Stansted Primary School
The original school building was constructed in 1874 as a two-room Church of England Primary School. It was popular and was extended in 1906 with the addition of an outside toilet block. In 1939, an air raid block was built in the playground, and parents converted it into office and library space precisely 50 years later. With a very low school roll (11 at one point in the 1950s), the school faced two closure threats, in 1951 and in 1974. The school was widely regarded as the heartbeat of the community, and a public campaign against the closures reflected this. The closure notices were defeated. In the 1990s, the school became so popular that it needed mobile classrooms to accommodate approximately 90 children. In 2003, Kent County Council carried out a major expansion and refurbishment of the premises, costing more than £500,000. A few years later, the school experienced staffing difficulties, and the Council and church decided to close it permanently. This came despite significant opposition from the remaining parents and the local community. The site was declared an asset of community value, and the Parish Council purchased it and leased it to KCC, which adapted and upgraded the facilities for use by a year group from Grange Park School, Wrotham. Grange Park School is a specialist school for children and young people with an Autism Spectrum Condition.
In addition to the school’s chronological history article below, a photo gallery is available containing class and year photos from the Fairseat Archive, dating back to 1900.
1 Education in the 1800s
2 Establishment of Stansted Primary School (1862 – 1874)
3 School expansion (1874 – 1914)
4 The First World War (1914 – 1918)
5 Between the Wars (1919 – 1938)
6 The Second World War (1939 – 1945)
7 Post-WW2 and Closure threats (1946 – 1974)
8 Expansion and Improvements (1975 – 2009)
9 School closure (2010 – 2015)
10 Purchase by Parish Council (2015 – 2019)
Chapter 1: Education in the 1800s
Sunday schools had been around since the 1790s, and in 1811 the Church of England set up its National Society for the Promotion of Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church. This began to establish a system of reading, writing, and arithmetic, plus needlework for girls. This system dominated popular education for the next 50-plus years. Between 1830 and 1857, some State-funded provisions were established for factory children, workhouse children, and wayward or homeless children, but this was in towns and cities, not in the countryside. Even in towns, implementation was patchy and often only for two hours a day. Many children did not take part at all. Although the Catholic church had been allowed to build schools from 1829, they were few and far between, and the reality was that children from Catholic families had to be tutored privately or attend an overseas school, which was out of the question for most working families. During this period there were very few, if any, Catholic children in Stansted.
A Primary school had been founded in Ash in 1814 and in Wrotham in 1844, and children from Stansted and Fairseat are known to have attended these schools. Before this, both villages provided charitable education for the poor, but the provision was patchy and inconsistent. For instance, there was a small establishment for boys at Berry’s Maple Cottage, which is known to have existed prior to 1862 under Mr George Field, a one-legged sailor. This could, of course, have offered an exemplary education but may, equally, have been a very ‘hit and miss’ affair altogether.
In rural areas, poverty must have denied practically all schooling as parents could neither afford school fees nor give up their children’s earnings or labour. Consequently, it remained an oral, largely illiterate society, with much ignorance and superstition. Most children received their education from their parents, who had had very little formal education themselves.
In 1840, it was reported that in England, only one-third of working-class children could read ‘fairly’ and that no more than half regularly attended school. In 1843, it was estimated that only two-thirds of adult males and less than half of adult females had basic literacy. For example, in 1900 a Court case saw the manager of Court Lodge farm in Stansted prosecuted for allegedly defrauding the farm’s owner, Colonel James. The case turned on whether the Manager had forged expense claims. Two witnesses were prominent in Stansted (one was a Poor Law overseer and the other the farmer at Platt House farm), and both testified that the accused had implicated them because they could neither read nor write. Both men had worked up from humble beginnings and made a success of themselves despite their lack of formal education.
Children from better-off families could attend fee-paying schools to gain admission to Public Schools, and one such school was in Fairseat. This operated in Fairseat House from the late 1830s to 1863 under the guidance of Miss Hannah Grant. It was a substantial establishment, and in 1841, it had 52 female pupils aged 5-17 years, with four teachers and four domestic staff. Miss Grant retired in 1863 aged 55, and the school closed. She died in 1887 aged 78 and is buried in St Mary’s churchyard. A memorial tablet inside the church refers to “the affectionate reverence which she inspired in upwards of 500 pupils.”
It was not until 1870 that primary education became a right for all children in the country between the ages of 5 and 12. It was not compulsory until 1876, nor free until 1891. However, 1870 marked the gradual replacement of the patchwork of provision that had previously existed with a National system. Consequently, even in rural areas such as Stansted, it became uncommon for children to fall completely through the net.
By the turn of the century, most children throughout the Country attended a primary school. In many rural areas, the schools often resembled churches because the National Society, a Church of England charity, had built them. Village schools usually had one large room where everyone was taught, perhaps with a flexible divider. This was certainly the case in Stansted, where a curtain to separate the teaching space was not provided until 1899. Coincidentally, two of the foremost proponents of universal education in England in the mid-1800s lived in Fairseat: W. E. Hickson and Horace Grant.
Chapter 2: Establishment of Stansted Primary School (1862 - 1874)
Education in Stansted before 1865 is largely unrecorded, but in 1862 Thomas Nunn (Rector of Stansted) earmarked about 900 square meters of glebe land to build a school. Some sort of local provision was made in 1865 in advance of the building of the school, and although there is no record of where this provision was, it is probable that it was in the Tithe Barn of the Rectory, or in the Rectory itself.
In 1871, three years before the opening of the School building in Malthouse Road, the Census records Lizzie Ellson (25) as the Parish School Governess. She was born in Kilworth, Leicestershire, was unmarried and boarded with the village blacksmith, Thomas Wadlow and his family in a house in Stansted Street – now Tumblefield Road.
