St. Barnabas Church School Annual Sports July 1949

The organised muddle of a typical school sports day, with nothing being taken too seriously as these children born in wartime at St. Barnabas Primary School in Bradford have a great time taking part in the usual classic sports day events, such as the sack race, the wheelbarrow race, a wonderful girls’ skipping race and the egg and spoon race (won by the son of the filmmaker by fixing the egg with chewing gum!). The mums too, out in their summer dresses, seem to have just as much fun.

The film was made by Bradford filmmaker Charles Wood, whose son David attended the school. St Barnabas Church School was first built on Ashwell Road, Heaton with funding from the National Society. The foundation stone was laid in 1870, the year of the Education Act, and it opened in 1871. The original building was enlarged as the population of Heaton grew, and in 1965 was demolished to be replaced by the current Heaton St Barnabas VA School. It is likely that the sports day was held on the field which is now the school playground - at the crest of Heaton Hill - with glimpses of far off Baildon Moor in the distance. The head master was a popular local man called Mr Winterbottom.