Desford Approved School was once the dominant force in junior chess in Leicestershire

Here's a remarkable story from Richard James on British Chess News:

For a few years in the mid 1930s a remarkable story was playing out in Leicestershire chess. The boys from Desford Approved School, who had been sent there from all over the country having fallen foul of the law, were taking part in the Under 16 section of the county chess championship, dominating the event, winning game after game against their law-abiding contemporaries, and even beating adult teams in the county league.

Desford opened as an industrial school in 1881. These institutions were intended for boys who were found homeless or begging but had not committed any serious crime. The idea was to remove them from bad influences (including their families), give them an education and teach them a trade.

In 1927 a home office committee recommended that industrial schools should be combined with reformatories, which had a more punitive mission, and so the approved schools were born.

Richard looks at the two men who brought chess to Desford Approved School: the Leicester Liberal politician Sydney Gimson and the school's superintendent Cecil Lane. He will look at the future lives of the school's chess players in a second post.

The image above is a capture from a 1966 film about the school, which does not fill the heart with joy. The argument that the visibly overcrowded dormitories don't matter because the boys are used to no better at home is a long way from the more civilised views Cecil Lane was putting forward 30 years earlier.

Desford Approved School became a 'community home with education' in 1973 and closed five years after that.

Its buildings still stand - it was actually not at Desford but just outside the smaller village of Botcheston - and now house a care home. You can see some photographs of it on the Children's Homes site.

On a personal note, I knew Richard James 40 years ago when he was captain of Richmond and Twickenham chess club. I played for him on board five in the top division of the London League, which was a great learning experience.

I don't suppose I won many games for him, but when I got back to Leicestershire the following season I found I had improved no end. In fact I beat just about everyone put in front of me and conceded only one draw in the county league.

So I owe Richard thanks and an apology.