Nostalgia: Fun times at nurseries in Oxford over the years

With dad at work, they would have spent most of their early lives at home with mum.

Mum at that time was a ‘Jill of All Trades’, running the home and responsible for housework, shopping, cooking, washing, ironing and, above all, looking after the children.

Imagine the surprise when, at the age of five, there was a dramatic change in youngsters’ lives and they were off to school.

Suddenly, they would be sitting at a desk, facing a teacher at the front of the class and surrounded by fellow pupils, many of whom they didn’t know.

In later years, nurseries opened, allowing children to experience life outside the home at an earlier age and preparing them for the classroom.

Nurseries provided all sorts of activities and Oxford Mail photographers were regularly invited to record what children did as you can see on this page.

Picture 1 was taken at Summertown nursery in North Oxford in 1995 during a visit by the Playbus. The smile on four-year-old Emma Davison’s face shows she enjoyed the day.

There was a similar reaction from Lauren Anstice, four, in the railway cap in Picture 2. She is seen at a crèche at Oxford station in 1992 with Jonathan Derrick, two, and Network South-East chairman Bob Reid.

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Children were in swinging mood during the 50th anniversary celebrations at Bartlemas nursery in East Oxford in Picture 3, while in Picture 4, we see youngsters fully involved in activities at the Blacknall Road nursery in Abingdon in 1980.

Picture 5 shows Damon Young, three, and Chelsea Smith, four, taking part in a pedal push at the Field House Montessori nursery in Oxford in 2000 raising money for a children’s charity.

It was a special day for children to get close to animals at the Cherry Tree pre-school at Headington in 2000. Kieran Field and supervisor Jane Fletcher are seen getting friendly with a lamb in Picture 6.

The pictures were taken by Oxford Mail photographers George Reszeter, David Fleming, Peter Farr, Jon Lewis and Antony Moore.