1947 to 1965 OS Map
Clutton Primary School Foundation Stone 1902
Photograph - Alan Gray.
Monday 24 November 1902, Western Daily Press
The Countess of Warwick laid the foundation stone of the new school. There was a large gathering, and her ladyship received a cordial welcome. The plans provide accommodation for 340 children. The mixed department is provided with two cloakrooms, one each for boys and girls, walls of which will be lined internally to a height of four feet from the floor with selected white glazed bricks and fitted with a straw glazed school lavatory basins.
Each child will be provided with a separate numbered hat and coat hook. The main school will accommodate two classes each of 40 children. The head teacher will be able to exercise constant supervision over these class rooms by means of glassed openings in the walls. The infants’ department consists of a large school room, fitted with a gallery, and designated for the special accommodation of children of tender years.
The floor space per child and the areas of light are both considerably in excess of the Government requirements. Ample provision will be made as regards sanitary requirements, and efficient ventilation will be provided by means of air inlets, radial exhaust ventilators in roofs, with fireplaces and opening casements.
Clutton Primary School
Postcard
Clutton Primary School - The Teachers House
Postcard
The teacher’s house will match the school in style and materials, the accommodation to be provided being drawing and dining rooms with the usual offices on the ground floor, and four bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. The total cost of the scheme, inclusive of land purchase, heating apparatus, and other expenses will be about £4,000.
Clutton Primary School Flagpole (1911)
Postcard - Alan Gray
Clutton Primary School Pupils (1917)
Photograph - Clutton History Group
Saturday 29 August 1903, Western Daily Press
The Opening of the School
JUST 9 MONTHS AFTER LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE
The Countess of Warwick, who met with a hearty reception, said that since she was there last year to have the honour and pleasure of laying the foundation stone of that building, a veritable transformation of the scene had taken place, and Mr. Bird (the architect) had given Clutton one of the best equipped, schools which had ever been her pleasure to see, and one of which she felt the whole parish was justly proud. (Applause.) The old school, as they knew, had often been described as a disgrace to the county and to the country.
At the time of King George V’s coronation, a flag staff was subscribed for by old scholars. The then present scholars subscribed for the flag. There was an anemometer on the top of the staff which registered the miles per hour of the wind. There was also a yard arm which carried the school flag. It also carried in turn the flags of allied nations during the 1914-18 war. Unfortunately, it was struck by lightning in 1918 and destroyed, and has never been replaced.
Clutton Council School
Photograph – Clutton History Group.
Clutton Council School Pupils 1904
Photograph – Mrs. L. Withey collection.
Clutton Primary School - Log Book 1903 to 1992
Front Cover
Page 1
The pages of this Log Book were photographed and transcribed using Chatgpt
Extracts from the Clutton Primary School Log Book (505 pages from 11 April 1901 to 6 July 1903)
The Headteacher kept a record of the School's activities in this Log Book. Some Headteachers kept detailed records, others just notes.
- Clutton Primary School Log Book Part 1 1903 to 1921 Click here
- Clutton Primary School Log Book Part 1 1921 to 1992 Click here
Clutton Primary School - Scheme of Work
A folder called “Scheme of Work was borrowed from the school it consists of eleven folders (83 pages). Unfortunately this is not dated but a very rough idea of the date can be established since in the English folder “Marion Richardson writing will be introduced to give a fluent rhythm to their writing”, this was published as a series of hinged cards, to assist teachers in 1934. In the Mathematics folder the English coin the farthing is still being used in sums; the farthing creased to be legal tender in 1960. Quite a wide span of years.
Below is a selection of the syllabus from the folders –
- Clutton Primary School Scheme of work. Covering Arithmetic and Art (Part 1) Click here
- Clutton Primary School Scheme of work. Covering English, English Literature, Geography and History (Part 2) Click here
- Clutton Primary School Scheme of work. Covering Infants, Games and PT, Music, Nature Study and Needlework (Part 3) Click here
Source - The Story of Our Village by Clutton W.I. 1971
Education, of course has changed as much as everything else. Until 1935 Clutton school was called an Elementary School, and catered for all children up to the age of fourteen. From about 1908 onwards the County Council awarded four junior and about twenty Teacher Candidate Scholarships yearly for the whole county, for children who wanted to go to a Grammar School at the age of fourteen. Those who won a Teacher Candidate Scholarship had to promise to train to be a teacher.
Grammar Schools were open to anybody who could pay the fees, and pass an entrance exam. The fees were about £5 and £10 and were of course highly subsidised by the government.
Only a very few tried for the scholarships, one or two from each village. Mrs. Pritchard was one of the few and plainly remembers travelling to Radstock in Mr. Tiley’s brake, arriving about 9 am. and answering papers all day. Subjects covered were Composition, Dictation, Parsing and Analysis, History and Geography. Needlework involved putting on a flannel patch and cutting out a pattern for a pair of knickers. The room was so quiet, a little mouse ran out and sat on the toe of the next girl’s boot.
In the late twenties the County made it compulsory for everyone to take the free place examination, and those who passed went to Grammar Schools, either at Midsomer Norton, Wells or Bristol. Children who failed this free place exam, went to the newly built school at Timsbury. This meant that there were no pupils over the age of eleven left at the village school, so this was then given the title of Clutton County Primary,
Now in 1971, Mr. Bick, the present headmaster, has chosen a school badge to go with the newly chosen uniform of bottle green. The badge is a silver swan on a dark green ground, and has been taken from the family crest of the Warwick family.
