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171
The best remembered event of 1968 came about through the
generosity of Mr. Alex Meux, a Brighton resident who donated
£1,000 to the Variety Club of Great Britain for the purpose of
providing a mini-bus for Goddington. The mini-bus has been
invaluable in allowing teachers to take individual classes out to
places of interest. This contributed immensely to the widening
of the children's horizons, benefited the children in their personality
and language development. The mini-bus has almost become
the centre of the school activities.
1968 has been a year of hard work for staff and children
alike, increasing acceptance of the slow learner by the immediate
community, and increasing recognition of the role of the Special
School and its success by professional workers in teaching and
other professions.
St. Nicholas School, West Wickham

Staff—
Headmaster
Deputy Head
8 Full-time Assistant Teachers
1 Part-time Teacher
1 Welfare Assistant (Senior House Mother)
2 General Assistants (Assistant House Mothers)
One of the staff spent three terms at Avery Hill College of Education
to gain a Diploma in the Teaching of Handicapped Children.
Eight boys and six girls left during the year and several
different types of employment were taken, assembly work, gardening,
jobs in supermarkets, groundsmen, factory work and a job
on a poultry farm.
The annual inspection of every child in the school took place
during January/February. Many are undergoing treatment and
observation for a variety of medical conditions such as epilepsy,
muscular dystrophy, asthma, congenital heart conditions, hydrocephaly,
cerebral palsy, mongolism and autism. Seven thirteenyear-olds
were tested and received B.C.G. vaccination as a
protection against T.B.
Other factors such as broken and unstable homes, deprived
conditions and psychological and emotional blockages are causes
for slow learning.