Congregational School, Holt
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In 1846 the Independent chapel in Holt was enlarged and the ground floor used for both a Sunday school and a day school. There is however no mention of a day school in Warburton's Returns of Wiltshire Schools (1859) and the school is most likely to have opened in 1869. In 1875 Miss Helen Long was the school mistress on a salary of £20 a year. She was assisted by a pupil teacher earning 13 shillings (65p) a quarter - £2.12.0d (£2.60p) a year. There were between 80 and 90 children attending the school.
A new chapel was built in 1880 and the upper floor of the old one was cleared of pews to create a large schoolroom that would hold 255 children. The whole school was taught in this one room by a headmaster and two pupil teachers. The head, James Moore, was paid £52 a year plus half the sum of the school pence (families paid one penny (0.4p) a week for each child). There were 77 children, including about 30 infants, at the school. In 1888 an infants' department was created on the ground floor and this division greatly helped both teaching and learning.
A new chapel was built in 1880 and the upper floor of the old one was cleared of pews to create a large schoolroom that would hold 255 children. The whole school was taught in this one room by a headmaster and two pupil teachers. The head, James Moore, was paid £52 a year plus half the sum of the school pence (families paid one penny (0.4p) a week for each child). There were 77 children, including about 30 infants, at the school. In 1888 an infants' department was created on the ground floor and this division greatly helped both teaching and learning.
In 1891 education became free but a private school, set up in 1892, still attracted some children away from the free Congregational School. Despite this the attendance averaged 76 in 1893. The fact that the school did not have the same resources as Church of England schools meant that much fund raising was necessary especially after 1891 to provide for staff, facilities and materials in the school.
On the ground floor the ceiling in the infants' department was only 8 feet 6 inches high, which was considered too low. This was improved in 1894 when the floor was lowered during the summer holidays and into September. Further alterations were made in 1895 and, under new government guidelines, there was now accommodation for 233 children. New desks were provided 1897 to meet new standards. Around this time arrangements were made with the church school not to take children who had been attending the other school. Parents switching their children between the two schools had been causing disruption in both. The teaching staff now was a headmaster, an uncertified assistant teacher, two or more pupil teachers and a lady, Mrs Beaven, who taught needlework. Later a monitress was added. The salary of the headmaster was now £90 and this was later raised to £100 a year.
On the ground floor the ceiling in the infants' department was only 8 feet 6 inches high, which was considered too low. This was improved in 1894 when the floor was lowered during the summer holidays and into September. Further alterations were made in 1895 and, under new government guidelines, there was now accommodation for 233 children. New desks were provided 1897 to meet new standards. Around this time arrangements were made with the church school not to take children who had been attending the other school. Parents switching their children between the two schools had been causing disruption in both. The teaching staff now was a headmaster, an uncertified assistant teacher, two or more pupil teachers and a lady, Mrs Beaven, who taught needlework. Later a monitress was added. The salary of the headmaster was now £90 and this was later raised to £100 a year.
During the latter part of the early 19th century subjects taught in the school were the standard, reading, writing and arithmetic along with scripture, drawing, singing, needlework and drill (physical education). Geography was taught from 1883 and it is likely that there would have been history lessons for the older children. In 1883 50 new bibles were provided for use in the school and a stove was fitted in 1891 so that cookery could be taught. Nature study was added to the curriculum in 1895. Object lessons (the study of all aspects of an item) were given to all children. In 1885 objects included a pin, cruelty to animals, candles, reindeer, the post office, and the blue whale, in 1893 subjects included, fire, gold, wool, the action of water on sugar and salt, ships and blotting paper. Object lessons continued until 1904. From 1891 shorthand was taught as a subject to interest older boys and keep them at school. Also from that year there were evening classes in household sewing, home dressmaking, cookery, scale drawing, shorthand, book keeping and commercial arithmetic and writing. These were both for older children and young adults who were already at work.
