Old Harbin
(1939-69)
Origins and Namesake
The first meeting of the school managers was held in 1938 while the school site was under construction. It was later opened by the Earl of Shaftsbury on the 1st April 1939.
Later, between the 4th-19th of September, the school temporarily closed to provide food and medical check-ups to evacuees. Some students had come from other schools which were being used to house soldiers. Henry Harbin taught children between the ages of 12-16.
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The funding for the school came from Henry Harbin, a member of the prominent Harbin family. Tragically, Henry Harbin died at the young age of 21.
In his will, £200 was invested towards the 'education of the poor' in Poole. Henry Harbin's name was adopted by the school in his honour.
Structure
The school taught both boys and girls but they were kept strictly separate from one another, with classes, plays and the playground remaining divided.
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Despite creative attempts to communicate with one another, the clear separation in the playground was marked with a line of chalk separating the boys from the girls which led to little opportunity to associate.
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E.H.P. Smith was the boys' school's first headmaster, who ran the school for approximately 20 years.
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Meanwhile, one of the most prominent head teachers of the girls' school was G.M. Harding, who served at Henry Harbin for 16 years as headmistress.
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As of 1948, both schools had 16 teachers and 450 pupils.
Havilland
Havilland
A Vision of the Past
Thanks to Dr Ian Smith and the Henry Harbin Photography Society, a short video exists of the school grounds in 1966.
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As shown in the video, despite the separation between boys and girls, the school facilities were shared.
The Harbinger Magazine
The Harbinger magazine was written by the students of the boys' school and edited by the teachers. The copies of 1963-1965 have been studied and further images of them can be found in the community links section.
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The magazines themselves consist of short stories and poems, letters to the editor by despondent students, and reports of sporting achievements.
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More information can be found in the 'Student Experience' section which details the activities, achievements, thoughts, and feelings of students.
The House System
In the boys' school, the student body was divided through a house system which consisted of four houses. As of 1963, these were: Jolliffe, Longespee, Thompson and Havilland. These names stemmed from both significant local merchant families and famous national figures.
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For the girls' school, the house names were inspired by famous female figures. For example, Curie House was based on the famous scientist Marie Curie.
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The house system enabled friendly inter-school competition that ranged from sporting to academia. At the same time, the partitioning of the student body enabled a more personalised pastoral experience. This is demonstrated with each house having dedicated house masters for each year.