Location: Habbaniya

The overall plan of RAF Habbaniya.......the area of the red rectangle is enlarged below

The location of the schools is marked (A.16.G).......the secondary school was in the RHS of the building (an airmen's billet).

Dr Morris describes:
I am not sure if the school was under the aegis of BFES, certainly not from the earliest days.
In 1947 when the first families arrived they were taught by wives and some RAF personnel.
The junior school was in the main part of the billet and the senior school furthest from the Kingsway Road.
Instead of a 1/3 pint of milk at breaktime (fresh milk was a rarity in 115 degrees!) we had a bottle of Pepsi-Cola and I can still remember the crates on the verandah with a proportion of the bottles blown by the heat and bumpy desert road from Baghdad.

In the early 1950s, there were two paid civilians; Mr Richards (the headmaster) and Mrs Robinson (whose husband was in the RAF and being employed there meant she could be with her husband).
The other staff were the RAF Cof E padre, a Squadron Leader's wife, an Airman who taught art and a WAAF who taught the infants.

A school photograph taken in the play area and dated 1950
The image is displayed courtesy of Kent Holmes via the RAF Habbaniya Association

The adults from L to R; Cof E Padre, the Squadron Leader's wife, Mrs Robinson, Mr Richards, the WAAF and the Airman.
Behind you can see the woven fence separating the school from the next billet (A.16.C).
Classes started at 07.00 and finished at noon – because of the intense heat of the day (50 C, 115 F).

Children playing next to the school (late 1950s)........image courtesy of Alan Kitson via RAF Habbaniya Association

The above image is surprisingly green; Dr Morris explains......
There was an extensive irrigation system at Habbaniya and the irrigated areas were green and full of flowers. The rest was barren, like the surrounding desert. We had Command Gardens, botanical gardens. Each area was irrigated in turn, every 4 days we think - an interval which didn’t allow the mosquitoes to breed. When the road network was laid out in 1935 they planted all the eucalyptus trees, a special variety from Australia, the scent of which discouraged the mozzies.

Further school memories:
Tony Coles arrived at RAF Habbaniya in March 1949, aged 12 with his elder brother 13.
They attended the school (in same building as it always was) ......."all ages up to about 15, I think".
"The headmaster was one Mr Richards, an idiosyncratic man in his early '50s with a passion for pirates and sailing ships. Thus all lessons were structured around the subject. I don't remember learning anything there but fooled around a great deal (and got thumped for it).
School finished at about 13.00, then it was swimming and riding."
 

This is an image of the wooden plate identifying the school building........A 16 G
It was 'liberated' for the Association by an American soldier who was there in 2004-5.