Bulge Years

The Bulge Years

Immediately after the end of the Second World War there came a sudden upsurge in the birth rate within the whole of the UK, the population of Sprowston was no different. This became euphemistically known as the bulge years as many families suddenly felt that the time for expansion, in the now peace had returned. This was to cause a strange phenomenon siblings would often be pre-war or post-war rather than a family unit built over a few years. This sudden spike in births certainly gave the education authorities something of a headache realising as they did it was rather like a passing wave. A fact underlined, only in the mid-1960s did the birth rates in the UK reach the heights of those of 1946 and 47. New schools were already planned but many were only delivered after the problem had abated. This left the authorities with something of a dilemma, how to educate so many children? The solution was rather piecemeal, without doubt class sizes went up and where possible and extra class per year was added. Whilst a good idea, where does one put these classes? Any space within the School was utilised but even this was not enough and there was set up so called satellite classrooms. These took the form of a particular class being schooled in another building, reports from older residents included the following. The Scout Hut in Tusting Close, the British Legion Hut at the corner of Cannerby Lane and an ex-wartime building in Alford Grove. The bulge years were not the end of providing extra school space. Full employment allowed many people to purchase their own properties on the outskirts of Norwich. Sprowston and local builders were keen to exploit this and gradually the population increased as new families moved in. This development continues to this day.