Stansted school was opened by the Church in its current building on 3rd August, 1874, as an elementary school for children aged between 5 and 11 years. It had one classroom, where all 44 pupils were taught. Of the 44 pupils, 35 were from Stansted, 6 from Fairseat, 2 from the Malt House and 1 from Coldharbour. The first page of the School Register from 1874 has been transcribed and is available in a spreadsheet format, which can be viewed by selecting the following link: School Register
During this period, the Government also established standards of achievement for reading, writing, and arithmetic, and a school inspection system to check educational attainment. Standards for other subjects such as grammar, geography and history followed, and examinations were introduced. Government grants were now based on attendance and how many children passed the different standards. The first standards make interesting reading and, much as today, Government grants were based on attendance and how many children passed the different standards. The original attainment standards, which were published in 1862, were as follows:
Reading (Tested in the ordinary class books, if approved by the Inspector; but these books must be of reasonable length and difficulty and unmarked.)
Grade: I, Age: 6-7, To read a short paragraph from a book, not words of one syllable.
Grade: II, Age: 7-8, To read with intelligence a short paragraph from an elementary reading book.
Grade: III, Age: 8-9, To read with intelligence a short paragraph from a more advanced reading book.
Grade: IV, Age: 9-10, To read with intelligence a few lines of prose or poetry selected by the inspector.
Grade: V, Age: 10-11, Improved reading.
Grade: VI, Age: 6-7, Reading with fluency and expression.
Writing
Grade: I, Age: 6-7, Copy in manuscript characters a line of print, on slates or in copy books. Write from dictation a few common words.
Grade: II, Age: 7-8, A sentence from the same book, slowly read once, and then dictated. Copy books (large or half-text) to be shown.
Grade: III, Age: 8-9, A sentence slowly dictated once from the same book. Copy books to be shown (small hand, capital letters and figures).
Grade: IV, Age: 9-10, Eight lines slowly dictated once from a reading book. Copy books to be shown (improved small hand).
Grade: V, Age: 10-11, Writing from memory the substance of a short story read out twice; spelling, grammar, and handwriting to be considered.
Grade: VI, Age: 6-7, A short theme or letter; the composition, spelling, grammar, and handwriting to be considered.
Arithmetic (Note: The work of girls will be judged more leniently than that of boys)
Grade: I, Age: 6-7, Notation and numeration up to 1,000. Simple addition and subtraction of numbers of not more than four figures, and the multiplication table to 6 times 12.
Grade: II, Age: 7-8, Notation and numeration up to 100,000. The four simple rules to short division (inclusive).
Grade: III, Age: 8-9, Notation and numeration up to 1,000,000. Long division and compound addition and subtraction (money).
Grade: IV, Age: 9-10, Compound rules (money) and reduction (common weights and measures). The weights and measures taught in public elementary schools should be only those that are really useful, such as Avoirdupois Weight, Long Measure, Liquid Measure, Times Table, Square and Cubical Measure.
Grade: V, Age: 10-11, Practice, bills of parcels, and simple proportion.
Grade: VI, Age: 6-7, Proportion, vulgar and decimal fractions.
Chapter 3: School Expansion (1874 - 1914)
As the school roll grew, teaching so many different ages in one space became increasingly difficult. The numbers rose from 44 on opening day to more than 100 around the turn of the century. A curtain was fitted in 1899 so that infants could, to some extent, be separated from the older children. School attendance could be irregular. Harvesting and haymaking drew children away, while winter weather and outbreaks of infectious disease interrupted lessons. The parish magazine records a two-week closure in 1899 following an outbreak of sore throat and cases of diphtheria. There are also some instances of parents simply not recognising the benefit of an education for their children.
The school also offered activities beyond lessons. Pupils who reached a sufficient reading standard and earned a good conduct report could borrow from a lending library. A clothing club collected children’s subscriptions at school, and a Band of Mercy encouraged kindness to animals. The names in the parish magazine bring the pupils into view: in 1905, Benjamin Streatfield, Daisy Arnold, Percy Cleave and Bernice Hills received medals for perfect attendance and good conduct. Benjamin Streatfield later died in the First World War and is remembered on the Parish War Memorial. Inspectors pressed for better premises. In 1906, after local fundraising, they built a second classroom, gravelled the playground, and provided new toilets. Recalling his school days for the 1974 centenary, former pupil Tom Forrester described the earlier arrangements when he was a pupil in 1906: separate earth pits for boys and girls, and drinking water from a rainwater cistern. While the building work took place, the infants had lessons in an old schoolroom at the Rectory and the older pupils used the tithe barn.
The Stansted Parish Notes record the following events:
1898
A NEW VILLAGE ORGANIZATION – SCHOOLCHILDREN INVITED
A Band of Mercy has been formed at Stansted and has about 20 members. Its purpose is to increase kind and just feelings, especially for animals, as these cannot speak for themselves; and so to make their lives happier. We have a monthly working meeting to earn something for the help of lost or ill-treated animals. Knowing of dog and cat homes, homes of rest for horses, Cattle-Trough Association, Society for the protection of birds, etc., all doing good and much needed work, we should like to help as we can, besides being kind to our own animals. We invite all who will to join us, and to attend these meetings when they can; there is work for adults and for children of all ages, and all are welcome. We hope to have from time to time a lecture with pictures, or a magic lantern and some songs or recitations. At the next meeting, probably at 7 o’clock on 6 October, a lecture is to be given on domestic animals, and prizes are offered for the best accounts afterwards written of it. Beforehand notices will be put up at Stansted School, on the Forge Door and in other places.
1899
LENDING LIBRARY COMES TO STANSTED SCHOOL
When school reopens, after a week’s holiday at Christmas, we shall probably open the ‘Lending Library’ part of which is kindly lent to us by Miss Octavia Hill, from Red Cross Hall, London. The library will be open to all scholars above standard one, who can show a good conduct report for the current week, and to others, adults and children who pay 1d per month.
CLOTHING CLUB AND EVENING CLASSES AT THE RECTORY
A clothing club is open to all children attending the Day School. Subscriptions may be brought every Monday to the school where they will be collected at 12:15. If any young men, or lads above the ordinary school-age, wish to continue their education, the Rector will be glad to form an evening class for them. Application should be made to him at once.
