Tisbury Church of England School, Tisbury
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The Dean and Chapter of Bristol Cathedral gave land for the building of a school alongside the church. Grants of £175 from the government, £75 from the National Society and £35 from the Sarum Diocesan Board of Education were made, and a National School built in 1843. There were separate departments for boys and girls and children between the ages of 5 and 10 years were taken. Later a classroom was added to the girls' school and it seems that infants of both sexes were taught in the girls' school. In 1864 schoolhouses for the headteachers of both departments were built. Pupil teachers assisted by giving lessons to the younger children and an older girl might be given a personal lesson on the Roman Invasion of Britain in the morning and then pass it on to the 1st and 2nd classes in the afternoon.
During the 1860s and '70s in the girls school the children attended a morning service at the church once or twice a week at 10.30 a.m. The vicar, the Rev. Hutchinson also gave weekly scripture lessons to the older girls as well as making regular examinations of all classes in several subjects. On a notable occasion in 1863 the children worked 'with unnatural diligence' on 9th March as they hoped to be given a holiday for the wedding of the Prince of Wales on the 10th. They were successful in this. In the 1860s the lessons included reading, writing, arithmetic, scripture, singing, drill and, on one occasion, writing a letter to their parents expressing gratitude for parental care. At times the school was affected by outbreaks of colds and coughs while local epidemics, such as measles, caused the closure of the school for a week or two. Bad weather also affected attendance considerably.
By 1871 bad weather, particularly heavy rain, affected attendance although more children were now attending school since the 1870 Elementary Education Act had aroused interest in education. In January attendance was down to 34 but the weather improved and numbers varied from 84 to 92 in February. By April the average weekly attendance was often over 100 although this dropped considerably when children were needed at home for haymaking in June.
By 1871 bad weather, particularly heavy rain, affected attendance although more children were now attending school since the 1870 Elementary Education Act had aroused interest in education. In January attendance was down to 34 but the weather improved and numbers varied from 84 to 92 in February. By April the average weekly attendance was often over 100 although this dropped considerably when children were needed at home for haymaking in June.
Lessons now included reading, writing, arithmetic, history, composition, spelling, grammar, dictation, geography, scripture, needlework and knitting. The writing and composition of the girls was recorded as being 'very good'. The school holidays were, one week at Christmas, Good Friday only at Easter, one week at Whitsun (at the end of May), and 5 weeks Harvest Holiday in the summer.
By 1902 the boys' school had accommodation for 140 pupils and the range of lessons was wide; arithmetic, reading, writing, model drawing, religious knowledge, general knowledge, drawing, painting, the metric system, scripture, writing, singing, drill, book keeping, geography, history, recitation and letter writing. The school holidays had changed to the standard 20th century format of 2 weeks for Christmas, one to two weeks for Easter, and 4 weeks in August. It was noted that many boys were away from school for haymaking in June and potato picking in September.
By 1902 the boys' school had accommodation for 140 pupils and the range of lessons was wide; arithmetic, reading, writing, model drawing, religious knowledge, general knowledge, drawing, painting, the metric system, scripture, writing, singing, drill, book keeping, geography, history, recitation and letter writing. The school holidays had changed to the standard 20th century format of 2 weeks for Christmas, one to two weeks for Easter, and 4 weeks in August. It was noted that many boys were away from school for haymaking in June and potato picking in September.
By now children often stayed at school until they were 13 and a wider range of other activities were provided. These included practical cottage gardening class, although the instructor was often absent or the weather was unsuitable, in the school gardens, a weekly 30 minute lesson of physical exercises by a Sergeant Instructor and, in October 1902 a school football club was formed. A school library was set up and books could be borrowed for home reading and experiments at home were carried out for nature study. Swimming classes were started (these were much appreciated), there were class walks and nature study walks and paper chases over surrounding lanes and fields were held.
Attendance in the boys' school varied between 70 and 100 and in 1903 the HMI report said, 'The tone and discipline are excellent while the work attains a high level of intelligence and thoroughness. Singing deserves special mention.' The boys had holiday work to do at home and the exam results in these early years of the 20th century were good.
Attendance in the boys' school varied between 70 and 100 and in 1903 the HMI report said, 'The tone and discipline are excellent while the work attains a high level of intelligence and thoroughness. Singing deserves special mention.' The boys had holiday work to do at home and the exam results in these early years of the 20th century were good.
A separate infants' school had been built in 1873 and in 1905 the boys' and girls' departments for the older children were brought together as a mixed school, which could accommodate 290 children. The school was taken over by the Wiltshire County Council and became the Tisbury Church of England School. It remained an all age school (up to 15 years) until 1961 when the Dunworth Secondary Modern School was built at Weavelands to take children over the age of 11. The junior children remained in the original school building until 1973 when they moved to a new school, also at Weavelands, called the Tisbury Church of England Primary School.
Lord Hinton, son of a former headmaster, bought the old school building and presented it to the village on condition that it was renovated and provided with adequate kitchen and toilet facilities within 18 months. It was and the village now has the Hinton Hall for activities.
The foundation stone of the new school was laid by Lady Helen Asquith on 21st May 1972. The school opened in 1973 as a combined infant and junior school and children from St. John's Infants' and Junior schools were moved into it. It was originally designed for children aged between 5 and 9 years old but the 3 tier system of education for the area to the west of Salisbury, planned for 1972, was not put in place in Tisbury until 1983 and so it was a primary school for 11 years.
Lord Hinton, son of a former headmaster, bought the old school building and presented it to the village on condition that it was renovated and provided with adequate kitchen and toilet facilities within 18 months. It was and the village now has the Hinton Hall for activities.
The foundation stone of the new school was laid by Lady Helen Asquith on 21st May 1972. The school opened in 1973 as a combined infant and junior school and children from St. John's Infants' and Junior schools were moved into it. It was originally designed for children aged between 5 and 9 years old but the 3 tier system of education for the area to the west of Salisbury, planned for 1972, was not put in place in Tisbury until 1983 and so it was a primary school for 11 years.
In 1983 the three tier system of education was implemented in Tisbury and the primary school became a St. John's Church of England First School for children aged from 5 to 9 years old. From 9 upwards they moved to the new middle school, formerly Dunworth Secondary Modern, on the same site. By 2000 there were 106 children at the school and this had fallen slightly to 99, aged from 4-9 years old, in 2002. In 2003 the school is preparing to return to a two tier system of education which will be fully implemented in September 2004. The school will revert to being a primary school and after the age of 11 children will go on to secondary education in Shaftesbury.