From the Mitcham News & Mercury, 16th July 1971

Their Debt of £200 Cleared

Boys from Eastfields School, Mitcham, with the mini-bus presented to the school by the Parent-Teacher Association. It is to be used for visits and for social service work in the area.

THEIR DEBT OF £200 CLEARED

PARENTS and teachers at Eastfields High School, Mitcham, were relaxing this week after hearing they had cleared a £200 debt at their annual summer fayre on Saturday.

Chairman of the parent teachers association, Mr John Warne explained: “We wanted to buy the school a mini bus and found a very good one for £850. Unfortunately we only had £650 available but a bank loan helped us buy it.”

Since then parents, teachers and pupils have been organising the fayre to pay off the extra £200. As it happened they just cleared £220 but headmaster Mr Bernarr Atherton is not one for laurel-resting.

About 1,000 people went to the fayre, slightly fewer than last year but the organisers believe the heat may have kept them away.

A mini raffle with a prize every 20 minutes did especially well and fortune teller Madam Crystal (alias parent Mrs A. Hall) told her clients of journeys to foreign lands and tall dark strangers.

BEST DRESSED

Prize for the best dressed girl was won by 14 year old Shelley Jearum, Lexden Road, Mitcham in a black and white mini dress and matching hot pants.

The band of the St. John Ambulance Brigade lent a touch of excitement to the afternoon and in between their displays the Eastfields Discotheque blared constant pop across the playing fields.

Now the P.T.A. is to meet again to think about paying for that duplicator.

In 1971, the £850 spent on the minibus would be equivalent to approximately £10,500 in today’s money, while the £200 debt they cleared would be worth roughly £2,500.