There were annual H.M.I. inspections of the school and their reports were normally good and tended to show an improved situation most years under Mr Moore. From 1884 children who passed the H.M.I. examinations were presented with an ornamental certificate by the school. Holidays were similar to those of today but shorter. Christmas and Easter were both 7-10 days and there was 3 to 4 weeks in the summer (Harvest Holiday). Form 1884 there was also a week at Whitsun. Although the annual holidays were less there were more whole and half-day holidays than today. These included Holt Fair (2 days), school treats, choir outings, the chapel anniversary and tea meetings. There was always a half-day holiday after an HMI visit and for the 1887 Golden Jubilee there was a half-day holiday for planting the Jubilee tree and 2 days off for the Jubilee celebrations.
Children were absent from school for other reasons. Bad weather caused smaller attendance and sometimes this was because families were too poor to provide proper footwear and clothing for their children in stormy weather. In May 1889 a servere thunderstorm caused flooding in the lower room, and the infants had to be taught in the upper room with the older children, while in November 1896 the school was closed as the village was flooded and the roads impassable. Severe snowstorms also caused the school to close, as in January 1881 (1 week) and March 1887 (1 week), while there was a few days closure in February 1888 and March 1891 for the same reason.
Serious illness was more common in late Victorian times than today and epidemics could close the school for several weeks. In the winter of 1880 school closed for nearly a month when scarlet fever was prevalent in the village, and it returned in April 1881 and February - May 1889. Mumps was fairly virulent in March and September 1883, October 1885 and March-April 1893, while chicken pox was recorded in November 1887. Measles caused the school to close in October and November 1888 for 2 weeks while an outbreak of whooping cough lasted from September to December in 1892. Influenza was first recorded when the school closed for a week in February 1890 and it affected the village again in February 1895. In October 1893 the schools closed for a month when both measles and scarlet fever were present in many households. Sanitation and water supplies were not particularly good in the village and this could have been the cause of other illnesses form which the children suffered. Diphtheria became common in the early 20 century with several outbreaks in 1907 (school closed for 10 weeks and one child died) 1908, and 1909 (one child died).
At times children were kept at home to help in the household or with annual farming tasks. The latter included potato planting (March/April), gleaning (September), and potato picking (September/October). Events such as a travelling theatre company, pantomime or plays in Trowbridge, a circus in Bradford or a fete at Neston Park would cause mass absences. While the hounds meeting on Ham Green also attracted a large gathering of children who should have been in school. On one occasion the children were let off school between 9.00am and 1.00pm so that they cold see Wombwell's Menagerie pass through the village.
After 1902 the school was taken over by Wiltshire County Council and from the County Surveyor's report of 1903 it can be seen that there had been insufficient funds for some repairs although the main structure of the school was good. Flooring, plaster, wooden panels and skirting boards were in poor condition and some new desks were required. The toilets were old earth closets and it was recommended that they be replaced with Moule's earth closets or fitted up as water closets with automatic flushing. On result of this report was that, from 1906 the rooms were scrubbed and whitewashed every 6 months.
After 1902 the school was taken over by Wiltshire County Council and from the County Surveyor's report of 1903 it can be seen that there had been insufficient funds for some repairs although the main structure of the school was good. Flooring, plaster, wooden panels and skirting boards were in poor condition and some new desks were required. The toilets were old earth closets and it was recommended that they be replaced with Moule's earth closets or fitted up as water closets with automatic flushing. On result of this report was that, from 1906 the rooms were scrubbed and whitewashed every 6 months.
In 1905 gardening was added to the curriculum and each older boy had his own plot to tend. A revision in government standards meant that in 1910 accommodation was reduced to 125 mixed children and 55 infants. However the attendance was probably never more than 100 in total. By 1928 the school was dilapidated and need of repair and negotiations were begun to amalgamate the two Holt schools. Before this happened the school changed from an elementary (all age) school to a junior and infants school in 1931. From that date all children aged over 11 went to secondary school in Bradford. From 1935/6 the two Holt schools merged, using both sites. The infants were educated in the former Congregational School and the juniors in the former church school. Further information can be found under Holt Primary School.