All Saints Church of England VA Primary School, Netheravon

In 1818 it was said that parents were prepared for their children to be taught if it did not interrupt their daily work; at that time there were 60 children at a Sunday school. By 1833 eight boys and ten girls were taught in a schoolroom in part of a building at the end of the church path. A new National School for 120 children was built on the eastern side of the High Street and opened in July 1845. It was largely supported by subscriptions but parents were also making small weekly payments in 1848. The Beach family were supportive and the thatched school was on their land. The Sunday and day schools were attended by 20 boys and 31 girls, who were taught by a mistress, who was paid £35 a year. The day infants' school contained 38 children, taught by a mistress on £6.6.0d (£6.30) a year.

An inspection in 1858 found that the schoolroom was 28 feet by 18 feet by 15 feet high, and had a boarded floor. There were 30 children, under a mistress and although the attendance was irregular the Diocesan inspection had given a favourable report. There were also between 40 and 50 infants. The school provided elementary (all age) education in the 3 'R's - reading, writing and arithmetic, with religious education. Some history and geography were taught, the girls had sewing lessons, and everyone learned songs, hymns and poems. In 1871 there were 18 boys and 31 girls present on return day but by 1889 average attendance at the school was 107. When the Netheravon estate was sold to the War Department in 1912 the management of the school passed to the Diocesan Board of Education. Average attendance in 1906 had dropped to 79 but had risen to 90 by 1911. By that time Charles Barham was headmaster and he introduced practical gardening for boys in 1911 and a school sports' day in 1912.

The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre holds the school logbooks from September 1912 and they provide a picture of school life in the first quarter of the 20th century. All the usual subjects, arithmetic, English, history, geography, scripture, drawing, needlework, cookery etc., were taught. The gardening class expanded onto land at Haxton in April 1913 and a tool shed was delivered on 14 December. The boys coated this with preservative, in their own time, and on 3 March 1914 received quantities of seeds. These included varieties of carrot, cabbage, turnip, onion, parsnips, brussel sprouts, broccoli and beet. During 1914 outdoor lessons, including practical arithmetic, reading and composition, were taken at the gardens. During one gardening lesson in 1915 the boys spent their time weeding the playground.

Music was important and the school had a piano, bought in October 1913, which was tuned in June 1915. Supplies for the girls' needlework was obtained from Style and Gerrish and during the First World War items of clothing were produced for the soldiers overseas. In November 1915 a collection was made on behalf of the Overseas Club for Christmas comforts for the soldiers and sailors. This raised 13/5d (67 pence) from the older children and 4/3d (22 pence) from the infants. In 1912 there had been 59 mixed (older) children and 27 infants at the school. Despite an influx of people, mainly service personnel without their families, the numbers in the school dropped during the war. Numbers increased after the war and there were 113 names on the school register in 1922.

Charles Barham resigned in December 1914, having been appointed to Westbury Boys' School. During his headship numbers had increased and at times the school was very close to its capacity, as was noted in the H.M.I. report for 1914. A succession of head teachers came and went during the First World War. The first lasted 15 months and was replaced by a member of the Permanent Supply Staff for a month. John Tucker took over on 3 May 1915 but left in January 1917 as he had been passed fit for the Army. There was a temporary head teacher until July 1919 when Alfred Lovatt became headmaster. The effects on the school, along with the disruption caused by the increased military presence in the parish, were considerable. The H.M.I. reports in 1919 and 1920 praised the headmistress, Miss Houston, but pointed out there was no separate teacher for the infants. By 1920 the inspector was also concerned with overcrowding at the school. There were 88 older children and only accommodation for 59.

Annual holidays were normally, two weeks at Christmas, two weeks at Easter, one at Whitsun, and five to six weeks for the Harvest Holiday in the summer. With the demand for men in the army during the First World War there was a shortage at home, and in 1916 the Easter holiday was reduced to a week and Whitsun holiday was cancelled so that boys would have a longer holiday in the summer to help with the harvests. At the end of the war a half-day holiday was given on 11 November 1918 on the signing of the Armistice and an extra week was added to the summer holiday in 1919 as a Peace Holiday. Other half and full day holidays were given after H.M.I. inspections, for local events and some national events such as the wedding of Princess Mary on 28 February 1922. Sometimes the school closed because some of the children were attending an event elsewhere, as in July 1913 when the church choir had an outing to Bournemouth. Other absences were unofficial such as children helping with hay making, and attending the military sports at the Cavalry School.

By this time there were regular medical and dental inspections and the children were also weighed. When needed dental treatment was carried out at the school. Pupils were excluded from the school if they had infectious diseases such as mumps, measles or whooping cough. On occasions the whole school was closed when a number of children were ill, as in January and February 1913 for an outbreak of measles and again in June and July for the same reason. There was a smallpox scare in November 1922 and all of the children from the Flying School were excluded. They were vaccinated and returned after a short period.

In the early 1920s the school became more overcrowded and in June 1923 the sickness of many children was blamed on the overcrowded state of the school. To alleviate this, lessons were taken in the playground on fine days. After the summer holidays the school managers decided that they could accept no new pupils other than those who lived in Netheravon; this excluded those from the Flying Training School at Figheldean. The situation did not improve and in 1926 the local schools were reorganised. When the new term started in September Netheravon was a senior mixed school, with four classes of children aged from 11 to 14 years and all children aged under 11 from Netheravon, Fittleton and Haxton attended Fittleton school, which had become a junior school. Before this both schools were elementary, taking children from 5 to 14 years.

Another reorganisation came into operation in April 1964. All juniors from both parishes went to Fittleton School while the infants attended Netheravon School, being taught by two full time teachers, with occasional help from the staff at Fittleton. In the 1980s Fittleton School was closed and all children were educated at Netheravon, which became a Primary School. The catchment area in 1988 was Netheravon, Fittleton, Haxton and the Netheravon Support Weapons Wing Camp. The name was changed firstly to the Netheravon with Fittleton Primary School and then to the current name.