National School, Froxfield
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A school in the parish, probably on Brewhouse Hill, had been opened by 1871 when 22 boys and 31 girls were recorded as attending on one day. Froxfield National School was re-built on Brewhouse Hill, and opened on 4th of May 1885, being available to children of all ages, from infants to teenagers. In 1899, the building was extended, with a new cloakroom built for use by the infants. This school remained open for twenty-two years, closing in 1907; the last written entry in the school logbook is dated the week ending April 12th. Also in the logbook, from the late 1880s, is the word ‘kindergarten’; whilst this is mostly thought of as being American, the word is German, and would have been originated from there, before making its way into the language here. This is fairly early use of the word in Wiltshire, and therefore is noteworthy. On November 8th 1900, the school received 26 readers and 26 atlases from the Agent General of Canada- a large and unusual gift for such a small school!
The school regularly received visits from Her Majesty’s Inspectors, and copies of the reports over the years were noted in the logbook. The reports varied from extremely detailed, to a more vague report. In 1886, the report noted that the pupils in the mixed school lacked skill - though they had a good educational foundation - had hurried reading, writing that lacked uniformity, and inexact maths. The infant class had only one child that could read, did not know the form of many of the letters, and had only a slight knowledge of numbers and counting. In 1891, the grant was not paid to the school, due to insufficient staff under article 105 of the code that denoted what a school needed to do to earn their grants. In 1894, the school and staff were declared inefficient, and threatened with closure; the registers were not tested, and the ventilation of the school was declared unsatisfactory. In 1897, the school was still declared inefficient, though by 1901, the general education had improved to be ‘satisfactory’, though the building was noted to be in poor quality. In 1905, the inspector wrote ‘The Master has worked conscientiously and well under adverse conditions and with fair success. A very nice tone prevails and the general progress is satisfactory. The infants have been carefully taught; they are thoroughly grounded’.
The curriculum in the school consisted mostly, at first, of reading, writing, arithmetic and scripture, with scripture being a major part. This expanded later into such subjects as history, singing, drawing, and needlework. These latter subjects were not taught as much as the former, although they did gain a larger percentage of the curriculum towards the end of the life of the school.
The school underwent a high turnover of staff, with several staying for just a few months. The first mistress, Mrs West, stayed with the school from the opening until her death on April 11th 1886. The second mistress, Florence Humphries, took charge on May 3rd 1886, and stayed until March 29th 1888. On April 3rd 1888, Caroline Cotton took charge, until July 10th 1891. Three days later, on July 13th, Lizzie Russell became mistress, and on May 3rd 1892, Hester Offer succeeded her; she, in turn, was succeeded by George Capener on September 26th 1892. The next mention of staff is in the HMI report in July 1893, where George Capener was mentioned as the master, Annie Naish was the needlework teacher and an assistant in the afternoons, and Alice Dixon, the teacher of infants. A year later, in July 1894, Alice Dixon had been replaced by Flora Sandford as the monitress for the infants, and a Miss Baily had become a lady assistant. In September of that year, Louisa Cailes became assistant mistress; a year later, only she and George Capener were left on the staff, and a year after that, on November 20th 1896, she left too. Three days later, a Miss Aicken became the assistant, although she left on the 30th April 1897. On April 26th 1897, Eliza Holmes became the assistant.
In 1898, on August 5th, she and George Capener left the school; Capener was replaced by Maria Barnes, who became mistress on September 19th 1898; she was replaced by John Phillips on November 10th; he also brought Lucy Anne Phillips in as the infant teacher, and teacher of needlework. John and Lucy Anne Phillips resigned on August 3rd, and were replaced by Eliza Howse and Violet Chapman as mistress and monitress of infants respectively. This arrangement lasted until the school closed.
The attendance varied wildly over the history of the school, but maintained an average of around 30-50 at various points. The school had several annual holidays, including a summer break which lasted between four and six weeks, and began as early as July, usually finishing mid-to-late September, but was often dependent on the timing of the harvest. They also took Whit -week, during June - though sometimes it began at the very end of May. Christmas holidays were usually a fortnight, though could last almost a month, and took place from mid –to -late December, until January. The children also had an annual ‘treat’, where they were taken somewhere for food and drink and fun and games - this took place, usually, around the end of July, although this again differed from year to year.
