Leicester Road School Class of 88

You know those things that end up in a box at the bottom of your cupboard and they live there until you move? I've got a few of these and while I know they're there, I haven't been inclined to do anything about them. Moving is a great way to get rid of stuff and while I'm not overly sentimental, there are a few things that I've hung on to for many, many years.

I went to Leicester Road School, a primary school in Jo'burg's Kensington suburb. The school turned 50 in my last year there and is still going strong. I had interactions with the school earlier this year for our orienteering schools league.

Our school uniform was quite ghastly and I still don't wear orange, brown or beige! The school uniform has changed so these are relics.

Our summer uniform, which I didn't keep, was a beige dress with buttons up the front and with orange cuffs on the sleeves and collar. We wore this with white socks and brown shoes.

In winter, joy of joys, we swapped to a long-sleeve white shirt, a chocolate-brown pinafore, the school tie and long chocolate-brown socks (or brown stockings) with brown shoes. Yeah, super attractive.

Last week I hauled out a shoe box containing a few primary school mementos. This is what I found...

My phys ed clothing, purchased before I started Grade 1 in 1982. I wore these all the way until Standard 4 (1987) when they really, really were too small for me. My mom bought me a new tee shirt and shorts for my Standard 5 year - I remember them being really big (see pic below for comparison).

Old tee and new tee. The new tee was too big but better than the too-small original tee bought six years earlier.

One of many name tags that my mom had to sew into my clothes.

School tie. Yuck! Girls had to wear ties in winter.

School badge from the front of our chocolate-brown winter pinafores.

Class of '88 tee shirt - signatures from all Standard 5s

A tea spoon, produced in 1988 to celebrate the school's 50th birthday

Is this the run that started it all? All I remember from this event is that Wally Hayward was there. He was already 80 years old at the time (born 1908; died 2006) and I remember being super impressed that such an old man had beaten me.

I phoned the school to ask if they have an archive - and they do. I dropped these off with the school. They'll have their 80th birthday in 2018 so these may come in handy, especially as the uniform has changed.

Now, that I've passed on the physical items, I have just photos. Easier to move them anywhere.