Back in the day children took homemade lemonade to school in old jam jars. Back in the day Johnny Bread and sandwiches were wrapped in cloth napkins, not plastic. And back in the day the toilets were outside – and didn't flush.

On Tuesday March 17 members of the Elliot Primary School's Historical Society took a magical history tour with former Elliot student Ruth Tucker as tour guide.

Dressed in outfits approximating fashions of 100 years ago, and toting their lunch in baskets, the eight students and teacher Verlette Wilson settled down on the lawn outside the original one-room school house to hear tales of long ago.

The recently-formed society meets weekly to research and share information about their school's long and fascinating history. Prompted by the donation of a painting of the old school house by Mr. Cann Burch, the society aims to develop a photo gallery of past Elliot heroes, which they can share with all Elliot students. They also hope to have guest speakers visit and learn more of what going to Elliot was like in the past.

The Society meets under the guidance of Mrs. Wilson and has elected a chairman, Daenycé Rabain, treasurer, Jordan Masters and secretary, Sihlé Sharrieff-Hayward. To date they have compiled a brief overview of the school's history (see sidebar), and compared an old report card with a current one.

"I joined because it would be interesting to learn the history of Elliot and what it was like back then," stated Nisha Smith. "I would most like to know how [the students] were taught and how the school was run."

Classmate Brieanna Samuels is keen to learn about the games children played, while Chioke Raynor, the sole male member, frankly admitted, "I was pulled in by Ms Wilson," but stayed because "it looked fun. I'm getting to use the computer. We're typing up the articles, printing them off and sticking them up in the auditorium." He expressed an interest in learning more about the twelve original founders of the school and those who attended the school in the past.

Explained Principal Cathy Bassett, "We want to honour the 12 men, but can only find descendants of six of them. We still have six plaques to hand out because we still have to find their descendants. We will have to research the church records and visit the Archives to find out more."

The students' interest in the past extends beyond the school walls. Daenycé Rabain explained, "I like when my Nana tells me what games they played and what they used because they didn't have much stuff."

"I ask questions, and my Mom just tells me the answers," Jordan Masters noted. "She tells me stuff I didn't ask and it's fun."

More activities are planned for the remainder of the school year, with a special focus on Heritage Month, during which the students will stage dramatisations of the past and display the findings of their research.

SIDE BAR

Elliot School – A brief history by Sihlé Sharrieff-Hayward

Prior to the year 1840, almost all schools in Bermuda were private. During this time two missionary societies of England made grants to provide schools in Bermuda. These societies were The Society for the Preparation of the Gospel and The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.

The original Elliot School, on Jubilee Road in Devonshire was provided by the S.P.C.K. The school opened in 1848 and was named after Governor, Captain Charles Elliot (1846-1853). There were a total of thirty-four students (half boys and half girls) and one teacher, named Rebecca A. Newbold. The subjects that were taught were: spelling, reading, grammar, arithmetic, geography, Church Catechism, and sewing.

Later it became necessary to build more and better schools in Bermuda due to its increasing population. It had been noted that The Elliot School had become inadequate; therefore, in 1915, a group of influential parishioners made plans for a new building. The new school building was erected at the junction of Jubilee Road and Parson's Lane in Devonshire. Miss Rosalie Pearman, was the Headmistress of the new school from 1925 – 1960.

The population continued to increase at the Elliot School, and as a result it surpassed the capacity of the building. Therefore, it became necessary to build a larger building. In 1951, the Bermuda Government obtained five acres of land on Hermitage Road, in Devonshire. They used the land that was bequeathed (donated) in 1653 for school purposes and built the present day Elliot Primary School.

Equally important, the building at the junction of Jubilee Road and Parson's Lane in Devonshire is still in operation and is fondly referred to as "Old Elliot." Additionally, the spelling of 'Elliott' was changed to 'Elliot' after the former Governor, in 1999.