If you have any memories of your time at the Hazelwood Schools, please e-mail us.

An E-mail from Daniel Gjelstad (formerly Daniel (Danny) Cowley)

Dear pupils and staff of Hazelwood Schools,
Having seen your interesting and informative website, and reading the contributions to the "Memories" feature, I felt compelled to write and tell of the fine memories I myself have of my time at the school.
I left Hazelwood Junior School in the Summer of 1978, 30 years since after spending all but one year of my primary education there. I came into an infant class half way through the second full year with Mrs. Hollingsworth as class teacher. I remember hearing the class count to 100 as I entered the classroom for the first time. My first full school year was in Mrs. Rubert's class. We had a classroom above the then new canteen, if my memory serves me right.
As far as I can remember, my teachers in the Juniors were:
1st year(3): Miss Rawe
2nd year(4): Mr. Barnes (also deputy headteacher)
3rd year(5): Mrs. Buchanan
4th year(6): Mr. Lynch
The headmistress at the time was Mrs. Gibbs and I remember such others teachers as Mr. Beetlestone, Mr. Belcher, Miss Oddy and Mrs. Chapman, to name just a few.
We had assembly every day and on Fridays each class took turns to hold the assembly with a special theme. We painted posters, performed dramas and read out information on a whole range of topics. Those I remember best were our class assemblies on water, brushes, teeth, advertising, gold and compassion, to name just a few. We were always eager to know what Mrs. Gibbs thought of our work and eagerly awaited here comments when we were finished. "Did we speak clearly enough?" or "Was it interesting?" etc.
They say that schooldays are the best days are the best days of your life. Well I can honestly say that my days at Hazelwood were some of the happiest I can remember, particularly the final year juniors which I would consider the best school year I can remember of my 11 years at state school.
We had very good, caring and professional teachers. Corporal punishment was actually (just about) still in use, and I recall getting the "slipper" a few times. But such punishment was fair and never meted out excessively, though I am glad this is no longer permitted, of course.
What of friends and classmates? Unfortunately, I have no contact with any former pupils, but remember playing football with the lads in the bottom playground. Andreas, Stavros, Steven, Benny, David and so on. I also remember having a soft spot for...Lisa I think she was called. Or maybe Katie? I often remember we kicked the balls over the fence and on Fridays two pupils went round knocking on doors to ask if we could have our footballs back. Fond memories indeed. I could go on. School trips, swimming lessons at Arnos Grove Baths, the skateboard craze, etc, etc. What about the nicknames we gave each other? I was called everything from "cowpat" to "cowchops". David Sawyer was often called "Tom" Sawyer, he renamed Tracey Livesey, Tracey "Deadsea". And we used to tease the Greek Cypriot children whose parents sent them to Greek school on Saturday mornings to keep up their mother tongue. They had "another" day at school each week. Yes, I could go on indeed.
Well, I know that the school is now 100 years old and will celebrate it's centenary later this year. I hope that the celebrations are a success (hope to take part myself if possible) and serve as a reminder of what a fantastic school Hazelwood is. I read last years Ofsted inspection report and want to congratulate you on a fine result.
I only wish my children also could have attended Hazelwood. Well, I moved away, eventually overseas and Hazelwood School is just a distant memory, albeit a very good one.
I wish you all every success for the future.
Yours sincerely

Daniel Gjelstad (formerly Daniel (Danny) Cowley)
E-mail: dmgjelst@frisurf.no
Now resident in Norway

P.S. I hope my contribution prompts more entries, particularly from other pupils of my generation. Come on folks, get writing!

An e-mail from John Barry Spinks

----- Original Message -----
From: 'JohnSpinks' JohnSpinks@talktalk.net
To: office@hazelwoodinf.enfield.sch.uk
Sent: Wed 07/10/24 00:47
Subject: Fwd: Memories

Dear Staff and children at Hazlewood Lane Schools,

I have just found your web-site. Having clicked on “Memories”, I have found Brian's email/letter to you which I found most interesting. I am also an old pupil, now aged 62, (my date of birth being 18th. February, 1945). I can't find a suitable photograph of myself though.