THE GIFT OF A CURTAIN FOR THE SCHOOL ROOM
A curtain has been provided for the schoolroom, so that the infants may be in great measure separated from the older children. Miss Burgess and her sister have been most kind in doing the necessary fitting and needlework for the curtain.
SCHOOL CLOSED FOR A FORTNIGHT DUE TO EPIDEMICS
The school was closed from April 10th to April 24th owing to an outbreak of Epidemic Sore Throat and three cases of Diphtheria in the village. The government inspection of the school fixed for April 18th was postponed.
RECTOR ON THE NEED FOR IMPROVEMENTS AT THE SCHOOL
The Rector thinks that it would be of great use to the well-being of the school if the ground belonging to it could be enclosed and stoned or gravelled so as to afford a dry playground for the children; and further that the offices should be removed from the very close proximity to the school.
POOR ATTENDANCE THROUGH THE SUMMER
The attendance of children at school has not been at all satisfactory since Easter. There have been some special reasons, no doubt, for the irregularity of the children’s attendance, but parents should consider well – 1st, the loss which must be caused by the irregularity of attendance, to their children’s education, on which depends so much of their success in afterlife; 2nd, the fact that by keeping children from school without great cause, they are breaking the law of the land.
THE INSPECTOR’S REPORT
Our new Diocesan Inspector has sent his report on the religious education given in our school during the past year. The report is too long for insertion here. It is only ‘fairly good’. We must all try for a ‘very good’ report for next year.
1904
KENT EDUCATION COMMITTEE REQUIRES IMPROVEMENTS
The Board of Education and the Kent Education Committee have called the attention of the School Managers to the need for alterations and improvements in our school premises, and great thought is being given to a scheme under which:
The offices will be removed to a distance from the school wall;
The playground will be gravelled and asphalted; and
An addition to the schoolroom may be effected
It will need help; but all who value the children’s welfare will, we trust, be ready to help the Managers in this work.
1905
SILVER MEDALS AND CERTIFICATES FOR ATTENDANCE AND GOOD CONDUCT
Silver medals and certificates have been given by the Kent Education Committee to Benjamin Streatfield, Daisy Arnold, Percy Cleave, and Bernice Hills for perfect attendance (408 times) and good conduct during the last school year; and certificates for regular attendance and good conduct to Alfred Prior (407), Reggie Cleave (406), Elsie Prior, Florrie Cleave and Mary Maynard (405), Reggie Streatfield and Sydney Streatfield (404), Elsie Streatfield (403), Willie Cripps (401) and Frances Arnold (400).
THE BILL FOR ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS
All in Stansted know that a sum of money amounting to at least £250 will be wanted for the alterations and improvements to our Parish School required by the Board of Education. A special building committee has been at work, consisting of General Kemball, Messrs. Cooper, Parker, Parsons and the Rector. The Canterbury and National Education Societies have promised grants amounting to £45. To claim these grants, we must raise the rest of the money and do the work required. A generous response has been given by those to whom application has already been made, and there are surely none who will refuse to help in making up the balance and helping such good and necessary work.
1906
ASCENSION DAY IN CHURCH AND AN EXHORTATION TO PATRIOTISM
On May 24th, Ascension Day, there was the usual service in the Church at 11:30, after which the schoolchildren and others went to the school room, and, as it was also ‘Empire Day’, patriotic songs were sung, the flag was saluted, and General Kemball addressed the children, urging upon them the duty of true patriotism, and of doing nothing to disgrace the flag of old England.
From 1870, School Board schools had gradually caused the decline in the number of Voluntary schools, and by 1900, there were 5,700 state-funded schools and 14,000 schools funded by the Church of England.
Primary education was a national priority at the turn of the century because in 1902 the educational system was completely re-organised. Balfour’s Education Act transferred provision of primary, secondary and technical education from the old School Boards to 330 Local Education Authorities under a central Board of Education. In Kent, the Education Committee was responsible for under one-third of primary schools, as religious bodies (mainly the Church of England) controlled more than two-thirds and retained statutory powers, including appointing teachers. The Board Schools were now called Council Schools, and this system remained in place until the 1960s. ‘Seed fund’ grants for building works were provided; school meals and a school medical service were introduced in 1906 and 1907.
The school extension photograph shows the original flint-finished frontage, which was symmetrically arranged on either side of the main entrance. A north extension was added in 1906, and in 2003/4 the northern frontage was extended again, alongside major construction at the rear to replace the temporary classroom huts that were used to cope with increased pupil numbers (see Chapter 8).
Tom Forrester, a local resident, recalls, “I attended Stansted School from 1904 when I was 4 years old, and I left in 1913, aged 13. The new toilets and classroom were built in 1906. Before that, we had 2 pits; 1 for boys and 1 for girls. They were between the lobby and what is now the kitchen. While the new classroom was being built, the infants had lessons in the old schoolroom at the old Rectory, and the older ones in the old Tithe barn just inside the Old Rectory drive gate. In the early days, we drank rainwater from a cistern in the corner near the Boys’ lobby, which is now the kitchen. Up to the First World War (1914-18), we had medals, bars, and certificates for regular attendance and good conduct. I never had a medal, but I did get a labour certificate certifying that I had a job to go to and that I had made the required number of attendances during the last so many years. My wife [Ivy Haydon] started school at Stansted in 1909 and got an attendance medal, but she moved on to Ivy Hatch, Plaxtol, returning to Stansted in 1918.”
In 1914, schoolchildren sat at a long wooden bench with a desk in front. The seat was a narrow plank, often with no back, and usually for two children, though more were often squeezed in. At the front of the classroom was a large wooden blackboard on a stand, which the teacher wrote on with a stick of chalk.
The teacher’s desk was often raised on a platform, and teachers sat on tall chairs so they could watch the children at their desks.
Classrooms had no central heating, and near the teacher’s desk stood an iron stove with a coal fire burning in winter. They had to clean it out every day and relight it each morning. Chimney fires were also a risk, so they had to sweep the flue regularly. The fires were often very small, even though the rooms were very big, so children at the back often shivered their way through classes.
