A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

For an aerial view of Bletchley Road Schools through time click here

For an aerial view of Fenny Stratford Schools through time click here


Schooling in Bletchley and Fenny Stratford in the latter half of the 19th century fell into several categories: Church or Chapel schools including Sunday schools; charity schools; schools run by philanthropic movements and also private individuals; and fee-paying Public schools.
P
rior to the 1870 Elementary Education Act which established school boards, elected by local ratepayers, few children of working class families had the benefit of a formal education.

For a detailed timeline of Education in Bletchley up to 1880 click here

Free public education for all children in England was not available until after the establishment of the National Board of Education in 1899 and then not until 1902 was public secondary education introduced.

Although there was a Church of England school at Old Bletchley and a few private schools, notably The Elmers and Dunmore House, the principal school was High Street schools Fenny Stratford, which was becoming overcrowded.

Click on the Newspaper Account links below for extracts, collated from the North Bucks Flying Post and North Bucks Times, that highlight the expanding railway town of Bletchley’s claims for a larger say in where a new school should be located and see how they eventually won the day.

1886 North Bucks Flying Post 1923 North Bucks Times 1942 Bletchley Gazette
1887 North Bucks Flying Post 1924 North Bucks Times 1943 North Bucks Times
1890 North Bucks Flying Post 1939 North Bucks Times 1943 Bletchley Gazette
1891 North Bucks Flying Post 1940 North Bucks Times 1944 North Bucks Times
1919 North Bucks Times 1940 Bletchley Gazette 1945 North Bucks Times
1920 North Bucks Times 1941 North Bucks Times 1950 North Bucks Times
1921 North Bucks Times 1942 North Bucks Times 1950 onwards

The following information was taken from Post Office and Kelly's Directories from 1794 onwards. They give information on schools such as when they were established, the location of the school, who was in charge at that time and other useful facts

1794 Directory 1850 Colnbrook & Co 1883 Kelly's 1899 Kelly's 1911 Kelly's 1931 Kelly's 1961 Bletchley Guide
1831-32 Colnbrook & Co 1864 Post Office 1887 Kelly's 1903 Kelly's 1915 Kelly's 1939 Kelly's 1968 Bletchley Guide
1844 Colnbrook & Co 1877 Post Office 1895 Kelly's 1907 Kelly's 1920 Kelly's 1950 Bletchley Guide 1973 Bletchley Guide