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School marks 270 years with John Pounds celebration
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School marks 270 years with John Pounds celebration
IT was the first of a series of celebrations to mark the school’s 270th anniversary – when pupils remembered one of Portsmouth’s most famous educators.
Children, staff and parents from St George’s Beneficial CofE Primary School in Portsea gathered for a special assembly which recalled the school’s colourful history, and also told the story of Portsmouth legend John Pounds. Each child also took home a ‘bene bun’ – a special bun that is historically associated with the school.
Parents also got a chance to see some of the schoolbooks, registers and photos from the school’s recent history. It was the first in a series of events this year that will mark this significant milestone for one of the city’s oldest schools.
Established in 1755 in the building in Kent Road that is now the Groundings Theatre, the school was originally set up by the Beneficial Society, which included local Portsmouth businessmen. Known as ‘The Beneficial School’, it taught generations of children on that site for nearly 200 years. The Society supported the school until 1933, when it became the responsibility of the local authority. And in 1962, it transferred to a purpose-built building on Hanover Street.
Its history includes a tradition that children received these buns, perhaps because pupils were originally able to eat the leftovers from annual dinners held by the Beneficial Society. The records show that this tradition was already running by 1827, when 180 boys ate the “remains from the table”. By 1952, children were given a bun and a daffodil at Easter. And by 1986, they were given buns as they processed to St George’s Church for a blessing. The school decided to revive the tradition this year.
The school’s curriculum has always included learning about historic figures such as John Pounds, who is thought to be the man most responsible for creating Ragged Schools for the poor in the 18th century. He was working in the dockyard, but fell into a dry dock and ended up severely crippled and almost bent double. He trained as a cobbler, and used to sit mending shoes in his shop in St Mary’s Street, Old Portsmouth.
As he worked, he would teach children basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills. These were poor, working-class children and he taught them free of charge, which was unheard of at the time. He even scoured the streets looking for children to teach, sometimes taking hot baked potatoes in his pockets to hand out. He was given chalk, slates, Bibles and other materials by churches and others. And he taught these children other skills such as cooking and mending their clothes.
After his death, the idea spread to other parts of Portsmouth and across the country. Because these children’s clothes were often rags, it became known as the Ragged Schools Movement and paved the way for universal education.
The headteacher of St George’s Beneficial CofE Primary, Izzy Lewis, realised last year that there was no children’s book telling the story of John Pounds. So, over the Christmas holidays, she wrote one entitled A Pocketful of Potatoes, which has now been published.
At this event, Year 1 pupils re-enacted some of the story of John Pounds, specifically the way in which he gathered hungry children by offering them hot potatoes to eat. They also led pupils, staff and parents in singing.
And the exhibition of old photographs, registers and records included a Punishment Book, which recorded various misdemeanours by pupils and the punishments meted out. One of the Groundings Theatre volunteers also dressed as an old schoolmaster, complete with mortarboard, school bell and a cane, to give pupils an idea of what teachers used to look like.
Other celebration events later in the year include a classic assembly singalong to mark John Pounds’ birthday on June 17, and an anniversary party with balloons on June 20.