JUNE 2025

The stone or brick built Victorian village school is becoming an endangered species on the Island.  The days of Agricultural Labourers being the predominant men in the countryside has gone.  Look at the census for Victorian times and the countrymen were all “Ag Labs”!  They had a house with the job and raised large numbers of children when their gardens provided abundant vegetables and medical care improved.

Whippingham School was designed by Prince Albert

Many of those children received schooling.  In the 1840s landowners began to realise their responsibilities and many endowed a small school where their tenants’ children could learn the “three Rs”.  The National School scheme had been set up in 1811, with the aim of providing a school in every parish.  In 1833 the state began to help fund National Schools with annual grants, dependent of the reports of inspectors. The Elementary Education Act of 1870 started the development of “Board” schools to increase the number of schools.  Eventually many of the National Schools handed their premises to the Local Board when running costs increased beyond their means.  

The younger children at Whippingham School, in 1914

In 1944, under the Education Act, the remaining National Schools became voluntary aided, or controlled, funded by the state but still able to promote the Church of England teachings. Here on the Island our school system is a legacy of this, with the additional layer of some schools now being run by an Academy.  This presents a complicated system as our birthrate falls and the requirement for school places diminishes.  The County Council can no longer easily say which schools should close, as they do not own all of the buildings.   The Council have had to backtrack on the closure of Arreton Cof E Primary School. 

In 1997 Chillerton Primary School extension won the Isle of Wight Society Conservation Award

There is a presumption that small rural primary schools should continue to exist, and that the costs of transporting children to other schools needs to be taken into consideration.  The Diocese of Portsmouth own the land, so they still have a say in any future use of the buildings.   Teaching in a small rural school with mixed age classes I always found to be a delight.  This is how things happened in Victorian times, but with modern facilities how much easier it is today.  Now many schools often prefer to have classes of mixed ages and abilities, and it has been found to have benefits to learning.  It is not a reason to close a school. The children can reach school more easily and enjoy the countryside around them. 

In 2004 Newchurch Primary School had a new extension in keeping with the old building

In appearance, high Victorian windows have often been changed for windows that the children can see out of.  Today access suits all abilities.  Facilities exist in a small primary school that are lost in a large one.  The buildings add to the distinctive character of a village.  New buildings have often been added to expand the old schools.  In recent years, inappropriate flat-topped extensions have been removed and newly designed additions have been added to rural schools that blend with the character of the old school.

Rookley, the Old School

A village without a school loses some of its heart and may lose its shop and other facilities.  Long may the village school live on.

Sarah Burdett