Back to class for 94-year-old Gladys – and what a day

It was a trip down memory lane for Gladys Watson as she stepped through the doors of Easington Colliery Primary School.

For the grand old lady of 94 dedicated 16 years of her life to teaching youngsters within its walls.

As the then Miss Underwood, she taught the ‘Three Rs’ to hundreds of little boys.

She can still remember many of their names, and happy memories of that time always make her smile.

“They were very very happy times. There are just too many nice memories to recount really,” she said.

Youngsters in Easington Colliery were taught at a temporary school, nicknamed The Tin, until the proper primary was built.

Mrs Watson started work at the Seaside Lane school in 1925, at a time when women teachers were not allowed to be married.

Classes of 50-plus were a normal size at the time, with the majority of pupils being the sons of miners.

She said: “It was all blackboard work then – we had no TV or radio to help us out. It was left to the teachers to make class interesting. “The standard of work was very high. The boys were really good and we never had any trouble with them at all. We had a very strict headmistress and she had a very high standard for both staff and boys.” Mrs Watson kept in touch with many of her former pupils.