time Domestic Subjects Mistress from an evacuated school, who was not employable in the reception area. Miss Walker was giving very capable and loyal service here and I regret losing her services on these grounds, and because frequent changes of staff do not make it easy to weld the staff into a working unit.' There came a stage when it was obvious the Head needed the assistance of a Senior Mistress so in January he presented the following case to the Governors:- I wish to recommend that Miss Stonebridge BA should be appointed to the position of Senior Mistress here, with the appropriate addition of salary in accordance with the County's scale. In view of the fact that we have a considerable number of girls here who are older than those we expected to have, I should be glad if the appointment of Senior Mistress could be confirmed with the least possible delay. According to the terms of the advertisement under which Miss Vale was appointed it would have been possible to have appointed her as Senior Mistress, although Miss Vale was junior to Miss Stonebridge at Ealing County School for Girls before she came to us, Miss Stonebridge being 7 years senior in age to Miss Vale. Although both of them are excellent members of the Staff, in my judgment the best general policy would be to appoint Miss Stonebridge. When the Head informed the Staff that Miss Stonebridge was to be appointed as Senior Mistress to the School, it raised the question of where the rest of the women were to be accommodated 'as they are at present using the Senior Mistress Room as a Staff Room'. It was decided that they should move into the Medical Inspection Room they were obviously not using the room originally intended as the female staff room! (The Head later arranged for staff teas tO be available in this room at break as a way to get all the staff to meet together whenever possible.) By June the Head asked that Mr James be made Senior Master. Throughout that first year the Head had difficulty in holding on to teaching and non-teaching staff. Several male staff were called up. The Assistant Caretaker. Mr W. F. Betts, was transferred temporarily to the Ealing Technical College on the 11th December, and three of the Cleaners were engaged in his place. The five cleaners at the school, by the way, earned 1/- an hour. The Cook and Kitchen Helper of Ealing County Girls' School were temporarily transferred to Greenford but by June the Head had to report that it had been found necessary to dispense with their services. They removed food from the kitchen without authority after having been told that all food must be used up for School purposes. Mr Williams, the school groundsman, was required by the County for A.R.P. work front the beginning of September. Beg, Borrow. .. Furnishings and apparatus were gradually being delivered. Various parts of the school were still without furniture in December; but the staff did not consider that they were put to any serious inconvenience. They were instructed to borrow from other County Schools books and apparatus which they were unable to use. Science equipment, pianos, text books, and sundry other items were borrowed from the Girls' County School and the Boys' County School. In 1960. Mr James recalled, 'As the then only science master on the staff my greatest problem was the lack of science equipment. So I had to go to the Ealing County Schools to borrow everything even simple equipment like test tubes and beakers.' The bareness of the school even by the summer seems poignantly obvious by a suggestion made by the staff that children might be asked 'to subscribe, voluntarily, small amounts for the purchase of articles such as pictures, vases, etc. for the School. The articles being the sort of items that would not be provided by the Middlesex County Council. It was suggested that the first item to be subscribed for should be a nice vase for the hall.' The Head complained that the cycle shed accommodation was already insufficient for those who wished to use bicycles. In view of the fact that there were very poor transport services to the west of the school, he considered that further cycle accommodation would be necessary. Discipline Early on, the Staff discussed the discipline policy they should adopt: 'Headmaster suggested that for most classroom purposes the question of discipline was a personal one to be dealt with by each individual member of the Staff. .. It was also suggested that any punishments that were given should be small ones, in order that they might be easily increased if that were necessary. The Headmaster asked that there should be three stages for dealing with disciplinary cases most cases could be dealt with without reference to the Headmaster at all; in certain cases e.g. when rather heavy fines were involved or it was thought that there might be any difficulties with parents the members of the Staff were asked to consult the Headmaster on the form of punishment, and the Staff to be responsible for seeing that the punishment was carried out, themselves. Only in cases where this failed or in cases of delinquency, such as stealing, was the Headmaster to deal directly with the disciplinary measures to be carried out.' One case the Head most certainly dealt with personally was one which occurred towards the end of that first year. He reported that 'it has been found desirable, with the concurrence of the Chairman of the Governors, to transfer one boy to Horsenden Senior School. He was unable to keep his hands off other people's property after having been caught and given a second chance. His parents agreed that he would only steal again if he returned. I regret to say that, since leaving us, he has been charged at Harrow Weald with larceny of cash outside School, and has been put on probation for a year.' page 24