The attendance varied wildly over the history of the school, but maintained an average of around 30-50 at various points. The school had several annual holidays, including a summer break which lasted between four and six weeks, and began as early as July, usually finishing mid-to-late September, but was often dependent on the timing of the harvest. They also took Whit -week, during June - though sometimes it began at the very end of May. Christmas holidays were usually a fortnight, though could last almost a month, and took place from mid –to -late December, until January. The children also had an annual ‘treat’, where they were taken somewhere for food and drink and fun and games - this took place, usually, around the end of July, although this again differed from year to year.
Although the school didn’t have many special holidays, one particularly notable one was a half day on March 1st 1900, when they celebrated the English forces relieving Ladysmith - a fairly major event of the Boer War. Another was on 21st and 22nd June 1897, where there were holidays to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
The majority of dips in attendance were due to illnesses, and they had several epidemics of some serious diseases. In December 1885, there was an outbreak of measles in the infant school. In April 1887, there was a bout of chicken pox, with several cases of bad colds almost a year later in March 1888. In January 1889, a large number of children had mumps. Three years later, on February 29th 1892, there was an outbreak of scarletina; five years later, in April 1897, there was an outbreak of scarlet fever. In November 1900, there were several cases of measles, leading to the school closing down for a month. Finally, on June 10th 1901, the school was closed for a fortnight due to chicken pox.
The majority of dips in attendance were due to illnesses, and they had several epidemics of some serious diseases. In December 1885, there was an outbreak of measles in the infant school. In April 1887, there was a bout of chicken pox, with several cases of bad colds almost a year later in March 1888. In January 1889, a large number of children had mumps. Three years later, on February 29th 1892, there was an outbreak of scarletina; five years later, in April 1897, there was an outbreak of scarlet fever. In November 1900, there were several cases of measles, leading to the school closing down for a month. Finally, on June 10th 1901, the school was closed for a fortnight due to chicken pox.
The weather often affected attendance at the school, with flooding and snow drifts usually being the major culprits; because the community was so rural, with children coming from farms and other places connected by only rough roads and tracks , heavy rain and snow would block these roads, or make them unsafe to travel down, and so the children would be unable to attend. For the most part, this just led to a lowered attendance, but in extreme cases - such as on January 25th 1886, the school was entirely closed.
The school was fairly lenient on the students, and most of them were well-behaved; or at least not so badly behaved that it was worth mentioning. There were only two notable occasions of punishment, both in December 1885. The first offender, a girl turned up late, was forced to stand outside – a punishment that must have been worse than normal, due to the extremely cold conditions of the time. Secondly, some children - the number is not mentioned - were kept late, possibly caned, for being unruly.
Ultimately, though, the school was closed in 1907, and for three years children would travel to schools in surrounding parishes and villages; more than likely a school in Little Bedwyn, or Great Bedwyn.
The school was fairly lenient on the students, and most of them were well-behaved; or at least not so badly behaved that it was worth mentioning. There were only two notable occasions of punishment, both in December 1885. The first offender, a girl turned up late, was forced to stand outside – a punishment that must have been worse than normal, due to the extremely cold conditions of the time. Secondly, some children - the number is not mentioned - were kept late, possibly caned, for being unruly.
Ultimately, though, the school was closed in 1907, and for three years children would travel to schools in surrounding parishes and villages; more than likely a school in Little Bedwyn, or Great Bedwyn.
In this building, between 1893 and 1898, there were evening continuation classes, for those older children who couldn’t attend regular school hours, because they were working on the fields, or otherwise helping their parents in some way. There were very few students, though - just seventeen on October 30th 1893, and eight on October 22nd 1894. This smaller number of students recorded was more than likely due to ten students being disqualified on April 11th 1894. In September 1898, classes finally ended.