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WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LIVE NEAR NEW MONUMENT SCHOOL?
Please read these paragraphs about the lives of the children of New Monument School, looking
carefully at the pictures.
Then scroll down to the bottom half of the page and complete the questionnaire and submit it. You should try
to write as much as you can in the boxes.
Your response will be e-mailed to New Monument School where we will review and comment on your answers.
In a few days you should look at 'Eye Spy On Europe'
where the best responses will be published.
New Monument School
New Monument School is a primary school, which means the children are aged between 4 and 11, in
the Maybury area of Woking. It also has a nursery. It has 300 pupils, including 40 children in the nursery.
Click here to look at a map of the area around the school and an aerial photo.
Children at the School
Most children at New Monument School live within 1 kilometre of the school in Maybury or
Sheerwater which are districts of a medium-sized town called Woking. Woking is 40 kilometres
from the centre of London and is in the county of Surrey.
Houses
There are lots of different types of housing in Sheerwater and Maybury. They vary from the
three story flats very near New Monument School to Victorian and Edwardian terraced homes.
There are also large estates built during the 1950's, including the Maybury and Sheerwater
Estates. These estates were built to house people from London whose homes were bombed during
the Second World War. Around Walton Road there are some more modern homes.
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| Flats next to the school |
Terraced houses in Monument Road |
Houses on the Maybury Estate |
Shopping
There used to be a lot of small local shops in Maybury and Sheerwater which served the needs
of the surrounding housing estates, but most of the old shops have now closed, so people have to
travel to large supermarkets further away such as Sainsburys, Tescos and Morrisons. There are still
a few small shops within walking distance of where most of the children live, including specialist
Asian and Italian grocery shops. Very close to the school is a retail park which contains a pet shop,
electrical shop, carpet shop, bike shop and DIY superstore.
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| Small parade of shops on the Maybury Estate |
Atif's Asian supermarket on Walton Road |
Retail park near the school |
Industry and Business
There are many businesses along Walton Road/Boundary Road and Princess Road in Maybury as well
as in the village of Sheerwater. There are large areas of industrial buildings, but many of the
older buildings need redevelopment to make them for suitable for modern business. Most of the
older buildings surround Walton Road and Maybury Road.
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| A new business park on Boundary Road |
Sheerwater Business Park |
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Recreation
The nearby Basingstoke Canal and its many paths provide many activities such as bike riding,
fishing and canoeing. There is a recreation Ground in Sheerwater, which is important to children
in the area, as they can play football there. There is also a small playground near New Monument
School where lots of the children play in the afternoon and at the weekends. Next to the school
is a playing field which has its own football and cricket pitches. The children at New Monument
School watch television at home, some have computers and some have hobbies.
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| The Basinstoke canal near New Monument School |
The small playground near the school |
The field next to the school |
Community Facilities
In Sheerwater and Maybury there are community centres and a very famous mosque (see below), as well as
churches and other schools. There is quite a large Pakistani community in Maybury and so the
mosque is a very important place.
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| Alpha Road Community Hall |
The Maybury Centre |
A local church |
Cars, Roads, Public Transport, Walking and Cycling
Even though no main roads pass through the area of Maybury and Sheerwater, it is very busy
and there is still a problem with traffic. This doesn't just cause problems for people, but it
is damaging to the environment. Most of the parents of children at New Monument School have cars. In the UK, people are
trying to encourage everyone to use public transport, and cycle and walk to places instead of
using cars. They are trying to create safer routes for people to use, though the further you
get from Woking town centre, the harder it is to find public transport.
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Busy roads near
the school |
Special lanes for
cycling only |
Buses don't come
very often! |
Woking's Muslim Heritage - The Shah Jehan Mosque
Opened in 1889, the Shah Jehan Mosque was the first mosque to be built in Britain.
It was built it to provide a place of worship for Muslims in the area.
It has been built in a traditional style and has a dome on its roof.
It is very close to New Monument School and most of the Muslim families whose children go
to the school go to this mosque.
Click here to look at an old picture of the mosque taken in 1925.
Woking's Muslim Heritage - The Muslim Burial Ground
Tucked away on Horsell Common near Maybury is a unique Muslim Burial Ground. It was built
during the First World War for Indian Army soldiers.
Bounded by ornate brick walls it has a domed archway entrance reflecting the design of the Shah Jehan Mosque.
It isn't used any longer and during the 1960s the bodies were removed to the Military Cemetery at
Brookwood which is on the other side of Woking.
Now try to answer these questions (but first complete some details about you):
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