THIS school had a reputation for providing play equipment for children at minimal cost.

With money tight, Speedwell School at Littlemore, Oxford, acquired a simple telegraph pole for its playground – and everyone was happy.

The picture above appeared in our sister paper, The Oxford Times, in 1960 with the caption: “Expensive equipment for school playgrounds is not always possible, but an inexpensive item like this telegraph pole can provide great enjoyment, as shown on the happy faces of these youngsters.”

At the same time, as you see from the picture below, the school also invested in what was called a climbing bridge.

Children were happy to climb aboard the giant frame and pose for an Oxford Mail photographer.

Hanging and sitting, they made an excellent picture for the paper under the headline, The young commandos.

The frame had been installed in the playground thanks to the generosity of the school’s parent-teacher association.

And it was another case of school thrift. The association had only to pay for the cost of the equipment - £53 – as it was erected by a parent, Mr J Dorrill.

For some years, the school also had an old car, which provided plenty of fun for the children.

An appeal by headmistress Marjorie Medhurst for a replacement car appeared in the Oxford Mail in 1959, under the headline ‘Old crock wanted’.

Miss Medhurst wrote: “Someone once gave us an old car and it has brought untold joy to our children.

“Alas, it is now quite worn out. Will any reader give us another car or a boat, or anything on wheels, old and unusable for ordinary purposes?

“We hope that any donor will come and visit us to see the multifarious ploys in which his gift will be used.”

Whether any reader responded is not recorded. Can anyone recall an old car at Speedwell School?

In the classroom, the school became well known for its ‘zoo’ of animals and birds – in 1971, it had 50, which staff considered an invaluable aid in teaching science and social studies.

Pupils even adopted an otter at the Cotswold Wildlife Park at Burford and named him Speedy.

The school opened in about 1905 and served the Littlemore community for nearly 100 years, closing in 2003 during the reorganisation of city schools.

When Miss Medhurst, who was head for 20 years, retired in 1976, she recalled how she had arrived to find “old and cramped buildings surrounded by greasy mud and nettles with a playground of grit”.

When she left, it was a school with new buildings, 330 pupils and a garden with 50 trees.

How many of the children on the telephone pole and climbing bridge can we name? Write and let me know.

Picture captions

Children play on the Speedwell School telegraph pole, above, and on the climbing bridge, below