Close

Black Country and Staffordshire retro: 24 photos bringing school life in the 1960s and 1970s back to life

This fantastic gallery of photos will bring back memories of school life across the region in the 1960s and 1970s.

Plus
By Tania Taylor
Published

It features plenty of young learners – and the occasional teacher – to stir memories, from Sunday School held in a condemned building, to jubilee celebrations and a teenage Lenny Henry entertaining his classmates.

Enjoy the gallery, shuffled for your viewing pleasure, and share your own memories in the comments below.

  • You can enjoy this and more with our weekly FREE Nostalgia Newsletter - with scores of archive pictures and exclusive features on the history of Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and the Black Country - all sent to your inbox every Friday. Sign up here

July 1977: 'Children at Warstones Infants School were presented with their silver jubilee crowns today, and seen with some of the pupils are Councillor Mrs Violet Fletcher, chairman of the school management committee, and Mr Roger Sanders, parents' representative on the committee.'
July 1977: 'Children at Warstones Infants School were presented with their silver jubilee crowns today, and seen with some of the pupils are Councillor Mrs Violet Fletcher, chairman of the school management committee, and Mr Roger Sanders, parents' representative on the committee.'
Great Wyrley County Secondary School, October 1969: 'Fourteen-year-old Allison Roberts works with 18 boys - and she certainly knows how to make the sparks fly. But they're all friends together, for Allison is the first fourth-year girl at her school to tackle the man's job of gas welding.'
Great Wyrley County Secondary School, October 1969: 'Fourteen-year-old Allison Roberts works with 18 boys - and she certainly knows how to make the sparks fly. But they're all friends together, for Allison is the first fourth-year girl at her school to tackle the man's job of gas welding.'
March 28, 1969: 'A smiling Prince Philip chats to Miss Joan Ainsley, domestic science teacher at Darlaston Comprehensive School, during his visit to Walsall.'
March 28, 1969: 'A smiling Prince Philip chats to Miss Joan Ainsley, domestic science teacher at Darlaston Comprehensive School, during his visit to Walsall.'
The caption reads: 'Heading for stardom? These four young actresses caught our photographer's eye during the nativity play at St Giles's Nursery School, Walsall Street. They are, from left, Jasbinder Kaur (3), Radha Kumari (4), Ravinda Kaur (3) at the front, and Marie Lloyd (4)' - December 21, 1979.
The caption reads: 'Heading for stardom? These four young actresses caught our photographer's eye during the nativity play at St Giles's Nursery School, Walsall Street. They are, from left, Jasbinder Kaur (3), Radha Kumari (4), Ravinda Kaur (3) at the front, and Marie Lloyd (4)' - December 21, 1979.
nostalgia pic. Tipton. Mrs Annie Clarkson returning to her old school at Tipton in February 1976. This is a print in the Express and Star picture library (in the basement archive at Queen Street, and copied in situ on Tuesday, May 18, 2021). The story pasted on the back reads: 'Tipton was a place of fields and market gardens when widow Annie Clarkson was a girl. For more than 50 years she cherished memories of returning to the school where she spent some of the happiest days of her life. But the reality of the situation shattered her dreams, Mrs Clarkson said today. As a girl the then Annie Fagan was among the first scholars to attend the newly-built Princes End Joint Schools. And she nursed a desire to make one last visit to the haunts of her childhood. 'Now I wish I hadn't. The buildings looked horrible, surrounded by sheds like pigeon lofts. I was very disillusioned,\ said Mrs Clarkson, who lives at St Joseph's Court, Merry Hill, Wolverhampton. She is pictured outside the school. 'I could have cried when I visited the old school. When I was a pupil there the school was surrounded by fields and market gardens. We loved going to school.'\ The print has a datestamp of February 4, 1976, which is probably publication date. It has the Express and Star copyright stamp. The photographer's name is not recorded. Tipton school. The school was in Tibbington Terrace and closed in 2005. Library code: Tipton nostalgia 2021.
Mrs Annie Clarkson returning to her old school at Tipton in February 1976. The story reads: 'Tipton was a place of fields and market gardens when widow Annie Clarkson was a girl. For more than 50 years she cherished memories of returning to the school where she spent some of the happiest days of her life. But the reality of the situation shattered her dreams, Mrs Clarkson said today. As a girl the then Annie Fagan was among the first scholars to attend the newly-built Princes End Joint Schools. And she nursed a desire to make one last visit to the haunts of her childhood. 'Now I wish I hadn't. The buildings looked horrible, surrounded by sheds like pigeon lofts. I was very disillusioned,' said Mrs Clarkson, who lives at St Joseph's Court, Merry Hill, Wolverhampton. She is pictured outside the school. 'I could have cried when I visited the old school. When I was a pupil there the school was surrounded by fields and market gardens. We loved going to school.'
The Long Dorm at The Royal School, Wolverhampton, in November 1966. The caption reads: 'Now somewhat changed from the Long Dorm that some old pupils will remember, this is still the same place. A disappearing line of boys stretches for part of its length.' November 1966.
The Long Dorm at The Royal School, Wolverhampton, in November 1966. The caption reads: 'Now somewhat changed from the Long Dorm that some old pupils will remember, this is still the same place. A disappearing line of boys stretches for part of its length.' November 1966.