Forgotten RHS: Old Music School- Molly N

Featured History Lifestyle Opinion Past Articles School Teachers Molly N February 6, 2025 0 Comments

As promised last week, this week’s edition of ‘Forgotten RHS’ uncovers the secrets hidden away in the old music school (aka OMS). For those that don’t know, the OMS is next to the health centre and is occasionally used for exams, CCF or BTEC media filming. It’s not used that often, and when it is, people only ever step foot in one wing of the OMS, meaning it’s the perfect place to hide something that the school wants to cover up…

It was a treacherous journey from Nelson to the old music school at 5pm. Mr Eales hurriedly dropped myself and Bella P off at the door before hastily leaving us in the empty building. Apparently ‘he had a meeting’, although I don’t buy it. I think he didn’t want to be around for questions on the eerie past that was kept in the dark and dust of the OMS.

The door creaked as we entered and slammed behind us… we were all alone now. Heading into the corridor we looked around us- to the right was the well lit exam environment that we were used to, but to the left was a door we couldn’t resist to explore:

As we opened it, wondering what fate awaited us on the other side and knowing that the only way out was behind us, the lights flickered on. A corridor lined with locked doors- what could possibly be behind them? At the end of the corridor was another door, the building is endless. But when we opened it, a sense of life was once again instilled in us.

This had an oddly homely look, with a fun house photo of Raleigh in 2010 on the wall and a small kitchenette which looked vaguely usable. Maybe the old music school wasn’t as creepy as we expected … oh how wrong we were.

The so called ‘fire exit’ on the right made us lose all signs of hope. Holding the double door handles together was a large chain, wound again and again, under and around, binding the doors shut so no one could get in (or out). It shuts off an entire corridor of the OMS, which, from the outside, appeared to be large. Whatever hidden in there is big.

We were given no choice but to take the door on the left. Luckily the rooms along this corridor were unlocked so showed us some insight into the past life of the music school:

*I wasn’t aware that staff showers were even a thing, although it might be a bit tricky accessing them through this door.*

Although this looks like a place where they lock up students during Saturday detentions, after some close examination we came to the conclusion that this was a practice room (not an insane asylum). There were rooms and rooms of these, ranging in all sizes.

*I’m not sure what’s weirder; the bins or the fact that it looks still in use (whoever it was, they still need to wash up their mug).*

And that was the end of the corridor with ‘no escape’. We headed back, the lights once again flickering on and off and the doors swinging shut behind us. Heading to the more familiar side of the old music school, we checked every door and every window for more secrets.

A relatively large room had a desk, some dusty exam reports, and … a safe. Although I’m not the tallest, the fact that this was taller than me is still concerning- what could they possibly need to lock away that is this big?

This room was more strange than creepy. The bar at the back and large mirror on one of the walls gives the impression that this used to be a ballet room. Now filled with a bin, a table, a sofa (that looks still very usable!), some trophy cases and a printer (that is turned on??).

*In the same room was also a popcorn machine! I might have to sneak back into the OMS to get this for my room in Nelson…*

Still the same room (there were lots of treasures!): a cooking pot, a fridge, a display case, some weird metal poles and 4 colourful bar stools. I’m not sure why some of these things aren’t in a boarding house!

After having some fun exploring this room, we were hit back to reality when the next doors we tried had this hiding behind…

*With 2 locks and the windows blurred out, we clearly weren’t wanted there.*

We continued to see if we could uncover any more secrets:

*Some signs of life with posters and a working water dispenser*.

*A small side room with perhaps one of the only working clocks in the school*.

*We were determined to break whatever rules necessary to discover more*.

*Some sweet treats left behind in an exam room.*

*One of the few classrooms. The layout is a bit odd in here though*.

We finally reached the end and turned back around to head out. Despite the signs of life in the most recent rooms, we were reminded of the dark past of the OMS when walking back past the many locked doors. Some labelled, some not, although I was hesitant to trust if the ‘high voltage’ room fit its description- it would be the perfect place to hide something with no questions asked.

Before leaving, we took one last look around (to ensure no one was following us). All seemed well: we had made it out alive despite revealing some interesting secrets. But this caught my eye: