The school was opposite the village church and Mary Saunders, then Ford, remembers going to it.

"Mrs Bloom must have worked well into her 60s," said Mrs Saunders.

"And she always wore trousers – that was virtually unheard of in the 1940s – and I remember with her that everything had to be right."

Mrs Saunders and her brother both attended the school but left at the ages of eight and ten, respectively, to go on to private school. But this was not the case for everyone, with some pupils staying on to complete their 11-plus.

Mrs Saunders has fond memories of the small class she used to be part of and said: "It was very basic. We had to go outside to the toilet and we were all taught in one room. When I was there we only had a class of about 12."

"We had such things like competitions and I remember once winning a handwriting competition," she said.

Mrs Saunders said some of the people in the picture still lived locally and wondered if anyone can identify any of them. She is on the far right of the picture.

Can you help? Write to Yaxley School Memories, Diss Express, Mere Street, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 4AE or email editorial@dissexpress.co.uk