St Pauls School
From Bourne End Bucks One Place Study
The building and location
Wooburn Church of England National School near the church, opposite the Old Bell public house. It later moved to the current location in Stratford Drive. The school houses were known as Claytons, Wye and Thames. For some of the time it was a girls only school, in one of the photos, amongst all the girls was one boy, Arthur Fountain. His uncle was in his shed screaming from his war wounds. Arthur was allowed to attend school with his sister so he wouldn't be distressed by his cries[1].
=Historic Events[1]=.
| Year(s) | Teacher | Activity |
| 1852 | Mrs A M Relf
mistress (1852 - 1924) |
Built for 265 infants' average attendance 198 |
| 1852 | Built with 2 cottages planned but it was decided to keep Dell House and Dell Cottage in Wash Hill instead. School was designed and funded by Rev. FB Ashley who had been the vicar for 4 years. He also renovated the church. Attendance went from 35 (at the Dell School) to 320 at the new school | |
| 1852 | Soho Mill donated the fountain to give pupils fresh water | |
| 1863 | Too dangerous to come to school due to the cattle from the May Fair on the green roaming loose along the road | |
| 1866 | A night school started from 7pm used for church activities and penny readings | |
| 1870 | 6 standards/levels set up. Exam each July to see which standard the pupils were placed in | |
| 1871 | New classroom added due to increased attendance | |
| 1872 | Daisy Taylor (pupil teacher) | Worked for 6 years before leaving with Christine Gilbey |
| 1873 - 1914 | Mr Greenwood (headmaster) | Lived at Dell House, assistant head Mr Holdstock |
| 1873 | School hours increased by 20mins with school finishing at 16:20. Candles would be used to light the school | |
| 1873 | heavy rain and cold weather - only 35 attended out of the usual 140 | |
| 1873 | Mt Hales (pupil teacher) | Indolent, impudent and troublesome resigned before being sacked |
| 1874 | Miss C E Taylor (pupil teacher) | Sacked due to poor health |
| 1876 | 3 children from the school died from measles and bronchitis | |
| 1877 | Several children admitted from Dame Schools, attendance increased to 390 on the register, 200 attended regularly | |
| 1878 | Mr Gilbey gave out prizes after July exams. 1d to every pupil in attendance, 1s to each certificate holder, 2s 6d to each prize holder, 5s to the pupil teachers and 10s to a pupil teacher with a certificate or prize. | |
| 1878 | Parents of Eliza Healey summoned to attendance officer as she had only attended 21 times out of a possible 226, her parents were fined. | |
| 1879 | The usual summer holiday was 6th to 27th August was extended for pupils over age of 8 to 29th September to allow for the main harvest season | |
| 1880 | School was inspected. 2290 mixed pupils of all ages and sizes in one L shaped room, one pupil had only attended 60 times out of a possible 436 | |
| 1880 | 6th standard pupils were taught printing and typing and produced 200 pamphlets and envelopes and soup tickets for the vicar Rev Ashley | |
| 1880 | School closed for a week - numerous cases of scarlet fever | |
| 1880 | School opened a penny bank to encourage the children to save money | |
| 1881 | Attendance dropped by 65% following the death of the attendance officer | |
| 1882 | 3 Roman Catholic children were admitted and did not have to take part in the religious life of the school | |
| 1883 | William Henry Howell | Dell Cottage. Boys 265 av 198 |
| 1884 | 70 - 80 pupils per class. New classrooms built at a cost of £250 | |
| 1885 | Several pupils transferred from Hedsor as it was closer to their houses and cheaper to attend | |
| 1885 | School first used as a polling station giving pupils the day off | |
| 1885 | School had a master, assistant teacher, pupil teacher (over 12) and monitors (under 12) | |
| 1886 | Attendance officer committed suicide by shooting himself in the head and attendance once again dropped | |
| 1887 | School closed as so many pupils had measles and German measles and diphtheria | |
| 1887 | 4 children from Dame Taylor in Bourne End | |
| 1888 | 300 regular attendance max 256 | |
| 1890 | School closed for 5 weeks after a girl caught measles | |
| 1891 | All school fees abolished | |
| 1894 | 40 boys and 23 girls left. 20 boys went to work in the paper mills, 3 grocers' boys, 7 labourers, 2 office boys, 2 house boys, 1 bricklayer, 2 bakers, 1 grocer, 1 joiner, 13 girls home duties, 6 domestic service, 2 dressmakers and 2 pupil teachers | |
| 1896 | 50 children left to go to the new school at Bourne End | |
| 1897 | 2 children has typhoid fever | |
| 1898 | Candles were replaced by gas lights after gas was installed | |
| 1900 | ish Brewery started using Dell House rather than teachers | |
| 1907 | ish church Hall built opposite the school | |
| 1950 | Became a primary school when Wooburn Council became a secondary | |
| 1950 circa |
|
Became known as St. Paul's School |
| 1962 | Mr R Harris (head) | became Wooburn Church of England Junior |
| 1974 | Moved to school in Stratford Drive. Building converted into 5 dwellings |
Photographs
Below are images of Wooburn CofE School[1]
