National School, Pitton

The Church of England school opened in 1850 with accommodation for 80 children. The following year, the mistress is recorded as being 43 year-old Elizabeth Williams, her assistant was Emma Whitlock, 16. In June 1858 the school is described as, ‘a very fair building erected for the purpose, with boarded floor. About 50 scholars, mixed, are taught by a mistress.’

In the second half of the 19th century children paid a few pence per week to attend the school. In 1899 there were 52 children on the roll. The school building was a single storey and divided into two rooms, known as the Big Room and the Little Room. Object lessons in 1898 included pepper, a whale, boats, cats, soap, tea, the ant.

As was often the case in rural schools in the 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, there were very low attendance levels. Children often did not attend school because of illness, bad weather, or because they were needed at home or out in the fields. For example, on 22nd February 1898 a fall of snow was so heavy overnight that only one child turned up for school in the morning. In June 1898 many of the older boys were away for haymaking; this happened every summer.

Another reason for absence at Pitton was that the senior boys were often employed as beaters for the Earl of Ilchester and on the Clarendon Estate. This too was a frequent occurrence. Illness also kept children away from school. scarlet fever, measles, mumps and chicken pox were all common. From February to April 1910 the school was shut down by order of the School Medical Officer because of an epidemic of whooping cough. There were further outbreaks throughout the summer. It was closed for three weeks in December 1911 because of a prevalence of measles and chicken pox. On occasion, an entry which can’t help but be faintly humorous creeps into the school log books. On 16th September 1921: ‘Mavis Eyres unable to attend school on account of being kicked by a cow.’

In the spring of 1900, £12 of the grant from the previous year was used to buy new desks for all the older scholars. The following year, the children’s playground was taken away; the field in which they played behind the school, which was owned by Lord Ilchester, was leased to a tenant and the children were forbidden to enter. In 1910, the number of children on roll was 54 and two years later in 1912 that had increased to 64.

The reports from various Inspectors seem to be largely positive. In 1902 His Majesty’s Inspector wrote: “The order is good and the children are attentive and well behaved. The school is in a fair state of efficiency and the teacher appears anxious to work in the spirit if the code.” And two years later in 1902 the Inspector wrote: “The scholars are in good order. They read well and much of their work is of a satisfactory character but they are backward in arithmetic and show but little knowledge of geography. The school is not sufficiently heated in winter.” The diocesan inspector in 1922 said: “Good work is being done in this school in Religious Education, the children as a whole being active in learning such lessons from Holy Scripture and Church Catechism as should help them lay a good foundation in character.”

Further information will be found under Pitton Church of England (VA) Primary School.