Those Derby Days

This book tells the unique story of the first ever school specialising in educating partially sighted children in Britain, The Derby School for the Partially Sighted, Fulwood, Preston. From testimony of ex-pupils, the author describes how this fledgling school struggled to meet the challenges of a new concept in education. Teachers having to adapt from instructing the blind to implementing the revolutionary new methods in educating the visually impaired. The author describes a time when it was thought acceptable to categorise and segregate disabled children, taking them away from family and all that was familiar to give them "a better chance in life" at a boarding school similar to the Victorian institution from which it was born. The author describes the pioneering work of Ken Bridge and his staff to keep this small school at the cutting edge, always searching for new forms of investment and later, when attitudes changed towards more integration, how the school fought to remain open - taking the campaign to Downing Street and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. With the battle lost and the gates finally closed, the author describes the continued camaraderie and fellowship of the ex-staff and students brought together through adversity and determined to keep the spirit of this unique, pioneering little school alive.