Lyneham Infants' School, Lyneham

In 1716 Ralph Broome bequeathed £450 to the parish to provide for a school master, who was to be appointed by the trustees of the charity. Thirty poor children of Lyneham were to be taught reading, writing, arithmetic and the Christian religion according to the Church of England.

No more is known about the school until 1819 when forty one children attended, some of whom actually boarded in the master’s house. An old and infirm man assisted the schoolmaster and it was thought that the charity children were neglected. However, by 1834 the premises had improved containing a schoolroom and another 4 rooms. The average attendance in the summer was 20 pupils and in the winter this rose to 40. Day children and boarders were generally admitted at 6 years old and remained at the school until they were 12 years of age. In 1835 additional fee-paying pupils, probably boarders, were taught in the school.

In 1859 older children from the hamlet of Clack attended the school at Lyneham, while the younger children were taught by a young woman in a cottage. A few children went to a school at Christian Malford.

By 1861 the National Society was united with the school and new buildings were provided. These were built at Church End, in Lyneham, opposite St Michael’s church. There were separate Infants’ and Mixed Schools although they were in the same building. A pupil teacher, later an assistant mistress, was in charge of the infants under the headmaster. The new infants’ room, completed in May 1892 measured 21 feet by 13 feet 1 inch and was 10 feet 6 inches high.

The average attendance in 1902 was 27 infants. The infants were taught by an articled teacher, while the juniors were taught by a head teacher and two assistants. Wiltshire County Council had taken over the administration of the school by 1905. In 1953 a new county primary school was built on land to the south east of the old school, off Preston Lane. The infants remained in the old school until 1965 when a new infants’ school was built on the new site. In 1968 the total attendance at the two schools was about 860 from Lyneham and Bradenstoke; ninety per cent of these children had parents at the RAF base. In 2004 the number of pupils on the register was 212.