Figure 1.--This photograph shows the boys at the Harrington Court Primary School in 1934. These boys are leaving on the last day of school.
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Figure 1.--This photograph shows the boys at the Harrington Court Primary School in 1934. These boys are leaving on the last day of school. |
We do not know a lot about Harrington Court Primary School. Hopefully som of our English raders may be able to tell us something about the school. It looks to be a typical London or other large city primary school built probablky in two storires of red brick. A red brick and wrought iron wall encloses the school with a paved play ground surrounding the school. Ths of course handy to make sure that the younger children did not run into the street during recess. While we know little about it. We add it here because the available image is so typical of English schools. It looks to be an all boys school. There was no required uniform, but some boys in a 1934 photograph wore caps. The photograph here provides insights about what English primary boys wore to school. This was the end of school year, a the boys can be seen waying some kind of certificate. As it is the end of the school year in July, their clothing is affected by the warm summer weather. We notice four boys wearing caps. Three are the traditional English school cap. The boy in back wears rather a strange cap. Several boys wear sweaters while some just wear shirts. All the boys wear short trousers, many with kneesocks. Several boys do not wear socks--presumably because of the summer weather. A few boyswear sneakers, probably called plimsols by these boys.
We do not know a lot about Harrington Court Primary School. Hopefully som of our English raders may be able to tell us something about the school. It looks to be an all boys school. Primaryschools might be single gender schools. In smaller towns primary schools might be ced, but the classes separated. Even the play area might be separated. Village schoolsmightrt be coed. Village schools might have coed classes. The governing factor here was economics.
The building looks to be a typical London or other large city primary school built probablky in two storires of red brick. A red brick and wrought iron wall encloses the school with a paved play ground surrounding the school. Ths of course handy to make sure that the younger children did not run into the street during recess. While we know little about it. We add it here because the available image is so typical of English schools. These buildings look so bleak and stark to us today. I assume that when they were built, perhaps about the turn of the centuary, they were cinsdered to be at the cutting edge of educational architecure.
There was no required uniform, but some boys in a 1934 photograph wore caps. The photograph here provides insights about what English primary boys wore to school. This was the end of school year, a the boys can be seen waying some kind of certificate. As it is the end of the school year in July, their clothing is affected by the warm summer weather. We notice four boys wearing caps. Three are the traditional English school cap. The boy in back wears rather a strange cap. Several boys wear sweaters while some just wear shirts. All the boys wear short trousers, many with kneesocks. Several boys do not wear socks--presumably because of the summer weather. A few boyswear sneakers, probably called plimsols by these boys.
An Australian reader tells us, "The Harrington Court Primary School front gate are very simular to the twin wrought iron gates at my
redbrick fence school yard. I was gobsmacked though, its almost my school but really it isn't." HBC notes that Australia in the 19th and earlky 20th century relied primarily non England to structure its educational system. Many teachers were English as educational administrators. Thus it is understandable that many early Australian schools looked much like English schools.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]