The classrooms were simple – there would probably only be a few things on the wall – maybe a map of the world, showing the British Empire shaded in pink or red, and portraits of Queen Victoria and, later, King George V and Queen Mary.
There weren’t many books, as most learning was done straight from the blackboard. Pupils wrote using a slate and a squeaky, chalky ‘slate pencil’. The writing came out white against the dark background. Children spat on the slate to rub out any mistakes they had made. Older children wrote in exercise books known as ‘copybooks’.
Teachers in 1914 were formal and strict, and children often sat in silence during lessons, with their hands behind their backs to keep them from getting into mischief. Badly behaved children faced severe punishments:
- If children were late for lessons, they got hit on the knuckles with a wooden ruler.
- If they were caught talking, they often had to stay after school and write out one hundred times: ‘I must not talk during lessons.’
- If children were lazy, rude, or broke other school rules, the teacher might hit them on the hand with a wooden cane.
- Sometimes the Vicar carried out these punishments, as it was a CoE school.
Pupils who behaved well in the early 1900s were rewarded with special classroom jobs and became known as ‘monitors’.
Chapter 4: The First World War (1914 - 1918)
The First World War reached into the classroom through the farms. In 1916, an Education Committee decision allowed boys over 12 to leave school for harvest work where farmers lacked labour. The resolution was passed on the recommendation of the County War Agricultural Committee. It advised that individual farmers should be allowed, in any district where there is insufficient women’s labour available, to approach the head teacher of any primary school with a view to the release of suitable boys.
To put this in perspective, by February 1916 all men between the ages of 18-41 were conscripted into the Armed Forces, and all Bank holidays were cancelled to support the War effort. Men were exempt if they were medically unfit or did essential jobs like farming. However, as the war continued, the War Office became increasingly desperate for men; the upper age limit rose to 51, and exemption rights became harder to claim. All this must have had a severe effect on farms and farmers, and after the war an extra week’s holiday was granted to help in August 1919.
Attendance during WWI was affected by farm work, but many days were also lost due to ill health. Infectious diseases such as diphtheria, meningitis, scarlet fever and measles were major causes of death, especially for children. During WW1, there were no antibiotics to treat infections, so preventing the spread was important, and children were routinely excluded from school for this reason. This also applied to non-fatal diseases such as mumps and rubella. Of course, there was no NHS and no free doctors, so diseases often were left to take their course. Even ‘mild’ diseases such as measles could cause blindness, and surviving birth and infectious diseases was an achievement – children did well to make it to 5 years old. School nurses during WWI would come round and regularly inspect children’s heads, and sometimes their bodies, if teachers were worried. A child declared “verminous” would be sent home until they were vermin-free.
The school was thus part of the Parish’s response to wartime shortages as well as a place of learning. Before 1914, many children left school aged 12 or 13 if they had a job to go to. In 1918, children had to remain in school until they were 14. That year, the government introduced grants that enabled all primary schools under its control to eliminate fees altogether.
Chapter 5: Between the Wars (1919 - 1938)
Gertrude Murphy became headteacher in 1918 and remained in the role for 35 years. Her years in charge spanned changes traced through the school records: lessons on the wireless (radio) were introduced in the 1920s, a dental nurse visited, and arrangements for fruit and hop-picking holidays reflected the local agricultural year. Illness and bad weather still affected attendance substantially; snow kept many children away in the early weeks of 1927. From 1934, children could buy milk for a halfpenny a pint.
The school log records recurrent epidemics of scarlet fever, diphtheria, flu and chicken pox. As before, these were treated by isolation and waiting. Such outbreaks are virtually unheard of now due to advances in medicine and health care, but 100 years ago they were disruptive and even life-threatening. Modern medicine has done as much to improve children’s education as any teaching. It was not until 1922, that a dental nurse made the first visits to Stansted School.
People tend to idealise country life of the past, but the facts of rural poverty are often unattractive. Tom Hennell’s carefree childhood at the vicarages of Ridley and Ash ended in 1912 when he went to boarding school in Broadstairs. Before that, his father, the Rector, discouraged his children from visiting the local village school. Its pupils had regular checks for lice and nits and were made to undress for inspection, which embarrassed them, since rural poverty had reduced some to wearing jumble-sale cast-off clothing, or less. Elizabeth Hennell described one child who was found sewn into a makeshift garment of old muslin curtains. These are the realities of rural living a century ago.
Grammar and Technical schools in Maidstone were fee-paying, and exams for scholarships were recorded in the School log in 1922. Fruit and hop picking holidays were arranged with local farmers – 3 weeks were allowed for fruiting and 4 weeks for hop picking. About ¾ of the entries in the school log book refer to events where the head had to make sudden changes to routine to cope. Staff changes, illnesses, training courses, etc. all find their way into the log book. Extracts from the book include:
1923 – Wireless receiving sets became available – lessons by wireless including Shakespeare!
1925 – Ted Shinzel had to be sent home after an accident to his face. He and Robertson were playing by the Stack yard when the latter threw a stick and caught Shinzel across the eyes and nose. Have punished Robertson for deliberate disobedience.
1927 – Snow, snow, and more snow. Until 3rd week in Feb. Many children absent.
1934 – Milk for children at 1/2d per pint. Free later
1938 – Head ARP warden advised on air raid precautions.
Chapter 6: The Second World War (1939 - 1945)
The ‘normal’ school roll in Stansted before WWII was between 30 and 40 pupils (1925 – 37, 1934 -38). The roll in 1940, including evacuees, was 61. The arrival of the evacuees – some sad and bewildered, others invigorated and excited – caused a massive upheaval in school life and a headache for Mrs Murphy. Timetabling changed so the school operated in two shifts; half the pupils attended in the morning and the remainder in the afternoon.
The first physical sign of the coming conflict came in 1939/40, when a large air raid shelter was built behind the school on the boundary closest to the church. The thick walls were made of brick, and it had a concrete roof reinforced with steel bars. The shelter was used regularly, as in October 1940 air raids on London started with a vengeance – some days almost continuously. The school had netting stuck to its windows (presumably to minimise the risk of flying glass splinters) and blackout curtains for air raids. In 1941, pupils and staff were required to carry gas masks. The school was also active in wartime fundraising – Warships Week, Wings for Victory, Salute the Soldier, National Savings etc.
