World War
On November 2, 1914, the tanning school opened its gates. During World War I, Belgian refugees found temporary shelter in the shoemakers' classrooms. Some classrooms in the school were empty because they had to wait for machines due to the war. As a result, the shoemaking school did not open until September 1915. Students could choose from three courses: leather tanning, machine and manual shoemaking. The war had a great impact on the number of apprentices in the early years anyway, as many patron-sons and workers were mobilized. The vocational school made an important contribution to training future leaders in the leather and shoe industry.
In 1940 the school was named "State Trade School for the Leather and Shoe Industry" and via the Secondary School of Industry in 1948 it finally became a school for secondary vocational education "Secondary Trade School for the Leather and Shoe Industry" in 1968.
From the end of the 1960s the board, often in cooperation with the business community, still tried to conduct propaganda for the school. However, this did not lead to responsible student numbers. The evening school was discontinued as of October 1, 1971, and the Ministry of Education and Science forbade the school to form first classes for the 1972/1973 school year. As an alternative, it was considered to set up short courses in the technical field or day courses of a few lessons per week for students who were practically working in the trade. All this did not go ahead due to lack of students and finances.
T.N.O.
Finally, the gates of the school were permanently closed on August 1, 1975. The closure was mainly due to the large number of company closures in the shoe and leather industry. In addition, fewer and fewer students came from abroad. Part of the machinery was transferred to the "Dutch Leather and Shoe Museum," today's Schoenenkwartier. Other parts of the contents were sold. The "Institute for Leather and Shoes T.N.O.," which remained in the building, also took over certain items. The Leather Institute TNO, which grew out of the testing station, remained in Waalwijk until 1997. Then it became a multi-company building, 'De Schoener'. Today it houses apartments.
