Back in the early 1930s children growing up in Borehamwood all tended to go to the same school, because there was only one in the village at the time.

The old Furzehill School, on the same site as the existing school, in Furzehill Road, stood until the winter of 1948, when it was destroyed by fire.

This class photograph was taken around 1933, and shows a young James Greenfield, aged around 12, sitting fourth from left in the front row.

Mr Greenfield, who joined the Royal Navy during the Second World War and was killed at sea, was featured in last week's Borehamwood Times.

His younger sister, Olive Koziel, who supplied the photograph and still lives in Borehamwood, followed him to Furzehill and left the school in 1939.

"I have happy memories of Furzehill and I was sad when it burnt down," she said.

Children went to the school, in Furzehill Road, at the age of five and most pupils stayed there until they reached 14.

Mrs Koziel said: "The teachers were strict we never would answer our teachers back because we got the cane if we were naughty."

All the classes had to line up outside before going into the school in the morning, and the pupils would take a halfpenny to buy their milk at breaktime.

No meals were provided at the school, although the pupils were given horlicks tablets to help keep them healthy.

One teacher was responsible for teaching all the subjects to a particular class, and the lessons included arithmetic, geography, history, singing and dancing.

Mrs Koziel said that, at the time of the fire at Furzehill, there was a rumour that it had been started by a workman leaving a lit blow torch in the building.