Lady Holland's C. of E. School, Grittenham

The school opened in 1864 but the first surviving logbook entry dates from 10th April 1872: 'The attendance not so good. Several absent 'bird keeping''. Numbers of children on the school roll are not recorded in the log books for this school but when, on 6th May 1872 attendance was noted to be good, there were 34 children present in the morning and 35 in the afternoon. For much of the school's history the numbers of children attending were between 30 and 40 and for its entirety the headteachers in charge were female.

Dimensions of the single room were recorded as: length 26 feet, breadth 18 feet, height 12 feet at the walls and 23 feet at the centre.

Subjects taught in the 1870s and 1880s were reading, arithmetic, spelling, singing, with the local rector visiting to take scripture lessons. The older children also took geography and object lessons such as 'Cow', 'Bear', were given to the Infants.

Attendance was adversely affected by severe weather, illness and sometimes truancy and was a constant preoccupation for the head teacher as a factor influencing government grants to the school, along with HMI examination results. In July 1873, for example, the grant was reduced due to unsatisfactory results in spelling and arithmetic. Cases of persistent non-attendance were referred to the School Attendance Officer. On occasion the older boys were absent in order to help with haymaking. However, there appears to have existed a certain tolerance towards what was accepted as a local custom of going 'gooding' (collecting alms) on or around 21 December, St. Thomas's Day, with the consequent absences at school.

There were two periods of hiatus in the school's activities between 1875 and 1877: In January 1876 it was noted that the school had reopened having been closed since September 29 1875. Again, in January 1877 the school reopened having been closed since 29 September 1876. Immediately after this reopening the managers held a meeting to agree fee levels and the acquisition of new books and slates. Clearly the loss of time in the pupils' learning had had a detrimental effect but the next HM Inspection, in June 1877, stated, 'Considering the circumstances of the past year, the school has made very considerable progress, and with further attention to arithmetic bids fair to show very satisfactory results another year'. Indeed, inspections throughout the course of subsequent years were very positive; for example, by August 1883 the Inspector was able to state, 'This school is in a highly efficient state....' and in June 1889 he reported that 'The School continues in a thoroughly satisfactory condition......'.

Attendance was on occasion badly affected by serious illness in the 1880s, however, and in these cases the Medical Officer of Health stepped in to close the school for a period. In January and February 1885 the school was closed for four weeks because of a measles epidemic. In January 1888 the school reopened after having been closed for six weeks on account of the presence of diphtheria amongst the children. The names of two children are recorded as having been taken off the register in this time, having died of the disease. In April 1903 the school reopened after a four-week closure due to a whooping cough epidemic.

However, absences were granted for more pleasurable pursuits: the timetable was altered on one occasion to enable the children to leave the school early in order to see 'The Hunt' one day in February 1877. A half day holiday was given in September 1888 for the children to go 'nutting', and every year there was a school treat. On the afternoon of 26th August 1881 the children were treated to tea and cake, after which prizes were given for regular attendance during the past two years. The tea and prizes were provided by the school managers.

In the early 20th century the number of children on roll began to decline: on 29th May 1914 the average for the previous year had been calculated at 29. By 11th April 1927 the number had decreased further to 19 and the decision was taken that the school would close at Easter and the children would be transferred to Brinkworth Council School. The final entry in the school logbook was dated 22nd April 1927.