Winsford Church of England Primary School
(St Chad's Primary School)
1909 - 1999
Written by Mary Curry and Patricia Keeves
ISBN: 978-1-901253-24-5
296 pages, paperback, 146mm x 208mm.
Published by Leonie Press, June 2001.
Price: £ 9.99 Postage and Packing:
Reprinted September 2001.
It is not just a school history but encompasses the lives of many local people, relives some of the problems caused by a country at war and mirrors the social changes of an expanding town in the 1960s. The book also chronicles the changing expectations of education made by Acts of Parliament and by society at large. There are many photographs throughout which give fascinating glimpses of the school's life and characters.
Divided into four sections, each covering the years of one Headmaster, the book looks at the development of the school from four different aspects: the teaching staff, the ancillary staff, the Managers and the pupils.
Both authors have taught at the school for many years. Their book is the fruit of meticulous research over twenty years.
All the proceeds from the book are going to the school. The first edition sold out in 3 days and has been reprinted. Whilst we will be happy to supply you with a copy they are also available directly from the school.
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Curry (right), née Dodd, formerly Mrs. Farrow, and Mrs. Patricia Keeves (left), taught together at St. Chad's Primary School, Gladstone Street, Winsford, for many years. Their interest in producing a local history project was first kindled in the early 1980s, at a meeting of the Winsford Local History Society. Mrs. Curry attended Winsford Church of England Primary School as a junior pupil before continuing her education at the Winsford Verdin Grammar School and then at Sunderland Teacher Training College where she studied biology, geography and needlework. Mrs. Curry's interest in her own family history soon revealed that one ancestor, Miss Sarah Dodd, had also been a teacher. Mrs. Curry was interested in finding out as much as she could about Sarah, and about the school in which she taught. Mrs. Keeves was born in Nantwich and educated at the Manor Road County Primary School and then at Nantwich and Acton County Grammar School. From there she continued her education at Edge Hill College of Education where she completed a four-year Bachelor of Education Degree in education, history and geography. Mrs Keeves' interest lay in the area of local history. Mrs. Keeves and Mrs. Curry spent many years researching the history of the Weaver Navigation School. This fired their enthusiasm and the authors continued to work together to find out what happened once this school closed and the school in Gladstone Street opened. "The Weaver Navigation National School Winsford" was finally produced in 1999. The results of their earlier research also constitute a large part of this book, along with contributions from Mr. G. Stockton and Mr. I. Griffiths.
