Arnold Stroud

Arnold Stroud got in touch to say he came across in his collection of old photographs this iconic picture of him wearing a new School Blazer, short trousers and carrying a satchel.

It shows him with his mother on their front doorstep setting out for his very first day at Loughton School in September 1955; he was the tender age of eleven.

Arnold recalls he was very apprehensive of this new venture; his father who took the picture was trying to help by cracking funnies that only made his mother laugh but failed to amuse him.

Like most new boys the lasting memory of those first days at Loughton was of being thrown into the Holly Bush.. it didn’t help wearing short trousers!

Arnold spent his first year (1955/56) being in Three Lower in the freezing extension to the south of the main building heated by upright gas heaters.

Subsequently he was in 5b in the distinguished company of Messrs Fullerton and Darlington. At end of the assembly we all had to run round the grounds and back to class.

In Big School he remembers it was only slightly warmer. After assembly the partition was dragged across to divide the space into two classrooms (5A &5B) I am sure most of you recall… Arnold sat at the back near the partition and occasionally nuts and bolts would fall out of it and he lived in fear of it collapsing! Like the rest of the fabric of the building it had seen better days!