HOME PAGE
WHY THIS
SITE?
A HISTORY
OF THE SCHOOL
THE
CENTENARY 1854-1954
THE
1930's
THE
EVACUATION TO RIPON
A LETTER FROM
MISS LONGWORTH
UNIFORMS
MORNING
ASSEMBLY
TEACHERS
LESSONS
WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO OLD SO-AND-SO?
MISS ARMES'
STORY
HYGIENE & SEX EDUCATION
SPORT &
SHOWERS
SPEECH
DAY
THE SCHOOL
SONG
SCHOOL
DINNERS
CRIME &
PUNISHMENT
A SCHOOL
REPORT
TO
JOAN
FAMOUS OLD
GIRLS
OLD
MODS
RETURN TO
SCHOOL
BACK TO THE
FUTURE
DOCUMENTS
PHOTOGRAPHS
In 1971, Lawnswood High School and Leeds Modern School merged to become Lawnswood School. I'm told that, to avoid disruption to the girls taking their O- and A-levels, the merger was effected one year at a time. That is to say, only the new intake year (from September '72 onwards) was mixed gender. Mr. Holland ('Cheesy') had already retired and Miss Longworth became overall Head.
In the early eighties, Leeds City Council had the idea to demolish the school. There was a plan to build a supermarket, but local residents objected. Old Mods Alan Bennett and John Craven threw their weight behind the campaign to prevent the supermarket (see newspaper article). The whole matter of the school's future was held in abeyance for some time whilst planning permission was sought, objections were raised, etc. Eventually, the plan for the supermarket was abandoned.
Leeds City Council still had it in mind to 'do something' to refurbish the school. For quite some time, they sought estimates from builders. Plans were submitted and rejected. Working parties looked at the whole issue. Consultations were held. Eventually, Mowlems submitted a plan to Leeds City Council whereby they would rebuild or refurbish several schools within the LCC's control. This was to be done under the Public Finance Initiative. The long-outstanding uncertainty about Lawnswood's future had meant that there had been little or no investment in upkeep and maintenance of the buildings. Its poor state of repair led to the decision to rebuild Lawnswood School.
It was inevitable that the old buildings would have to go at some time, but the uncertainty and neglect hastened their demise.
A large quantity of school records were stored in the basement beneath the school. There were fears that these records were contaminated by asbestos dust, and could not be extracted from the store room. Other Old Girls and myself have, in the past, expressed our concerns about the loss of such a valuable source of history. Despite our efforts, no-one salvaged the records, and they have been lost. However, Head Teacher Mr. Davidovic has been keen to preserve Lawnswood's heritage. He has taken several historically important items to the new school. These include a plaque that was erected to commemorate the opening of the old buildings, the Miss Armes lectern, the Joan Wright memorial, some honour boards, trophies and several other items.
The new buildings are light, airy and modern. They are equipped with all the latest facilities. In fact, they are to the 21st century what our old buildings were to the 1930s. They provide an environment to take forward the standards of excellence of Lawnswood High School and Leeds Modern School.
