School history
The school is deeply rooted in the village of Shipley,
The Victoria County History recounts how in 1554 the curate left money for young children to go to school in Shipley, but until the early 19th century there is no more information about the provision of education in the parish. There would have likely been small dame schools, privately run elementary schools for young children, often run by widows or unmarried women in their homes.
In 1811 the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church was founded, which aimed to provide a school in every parish. In 1819 it is said that 25 poor children were taught at parish expense, and there was a school at the workhouse where children were taught reading.
In 1825 a local widow Sarah Andrew died, a month short of her 95th birthday, leaving money in her Will for the establishment of a school for poor children in the village - she specifically requested that her executors invest her money in bank securities to produce £40 a year ‘ for the teaching to read and write of the poor children of Shipley’.
By 1827 a new boys’s schoolroom and master’s house was built in the centre of the village and was affiliated to the National Society. The Shipley Boys School ran from 1827 to 1876, when the boys moved down the road to the new purpose built mixed school. The school building, now the Andrew Hall was subsequently used as Parish rooms and is still in use as the village hall.
The VCH reports ‘ In 1833 there were 67 boys on the roll and the master received £40 a year, but in 1837 there were fewer than 40 pupils and by 1867 only 20 or 30. Attendance was irregular on account of poverty.’
The log books give some idea of the difficulties children faced, accounting for sporadic attendance at school - bad weather, roads closed to due snow or floods, lack of boots, illness and infection, needing to help bring in the harvest or look after younger children, when their mothers were in the fields.
The school master at the Boys’ School was Mr Michael Dean, who taught from at least 1841, when he appears in the census aged 20 until the school closure in 1876 - over 35 years! He married Mary and they brought up 12 children in the master’s cottage.
In 1851 a girl’s school was started and by 1860 girls moved to their new school, built on the site of the present school on land given by local landowner Stanford Killick. Kelly’s Post Office directory of 1867 described it thus ‘ the girls’ schoolroom is a very neat and spacious building, with residence attached for the mistress: it was built at the expense of the late C.M. Burrell Baronet and the Hon Mrs Vernon Harcourt.’ They also funded the building of the Vicarage a few years earlier in 1848.
In 1874 more land was given by Stanford Killick, and a new school was funded by Sir Charles Raymond Burrell and managed by a board of trustees. The present red brick building was opened in June 1876 for boys and girls to be educated in the same school, though not together - a fence divided the boys and girls schools! Mr William Bacon became head of the Boys’ school, a position he held until December 1917, after which the school went fully co-ed. The Girls’ school had various different school mistresses, but Miss Annie Penn became head in 1897 and later head of the mixed school from 1918 to 1930, when she retired and became a nun. There was also an Infants’ class, which had its own teacher, Miss Folly, who taught for 43 years from 1883-1926.
The children were well taught, learning the 3Rs, religious education, drawing, singing and nature study and of course the girls studied needlework. The vicar was a frequent visitor and tested the children on their catechism. Visiting HM and Diocesan Inspectors were generally impressed by what they saw and gave favourable reports.
