South Yorkshire Times – Saturday 21 February 1942
Modern School Governors
At last Thursday’s meeting of the Modern School Governors, the headmistress, Miss G. E. Packwood reported that attendance in her department was very poor. Girls who attended the Modern School were often useful at home in cases of family illness, and in other cases the children were being kept at home to look after the house while their mothers were on war work.
Canon J. Holohan, who presided, said that it was not only school attendance that was affected, but also the general welfare of the children. Some of the mothers, he added, ought not to be on war work. Very little effort, he alleged, was made by the factories to verify the statements made by the women when they went for employment, with the result that women with families were being employed. It was decided to draw the attention of the County Authority to the problem.
The headmaster. Mr. W. Gledhill, stated that attendance in his department was quite good, apart from in the “D” forms, where there was the inevitable number of dodgers, whose parents were completely indifferent.
The Governors agreed to the retention of Miss C. Auerbach on the staff of the Girls’ Department after her marriage, and decided to appoint Mrs. D. Mullin, of Swinton, as French mistress in succession to Miss M. Muir, who has obtained a post at a secondary school at Hyde, Cheshire. Mrs. Mullin was formerly French mistress at the school before her marriage.