Stourton Church of England V.C. School
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In 1829 a charity school was established for the education of twenty boys and twenty girls living in Stourton and Gasper, who were members of the Church of England. The school was supported by voluntary contributions from the parishioners.
By early 1858 Mrs. Coles’ Charity was paying £11 a year. This paid a master and a sewing mistress to teach 40-50 children in one room on the upper floor of a cottage at Gasper. At the same time the school managers were contemplating the building of a proper school able to take up to 80 children. The rector gave one of his glebe fields and the foundations were laid on September 7th 1858. The school and playground were completed in December and the total cost was £338.6s.3d. Sir Henry Hoare gave £139 and the rector and members of his family gave £157.17s.9d. The school was formally opened on June 29th 1859. In October 1860 another classroom was added on the south side and there were other alterations and improvements. This work cost £84 and was paid for by the Rector and a relative named Henry Bicknell. In 1878 a new infant’s room was built, and in 1902 new closets were built and the drainage system was repaired. The school room for the older children measured 33 feet by 17feet, the room for the middle class was 15 feet by 11 feet inches and the infants’ room was 20 feet by 11 feet 8 inches.
By early 1858 Mrs. Coles’ Charity was paying £11 a year. This paid a master and a sewing mistress to teach 40-50 children in one room on the upper floor of a cottage at Gasper. At the same time the school managers were contemplating the building of a proper school able to take up to 80 children. The rector gave one of his glebe fields and the foundations were laid on September 7th 1858. The school and playground were completed in December and the total cost was £338.6s.3d. Sir Henry Hoare gave £139 and the rector and members of his family gave £157.17s.9d. The school was formally opened on June 29th 1859. In October 1860 another classroom was added on the south side and there were other alterations and improvements. This work cost £84 and was paid for by the Rector and a relative named Henry Bicknell. In 1878 a new infant’s room was built, and in 1902 new closets were built and the drainage system was repaired. The school room for the older children measured 33 feet by 17feet, the room for the middle class was 15 feet by 11 feet inches and the infants’ room was 20 feet by 11 feet 8 inches.
In 1880 the pupil numbers reached their peak of 100; the average attendance was 80. At this time Thomas Sparkes was the headmaster, assisted by his wife Elizabeth and two monitors. For 66 of the first 69 years that this school was open, Stourton had just three headmasters. Henry Turner and his wife Hannah stayed until 1874, and in 1875 Thomas Sparkes arrived and stayed for 13 years.
The school logbooks have survived from 1873 and Sparkes’s entries are dominated by the subject of attendance. This was because the government grant paid was dependent on attendance and also the children’s annual exam results. One of the main reasons for absence was bad weather, as the children often had no protective clothing to wear. During the winter there were the usual minor illnesses causing many absences. There are also many references to children being sent home because they had not paid their school pence (a weekly contribution from the parents). Another problem faced by this headmaster was the estate gamekeeper, who constantly took the older boys out of school to help with the shoot. Sparkes resigned in 1888 due to his poor health during the winter. His successor Robert Singleton stayed for just two years after which he gained promotion to a bigger school. He also cited attendance as his biggest frustration.
The school logbooks have survived from 1873 and Sparkes’s entries are dominated by the subject of attendance. This was because the government grant paid was dependent on attendance and also the children’s annual exam results. One of the main reasons for absence was bad weather, as the children often had no protective clothing to wear. During the winter there were the usual minor illnesses causing many absences. There are also many references to children being sent home because they had not paid their school pence (a weekly contribution from the parents). Another problem faced by this headmaster was the estate gamekeeper, who constantly took the older boys out of school to help with the shoot. Sparkes resigned in 1888 due to his poor health during the winter. His successor Robert Singleton stayed for just two years after which he gained promotion to a bigger school. He also cited attendance as his biggest frustration.
In 1890 Frank Morgan arrived. He was to stay for the next 36 years and was very popular with the whole community. In 1909 his class presented him with a pipe and a pocket book as a birthday present. During his time the first pupil teacher was appointed and in 1903 she was promoted to assistant mistress. School lessons focussed on the ‘3Rs’, as these were the subjects the children were examined in. They were also taught singing by note, grammar and repetition. Every term each of the seven grades were given a poem to learn. In 1883 Standard I was set a poem called ‘The Two Kittens’ while Standard VII had to learn a scene from Macbeth. Geography and history were taught to the boys, while the girls learned needlework. In 1883 the school inspector was very impressed with the children, saying they showed ‘sound and intelligent teaching’. This was a great achievement, as attendance was always a major problem.
In 1877 the Rector tried to encourage good attendance by giving an annual prize. He awarded 1 shilling to the older children and 6d to the infants. Other prizes were also given by the rector and the ladies of the parish, for singing, drawing or writing a letter. Sometimes the prize was money, sometimes a half day off school. Another form of encouragement for the boys was a football purchased in 1899. Any boys who managed full attendance during the week were allowed to play for one hour on Friday afternoons.
In 1877 the Rector tried to encourage good attendance by giving an annual prize. He awarded 1 shilling to the older children and 6d to the infants. Other prizes were also given by the rector and the ladies of the parish, for singing, drawing or writing a letter. Sometimes the prize was money, sometimes a half day off school. Another form of encouragement for the boys was a football purchased in 1899. Any boys who managed full attendance during the week were allowed to play for one hour on Friday afternoons.
If the ‘carrot’ did not work, there was always the ‘stick’! Unfortunately some parents did not view school attendance as a priority, nor did they want to pay. In 1873 a girl of eight years was taken out of school to work in the silk house at Mere. In 1889 a nine year old boy left school in July to go out to work and declared he would not be back at school until the winter. As a last resort, parents were occasionally taken to court. In 1892 two men were each fined 5 shillings and 3 shillings each for their children’s poor attendance. In 1898 another man was fined 10 shillings.