By July 1941, many evacuees had returned home, and by 1943 air raids were much less frequent and mainly at night, so school life was interrupted less. The last evacuee left Stansted in 1943 and, after this, the school roll settled at around 20, roughly half of the pre-war level.
Mrs Murphy (headteacher since 1918) saw it all through. It must have been a huge strain on her and on her staff, but they not only coped but triumphed. Two of the evacuees were Geoff and Stanley Marchant, who later bought properties in Hatham Green Lane and became prominent, active members of the local community. Stan recalled in 1974, “It was a very happy school, and I have some very pleasant memories of the children who attended during the two years that I was there.”
The Malling Rural District War Diaries cite an incident in which the School was damaged by enemy action. This was in the early hours of 18th June 1944 when it suffered superficial blast damage, apparently from a parachute mine that was shot at by anti-aircraft guns before detonating on the top of Martin’s Hill. Two cottages (possibly Mingram) were also damaged, one seriously, and the blast brought down the telephone wires and damaged the overhead electricity cable. The impact point may well have been where there is now a shallow pond enclosed by a copse near to the footpath up and across Martin Hill starting at the War Memorial. This is supported by the fact that the pond that is there today is not shown in the Google Earth Aerial photograph of the area taken in 1940.
The school log written by headteacher Mrs Murphy records this, somewhat laconically, as “School damaged by blast from robot plane.” The school was closed for a month because it was unsafe, and lessons were held in the air raid shelter and in the Church. Nature walks were held in the morning and afternoon (apparently too cold to work in the shelter), and a visit to some unspecified caves was arranged. The school remained closed longer than expected because the builders, J. Hills and Sons, were busy repairing damage to houses in the village. Exactly one month later, on 17 July, the school log records “It was possible to use the main school room today – the classroom will be ready for tomorrow. Five children have been evacuated to Somerset.”
The War Diary also includes another incident two months later at 1430 on 17th August 1944 when a V1 flying bomb hit the trailing cables from a barrage balloon tethered in the village and crashed and exploded in the valley behind “Ruskins” in Tumblefield Road, causing superficial damage to some properties. Although the School is not mentioned, this may well be the incident recalled by Sheila Parker, in which an alert sounded, and the children fortuitously retreated to the shelter, as the resulting explosion caused dust to rise from the floor and blew the sliding doors from their rails in the School Hall. It is almost certainly also the same incident separately recalled by Patsy Feasy in which Forge Cottage and the Almshouses in Tumblefield Road were damaged. Mrs Murphy recorded the incident thus: “Bomb fell in village during afternoon. All children safely in shelter. Tony Osborne and Basil Hayley were the two “spotters” who gave the warning. The two middle doors of the glass partition were forced from the grooves and thrown across the tables and chairs in the classroom by the blast. Many tiles have fallen from the roof.” The school then closed until 4th September.
Note: With the benefit of hindsight, Mrs Murphy was probably correct in her assertion that the explosion that damaged the school at 0053 hrs on Sunday 18th June was indeed caused by one of the first “robot planes” (a V1 ‘doodlebug’) and not a parachute land mine as recorded by the War Diary and captioned as such on the “Bomb plots” map elsewhere on this website. How Mrs Murphy and the civil defence workers reached different conclusions remains conjecture.
Although some 4,500 V1s impacted the UK over a 10-month period, by 18th June only around 120 V1s had fallen in five days of escalating attacks, virtually all of which fell on London and the suburbs. Two exceptions were the first and fourth bombs recorded, which fell short and exploded at Swanscombe and St Mary’s Platt, respectively, in the early hours of 13th June. Malling Rural Council had therefore already correctly identified the Platt V1, but obviously different individuals would have been responsible for each locality, and thus put their own interpretation on events. The blast characteristics of a V1 and parachute mine were considered to be similar. In addition, what was described as a parachute-attached cable (PAC), located nearby in Wyses Lane/Clambers Dene, would inevitably have influenced the identification. However, virtually all enemy manned aircraft activity over the British Isles had ceased with the advent of D-Day on 6th June, and it seems very unlikely that a lone raider would have been sent out in the middle of a V1 attack; further, that it would choose to target such an isolated location unless under attack. What seems more likely is that the anti-aircraft guns on the North Downs successfully brought down a V1, but this wasn’t correlated with the reporting on the ground, and that the PAC was in fact part of a wiring loom thrown clear of the impact site.
Mrs Murphy’s school log would, on the other hand, have been influenced by that weekend’s newspapers which broke the story of the “Robot Plane” attacks of the previous few days, and perhaps, unlike the War Diary, would have been made some time after the event. The daily escalating attacks and lack of casualties probably also meant no priority was given to amending the War Diary, which went on to record another thirteen V1 incidents in the area over the successive months.
The remainder of the War passed seemingly without major incident with Mrs Murphy at the helm.
Chapter 7: Post WW2 and Closure threats (1946 - 1974)
So peace had come at last. VE Day was on 8th May 1945, and the school closed to join the two-day national holiday. The school log records that a Thanksgiving Service for Victory was held on 11th May. On 23rd November 1945, a further three-day holiday for staff was announced for VE and VJ days, all to be taken before the end of the year. In Stansted, the staff staggered their extra holidays and the school did not close. After that, the war is not mentioned in the log again.
Now was the time for life to begin to settle down. Blackouts were removed, and buildings were redecorated. The large Air Raid shelter was relegated to storage. At the end of September 1945, school reports were revived. All these were small signs that ordinary routines were returning.