Comprehensive schooling came to this area in 1970, and after July 1971 children no longer travelled to Timsbury. The school for senior pupils from Clutton is Norton Hill Comprehensive — the old Grammar School.
When the children first went to Midsomer Norton there were no suitable buses, so they caught the 7.20 a.m. train to Welton, and then walked all the way up to the school, where they had to wait for the building to be opened. At night they had to run all the way back to Welton to catch the 4 o’clock train home.
As time went by, and the war came to an end, coaches became available, and life was much easier for the children. Now the county pays a huge bill for coaches taking the children to and from school.
When the old schools ceased to be used as day schools, they were used as Sunday Schools. The Church School by the Church and the British School by the Congregational Chapel.
The Old Church School, and the cottage next door, which was the schoolmasters house, were held in trust for a charity known as the Old School Charity. These buildings were sold a few years ago, and the school has been converted into an attractive dwelling house. The proceeds of the sale produce about £80 per year, which is payable to give bursaries of £10 for further education to children of poor parents who are resident in Clutton.
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School master Ivor “Gutty” Hoyal on extreme left. Hazel Curtis nee Collins from Hill Farm and her contemporaries. Probably Nancy Adie nee Brimble….?
Photograph - Eric Brain
Clutton School children waiting to wave at the Queen 1956
Photograph - Eric Brain
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The following is a brief review of the history of Clutton Council/County Primary School up to 1953 prepared by the children of the school.
For the version of this history created by the school children click here
1903
The school was opened on August 31st 1903. The stone was laid in 1902 by the Countess of Warwick. Headmaster was Mr. J Pullen and Miss Chapman and Miss Bevan were teachers. Miss Jones was an infant help. There were 212 children on roll.
There were no wall pictures. Drawing books and chalk boards were used.
October 23. Hot air apparatus was put on. A boiler was put at the back and hot air pumped through vents .
November 20. Library books arrived. Only 136.
November 27. Violin classes for 12 children began. 1s a week.
1904
There were 230 children on roll.
January 26. School closed because many children had scarlet fever.
February 10th. A drum and fife band was started. Twenty four boys bought fifes. A girls flower garden and a boys vegetable garden were started. There were 14 plots of land. Tools were — spades, forks, rakes and dutch hoes.
1905
Number of children at school - 263.
March 15th. Stormy weather, only 130 present. Because they didn't have proper clothes.
July. Sunday school outing to Weston.
August 3rd. Rainy day only 153 out of 262 were present.
December. The children ware second in bird and tree competition. You write poems and planted 21 trees along the front wall. There are 5 trees left.
1907
February 8th. School closed because many children had whooping cough. Seven children died.
1908
March 14th. School closed because of influenza epidemic.
July 9th. School holiday. The King and Queen opened a new dock at Avonmouth. At this time the king was Edward VII.
The first fire drill monitored. It took 1¼ mins to clear the building.
1909
June 23rd. School holiday. Everyone went to Temple Cloud to see the Prince and Princess of Wales.
1910
July 13th. The school won four prizes in the Mid-Somerset Music Competition at Bath, and with the money, paid for the weather vane which is fixed to the top of the school. It was designed by Mr. Bird, the architect
Photograph - Alan Gray (2025)
An extra weeks holiday because of a measles epidemic.
November. School closed by orders of chief medical officer for three weeks. 131 children absent with measles.
1911
June 16th. Coronation holiday Of George V. A flag was donated to the school. A village party was held.
September. Cookery classes started for a small group of girls.
December. German measles epidemic. School closed for an extra weeks holiday.
1912
A teacher named Miss Jones got married, but persuaded to stay on. Usually married women teachers had to resign.
Subjects taught in 1912: reading, recitation, composition, geography, nature study arithmetic, religious instruction, drawing, needlework (girls), gardening (boys), drill.
1914
Headmaster to offer his services to the army. He was NCO in Kitchener's army.
1915
Collections of money and clothes to help the soldiers in the Great War.
1917
March saw snow storms. Few children managed to get to school.
1918
November. War over. Armistice signed. Pit hooters blew all day. The girls of the school knitted 503 pairs socks the soldiers.
1919 to 1925
Every year the school closed for several weeks because of whooping cough, influenza, and epidemics.
1926
Miners strike. Miners children were sent away for reasons of lack of food and safety.
1935
The school became a primary school taking children aged 5 to 11. Senior children went to Timsbury School. On a regular basis milk was delivered from Manor Farm Whitchurch for the children.
1939
September 3rd. War declared. Children evacuated to the village from London.
1940
January. Very cold, stormy weather and heavy snow. Only 29 children attended school.
May to November. Heavy bombing in Bristol. the children are very tired due to lack of sleep.
1941
Many are moving to Clutton from Bristol. classes are growing bigger every week.
June. School closed for haymaking.
1945
VE Day. Two days holiday.
1948
A fire broke out. A bonfire caught the roof on fire. It was quickly put out.
1953
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth. School holiday. A party was held with tea, sports, bonfire and fireworks.
Information provided by Mr. Small of Clutton County Primary School.