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A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME For aerial view of Fenny Stratford Schools through time click here For aerial view of Bletchley Road Schools through time click here The following are extracts taken from a detailed history compiled by Rose Hill a former secretary of Holne Chase School |
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To understand education it is necessary to step back to the Roman times. Then, most people were illiterate, Latin was the written language and only officials and leaders of communities were educated - in order to give them the power to rule and trade. Then came the Anglo-Saxons and education was forgotten whilst they fought for survival. The situation improved slightly when St. Augustine and his monks arrived to convert King Ethelbert to Christianity - and probably established a church and school in Canterbury; here, converts and boys considered suitable for later priesthood, would be taught Latin and the Scriptures. Such centres of learning were later established in London, Rochester and York and by 8th Century it is known there were 20 such centres of learning. During the following centuries - up to AD1000 - education in the monasteries improved but was still confined mostly to training for the church. Most people still could not read or write, especially as Latin, or French, were the languages in use. There were no maps and few people travelled far from where they were born. From 1100 to 1200 great centres of learning were created around Cathedrals and also at Oxford and then Cambridge. 1179 and 1215 it was ordered that in every cathedral and church there should be a schoolmaster to teach the clerks of the church and poor children. Song schools were formed - mainly to learn to sing the liturgies. Parish priests, and others, passed on their learning. However, this only applied in the larger towns, not villages where such education was non-existent. By 1300 the population of England was about 3 million and probably less than 3% were literate. At this time Oxford University had 1500 students and Cambridge 500. During the outbreak of the Black Death 1348-9 the population was severely reduced, especially the clergy and schoolmasters. Education waned until 1447 when there was a petition in Parliament for more schools, so, education gradually became available to a wider section of the community. English language began to be used instead of Latin and French. Boys whose parents could afford the books and fees - and often boarding, would begin schooling at 7 years. Another form of education was apprenticeship, organised into guilds, these schools were for skilled artisans such as weavers, glaziers, smiths, carpenters and masons and were usually attended from the age of 7 - 14. Reading and writing schools were also founded, often by merchant men. In 1476, Printing was introduced in London by William Caxton. The use of printed books aided education. Between 1530 and 1560 most English people renounced Roman Catholicism and became Protestants. 1534 - Henry VIII made himself head of the Church of England. 1559 - Queen Elizabeth ordered that schoolteachers must be licensed to teach by a bishop of the Church of England and must hold daily prayers. From 1560 - 1640 many grammar schools were founded for the sons of the better off, also, smaller village schools were founded, often attached to churches. There are references to many such schools in and around Bletchley: 1580 - there was a school in the North Chapel of Milton Keynes Village Church, 1587 - Bletchley Parish Register refers to a school for 20 children in charge of the Lord of the Manor (then Browne Willis) and the Minister. 1609 and 1634 there was a bequest for 12 children to be taught in Bow Brickhill, 1648 - Beachampton - for 40 - 60 boys and some girls, 1672 - There was a charity school at The Fountain, Loughton, 1674 - In Milton Keynes Village again, 1693 - Wavendon 1699 - Broughton 1702 - Great Linford for 20 - 30 boys, 1707 - Stoke Hammond, 1710 - Soulbury for 24 boys and girls, 1713 - Wavendon, 1728 - Lovatt School which had a very stable history, likewise Woolstone, where there was a much respected and loved school mistress. By 1750 there were Church, Charity or Endowed Schools in Bletchley, Fenny Stratford and all the surrounding villages but the salaries paid to school masters and mistresses were so poor that it was a struggle for them to survive unless they were able to find other work as well. Schools frequently closed due to lack of funds. 1811 - October, the National Society for Educating in the Principle of the Church, was founded. This society contributed towards the building of schools and gave grants, the schools would then be maintained by local clergy and gentry, such a school opened in Fenny Stratford. There had been a Board School in Simpson but it had to close down for lack of funds 1811. 1817 - A new schoolhouse was built in Fenny Stratford (possibly the one which stood in the High Street, on the west side, where a cinema was later erected.) By 1819 there were 107 pupils on roll. 1838 - Bletchley Charity School - a large school at Elmers opposite the St Marys Church Rectory united with the National Society. 1839 - Sir Phillip Duncombe, Lord of the Manor of Great Brickhill, and Rev. H Foulis, called a meeting and proposed that a school should be established in connection with the National Society - they revived a school which had opened in the High Street, Fenny Stratford some years before. The new school opened with 70 boys and 30 girls on roll. 1840 - Sir Phillip Pauncefort Duncombe, a Rector and a Church Warden bought land known as Long Croft for the erection of a school for poor children 1861 - A new school was built on the site where the Angel lnn,( High Street, Fenny Stratford) had stood since 1600s. For details of education in Bletchley from 1880 to present day please click here or |
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