the sickbay. Often they used to bribe the African gardener to buy sweets, condensed milk or sardines for them in the village when he went to collect the post. Sago pudding and stewed prunes were frequently served as dessert. The evening meal was very formal. The girls sang hymns and then grace was said. While the girls ate a mistress would read to them from the works of Charles Dickens or Sir Walter Scott. At the end of the meal Miss Mayhew would stand at the door as the girls filed out. Each one had to curtsy to the headmistress. Sometimes the girls smuggled out food in their bloomers so that they could have a mid night feast. This made it difficult to curtsy. THE P.N.E.U. SYSTEM.(See footnote below). In the class room Miss Mayhew followed the P.N.E.U.system.She also got teachers trained in that system from England. The girls learned cultural subjects: English, English literature, scrip ture, Art and Art appreciation. They also did European history. Music, Nature Study, French, arithmetic, sewing and embroidery. They often put on plays and concerts. They did no homework and were in bed by eight o'clock each evening. RECREATION. To start with there were few games but later the girls played tennis, netball and cricket. In addition they learned riding and shooting. At one time the riding teacher was Mr Lance Baker, the son of Mrs Baker of Redcliffe, who was farming in the district. There was also a Girl Guide troop. As well as this, dancing of various kinds was taught. On Sundays and public holidays the girls were taken on long walks in crocodile to picnic spots around Hillcrest. Two favourite places were called by the girls Kelly's Falls (after a mistress at the school) and Aladdin's Cave. They also used to play games on the commonage, which bordered on St Margaret's. On Sundays the school went to church at the village hall just across the road. The boys from Highbury and from Chard's used to attend the services as well. These services were conducted by the Rev. Stead. MISS MAYHEW. Miss Mayhew was "very aristocratic" and very strict. But she was kind to the girls as well. She used to kiss them goodnight if they were homesick. She drove an old Ford motor car and always wore a flat, wide-brimmed hat. The girls thought that she slept in it. When the Great Influenza epidemic reached Natal in 1918 she made the girls gargle with potassium permanganate around a trench dug in the garden. In 1931 Miss Mayhew sold the school to Miss Hobden and went back to England to retire. She was still living in London during the Second World War. Under Miss Hobden St Margaret's grew smaller and smaller. By then the Firs had opened not far away and soon there were only twenty-five pupils at St Margaret's. By 1933 there were only twelve girls and Miss Hobden closed the school at the end of the year. The house was sold to Mr Gordon Watson. Eventually it was sold to the Natal Educa tion Department and when the present Hillcrest Primary School was going to be built the house was used until the new buildings were ready. Late in 1962 or early 1963 the old house was demolished to make way for the Hillcrest Primary School's fields. THE FIRS The Firs was opened in 1929 and the headmistress was Miss Violet Badock. Miss Badock had been the Senior Mistress at St Margaret's. Before that she had taught at Chippenham (now King's) at Nottingham Road. There were two pupils at first: Cathie Black and Molly Jefferson.The school never had more than thirty-five pupils. The badge of the school had three firs on it, which stood for loyalty: to God,our country and the school. The Firs opened in a house at the corner of present Knelsby Avenue and the Old Main Road. Later Miss Badock took over "Morningside" on the other side of the Old Main Road as well. Then, in 1934, the school moved to a house near Highbury. It is now the dining-room block of Pomona Gardens. The subjects taught were reading, especially of news papers and books, general knowledge and world news, as well as art and arithmetic. The girls were also taught manners, consideration and a respect for life. The girls played tennis, cricket and netball. They all loved Miss Badock and received a great deal of individual attention. They felt more like a family than a school. The school was becoming well-known and popular when Miss Badock retired at the end of 1935.She went to live in Pietermaritzburg with her brother, a retired Army officer. P.N.E.U. The Parents' National Education Union had been founded in Britain by Charlotte Mason in 1868. The aim was to stop children being crammed with facts. Teachers showed their pupils how to learn from books.The P.N.E.U. system was used a lot by. parents whose work took them away from civilization, like army officers and people in the diplomatic or government service. Then they could be their children's teachers and guide them to read the right books. fT f: J.van NIEKERK 30
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