Well done to NinJa Speechie for the FTF. The Hilton Road School was founded on March 1, 1903 in the old Hilton Road Hall. The children, who used slates and a slate pencil, sat around a large table while Miss Daisy Ladds went to each child in turn in order to help them with their lessons. She gave instructions on a large blackboard on a stand. One little girl whose home was at The Knoll arrived at school in a horse trap. Another two came on a donkey with a wickerwork two-seater saddle.
The number of pupils at Miss Ladds' school increased steadily and an assistant later joined her. In April 1914, the school became Government aided and on 1 August 1918, it was taken over by the Natal Education Department under the Free Education Act and became the Hilton Road Government Primary School with Miss Ladds as Headmistress.
The school catered for children all around the district including Cedara and Merrivale, the train being the chief form of transport for these pupils. The children from Cedara were taken to and from the station to the school by mule cart. A highlight of the year was the Annual Sports day, held on the village playing field and the most keenly contended event was the Tug-O-War against St Anne's pupils.
In 1920, a second assistant was appointed and there were sixty children on the roll. Because of the larger number, a temporary partition was put up in the hall but it was not the solution and was subsequently removed.
The tone of the school was set by its first principals and by long serving members of staff. Laddsworth has been fortunate in having had only six principals in its almost hundred years of existence and three lady teachers gave many years of devoted service. In 1927, the first long serving teacher was Miss Alma Rogers, appointed to introduce Afrikaans. In 1935, the second teacher was Miss Bo Pringle. They were both to stay happily at the school until the end of l946, when they both left, Miss Pringle ending her career as headmistress of Northern Park School. She was also an outstanding teacher with a deep love of children and a wide range of interests. She too fell under the influence of 'Laddie', as Miss Ladds was known.
The classes in the old hall sat back to back and were divided by a paper screen, which necessitated great concentration on the part of the children. When a dance was held in the Hall over the weekend all the school pictures had to be removed from the walls and all furniture moved out. On a Monday morning, the blackboards and easels 'waltzed' over the floor, whenever they were used because so much powder had been sprinkled over the floor for dancing.
The new school building above Voortrekker Road was occupied on the 25 January 1937. The official opening by Mr. W M Power took place on 23 February. Unfortunately, the building with its three classrooms was too small to accommodate 71 pupils in four divisions. The result was that to the great discomfort of the infant classes, not to mention Miss Ladds, the 24 pupils were housed in the office. After representations, a further classroom was built and occupied in January 1938.
Assembly was held in the first classroom on the verandah, each room having a coal stove in the corner for winter warmth. Behind the school, the bare rocky ground sloped down towards the station and it was Miss Ladds who organised the levelling of the playing fields. Aided by a small monetary grant, a few Zulu labourers, some borrowed wheelbarrows, a scraper and four oxen, this indomitable lady achieved amazing results. In the late 1930's, a part-time training instructor gave woodwork lessons in the Public Hall for which the secretary charged seven and sixpence per month.
Through the offices of the Headmaster of Hilton College, their instructor Mr. Percy Bould, another legendry character, gave physical training lessons twice a week. Miss Ladds retired officially in 1942, when Miss D Norenius took over as principal. This was not the end of Daisy Ladds service however, as she was to continue teaching at the school as an assistant until 1949, a period of 48 years in all since she first started teaching at Uplands School in Pietermaritzburg.