Hasland Junior School

Hasland Junior School is a medium-sized school, catering for about 400 pupils, located in the village of Hasland in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Opened in 1864, the school takes pupils from Hasland Infant School aged seven. At the age of eleven they move on to local secondary schools, the main one being Hasland Hall Community School.
The school site
Before the opening of the new building in September 2007, the school occupied a large split site separated by a busy road, and there was a great deal of movement between the two sites. The old school building, which stands on The Green in Hasland and is currently being used by the Local Education Authority, was vacated in the Summer of 2007 and the children moved to a new school which was built in the grounds of Hasland Hall Community School for the start of the 2007-2008 academic year, costing £4.292 million, of which Derbyshire County Council paid £4.213 million, and the school contributing £64,000.
The new building
The first mention of building a new school was made in 1955, however, 55 years later, the new school had just been opened. The classrooms are situated so that the three classes for each year group are close together, with an activity area in the centre. Under-floor heating and automatic lights are new additions which will save the school money in the long term. 32 laptops and a new ICT suite were purchased, with the old computers from the previous school being used elsewhere around the site. Part of the site is being used in partnership with The Wildlife Society.
The new playground consists of two table tennis tables, four basketball nets and a £15,000 climbing frame. The frame, designed by a company previously run by Ole Kirk Christiansen, the creator of Lego, is one of only a select few in Britain.
Swimming
In the top year, Year 6, pupils go swimming every Friday to Sharley Park, Clay Cross as part of the curriculum. Children who could swim used to stay at school but now, for fairness, everybody takes part. Some children receive certificates for their achievements. Before a holiday they have a "fun lesson". This is where all children get to play with many fun toys in the swimming pool.
The four houses
All pupils at the school are split into four houses, all being named after sports people: Dailey - named after Tom Daley, Farah - taken from the Mo Farah, Ennis - named after Jessica Ennis and Bolt named after Usain Bolt. At the end of the term the winning house gets extra break.
The school curriculum
All children at the school take the national SATs test at Key Stage 2 at the end of Year 6. The tests are taken in reading; writing, handwriting and spelling; mathematics, including mental arithmetic; and science. In 2006, out of the 102 pupils who sat the tests, 91% of pupils achieved level 4 (national average) or above in English, 96% gained level 4 or above in mathematics and 98% in science.
In 2006, the school was ranked third in Derbyshire in a table showing school's 'value added' measures, which gives some guide as to how their pupils' attainment has improved.
There is currently a big emphasis on the environment at Hasland Junior School. Some pupils are responsible for the day-to-day management of school resources, for example electricity consumption, and are taught about energy conservation and recycling. They can also work at the allotment garden with teachers and parent volunteers. Products grown in the garden are sold or used in the school.
History
The beginning
The school was originally named The National Schools and was a Church of England School. The foundation stone was laid on Wednesday 21 September 1864 by the Archdeacon Thomas Hill. The building was completed and opened later that year. It was built to accommodate 120 children with classroom, outer porch, and a caretaker's house attached, the design being early domestic Gothic. Provision was made for separate playgrounds with suitable sheds and toilets at the back of the building, and the front was laid out as a pleasure garden. The headmistress, Miss Hannah Smith, and the children were transferred there from the Stable School, situated in a room over the stables at Hasland Hall, when it closed in 1864. Pupils came from Hasland, Calow, Wingerworth and part of Chesterfield.
The infants
The Hasland Eyre Street Infant's School was opened in March 1905 by the Derbyshire County Council as a Junior Mixed School. Having only 104 children on the roll out of a maximum of 370, and the overcrowding of the Hasland Green School meant that the Infant Department of 148 children were transferred to Eyre Street in 1921.
Holidays
During the early 1900s, holidays were given for Empire Day and Shrove Tuesday and local events such as the Village Feast, Bazaars, elections, Armistice Day and the opening of Eastwood Park in 1913. The first mention of a school holiday was in June 1931 when eighteen boys went, accompanied by two other teachers, to a school camp at Stone Hay Farm. In January 1974, a representative of the County Education Department visited the school to discuss a proposed educational visit to France, which resulted 17 months later, in an opportunity for 27 children accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Morton and Miss Williamson to travel to Les Houches in France.
The 1940s
Once Mr. Herbert Bavin took over the Headship of the school in November 1940, milk rations, supplied in bottles (with straws) became available to all children and a school meals service was provided in the hall of Hasland Hall School.
A school National Savings Group was started in 1941 and the first mention of photographs being taken of the children was in 1943.
It was during this time that the Transfer Tests (which became the Eleven Plus) were introduced.
Swimming classes began and the first school sports day was held in June 1942 with a special Coronation Sports Day held in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The weather
Very heavy snowstorms and really severe weather was a continuous presence at the school, particularly in January 1947 when there was a shortage of fuel available to all the schools in the area. It was also noted that in January 1963 the temperature was and that this was the lowest recorded temperature ever. The dreadful weather appears to have continued for several months as it was reported at the beginning of March that the school playground was still covered with deep frozen snow which had been there since Christmas time.
Sport
To go with the building of the new school in 2007, a separate sports changing room was built on land off The Green, located near the school field. These facilities are shared by Hasland Hall Community School. Hasland Hall paid £15,000 towards the cost.
Notable alumni
* Bertram Vivian Bowden - Son of Headmaster Mr. Bert C. Bowden. He became principal of the Manchester College of Science and Technology, a vocational education college in Manchester. He was also raised to the House of Lords by Harold Wilson when he was Prime Minister, being appointed Minister for Education and Science in 1964.

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