After the war, pupil numbers at the school decreased sharply. The pre-war roll of nearly 40 became reduced to a low of 14 in 1951. Many places experienced a baby boom after WW2, but this did not seem to happen in Stansted – quite the reverse, in fact. It is hard to understand why the school roll fell so much, but maybe families with children moved away from the village to towns. A 1951 newspaper report states that older pupils had moved to other schools. Whatever the cause was, the effect became very clear – a proposal to close the school permanently
The Education Committee of Kent County Council (KCC) proposed closing the school due to ‘inadequate’ numbers of pupils. This culminated in a KCC decision in 1953 to actually close the school. Such a decision required Government Ministerial approval, and before that, the local community mounted a campaign to keep the school open.
In 1951, the Kent Messenger ran a story about Stansted headed ‘Stansted is happy in its isolation’, which includes the following:
“At the village school, still lit by oil lamps, Mrs Murphy recalled rather sadly that she knew the days when the pupils numbered 100: now she has 14. The reduction has come from sending the oldest children to other schools. The school building serves as Stansted’s community centre. No one is better qualified to talk about the village and its history than Mr G. Baker, of Top Meadow, Wrotham Hill. He is the parish clerk, serves on the horticultural society committee, and was connected with the former football club. He has a hand in nearly everything that has to do with the welfare of the village, and typifies the spirit that has kept Stansted a thriving, happy community with a character all its own.”
The campaign to save the school was successful, and the following article appeared in the Kent Messenger in September 1953:
“VILLAGE WINS FIGHT TO KEEP SCHOOL FOR ONLY 17
Although only 17 pupils – aged between 5 and 11 – are concerned, the Minister of Education has refused to allow the K.E.C. to close Stansted village school.
127 people signed a petition to the Minister, appealing against the Education Committee’s decision. Mothers pointed out that it would mean young children being away from home from 7.45 a.m. to 5 p.m. if they had to attend Vigo County Primary School, two miles from Stansted.
Commenting on the Minister’s decision, Miss Maplesden-Noakes, chairman of the local Education Executive, says: “It seems that sentiment has prevailed over wisdom. The present headmistress, Mrs Murphy, has been at the school for 35 years and has done a wonderful job for the children, but she thinks they would have better opportunities in a more modern school.”
After closure was averted in 1953, Mrs Murphy decided that the time was right to retire. She had been headteacher for 35 years and kept the school going through turbulent times, and her former pupils fondly remembered her.
Mrs Murphy was replaced as Headteacher by Mrs Chapman, who only stayed until 1955; she, in turn, was replaced by Mrs Nora Sparrow in 1956. Mrs Sparrow remained as Headteacher for twelve years until 1968, when Mrs Margaret Thompson was appointed.
The school must have remained on the ‘marginal school’ list at KCC for just over 20 years after the first closure proposal, as the threat was raised again in 1973. In 1971 the school had 50 pupils and two years later the roll had fallen to 32 with just 2 members of staff after Mrs Margaret Thompson had retired. It was a curious time to resurrect the closure proposal because the school was celebrating 100 years of educating the youngsters of Stansted, Fairseat and surrounding countryside. Only a bureaucracy could think it appropriate to resurrect the closure proposal in this otherwise auspicious year – what sense is there in celebrating a school’s first hundred years by denying it a future?
To oppose the planned closure, a ‘Save Stansted School’ committee was set up, led by Mrs Glenys Sturgeon of Fairseat, who had two children at the school. Mr Vivian Walton later headed an Action Group. Also prominent and active was the Reverend David Clark, Chair of the School Managers. The campaign even carried its message to Margaret Thatcher, who in early 1974 was Secretary of State for Education in Edward Heath’s Government. The main reasons put forward to keep the school open were:
- The adequate recreation ground and hall at the school
- No transport was needed to get most pupils to and from school
- Difficulty in getting children to the probable alternative school at Wrotham across the A20 and the proposed M20
- Alternative local schools were already overcrowded
- Parents of Stansted pupils were very involved in the school
- Closure would damage the community spirit of Stansted
One parent angered by the proposed closure, Mr Donald Kitchener of Lucketts, Plaxdale Green Road, told the local newspaper, “I do not think that the local children should be thrust out of their own village. The school has a very good record and facilities, including a kiln and weekly trips to Swanley Swimming Pool.” The Kent Education Committee agreed to consult the 1973 closure proposal by a vote of 15:9, with several abstentions. When it was reconsidered in June/July 1974, a narrow majority (20:18) agreed not to close the school.
We are fortunate to have an eyewitness account of the school centenary celebrations on 11th July 1974 by ‘An Observer’ which is quoted below in full:
“The picture of the pupils dressed in Victorian outfits must have changed little from the scene of a hundred years ago, as they made their way to church to commemorate the centenary of their village school.
Set in this lovely village of Stansted, with its beautiful War Memorial, its farmstead, the cattle grazing beneath the chestnut trees, and the church above on the hillside, it was a scene worth remembering. The church and school were one, and with many parents and friends, a family atmosphere prevailed. Reverend Clark spoke of religion and education, and how much we valued our devoted teachers. It was a unique occasion, and when a small voice answered the question from the pulpit, she was reminded that a Victorian child would never have dared to speak for fear. Now he reassured all our children of today!
Jane Worley read the lesson St Luke 2-41 and, after joyous singing, the children returned to school to prepare for the open day. Teachers, parents, and friends served tea in the Village Hall in the afternoon, dressed in Victorian splendour. Many old pupils were invited and present, including Mr Tom Bowyer and Mr Joe Hills, who started school in 1902. Mr Tom Forrester started in 1904 and Mr Herbert Osborne in 1906. Also present were several adult, yet junior members of their community.
A colourful scene emerged when children performed around the maypole. The evening began with a play portraying a child being introduced to school 100 years ago. Excellent renderings of verse were made by Susan Horne, Dominic Schunker, Alison and Elspeth Pridham, Catherine and Jane Walton, Carolyn and Andrew Sturgeon. Passages were read from ‘The Water Babies’, ‘Cider with Rosie’ and ‘Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep’. No child was left out as each shone in its performance and dress.
