The School

“It isn’t like a normal school. It’s like being at home really. You enjoy yourself more than at a normal school. You do different things like photography. … I get on well with people down here. You get on with everybody, you get to know people. When I started school I knew a few people but ever since I’ve been down here I’ve known loads. You enjoy yourself.”

Michelle

 

Bath Place School? Well, what can I say? It's just off this planet. You get a say in things. You go skating, bowling, play badminton ... You name it, you can do it. And the teachers, well they're alright you know, human even ...

Sally

 

I think Bath Place is a normal school ... it is really great ... you get treated like an adult and have loads of freedom. You meet loads of different people too ... I'm glad I came.

Janine


The school is good in the sense that when I wake up late I wouldn’t have gone to my other school, but here I come in late because it’s still worth coming in.

Gerald


It’s alright, a good crack. When you want to skive off school you knew you weren’t missing nothing but here you want to come.

Ken


It’s a good laugh. Everybody’s OK I suppose and Gerald is a good cook, but I’m better.

Kelly

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The Bath Place School was open between 1977 and 1992. Bath Place National School had previously been in the same building but that school closed in 1973 and Bath Place School was totally separate.

The school provided for pupils outside mainstream education. It was a part of the Community Venture, which was run by the people who used the building and who were all answerable to each other. Consequently, a lot of responsibility was expected from children towards the many different people who used the Community Venture.

A maximum of 12 pupils attended the school. They were generally 15 or 16 years old (there were 14-year-olds too at one stage). They were referred from their previous secondary schools (mostly Aylesford, Campion, North Leamington and Trinity) for various reasons. There were 2 teachers who were responsible for all the children's activities.

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An article from the Leamington Courier:

courier article

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The Annual Report of 1987 stated:

The young people we work with are living full complicated lives now and have a wealth of experience to make sense of. Therefore, in the Unit, high priorities are listening, encouraging discussion, openness and mutual support, and valuing the contribution of each member. Many of the pupils feel bad about some school subjects because they have significant gaps. Our task is to help them fill these gaps, but also to recognise in them value as whole persons, not in terms of narrowly defined attainments. Every young person who has been in the school has had a great deal to offer, whether it be skill at supporting others, sensitivity to others’ needs, the ability to make positive sense of difficult experiences, practical skills or innumerable other abilities.

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Many of the pupils had a high level of stress which was associated with the breakdown of their relationships at their previous school. This, in turn, led to a low level of self-esteem and sometimes caused delinquent or anti-social behaviour. The pupils often had damaged self-confidence and an enormous need for individual attention.

Bath Place provided a friendly and accepting atmosphere with plenty of attention. Accepting the person but challenging the anti-social behaviour, helped pupils

mature and take responsibility for much of what they did. This helped them to gain in confidence. The process was slow and hard as the pupils had long histories of difficult problems. After a time progress became apparent but it was spasmodic and included many regressions.

The group itself was an important part of this process. It was small and relatively easy for the pupils to fit in with each other. The teachers tried to emphasise the importance of group responsibility and give the pupils as much opportunity as possible to behave in mature ways towards each other and towards people outside the group. The location of the school in the Community Venture gave important opportunities to develop relationships with others, both as a group and as individuals.

cartoon