A Children’s Day at Hornsey

Hornsey Journal, 25 July 1919

Schools celebrate peace

The Peace celebrations in Hornsey were mainly confined to the children.

On Friday afternoon (18 July) the pupils attending public elementary schools in the borough were given a tea, games and entertainments at public expense and enjoyed themselves as only youngsters can.

There was no massed gathering of scholars but each school, under the superintendence of the teaching staff, carried out their own programme in their own way in their own place and success was everywhere apparent. In most cases the children were able to disport themselves on the open spaces in the borough.

From the farms and school grounds at Highgate and Muswell Hill, to the Alexandra Palace Racecourse, the Playing Fields and Finsbury Park, both the high lands and the low lands of the borough rang with the joyous laughter of children’s voices and saw youth in its happiest mood.

The weather favoured these outdoor festivities and enabled outdoor pursuits to be carried out without discomfort to all concerned. Generally, ‘tea’ (although lemonade was the favourite beverage) was served in the school buildings which were gaily dressed with flowers, flags and paper decorations. Some very pretty effects were seen in some places for red rambler roses ran riot on the tables and with the smiling faces of the children and their gay holiday attire, a charming picture was completed.

In field or park there was running, skipping and obstacle races, tug-of-war and other tests of skill or speed. When the conjurer or other entertainer took the platform, such wonderment and merriment was seen and heard as must have made the adults around wish to be young again. They realised that many of the little folk knew nothing of peace time, that they had lost four years or more of the innocent pleasures of early life. The half-dozen hours of unalloyed delight gave them a glimpse of brighter days, was well worth the monetary expenditure and the time and trouble taken by teaching staff to make the day a memorable one.

All the centres of merry-making were visited by the Mayor of Hornsey, Mr P F Teychenné, who was accompanied for the greater part by the Mayoress. Last Monday evening (21 July) at the meeting of the Town Council the teachers were thanked for the extraordinary amount of work they had put in and that they had dipped deeply into their own pockets to make the celebration a success.

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