Church School , Ashton Keynes

The Church School was probably the one at 14 Fore Street, owned by Mr Bowley, that is mentioned in 1831. In 1848 this is listed as a Free School when Mrs Cuss and Mrs Dawes were schoolmistress and school teacher respectively. In the 1851 census these posts were held by Mrs Pitt and Miss Pitt. A subscription list for a National school was started by the vicar in 1850 and two adjoining pieces of land were purchased between then and 1864, although no school was built.

In 1858 there were three schools in the village, one of which was the church school, conducted by an elderly mistress in a cottage room, with a few fixed desks, where 60 children attended, each paying a penny a week.

In 1870 the lord of the manor, the Duke of Cleveland, gave a portion of the Mill Field, stated to be worth £75, as the site for a new school. The Charity Commissioners ordered the other land to be sold and the £54.19.0d raised went towards the building of a new school. Building work began in 1870 and the new school and schoolhouse were opened on 5th October 1871. The school could accommodate 90 boys and girls and 60 infants and cost a total of £1,303.16.9d. Of this £783.5.9d was raised locally with the remainder coming from the Duke of Cleveland, a Treasury grant, Sarum Diocese and the S.P.C.K.

School fees were:
Labourers and journeymen tradesmen 2d a week for the first child; others 1d

Master tradesmen 3d a week for the first child; others 2d
Farmers over 50 acres 4d a week for the first child; others 3d

From 1878 the higher fee was charged for the first two children but in 1891 education became free and school fees were abolished nationally.

By 1885 it was known as the National School and the average attendance was 138. The school was becoming overcrowded but this was eased in 1894 when Leigh School was opened with a school roll of 60 children.

Unfortunately no logbooks from the Victorian period survive in the public domain but we know in general terms what school life would have entailed. By 1880 children were educated up to the age of ten, although they could stay longer. The learning age was raised to eleven in 1893, when children normally started as infants, aged four or five. The school day was likely to have been from 9.00 to 12.00 noon and from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Children either brought their lunch and ate it in the schoolroom or went home to eat. The teacher was assisted by paid monitors in their mid teens or by a pupil teacher, who was training to become a certified teacher.

Lessons were the elementary ones of reading, writing and arithmetic with scripture; some lessons in the latter subject were often taken by the vicar. The girls learned sewing and all had singing and recitation. Some geography and history would have been taught. School holidays were about a week or 10 days at Christmas and Easter, a week at Whitsun and five weeks Harvest Holiday in the summer. Full day and half day holidays were given for various reasons such as church or chapel teas or Sunday school outings, Royal and national occasions and for the afternoon after the H.M.I. examinations. Unauthorised absences included seasonal work on the farm and in the garden for the older children and visits to local fairs, military events and other local happenings.

In 1903 the new Education Authority, Wiltshire County Council, took over the school from its trustees and became responsible for running the school although local managers still had to maintain the building to the standards required.

The Inspector's Report in 1921 highlights problems with space and the layout of the classrooms. The school was divided into three rooms. The main room measured 50' x 18' x 28' and 92 children were taught in here, divided into three groups. The small classroom measured 16' x 12' x 14' and was used to teach the 17 children in Standard 1b. The infants' room was 18' x 27' x 28' and had 32 children. The headmaster felt that as his own class was quite large, it was difficult for him to give the necessary help and supervision to the rest of the school. He asked to change the size of all the classes, reducing his own to just 14 children in Standards 6-8, so that he could occupy the small room in between the two others. This still left three teachers with three classes of approximately 30 in the one large room, which must have presented many difficulties. (The 'Standard' system was used to divide the children up into their classes. The classes were numbered 1-8, and ranged from age 7 to 14. If a pupil had not reached the required standard by the end of the school year they were sometimes kept in the same class for a further year).

In 1925 there was a change of headmaster. The annual report complimented the school on its neat and attractive appearance, but noted that the problem of three classes in one room still needed to be addressed. The average attendance during the 1920s was good; ranging from 105-120 the % attendance figure was over 90% most weeks. Great importance was attached to regular and punctual attendance. In 1926 a boy was sent home again because he arrived ten minutes after the registers had been closed. The children relied on the ringing of the school bell to tell them what time it was. On one occasion the bell was broken, meaning that the registers were not closed until 9.25 and eight children arrived even later.

The school nurse visited regularly to inspect the children as to their general health and appearance. Occasionally children were sent home from school or excluded, particularly if their condition was 'verminous'. During winter time the usual childhood diseases were present. If a large number of children were away the school was sometimes closed. Between December 1928 and February 1929 it closed for seven weeks due to whooping cough.

In September 1939 the school admitted 25 evacuees from London. The headmaster remarked on the lack of accommodation. An entry in 1940 says that a large number of children were absent owing to air raids the previous night, when bombs were being dropped in the village. In 1954 the school population was 105 and the accommodation was described as adequate.

Further infomation will be found under Ashton Keynes Church of England Primary School.