National School, Holt

In 1834 the school was being held in a large room attached to the White Hart (now the Toll Gate). With the aid of a government grant of £40 a school was built in 1834/5 on land given in trust by Colonel Forster of Holt Manor. The school is on the opposite side of the road from the church, on the edge of the village. In 1839 there were 140 children in attendance and in the early 1850s there was both a master and a mistress at the school. This had changed by 1859 when there were between 50 and 60 children under a mistress. The building was described as a plain substantial building with a stone floor. In 1880 a 'beautiful' classroom was added for the infants, who had previously been taught in the main schoolroom with the older children. By 1890 there was a headmaster, who was paid £90 a year, an assistant teacher and pupil teachers. In 1893 the school was able to accommodate 156 children and the average attendance was 101.

Unfortunately no logbooks survive for the Victorian period but information can be obtained from other sources. The H.M.I. reports were generally good for both the mixed (older boys and girls) and the infants, although in the 1890s it was pointed out that smaller desks were needed for the infants as they were unable to write at the large ones. Being a church school there were also inspections by the Diocesan Board of Education, concentrating on religious education, prayers and hymn singing. A half-day holiday was normally given following an inspection. The usual subjects were taught, the three 'R's - reading, writing and arithmetic - scripture, needlework, and history and geography for the older children: the school had a tradition of good singing.

Attendance was reasonable, with lower attendances caused by bad weather, helping out at home, and working in the fields. There were many cases of serious illness and the school was closed for a month in October 1893 for measles, and for a month in February to March 1898 for a combined outbreak of influenza and measles. Scarlet fever was prevalent in the autumn of 1895, whooping cough in the summer of 1907, while a serious outbreak of diphtheria in 1907 caused closure for several weeks.

The children received several whole and half-day holidays each year and also received various treats - one of these was the annual school treat and that of 1892 was conducted in some style. The children marched to the grounds of the Manor House, loaned by Mr. and Mrs. Alexander MacKay, led by the Trowbridge Rifle Volunteer Band. There were games and sports, and 180 children took tea in a field; when it became dark a variety of fireworks including Roman candles, rockets and Catherine wheels were let off. The band played throughout and the festivities went on to 9.00 p.m. The event was attended by many of the local gentry.

Although more money was available than at the Congregational School there were still fund raising events. These were often concerts and tableaux given by the families of the local gentry to raise money for the school. An unusual event occurred in 1896 when, to improve the appearance of the schoolroom, children were encouraged to bring in plants and look after them at school.

After the 1902 Education Act the school came under Wiltshire County Council, whose chief surveyor produced a report on defects and dilapidations of all schools in 1903. He found that there were no extractors or fresh air inlets in the main schoolroom and that the floor was in very bad condition. In the infants' room the forms for the children and the teachers' desk needed replacing and outside the pit closets needed to be replaced with Moule's earth closets.

By 1910 the accommodation had been reduced to 90 mixed and 37 infants, as more space was allowed for each child. The attendance at this time was about 100. Numbers at both schools fell after this and in 1928 negotiations began for merging the two schools. Before this happened the number of pupils was further reduced when the school changed from an elementary (all age school) to a junior and infants in 1931. Children aged over 11 went to secondary school in Bradford on Avon. Until 1932 the school had been lit by oil lamps but in that year electricity was installed at a cost of £6.13.6d (£6.68p). This was paid for by the proceeds of a whist drive and rummage sale. At this time children aged from 7 to 11 years were taught in the main schoolroom, with heavy canvas curtains separating Standards 1 and 2 from Standards 3 and 4, 5 and 6. The infants were still taught in the classroom that had been built for them in 1880. The main room was heated by a Tortoise solid fuel stove but there was only a smaller inadequate stove for the infants. Wash basins had been put in the two cloakrooms but the outside toilets were still earth closets.

In 1938 the Congregational and Church Schools were merged with the Junior children taught in the Church School and the infants in the Congregational School. The newly formed school became Holt Primary School, under which heading further information can be found.