Dale Avenue 1955 (courtesy of Francis Firth Collection)
It makes you wonder what the residents of Hassocks and in particular Dale Avenue and Windmill Avenue, thought in 1955 when it was proposed to build a new school right on their doorstep.
By Mark Wignall, Headteacher and Diana Hunt, Chair of Governors
Downlands School opened in September 1960 as the local secondary school for children who had failed their 11+. Then when comprehensive education started in 1965 it eventually opened its doors to all the local children and became Downlands Community School.
Back in 1960 approximately 450 pupils attended and over the years pupil numbers have grown and this September there will be 1200 students making their way up the school drive along with 130 of our staff plus 18 canteen and Freedom Leisure staff members.
From fairly small beginnings it has grown into an Ofsted rated ‘Outstanding’ school valued by many families in the area.
Over the years there have been many changes to accommodate the rise in numbers but we are sure past pupils would still recognise certain parts of the school.
In celebration of the 60th anniversary, we are looking to produce a photobook to show the life of the school, it’s pupils and staff from 1960 to 2020.
If you or somebody you know attended or taught at Downlands we would love to hear from you.
We are looking for old photos of the school, staff, pupils or school events. We would be very grateful if you could send them, together with a short caption, to school (Dale Avenue, Hassocks BN6 8LP) and marked 60th Anniversary. Originals would be better in terms of reproduction quality. We would then scan them at high resolution and return them to you. Please include your name and return address.
If you only have scanned copies please send them to the email address below.
If you have a special memory that has stayed with you over the years, then please send a few lines that may be included in the book.
If you are in touch with others who no longer live locally, we would be grateful if you could let them know.
We have set up an email address for this project so please send scanned photos and memories to: downlandsat60@downlands.org.