Every winter the school coped with the usual coughs and colds, but occasionally the illness was more serious. In November 1892 there was an outbreak of scarlet fever. The school was closed to prevent the disease spreading further and remained closed until January. In May 1902 it closed for six weeks due to whooping cough, and in October it was struck by diphtheria. This time the closure lasted twelve weeks and unfortunately two girls died. The following February 70% of pupils were absent with influenza. In December 1903 the school closed again for four months. This must have been a very difficult two years for both staff and pupils and at the beginning of the next school year it was not possible to move the children up a standard. In September 1913 there was another case of scarlet fever. This time the School Medical Officer took drastic action. He ordered that all books and stationery used by the children should be burnt. The walls of the classroom were to be distempered and he advised a new system of closets and drainage. Other general health measures were the introduction of an annual inspection by a doctor in 1908, and by a dentist in 1917.
School holidays were usually a week each for Easter, Whitsun and Christmas. The summer break was dependent on the harvest and could be as late as September. It usually lasted four weeks. Sometimes the children had to miss one of the other holidays if the school had been closed due to illness, or if bad weather had seriously affected attendance. There were, however, other treats to look forward to. Lady Hoare entertained the school every September at Stourhead. Nearer Christmas time the boys and girls were separately invited to tea at the Rectory. In the summer of 1893 the rector gave the children an afternoon off and took them all to see ‘Wombell’s Wild Beast Show’ in Mere.
In general, the 20th century saw many changes to the national school curriculum. There were new subjects such as gardening and home economics, plus activities in the form of school visits, plays and nature walks. At Stourton the first mention of garden plots for the boys is in 1905. Fifteen perches of land were acquired to grow vegetables. The plots were regularly inspected and to encourage the boys a prize of 7 shillings and sixpence was given to the owner of the best plot and all the boys were given 1 shilling.
In general, the 20th century saw many changes to the national school curriculum. There were new subjects such as gardening and home economics, plus activities in the form of school visits, plays and nature walks. At Stourton the first mention of garden plots for the boys is in 1905. Fifteen perches of land were acquired to grow vegetables. The plots were regularly inspected and to encourage the boys a prize of 7 shillings and sixpence was given to the owner of the best plot and all the boys were given 1 shilling.
Sport for the boys was encouraged, and in 1928 a football, a cricket bat, ball and wickets were bought with the proceeds from a school concert. By this time there was also an annual summer trip to Weymouth. The children saved their fare and tea money each week. In 1932 they each paid 3 shillings and fourpence for the charabanc and tenpence for their tea (they took their own sandwiches for lunch).
In 1920 Mrs. Morgan resigned her post as infant teacher after 29½ years, due to ill health. Sadly she died in May the same year. Mr. Morgan stayed for another six years. A whole page in the logbook describes his retirement presentation, at which he was given a smoker’s cabinet. The teachers and children were ‘visibly affected with deep emotion’ and Mr. Morgan himself was ‘much moved with this act of kindness and devotion of the dear children and teachers’.
In 1920 Mrs. Morgan resigned her post as infant teacher after 29½ years, due to ill health. Sadly she died in May the same year. Mr. Morgan stayed for another six years. A whole page in the logbook describes his retirement presentation, at which he was given a smoker’s cabinet. The teachers and children were ‘visibly affected with deep emotion’ and Mr. Morgan himself was ‘much moved with this act of kindness and devotion of the dear children and teachers’.
In 1930 Stourton School became a Junior School and all pupils aged twelve or over attended Mere Central Senior School. At this time there were just 43 children on the books and the average attendance was 38. In the same year Mrs. Clarissa Mowbray arrived as headmistress and was to stay for the next twelve years. She was very popular with the children and every year the school received good reports. The Inspector always noted the children’s good manners and how happy they were and well taught. Sadly, the end came very suddenly. In January 1942 Mrs. Mowbray was away from school with a bad cold and by the end of February she was dead. Her time at this school was its last period of stability. Pupil numbers were dropping steadily and in its last 23 years this school had seven headmistresses.
During the Second World War 34 children were evacuated to Stourton from Portsmouth. They came with one teacher and three helpers and had all left by July 1943. In July 1940 the children witnessed an aerial battle over Mere Down. A Heinkel aeroplane was clearly out of control and crashed in a field. Three of the crew died and one wounded man was taken to hospital. The pilot of the Spitfire, who shot down the Heinkel, was unhurt. Between August and October of 1940 there were over 100 bombs dropped in fields and woods around Stourton but there were no casualties and only a small amount of damage to trees.
During the Second World War 34 children were evacuated to Stourton from Portsmouth. They came with one teacher and three helpers and had all left by July 1943. In July 1940 the children witnessed an aerial battle over Mere Down. A Heinkel aeroplane was clearly out of control and crashed in a field. Three of the crew died and one wounded man was taken to hospital. The pilot of the Spitfire, who shot down the Heinkel, was unhurt. Between August and October of 1940 there were over 100 bombs dropped in fields and woods around Stourton but there were no casualties and only a small amount of damage to trees.
In November 1950 extensive repairs were carried at the school. It was connected to the mains water in 1957 and electricity was installed the following year. By 1960 pupil numbers had dropped to 26 and in November 1964 the possibility of the school closing was first mentioned in the logbook. This happened on 20th July 1965 and the remaining pupils chose to attend school at either Kilmington or Zeals.