New book Hands Up explores the history of Arborfield school and village life

Retired history teacher and author June Durant has teamed up with local historian Barry Salter to trace more than 150 years of school life, revealing the people and everyday experiences that helped shape Arborfield.

School days stay with us long after we leave the classroom. From happy memories and childhood friendships to more challenging times, our experiences at school help shape who we become. It is this shared history that author June Durant explores in her new book, Hands Up.

The retired history teacher hopes the book will appeal to anyone with fond memories of their local school and an interest in how education has changed over the years.

Hands Up charts the history of what is now The Coombes Church of England School in Arborfield, from 1870 to the present day. The school was among thousands that turned to the state following the Education Act of 1870.

June, who has written several books, including works inspired by her love of Jane Austen, collaborated on the project with Barry Salter, a former member of Arborfield Parish Council and ex-chairman of Arborfield Local History Society.

The book includes profiles of notable people connected with the school, among them a newspaper owner, a school inspector and author, a tea planter, a Burma veteran, a film star and a professional cricketer.

June was originally approached by Arborfield Local History Society’s Research Group to write a history of the Coombes Infant School.

“This school had become well known but there was no written word or evidence of its achievements. At the time I said that a history of the school should be written in its entirety,” she says.

Recent articles in Arborfield Parish Magazine prompted her to begin piecing together the story, starting what she describes as a process of “search and find”.

“To seek the hidden and discover a story worth telling is very rewarding. In addition, when writing local histories it is always the conversations that I have with people who can add to the story making it true and authentic that gives me so much pleasure and satisfaction. I have made many new friends.”

June believes these conversations demonstrate “that we as ordinary folk, are important in what happens next”.

She adds: “We may think we are unique but the story shows that what affected the local school also affected schools all over the country. Nearly every child lived through the same day-to-day experiences. I would like to think that people who read my books find that history is so much more interesting than important people and dates.”

Wokingham MP Clive Jones has written the foreword, describing the book as “both a celebration of the past and a reminder of our duty to the future”.

The school’s current headteacher, Luke Henderson, has contributed an afterword, while the book also features memories from parishioners connected with the school. Its final section includes contributions from present-day Year 6 pupils, bringing the story up to date through the eyes of the children who attend today.

Having recently celebrated her 87th birthday, June is already looking ahead to her next projects. These include The Pearl, a memoir of her time living and working in Uganda in the early 1970s, as well as another Jane Austen-inspired “search and find”.

Hands Up is available from Panda Publications.

Share