When I attended your schools, (both infant and junior), Miss Hughes was the headmistress of the infants school and Miss Bellefontaine was the headmistress of the junior school (so far as I can recall). I believe that I was once taught by a Miss Bars and also by a Miss Tiffin (who once punished me in the time-honoured but now prohibited manner, for bad behaviour). There were some male teachers. I think one was Mr. Stanger, but I cannot be certain.

I can well remember the name of the pupil who sat next to me on my very first day at school at Hazelwood Infants. He was a John Smith – I wonder what became of him. I think my Mother (who is now aged 96 and still going strong) waited in the classroom with me (with the other mothers) for a while to make sure I was alright.

The school caretaker at the time was a Mr. Doughty. At Christmas time he used to pop in and out of the classrooms during lessons, dressed as a fairy and waving a wand, which made us all laugh as he was a little overweight and looked very funny.

I seem to recall that I had school dinners (which were not particularly nice - I am sure they are much better now). Furthermore, there was no choice, unless you were a vegetarian. Before every meal, Mrs. Raxworthy, (the dinner-time supervisor lady), would ask as to put up our hands if we were vegetarians. (I was not one).. Vegetarians would then get the designated vegetarian meal for that day. Again, there was no choice. Everyone was seated in silence and loaded plates were put on the table. The children were all obliged to eat these meals, and Mrs. Raxworthy used to prod us in the back (and would use other coercive methods) if it looked as though we were not going to finish our meals. I think we had to use the same utensils for the sweet course as we used for the first course. Cabbage and potato featured largely in these meals, accompanied by meat of some kind, and they were also obsessed with semolina into which was stirred a dilute purple jam substance to take the taste away. I shall not forget school dinners in a hurry! However, this diet was probably wholesome, nutritious, and non-fattening. There was no worry about whether or not the meals would be eaten; they were, because we were forced to eat them.

Assemblies were rather formal by today's standards, although I rather enjoyed them. In particular I actually liked singing the hymns (which had some good tunes to them generally speaking). Some of the words to these hymns were incomprehensible to me at the time, and no attempt was ever made by the staff at the school to explain what some of the words actually meant. Only when I became an adult did the words of these hymns begin to make sense.

Only a few were spared assembly. These included Jewish pupils, because their faith did not allow them to take part in a Christian service (or so I understood at the time). During assemblies, the Jewish pupils were given arithmetic to do, which seemed rather unfair to me but no doubt benefited them in the long term! I understand that these days, assemblies are multi-cultural and largely non-religious. How things have changed!

I seem to remember going on a one-day school visit to a farm. I can't remember where this farm was but it was probably not too far away.

I also remember going on a school journey to Weston-Super-Mare. Weston was merely our centre and I believe our itinerary included Wookey-Hole Caves (amongst other interesting places). At the end of each day, we had to write an essay (or something similar) to record where we had gone and what we had done. Somewhere or other, I still have a complete file of my work on this trip, together with the daily itineraries, printed notes on churches, etc. and some photographs taken with my Box Brownie camera (which has long-since been lost). One of the things we were given before the start of the trip was a list of rules to abide by whilst on the trip, including the inevitable, "no running anywhere in the hotel" (or words to that effect).

Some lessons were held in the hall adjoining the school. (I believe it may have been called, "Caley Hall"). For a while, some lessons were also held at another location and pupils were conveyed there by a specially-hired coach. I cannot remember where this location was. Presumably, pupil numbers at the time exceeded the capacity of the schools.

I was a cub and subsequently a scout, and cubs and scouts also met in "Caley Hall" (if I have the name correct). As a scout, we had five-foot long staves (which would never be permitted now as they could be used as weapons). The cub pack and scout troop were connected with St. John's Church. I do not know whether this connection still exists or even if there are still cubs and scouts in Palmers Green as I have not lived in the area for many years. Mr. Jack Mobbs was the very popular cub-master at the time. The scoutmaster was ex-army, but I have forgotten his name. The vicar at St. Johns was the Rev. Schofield.

I used to live in Broomfield Avenue and my house backed onto the park. I had to walk to and from school each day. There was no question of being given a lift. I am sure this helped to keep me fit. In addition, we had what was called at the time, "physical training"; (P.T., not P.E.). I did not much care for this but it had to be done. We also had organised sports.