Based on questionnaires sent out by the children, a film was made from the interviews and research, recording history for posterity and for the interest of all those present. A supporting collection of photographs and farm machinery was also included. The youngest pupils presented to Mr Tom Bowyer, the oldest living past pupil. Gratitude and praise to Mrs Valerie Hewitt, Miss Peggy Thompson and Mr Swain, the teachers and headmaster and the pupils”
In 1974, the school children undertook a project to ask local residents questions about the history of their houses, what changes they had seen in the village, and what they hoped for the future. Thirteen of the thirty-one respondents had also attended Stansted School and provided information about their past school experiences. In particular, they recorded the memories of Tom Bowyer (1902), Joe Hills (1902), Tom Forrester (1904) and Herbert Osborne (1906).
The results of the survey have been captured in an online spreadsheet, which is available to view by activating the following link:
1974 Survey by Stansted schoolchildren
Chapter 8: Expansion and Improvements (1975 - 2009)
After the 1974 upheavals, the school appointed a new Headteacher, Mrs Dorothy Joyner, who served for the next 14 years. In April 1989, Patricia Craine became Headteacher; she had previously taught for ten years at Hothfield Primary School near Ashford, including several years as Deputy Head.
Jean Alback was the School Secretary at this time and recalls, “Pat Craine was head teacher from 1989 to 2006, during which time she increased the school attendance from below 20 to over 80. The school became very popular, and standards were high. Parents were very supportive and formed the ‘Friends of Stansted School’ (FOSS), an active fundraising group that raised large sums to create a new library in the old air raid shelter and fund many extras that benefited the pupils. The school became the centre of social activities in the village, organising events such as quiz nights, boot fairs, golf days, a team to participate in the London to Brighton bike ride, and more. Other village activities were supported, such as the horticultural society, the village fete, the church harvest festival and the Christmas nativity.”
As one example, Jeff Alback, the husband of School Secretary Jean, organised a FOSS Golf Tournament on 21 June 2002 at the Austin Lodge Golf Club near Eynsford, Kent.
Note: Austin Lodge Golf Club offered a unique and challenging 18-hole parkland course before it closed in 2014. Ed.
The tournament involved some fifteen teams of four players, including parents, friends, and school supporters, and proved a resounding success. The winning team was the ‘Harvey Wallbangers’, which included two members of the current History Society’s Committee, namely Dick Hogbin and Tony Piper. The same team also won the competition the next two years.
Note: The team name, ‘Harvey Wallbangers’, came from a group of local friends who met every Friday evening at the Vigo Inn, where the favoured tipple was Sussex Best Bitter from the Harveys Brewery in Lewes, Sussex. Whilst the Vigo Inn is no longer a pub, the ‘Harvey’ group still meet up each year for Christmas Lunch at the local Hilltop Hotel and Restaurant. Ed.
The school’s future came to a head again in 2001, but this time the issue was overcrowding. Pupil numbers had increased to such an extent that the permanent building was too small to cope with modern teaching methods, and mobile classrooms had been erected in the playground to house some classes.
In October 2001, a short Ofsted inspection concluded that leadership, management and the quality of teaching were all very good and that overall, in the standards that it achieves, the quality of education it provides for all its pupils and the money that it spends, the school was very effective and provided good value for money. The report noted that the premises were unsatisfactory: there were three temporary classrooms, and the school offices were in an old air-raid shelter converted by the parents. At this time, the Headteacher was Miss Patricia Craine, and the Chair of Governors was the Rev. Chris Noble. The school had 75 children.
Following the Ofsted report, the school underwent extensive rebuilding work, starting in June 2003 and finishing in 2004. Previously, the building was the original brick-and-flint Victorian building, with a brick-and-tile extension to the north-west (nearest the Village Hall). It also included a WWII air raid shelter (used as offices and a resources room) and three temporary hutted classrooms in the playground. The works involved removing the air raid shelter and the temporary classrooms, and building a further extension to the northwest and two large wings projecting to the south, occupying much of the old playground.
To compensate for the loss of outside play space at the school, the Parish Council agreed to lease a broadly equivalent area of the recreation ground to the school for use as a playground. At the same time, an existing public footpath which ran from the top gate of the Recreation Ground to the school (through the new playground) was diverted to a point on Malthouse Road opposite Seagrove Cottages. A footpath between the Village Hall car park and the school was also formed at this time.
After the school extension works were completed, about 200 parents and children attended an official opening ceremony. Speeches were made by Rev. Chris Noble (Chair of Governors), Pat Craine (Headteacher) and Paul Carter (then Chair of Kent County Council Education Committee and later Leader of KCC for 14 years). Ribbons were cut and, after such significant capital expenditure, the school’s future seemed assured.
In 2007, a full Ofsted inspection rated the school as ‘Satisfactory’. The Headteacher was Miss P. A. Craine, and the Chair of Governors was Rosemary Douglas. The 2003 improvements had given the school more room, and its roll stood at 89 at the 2007 inspection. The report stated that broadly, the school provided a nurturing and caring environment and parents and children were very happy. Teaching and leadership were good, although last year’s standards were not high enough, especially in writing. Although the school knew this and was taking action, more still needed to be done. Attendance rates were too low because too many pupils took holidays in term time.
Chapter 9: School closure (2010 - 2015)
The 2007 Ofsted report was the first to question the school’s organisation. Over the next eight years, reports became more critical of educational attainment; in 2010, the school had 78 pupils and was again ranked ‘satisfactory’, but with weaknesses in leadership. In 2011, a monitoring report was generally positive but found that the pace of improvement had slowed. This period coincided with Ofsted’s broad aim to focus more rigorously on raising standards to improve life chances for children. By 2013 Ofsted was pressing more strongly for every school to be ranked ‘good or better’. Its main focus was on pupils’ achievement, the quality of teaching, behaviour, safety, management and leadership.
In 2012 the older pupils researched the history of Stansted and produced a delightful short video which is included after this chapter. During their research, they interviewed Mr Hyatt, Mr Goring, Mr Osborne, Mrs Parker and Mrs Hohler. All under the guidance of their teacher, Mrs Charlesworth. The video gives a brief history of the Church, Church Cottage, the Old Rectory, the Old Post Office and shop on Hatham Green Road, the Black Horse, the Hook and Hatchet Inn, Drovers Road (Wises Lane), the War Memorial, the School, Kit’s House, and Forge Cottage. Note: The video is available below this chapter.
