The Walton Memorial Prize

The Walton Memorial Prize is an annual one which will be awarded by the Head Teacher to the pupil at Amberley Primary School who has achieved the most progress and the best contribution to school life, during the Academic Year irrespective of starting point at the beginning of the year. Nominations are received from all teaching staff, forwarded to the Head Teacher and discussed by all before an award winner is agreed.


The successful pupil will receive a certificate, a monetary prize of £100 and have their name on an Honours Board. The school’s Pupil Enrichment Programme (PEP) will receive a donation of £2,000 as soon as the award is made.


 

The Walton Memorial Prize – In memory of Hilda, Sadie & Elsie


In memory of all three ladies and their belief in the importance of providing an excellent and inspirational development environment for children, Ray and Rosemary Jackson have established The Walton Memorial Prize.


Ray’s late aunt Hilda Walton, who died in July 2017, was a wonderful lady and a life-long educationalist. She was the last of the “three girls” as they were known to so many friends and family. Hilda, Sadie (Hilda’s younger sister) and Elsie (Elsie Holdam, a true Yorkshire Lass who met Hilda at Teacher Training College) were all primary school teachers, Deputy Heads and Heads.


Hilda was born in Haltwhistle, Northumberland on 7th July 1920, Hilda’s mother, Jessie, was one of the original suffragettes and Hilda and Sadie came from a family of formidable women who all believed passionately that education and social mobility were key for the future of all in the UK.


After qualifying as a teacher, one of Hilda’s first jobs was in Ashington, Northumberland, to the north of my home town, Newcastle upon Tyne. At the time, Ashington, was known as the largest mining village in the world. At the primary school in Ashington one of Hilda’s claims to fame was that she taught Jack & Bobby Charlton to play football. This was towards the end of the Second World War and consequently there were very few male teachers available so the ladies were drafted in to take football lessons.


Sadie was also a very committed teacher and I remember her saying frequently that the most enjoyable teaching job she had throughout her career was at Cruddas Park school in Newcastle upon Tyne, which was one of the poorest and most deprived areas of the city. Sadie always maintained that the children she taught there were the nicest she had ever encountered.


Elsie Holdam became a very highly regarded Head Teacher and was chosen to be the head at Hurst Park School near Hampton Court in Surrey which at the time was regarded as one of the most innovative and advanced Primary schools in the entire country.  All three of the girls represented the UK in educational visits to the USA, where they made many friends amongst teachers and University Professors.


My late father was very fond of all three of the “girls” and asked me to ensure that Elsie
was treated as an equal and an “aunt” as well.

 

                                                                               Ray Jackson – Former Chair of Governors

 

 

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