Grafton Primary School

The National School at East Grafton was opened in 1846. It was attended by children living in the district served by East Grafton church, and in 1858 its 70-80 pupils came from Crofton, East Grafton, West Grafton and Wexcombe. The school room measured 60 feet by 20 feet by 25 feet. The children were taught by an uncertificated master, a pupil teacher with a mistress for the infants. Lord Ailesbury gave £40 a year towards the school’s expenses.

The school logbooks begin in 1888 and give a picture of life in a Victorian school. There are no details about lessons, but subjects would probably have been the elementary ones of reading, writing and arithmetic, with some geography and history. Scripture was also important; the vicar would have visited at least once a week to take a lesson. Sometimes his wife or daughter would visit the younger children.

When the school opened there were just two teachers. It was built to accommodate 120 children, and although early attendance figures were 70, by 1885 numbers had risen to 96. School managers expected a high level of achievement among the pupils, and if a certain percentage of exam passes were not achieved, the headmaster had to explain why. He was expected to be able to teach all the standards on his own; an assistant taught the infants. In 1891, having been given one year in which to improve things, Mr. Nicholson was given three months’ notice. The following year the managers acknowledged that the master needed some help and a third member of staff was employed.

If a school was lucky enough to have a competent head teacher in post for some time, this was generally reflected in its results. Grafton wasn’t this fortunate. In 1891 when Henry Gower arrived, his first entry in the logbook is a list of complaints. ‘The children are in bad order and know nothing of their new standard work…… although 24 weeks of the present school year have passed nothing has been done’. Mr. Gower quickly turned things around however, as the Inspector’s Report for 1892 said that the school was much improved.

Attendance levels were very important as this affected pupils’ achievement and government grants for the school. The main reasons for children missing school were illness and the weather. In January 1891 attendance was poor due to snow and ice. In March of the same year, no child from Wexcombe attended school for two weeks. The headmaster complained to the school attendance officer, but as the children lived more than two miles away, there was nothing he could do. At the same time some children were suffering from scarletina and had to stay away from school for eight weeks. In the logbook, the master complained that when these children returned to school they had often forgotten most of what they had recently learned.

Another reason for missing school was the rain, as most children had no protective clothing. Pupil numbers could change dramatically from day to day, even on the same day. Many children went home for lunch; if it rained at this time they would not return to school. It must have been very difficult for the teachers, as they did not know from day to day how many children would come to school.

The school was also affected by the usual childhood illnesses. Sometimes the only way to deal with a serious outbreak was to shut the school. In 1918 the school closed for three weeks because of influenza. After an outbreak of measles in 1929 it closed for a month. Some children would find any excuse to miss school. Events such as the village flower show or a wedding are examples. The boys were interested in following any soldiers billeted in the village. On one occasion, a farmer chose to hold his birthday party on a school day.

The main school holiday in the summer was taken according to the harvest. The children were expected to help or look after younger children while both parents worked, so there was no point the school being open at this time. The holiday was usually six weeks but could be extended if necessary. Other holidays were a week each at Christmas and Easter. There was also the occasional day off given for a special event, such as a royal wedding. Sometimes the school inspector would give the children a half day off after his visit. During the First World War half days were given for blackberry picking. Across three days in 1917, 90lbs of fruit was picked for the army and navy.

Each year every school was visited by one of His Majesty’s Inspectors to test all the children. In general, the Grafton children achieved a reasonable standard; some of them went on to grammar school. They were tested on reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, composition, repetition, grammar, singing by ear and by note, school drill and needlework. The level of discipline was also commented on.

There are few examples of lessons in the logbooks, but for 1896 there is a list of object lessons for the infants. During a school year the infants were shown 30 different pictures on a broad range of subjects and taught a large amount of information about them. Examples from the list are ‘the hand’, ‘a train’, ‘ostrich’ and ‘reindeer’. Every child in the school learned a piece of verse. In 1896 the younger pupils learned a 20 line poem called ‘The Blind Boy’. The older pupils learned a piece of Shakespeare entitled ‘Wolsey’s Farewell to Cromwell’.

Each year there was also a Diocesan Inspection; this was a subject at which the children usually did very well. They were tested on their knowledge of the Old and New Testament, the prayer book, the catechism, writing, repetition and the singing of a hymn.

School medical inspections began after 1900. The first mention of an inspection at Grafton is 1908. By 1911 the children were also being weighed and measured. The county dentist first visited in 1917, but many parents refused to allow their children to be examined.

In 1923 the headmaster, John Dowson, retired after 12 years at the school. He was highly regarded and on his last day there was a special presentation attended by some of the school managers. Mr. Dowson was given a barometer, a thermometer, binoculars and a pair of silver candlesticks. 1923 was an eventful year at the school. On May 24th, Empire Day, the children listened to the King and Queen’s Empire message on a gramophone. In July the school, the Women’s Institute and the Men’s Club were all given a tea and outdoor entertainment, provided by Mr and Mrs Gauntlett.

Various alterations have been made to the school building in the 20th century. During the summer holiday in 1912 the cloakroom facilities were improved, as was the interior lighting. During 1959-60 cloakrooms with flush toilets, a kitchen, staffroom and storeroom were all built.

In 2008 there were 29 pupils at this Voluntary Controlled School.