Mr Beavers was Headmaster of Rye Primary School Ferry Road from 1946 until well into the 1960’s.
The recent picture of him in “Rye’s Own” with the many sets of twins that were present at his school in the early fifties has caused great interest.
This picture, which shows Mr. Beavers with his staff, including Miss Baker, Mrs Jordan, Miss Welfare, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Stone and Mrs Candler is a piece of real Rye history.
Those were the days when most children recieved their Primary and Secondary education in the town where they lived. They were not bused and trained all over the district because parents then had no option of a ‘school of their choice’.
Rye had an excellent reputation of education from the days of the first Rye Grammar School in the High Street and the Mermaid Street and Lion Street Schools, through to the new Rye Grammar at The Grove, The Primary School in Ferry Road and the Secondary School in New Road.
The fine teachers in the Beaver’s era gave a solid foundation for a good education and many old Ryers speak with great fondness of their schooldays and of
those that taught them.
The quality of both accademic and moral education in Rye during the period from the turn of the nineteenth century through the first and second wars and well into the postwar years is proven by the achievements made by pupils from the Rye Schools in the years since.
The causes for the decline in education and moral standards throughout the eighties and nineties is arguable but so many changes, starting with ‘comprehensive education’, abolition of corpral punishment and the elimination of much competitive and team sport must have contributed. In any event, by the turn of the 20th. Century, Rye secondary education was at it’s lowest ebb and fell into the ‘special needs’ catagory.
Today there is good leadership at Rye College and Rye Primary and things have been turned around. Young people are as good as their teachers, the rules they work under and local leadership.
Mr. Beavers and his staff were outstanding but the rules of the day were in their favour. The teachers of 2011 work under much tougher constraints, only the very best survive for a lifetime in teaching.