Memories of a West Sussex secondary school that no longer exists

Warm milk, lots of sport and the scraping of chalk on the blackboards were just some of the moments from childhood discussed by past pupils of Westloats Lane Secondary School for Girls.

It was more than 50 years after people like Sally Sheppard, Jenny Lane née Macintosh and Janet Smith née Spiers left school that the class of 1956 first met up again in June 2008.

Janet had bumped into their old schoolfriend Marion St John Knight née Kemp in 2007. Marion had moved to Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island but when she mentioned she would be returning to the UK to spend the following summer at her daughter’s home in Surrey, the idea of a fully-fledged reunion was born.

The first get-together saw classmates from across the UK and abroad meet up again to relive their school days. They started senior school together in 1956 at the age of 11 and recalled being divided into three forms in the fourth year – 4 Art, 4 Craft and 4 Music – before they left school at 15 to get work.

The mixed ability girls started as an apprentice, became a journeyman and moved on to masterman status when they had reached the required standards in subjects such as weaving, needlework, rug and curtain making and making baby clothes.

Sally and Jenny particularly remembered the amount of sport they played and the number of friends they made during their school days. It was a happy time with lots of laughter and lots of fun.

Molly Pope née Sprent was the only teacher to attend that first reunion. She taught at Westloats Lane Secondary School for Girls as Miss Sprent in the 1950s and recalled headmistress Miss Olive Curtis as a lovable eccentric.

After having her own children, she went on to teach part-time at several other schools in the Witterings, Singleton, Walberton and Mundham during the 1970s and 1980s.

She took up short-mat bowls to keep fit after retirement and was an active member of Wittering Quilters. She celebrated her 100th birthday in April 2021.

The school dated back to the 1940s and the girls attending back then kept a keen eye on the action in the Second World War, as a morale-boosting letter written by one of the pupils reveals.

Yvonne Burton made contact with Sgt Pilot Harry Moody during the Battle of Britain, on behalf of her class at Westloats Lane.

She wrote: “We are very sorry to hear that your aeroplane crashed. We are pleased to hear that you escaped with only a few bruises and scratches. We do hope you recover. I hope that you repay the Germans for what they have done to you.”

Yvonne’s letter was revealed in 2010, when the 70th anniversary of the aerial duel above the south coast was marked. Sgt Pilot Moody’s niece, Laura Ross, came across the message of hope when she was researching her family history.

It was written after his Spitfire was set alight over Bognor by a Junkers Ju 88 on August 20, 1940. He bailed out with burned hands and landed near Arundel. His Spitfire, P9423, was later found crashed and burned at Colworth Farm, Toad Hall in North Bersted.

Sgt Pilot Moody, who was based at Tangmere, was rushed back into flying due to the demands on the RAF from the Luftwaffe. He failed to return from combat over the Biggin Hill area on September 7 and was reported missing, presumed dead about 5.30pm.

As the country remembered the war, former pupils were thinking of their old school 15 years ago, as its successor, Bognor Regis Community College was entering its final month of learning before the old buildings were demolished and a new school opened.

Westloats Lane became the William Fletcher School in 1959 when the Boys and Girls Secondary Modern Schools amalgamated. In 1967, William Fletcher then merged with Bognor Regis Grammar School to become Bognor Regis Comprehensive School, then Bognor Regis Community College in 1982.

Former staff and pupils were invited back in June 2010 for a last opportunity to see their old classrooms. These were no longer needed, as a result of the new The Regis School being completed on the other side of the playing fields to open in September 2010.