Rowdeford School, Rowde

Rowdeforde House was puchased by Wiltshire County Council and was a special school for girls from 1963. By the 1990s it had become a mixed special school serving the whole county. In 1996 it was a weekly boarding school for 85 pupils aged from 8 to 16 years with moderate to severe learning difficulties. There was provision for 32 boarders with children staying for between one and four nights a week. Apart from the main house there wass a purpose built annex with four classrooms, a library and a small meeting room. There were three mobiles, a small school hall and rooms for the teaching of design and technology and science. Gardens, greenhouses and a large vegetable plot provide excellent facilities for horticulture. Nearby is a cottage used for teaching independent living skills. By 2001 there were 89 pupils and this number had risen to 120, aged 11 to 16, by May 2006. The Rowdeford Charity Trust have funded and undertaken many projects to help the school, including restoring the Victorian walled garden and renovating a period apple store, set on staddle stones, as a museum classroom. More information on their past and future projects can be found at http://rowdefordcharity.org.uk/projects.htm .