National School, Orcheston St. Mary

In 1853 a collection was made in church for the National Society and the building of the village school at Orcheston St. Mary commenced in that same year. It was built by Thomas Scruse, mason and Charles Blake, carpenter, to the dimensions 24 feet long by 14 feet wide, and with a 10 foot height to the eaves. It was intended to accommodate 40 children. The land was given by Stephen Mills and other monies received came from Clare College, Cambridge, the National Society and Reverend Bell. The costs, including the building, iron railings, internal fittings and a turret, which was added in 1861, came to a total of £117. 10 shillings. The deficit of £62 was made up by the rector. In 1872 a lean-to was added at the rear of the school building and a wooden floor installed in 1873. In 1894 the school was enlarged with the addition of an extra schoolroom.

The small school was opened in 1854 and attended by 15 - 20 pupils by 1859 when it had a good reputation. This became a National School by 1871. By 1894 the school had been enlarged and accepted children from Orcheston St. George and in 1900 the average attendance was 50 pupils. However by 1930 there were only 16 pupils on the school roll and the school closed in 1932.
A night school was held in the 1880s and fairly well attended by men and youths from the village.

Unfortunately there are no Victorian school log books in Wiltshire & Swindon Archives, but the following general information would be relevant to the school for the latter part of the 19th century. Fees were paid for each child until 1891, normally at the rate of one penny (0.4p) or twopence a week and the ‘school pence’ were collected by the schoolteacher. There would have been a schoolmaster, or schoolmistress, with assistant teachers, pupil teachers and monitors. The pupil teachers were taught by the head before lessons started, took exams, sometimes went to the Diocesan Training College and eventually became teachers themselves. They mainly taught the younger children. Monitors were also paid but tended to be younger and helped to look after the younger children or teach the infants.

School holidays were at similar times to those of today but often there was only 2 days at Easter but a week at Whitsun. The summer holidays were of five or six weeks and were called the Harvest Holidays as the children either helped with the harvest or carried food and drink to their parents, who were working in the fields. There were more half-day and whole day holidays for special events. Half a day would be given after the annual H.M.I. or Diocesan inspections and there were holidays for school treats, choir outings, chapel teas, Christmas parties and at times when the school was needed for other purposes.

There were also many unauthorised absences. These would be for seasonal work, such as haymaking (June) and early or late harvest (July or September), being kept at home to help their parents, and working when they should have been at school. Bad weather such as heavy rain, cold weather, or snow kept children away from school, often because their parents couldn’t afford to buy them suitable clothes. Apart from the usual colds and coughs there were more serious illnesses than today and these included, mumps, measles, whooping cough, scarletina and diphtheria.

The elementary subjects were the ‘3 Rs’ – reading writing and arithmetic. Scripture was often taught by the vicar and children would have attended church for services on some days. Older children were taught history and geography and there may have been some study of natural history. Singing was taught to all ages and all the girls and some of the boys would have done needlework. Drawing had been introduced by the 1890s.

The only surviving school log book dates from 1904 and the first entry shows an attendance of 47 pupils. An early H. M. Inspector’s report mentions ‘poor spelling’ while the diocesan report remarks on ‘exceptionally good’ singing. The school is visited by the rector to conduct scripture lessons and also his wife, Mrs. Streeter, to inspect needlework. In 1904 the head mistress was Sarah Bassett assisted by Eva Grist, Beryl Lawrence and Edna Lawrence, who had left by 1905. The Inspector also comments on the head mistress and her effect on the school, achieving a ‘normal state of efficiency under her care.’ The following year she leaves and is replaced by Mrs. Henly until 1906. Both the diocesan and government inspectors’ reports are usually good and in 1919 they say that ‘the children are interested in their lessons and respond brightly and intelligently,’ and this seem to sum up the atmosphere of the school.

