Jon Carpenter
Smitham Primary School
This photo was probably taken in the 1950s or 1960s. My father (William Henry Carpenter) was headteacher here from June 8 1936 until his retirement in August 1967 and this photo stood in a little frame on his desk. The infant school was on the same site with (from 1965, it seems) a different head, and was converted to a Teddies private day nursery in 2005. Smitham Primary School has been relocated to a much greener and less cramped site a few hundreds away in Portnalls Road. The old primary school buildings are now the Smitham centre of Croydon Adult Learning and Training (CALAT), run by the London Borough of Croydon, though until 1956 this building was occupied by a secondary school.
Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, making their report following an inspection in 1952, concluded with the following paragraph:
"In this school both children and staff do their best to overcome the limitations of the buildings. The classrooms are cheerful and stimulating, and there are excellent relations between the Head Master, his staff and their pupils. Consequently the school is an essentially happy community, and a visit to it is a most happy experience."
Nineteen years after my father's retirement, a booklet was published in 1986 celebrating the school's centenary. At the end of the account of my father's headship, the author wrote:
"Mr Carpenter had been Headmaster of Smitham since 1936 and seen the school through the war years. His 31 years of service represents about a third of the century we are celebrating, and his contribution to the development of the school was colossal."
Smitham Primary School
This photo was probably taken in the 1950s or 1960s. My father (William Henry Carpenter) was headteacher here from June 8 1936 until his retirement in August 1967 and this photo stood in a little frame on his desk. The infant school was on the same site with (from 1965, it seems) a different head, and was converted to a Teddies private day nursery in 2005. Smitham Primary School has been relocated to a much greener and less cramped site a few hundreds away in Portnalls Road. The old primary school buildings are now the Smitham centre of Croydon Adult Learning and Training (CALAT), run by the London Borough of Croydon, though until 1956 this building was occupied by a secondary school.
Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, making their report following an inspection in 1952, concluded with the following paragraph:
"In this school both children and staff do their best to overcome the limitations of the buildings. The classrooms are cheerful and stimulating, and there are excellent relations between the Head Master, his staff and their pupils. Consequently the school is an essentially happy community, and a visit to it is a most happy experience."
Nineteen years after my father's retirement, a booklet was published in 1986 celebrating the school's centenary. At the end of the account of my father's headship, the author wrote:
"Mr Carpenter had been Headmaster of Smitham since 1936 and seen the school through the war years. His 31 years of service represents about a third of the century we are celebrating, and his contribution to the development of the school was colossal."