Hastings - Pearson School Photog

[ABOVE] Children and staff of the Public Elementary School in Hooe, Sussex, photographed by George Pearson of Hastings (c1908). The village of Hooe is situated 3.6 miles from Bexhill-on Sea and around 1908, the total population of the Parish of Hooe was less than 450. The Elementary School in Hooe was formerly the National School. In the 1890s, the National School at Hooe provided education for up to 130 boys and girls, but by 1911 the capacity of the Elementary School had fallen to 100. This photograph shows the Infant section of Hooe School. John James Newport (1867-1946), the Master of Hooe Elementary School stands at the right of the infant class, next to his wife Mrs Emily Newport (1873-1958), the Head Teacher of the Infant section of the school. An assistant school mistress and a student teacher stand at the left of the infant class. There are twenty infant children pictured, 19 boys and just one girl.

John James Newport was appointed Master (Head Teacher) of Hooe National School (which later became known as the Public Elementary School) in 1895, when he was around twenty-eight years of age. John James Newport was born in Marylebone, London in 1867. After a period in Hampstead in North London, John Newport took up the position of "Assistant Master" at the Newport National School on the Isle of Wight in 1890. It was on the Isle of Wight that John Newport met Emily Harriet Aslett (born 1873, Bromley-by-Bow, London). John and Emily were married in Cambridgeshire, towards the end of 1890. The couple set up home in Hampstead where their first two children were born. In 1895, after the birth of their third daughter in Pentridge, Dorset, John and Emily arrived in Hooe to run the local National School. John James Newport was the Head Teacher and his wife Mrs Emily Newport was in charge of the Infant School. John and Emily Newport held their senior positions at Hooe School until around 1920. The family home was at "Caritas Villa" in Hooe. John James Newport also wrote booklets on the local history of Hooe, including "Records of Hooe", which was republished in 1989.

George Pearson, the photographer, was based in Hastings, about ten miles away from the Elementary School in Hooe, but he was prepared to travel some distance to photograph his subjects. There were three or four professional photographers in nearby Bexhill-on-Sea, but Pearson was probably commissioned because the taking of "School Group" photographs was one of his specialities. In an advertisement published in 1905, Pearson listed "At Home Portraits, Family Portraits, Groups, Schools and Weddings " as his main types of work.

[ABOVE] The boys of the Public Elementary School in Hooe, Sussex, photographed by George Pearson of Hastings (c1908). "Group I " is inscribed in crayon on the reverse of this group photograph. Twenty-three boys are featured in this photograph of Group One.

[BELOW] The girls of the Public Elementary School in Hooe, Sussex, photographed by George Pearson of Hastings (c1908). "Group II " is inscribed in crayon on the reverse of this group photograph. Twenty-six girls are featured in this photograph of Group Two.

Kelly's 1905 Directory of Sussex states that Hooe's Public Elementary School was a mixed school for 130 pupils, but noted that the average attendance was 90. The three photographs show a combined total of 68 pupils. The 1911 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex gives the capacity of the school as 100 children and an average attendance of 77.

[ABOVE] The girls of the Public Elementary School in Hooe, Sussex, photographed by George Pearson of Hastings (c1908).