Newchurch Primary School

A Painting of Newchurch Primary School as it looked early in the 20th Century.

The painting is by Dave Taylor

Newchurch Primary School is situated at the end of School Lane. Until the passing of the Education Act 1870 the only schooling available to the children of this area was the tiny school in Langbridge provided by a number of charitable gifts in the middle of the 18th Century and which never appears to have attracted more than 30 pupils at a time so that it can be seen that the majority of local children had no schooling.

However the 1870 Act was taken up by the local worthies and the Newchurch School Board was set up in March 1871. It was in fact the second school board to be set up in the whole of Hampshire, second only to Portsmouth.

The school opened on 1876 and was controlled by the elected School Board who received a small rate and a grant with which to pay the bills - always a struggle - and the school log books record that in the winter months children were crying with the cold because the school had run out of coal and the Board had no money to buy more.

The School was divided into Infants and Senior Mixed departments, one certificated teacher running each department assisted either two paid monitors or two pupil teachers. The children paid fees of 2d a week until 1891 when education became free for all and the Board received a grant based on attendance and examination results. In 1903 control of the school passed to the County Council.

Over the years the School celebrated the age old custom of 'Shroving' when the children visited the local shop, the Vicarage and one or two of the larger houses and scrambled for sweets and pennies. The ritual ceased in 1914 but fortunately the custom has been revived more recently. Other celebrations included May 24th, Empire Day, when all the children paraded past the Union Jack saluting as they passed. Also on May 29th May they celebrated 'Chick-chack Day' commemorating King Charles hiding in the oak tree at Boscabel after suffering defeat in the field.

Newchurch School remained very much as it was in 1876 until after World War II when a determined attempt was made to modernise it and improve its facilities,

The modernisation process was given a big boast by the erection of a splendid Community Centre largely financed by the local Community association (NPS&CA) from the profits of successive Garlic Festivals and opened by HRH Princess Margaret in 1990.