St. Martin's Church of England (VA) Infants' School, Salisbury

In 1811 the school, in association with the National Society, was established with 107 boys and 78 girls. The school was found to be too small for the demand and a malthouse near St. Martin's church was purchased for use as an extension. By 1814 there were 300 pupils but attendance was irregular. Over the next couple of decades attendance varied between 250 and 400 children. In 1840 the girls' school came under the direction of the Mistress of the new Diocesan Training College so that her pupils could be given 'efficient instruction in teaching'. The school in 1840 was open to all children over the age of 5, who attended between 8.45 a.m. to 1.15 p.m. on weekdays and 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on Sundays. Chidren had to bring one penny payment for the week on Mondays and come to school washed and combed, wearing clean and well mended clothes. In 1859 there were 2 departments with between 180 and 200 boys on the upper floor in 2 rooms under a master and 5 pupil teachers, and 80 to 90 girls in 2 ground floor rooms under a mistress and 2 pupil teachers. In the 1870s and 1880s average attendances varied between 320 and 390 so that in 1890 2 new classrooms were built providing total accommodation for 617 children.

In 1913 there were 2 departments with a headmaster for the boys and a headmistress for the girls and infants. There was a critical report on the premises in 1914 but the onset of the First World War meant that no action was taken. The year 1920 saw a partial amalgamation with the George Herbert School with the older girls going to Geaorge Herbert and the older boys remaining at St. Martin's with the infants moving into the girls' part of the school. By 1921 the boys' building was in poor condition but nothing had been done by 1925 when an HMI report described it as a 'rotten old place'. In the re-organization of 1926 the senior boys moved to St. Thomas's and St. Martin's became a school for boys under 11 and infants.

In 1927 it was decided to build a new school for the boys and alter the existing accommodation for the infants. This was completed in 1930 with a school for boys of 5 classrooms with 230 places and an infants' school with 150 places. A new girls' school was also created. The boys' and infants' school was granted voluntary status in 1944 and in 1952 the junior boys moved, with the junior girls, to a new building on Fowler's Hill and the old school became an infants' school. There were 151 pupils in 1997 but by 2002 this had fallen to 91 children, aged from 4 to 7. In September 2003 the infants will move into the Junior School at Shady Bower.