Also in 2012, the following newspaper article was published:
KENT MESSENGER SCHOOL COMPETITION
Stansted, a small village school near Sevenoaks, famously beat out much larger schools across Kent by rallying its local community to collect and submit thousands of the newspaper’s tokens, securing the £500 top prize. As the smallest school in the competition with only 33 pupils at the time, their tight-knit village community rallied together to collect a staggering 7,639 tokens to claim the £500 top prize.
Throughout the turbulence, the tradition of the Stansted fete being opened each year by the May Queen continued until the school closed. As did the annual maypole dancing. Sadly, the May Queen and her entourage were no longer allowed to arrive on the back of a tractor. But a succession of locals with fancy cars helped out, and the annual procession from the Black Horse public house to the village recreation ground remained a highlight.
Not long after this period, a key event in the school’s history occurred. On 3rd and 4th July 2013, a full Ofsted inspection took place, and the report rated the school as ‘Inadequate’ and placed it in need of ‘special measures’. The report said pupil learning and progress had not improved since the last visit and that leadership and management to address this were ‘inadequate’. The report set out areas for improvement, but Headteacher Lyn Matthews had been on long-term sickness leave since February 2013. The Heads of two other schools had been covering part-time. As of July, an Acting Headteacher had been in place, and Steve Bassett had joined the school as Interim Head in September 2013
During 2014, three monitoring visits took place. The third of these recorded that an Interim Head, Mr A. Livingstone, had been in place since February 2014, an Interim Executive Board was well established, and an improvement plan had been finalised. The report concluded that although there had been improvements in some areas, not enough progress had been made towards the removal of ‘special measures’. The school roll had fallen to 35 pupils, mainly because parents were worried by negative messages about the school’s future and proactively moved their children to other schools to maintain continuity of teaching.
Of course, Ofsted does not decide to close a school. In this case, the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education and Kent County Council made that decision. They faced a stark decision: on one side, a much-loved school with a great reputation for kindness and good behaviour in an idyllic rural setting; on the other, a small school that seemed unable to recruit the right managers to deliver the national agenda on educational attainment. Another factor was that a great deal of money had been spent on substantial premises improvements just 11 years earlier. Both bodies decided that the school should close permanently, and it finally closed its doors to village children on 31st August 2015. Thus, 141 years of general primary age care and education in the building came to an end.
A former Chair of Governors recalls: “From 2007 onwards staffing such a small school with experienced staff proved very difficult and a succession of temporary, relief and inexperienced head teachers and staff led to a steady decline. For many years, the local authority had been looking for a reason to close at least one of the two small schools in our area, Trottiscliffe being the other. This was their opportunity, and they took it.”
Villagers felt immense sadness and disappointment that what was often called “the beating heart of the village” had been ripped out, with nothing put in its place except longer journeys for young children to bigger local schools. Virtually all the people the author asked said the school’s ethos and ambience more than made up for any temporary difficulties in delivering the curriculum, and that more effort should have been made to preserve it. Many younger people who moved to the village mention that the presence of a local, community-based primary school was a major factor in their decision. School children had been major and enthusiastic contributors to village life, and the closure reduced the community spirit this created.
Chapter 10: Purchase by Parish Council (2015 - 2019)
The Parish Council was well aware of the local disappointment, so it took the brave decision to buy the school building if it could. As we know, this was successful, and on 9 August 2018 Stansted Parish Council signed a 20-year lease of the former Primary School building with the Governing Body of Grange Park School, Wrotham. This preserves educational services on the site until 2038.
The lease signing followed almost three years of negotiations that began in 2015, when the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education and Kent County Council decided to close the school. The Diocesan Board of Education had previously applied to register title to the premises with the Land Registry but did so incorrectly by including the school playground and amenity land, which Stansted Parish Council owned and had leased to the school.
Stansted Parish Council wisely registered the land as an Asset of Community Value, which ensured that before the Diocesan Board of Education could sell the site, it first had to offer it to Stansted Parish Council. The Parish Council established a Project Steering Group to take this forward, and agreed that, if possible, the Council should try to buy the school on behalf of the community.
Initially, it was felt unlikely that an educational use would be found, so the Parish Council put together a business plan to convert the premises into a multi-let office building. With advice from the Kent Association of Local Councils, the Parish Council submitted a business plan to the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Parish Council was pleasantly surprised that its request for a £0.5m loan was approved with a 50-year repayment loan fixed at 2.9%. With finance secured, negotiations proceeded with Rochester Diocesan Board of Education to buy out their interest before the time period expired, when they would then be free to offer their land more widely. Eventually terms were agreed, and Stansted Parish Council acquired ownership of the whole school site on 24th April 2018.
A Project Steering Group was formed composed of Tom Sheldon, Po!!y Falconer, Sheila Goodworth, Andy Yallop, Alan Bullock, Phil Chamberlain, Yvonne Tisson, John Stevens, Robert Nelson, Robin Betts, Liz Rimell, John Mattick, and Parish Clerk, Roxana Brammer.
A planning application to convert the building to offices had been submitted, but then three unsolicited offers were received from organisations that wished to use the building as a school. The Parish Council knew the community would much prefer the premises to remain in educational use, so it was delighted to enter into a 20-year lease with Grange Park School, which wished to use it as an annexe for pupils with autism spectrum conditions. Special thanks were due to Yvonne Tisson for introducing Grange Park School and to Matthew Balfour, who, as a Governor of Grange Park School and Kent County Councillor, was instrumental in the subsequent letting. Before the new school opened in April 2019, the school undertook significant upgrading work to the building, and the rear Village Hall car park was enlarged. It did not reopen as Stansted’s mainstream primary school, but the building continued to serve children. That is a fitting next chapter for a place which villagers had worked so hard, over so many years, to preserve.
Author: Dick Hogbin
Editor: Tony Piper
Contributors: Tom Sheldon, Jean Alback
Last Updated: 13 October 2026