West Dean School Buildings (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, September 26, 2013, 14:00 (4071 days ago) @ downunder

Re the separate boys and girls schools, as I'm sure you know it was generally accepted then (post WW1) that boys would be the bread-winners and girls would be the home-builders, so each would need different skillsets on leaving school. Even the girls going into work would be still using the same skills albeit it in someone else's home while "in-service" until they became married and setup their own homes. One of the older secondary schools near me (so not in FoD but still perhaps typical of the larger Dean towns) has two separate entrances at either end of the building; above these doors the words "Cookery" and "Technical" are carved into the stone lintles, aka separate "girls" and "boys" departments. Indeed, as late as 1974 I was one of the first of the boys at Berry Hill Grammar School to do compulsory Cookery & Needlework as part of the new "enlightened" craft course.