Drawing and needlework are taught, and songs are learnt including hymns. In the winter this singing practice would be at the end of the day when the teacher mentions that the schoolroom is too dark to do any other type of lesson! Reading books in 1906 included ‘Robinson Crusoe’, ‘The Swiss Family Robinson’ and ‘Don Quixote’. In 1923 the girls travelled to Shrewton for cookery lessons over the course of one month and by 1923 all children in standard 2 and above could tell the time. In March 1923 the teacher comments that she now slopes her writing on the blackboard ‘forward’ as the children had been inclined to slope theirs ‘backward’ which she considered a ‘bad fault.’ Also in 1923 the children are all grouped in one schoolroom and the teaching plan used improves the standard of reading.
Equipment that could be found in the school in the early part of the 20th century included pictures received from Storrs Fry Esq., with advertising cards and rulers for the pupils; exercise books and blotting paper, and a 1912 map of Wiltshire supplied by Wiltshire County Council.

Other head teachers who taught at the school include Jessie Ford, who had previously worked at the school, but in 1906 only stays for a year due to the poor condition of the school house and the cold in the winter. She is replaced by Eva Grist, who has been an assistant and she remains in place as head mistress until 1914. There then follows a succession of temporary teachers and the school, through this period of change manages to maintain its good standards. In 1921 a new school house is provided for the head teacher.

Attendances are usually good, weather and illness allowing and in 1905 the school attendance officer gives permission for boys over the age of ten years to help with the haymaking. By 1918 the numbers on the register drop to 30, then to 22 by 1919 and by 1926 there are only 18 children registered at the school.

Special holidays include a day off for confirmation, which took place at Shrewton; Empire Day on May 24th, Trinity holiday when two days were given instead of Whitsuntide and the Shrewton and District Benefit Club fete was held, usually at the end of May. In 1918 the children were entertained with a ‘moving picture show’ to celebrate the end of World War One, and in 1922 and 1923 they had days off to celebrate the royal weddings of Princess Mary and the Duke of York.

Absences were often of a local nature and connected with harvest and other seasonal events and the school hours are sometimes altered by a half hour to accommodate the gathering of the harvest. Outings included annual trips to the coast to Bournemouth and in 1904 a trip for eight senior boys to see the circus in Salisbury.

Weather always played a part in the life of the school; early in November in 1904 the school was closed early to allow the children who lived on the plain time to get home before dark. Snow in 1907 and April 1912 caused absences, as well as floods in 1925 and more heavy snow in January 1926 when only nine out of 19 children made it to school. Illness could spread quickly and in 1905 the children were exposed to whooping cough and then chicken pox in 1906 and ringworm in 1907. By May 1913 regular medical examinations of the children were taking place so problems like ‘verminous head’ could be treated. Other epidemics included measles and influenza, which actually caused a school closure in 1918, as did whooping cough in 1920 and then, during the 1920s, the school faced a succession of closures due to mumps, measles, jaundice, whooping cough and influenza. One boy is mentioned as receiving glasses which he took some time to get used to.

A visitor in 1906 commented on the ‘bright appearance of the room and the pretty decorations of tinted leaves and autumn berries.’ The children would often entertain visitors with their singing of songs such as ‘John Peel’ accompanied with actions. Misbehaviour and punishments seem rare in this school, although a boy was caned for ‘unruly behaviour towards the assistants’ and another caned on the hands in 1917 for refusing to answer when spoken to.

From 1923 the school became a junior school and children over the age of eleven years travelled to Shrewton for their education. The school did not have its own playground until 1926 which could present a hazard as the traffic increased. One playtime was abandoned due to horses outside hauling timber and the teacher was concerned by the restless animals. There was more evidence of motor vehicles as well which often used the space outside the school for turning.

With dwindling numbers and the close proximity to Shrewton it was inevitable that the school was becoming uneconomic to operate and so, on May 30th 1932, the teacher received notice that her services were no longer required as the numbers had dropped to only nine on the register. The school closed permanently on July 29th and all stock was transferred to the school at Shrewton.