I have not visited Hazelwood Lane School for many years having left Palmers Green circa l958, so I have been navigating around your web-site with much interest. The classroom windows look like the ones that were there when I went to Hazelwood schools. If so, it is amazing that they have not needed to be replaced.

My Father used to go to The Stationers School which I believe was demolished by politician Bernie Grant. When I was young, it was an achievement to pass the eleven-plus (which I did not manage to do) and go to a good grammar school like the former Michenden School. I was absolutely amazed and very upset when I found out many years later that this wonderful school had also been demolished (even though I neither went there nor would have been eligible to go there).

I have many happy memories of Hazelwood Schools (despite school dinners and occasional physical punishments), and when I found your web-site, I was so very pleased to see that, far from being demolished, they are still in use. Long may they continue to serve their purpose.

I wish the Headteacher, staff and the children all the very best for the future.

John Barry Spinks.

An old boy's memory of our schools
An old pupil remembers.....

Brian in sandals

Dear Staff and children at Hazelwood Schools,

I used to be a pupil at the school about 60 years ago and thought you might be interested in some thoughts I had about revisiting the school on an open day a year or two back and some of the memories it brought back to me.

My name is Brian, I was born in 1941 during the Second World War and probably attended the school from about 1946 or 7 onwards before going on to Winchmore Hill Secondary Modern probably in the mid 50s.

Initially I lived in with my parents in Derwent Road near the Park but gradually my family moved first to Green Lanes, Winchmore Hill near where the Green Dragon public house used to be and eventually to Enfield where I first attended Technical school and eventually went to the College.

I am not sure how I went to school in those days but I probably walked as it was not far from Derwent Road. In those days we had what were called trolley buses which were double-decker buses which ran on electricity and picked up their current from overhead wires which were strung from posts along the road. Sometimes when the buses went round a corner too fast the long poles which touched the wires would swing off and crash into the windows of flats above the shops. It happened once where we lived.

Unfortunately there are only a few things I can remember about the school and my time in it and they are the smell of school milk which was given out free in those days, it came in little glass bottles which held 1/3rd of a pint, with an aluminium cap and how in winter it was so cold we could hardly drink it. Then there was the smell of chalk from the blackboards, I didn't notice it when I attended an open day a couple of years ago.

One day I was reprimanded for trying to climb the chain link fencing in the playground, I don't remember what the punishment was so it can't have been very bad.

I only remember one of my friends I think his name was Tony and he lived at the top Of Hazelwood Lane near the shops. He was very good at carving wooden toys I seem to remember he once carved a little wooden gun for me.

There were so many things that I would have liked to do at school when I was younger but I didn't realise it until I was much older. I don't remember if we had recorder classes in those days, I wish we had because I would love to have been able to play a musical instrument better when I was older. However we did sing at assembly in the mornings and we must have had a music class because I can still remember one of the songs I learned then, it was about a nightingale and I found a copy of it many years later at Cecil Sharpe House in Regents Park where a lot of this country's folk musical heritage is kept. I guess our assembly would have been a lot different to the assembly today. Yours seems much more colourful and multi cultural. Later in my life I learned to play the flute I love the sound of the flute and collect flute music from many countries.

My visit to your open day was a very interesting one for me because it was like turning the clock back, It was still the same me inside, I didn't really feel any different, of course I was dressed differently and I am much older but it felt very strange being back in my old school, it was almost like nothing had changed, just the way the children were dressed and the brighter more friendly atmosphere.

I don't remember wearing any uniform in those days but I do remember having to dress up for a pageant which was held in Broomfield Park to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elisabeth on the second of June 1953. We all had to dress up in a kind of medieval costume and took part in a big parade with other schools, not quite sure why we dressed in medieval costumes but I do remember that I wore girls shoes with my costume because that's what boys wore in those times. Nowadays everyone seems to wear trainers and jeans, I thought we dressed much nicer in those days although I must admit that looking back I seem to remember I wore a lot of grey so maybe boys get a better deal these days.

Above is a photograph of me around that time.