I attended Robert Atkinson Secondary Modern School on Thorntree Road, Thornaby from 1965 until 1971. My swimming certificate from 1969, my school report from 1965 and my school reference from Mr Irvin, headmaster in 1971. I was in the Westerdale House – colour Green.

Photographs and details courtesy of Michael Hymer.

Haverton Hill School was in Windsor Street, it served both boys and girls but they were segregated, for many years, Les Jobson was headmaster at the boys school and Miss Yule or Yuill (spelling uncertain) was the girls headmistress. Les Jobson later became the first director of the Forum theatre. The school, along with a large part of Haverton Hill disappeared in the 1960s/70s.

Photograph and details courtesy of Bruce Coleman.

Photographs showing Hardwick Primary School in July 2008 shortly before its demolition.

These two photographs show the letter rack presented to me in 1996/7 after my retirement having been the secretary and organiser of the annual Stockton Junior Schools Sports day from 1971 to 1995. This was held every June or July weather permitting from I believe well before the war, indeed the girls trophy for large schools being silver marked for 1939.

There were races for teams of children from the ages of 7 to 11, plus relays each having its own final. The races were held on Stockton Cricket Ground for many years and then in the latter years on the William Newton School field. Between 20 and 25 schools took place each year and to make sure all schools had a chance they were put into two categories, small schools and large schools depending upon pupil numbers. Unfortunately I believe that the association has ceased to function for many years although I believe the Cleveland ones may still continue. Some schools in the old Stockton Borough will no doubt still have trophies in their keep.

Photograph and details courtesy of Derek Graham.

This school attendance certificate was issued to Alfred A Pallant of Hind Street, Stockton in 1918. Alfred was born in Stockton in 1905, so he attended Oxbridge Lane School from 7 years of age to 12 (or 13). Does anybody know what was the minimum age for leaving school in those days?

Image and details courtesy of Cliff Thornton.

This was my first school, I started there in 1951, the school was officially opened on the 10th of June 1938. The school consisted of two identical buildings separated by a pavilion, this pavilion had two pillars holding up the roof.

The buildings had five classrooms either side of the main hall, the hall was an unusual design with a semi circular bow front and an Oast house style of roof. The building to the left of the pavilion is the Infants school, the Junior school is to the right. The school faced South and every window in the classrooms of the buildings could be opened, when this happened it was very nearly the same as being outside.

When first opened there were no houses in front of the school and the playing field extended as far as the railway line about a quarter mile away, it was only rough scrub land the beginning of which can be seen at the bottom of the photo.

The school was built to serve the needs of the large number of people that were moving into Billingham from all parts of the country, all of the houses surrounding the school were built by ICI to house the incoming workers, this is similar to the Furness shipyard building their estate at Belasis in the 1920s.

In the late 1940s Billingham Council built the Junction Estate using a large part of the school field for a section of Cotswold Crescent, about ten years after this another part of the field disappeared when Braid Crescent was built.

Things I remember about the school were wood parquet flooring, which, in combination with boots with “Seggies” made a satisfying amount of noise, terrible outside toilets that froze solid in the Winter, nearly every school in Britain had similar sanitary arrangements at that time, extremely high ceilings in the classrooms with lights on long flexes, a “coolie hat” lampshade and tiny bulb that cast very little light, cast iron double seated desks, china inkwells, scratchy pens that made good darts and of course the best known of all, the frozen milk perched on top of the bottles.

I attended three different schools in Billingham, The North, The South And Campus Stephenson Hall, the first two were built in the 1930s and are still in use, the last one was built in the late 1950s and is long gone.

Photograph and details courtesy of Bruce Coleman.

This photograph was given to me by my cousin Pauline Shaw nee Hough and shows the sixth form at Grangefield Grammar School, possibly taken in 1968. Pauline is sat on the extreme left of the front row. Can you name the staff or any of the pupils?

Image and details courtesy of Martin Birtle and Pauline Shaw.

A view of the Church of England School on the Green, Billingham c1950.

Photograph and details courtesy of William Bennett.

What is now Wolviston Primary school on the village Green, situated on the outskirts of Billingham, 1983.

This photograph was taken in November 1980 and shows the demolition of Richard Hind Senior schools to make way for new housing. I attended both the junior and senior schools between 1953 and 1964.

Photograph and details courtesy of Ian Pirie.

Views showing the old entrances to the Boys and Girls sides, the school hall and the school siren (war relic).

Photograph and details courtesy of Philip Moore.