Education in Bletsoe
Bletsoe church in January 2006
Early Education
The Bishop of Lincoln carried out visitations to Bedfordshire in 1717 and 1720 and for both of these a list of questions was sent out in advance, one of which enquired about the provision of schools in each parish. At each of these inspections it was reported that there was no schooling available for poor children in the parish
In 1818 a Select Committee was established to enquire into educational provision for the poor. This was no doubt prompted, in part, by the recent foundation of two societies promoting education and specifically the building of schools. The Society for Promoting the Lancasterian System for the Education of the Poor was established in 1808 promoting schools run along the lines pioneered by Joseph Lancaster, who had himself copied those of Dr.Andrew Bell, in which older children taught their younger fellows. The Society was renamed the British and Foreign School Society in 1814,. It was supported by a number of prominent nonconformists, Lancaster himself was a Quaker, and sought to teach a non-sectarian curriculum. In answer to this perceived nonconformist takeover of local education the National Society was formed in 1811 to encourage the teaching of poor children along Anglican lines, including the catechism. The Select Committee sent a questionnaire to all parishes in the country asking for: particulars relating to endowments for the education of children; other educational institutions; observations of parish needs etc. The questionnaire returned for Bletsoe noted a Sunday school existed "on Dr.Bell's system" and supported by annual subscription containing 40 children of both sexes, which meant that "the poor have sufficient means of education". It is worth noting that this Sunday School was just that, School provided on a Sunday and would have taught reading and writing and, perhaps, other subjects, in addition to the religious knowledge for which Sunday Schools are reserved today.
In the country generally the number of schools built continued to grow over the next fifteen years so that by 1833 the government agreed to supplement the work of the two societies, and local benefactors, by making £20,000 per annum available in grants to help build schools. It also prompted another questionnaire to be sent to each parish in England asking for details of local educational provision. The return for Bletsoe recorded a daily school for 12 children, supported by payments from parents and two Sunday Schools, each of 30 children of both sexes supported by a bequest of £8 per annum.
Bletsoe School
The Bedfordshire Times of 25 Nov 1848 noted that surplus money raised for a school in Riseley would be put towards providing one for Bletsoe. Plans were drawn up for school buildings in 1852 (see image above) and in 1853 St.Andrew Beauchamp, Lord St.John conveyed a plot near the churchyard to the minister and churchwardens in trust to use as a school "for the education of children of the labouring, manufacturing and other poorer classes" to be in union with the National Society. The Schoolmaster in 1861 was John C Boldero, aged 38. The census records that he was born in the East Indies, and his wife Mary, the Schoolmistress, had also come from out of the county, at Broom on Humber. Their child Louisa aged 2 was born in Bletsoe so it seems likely they were the first appointed teachers at the new school.
The first Education Act was passed in 1870 (more correctly it was known as the Elementary Education Act). It was a milestone in the provision of education in Britain demonstrating central government's unequivocal support for education of all classes across the country. It also sought to secularise education by allowing the creation of School Boards. These were groups of representatives, elected by the local ratepayers and the Board had the powers to raise funds to form a local rate to support local education, build and run schools, pay the fees of the poorest children, make local school attendance compulsory between the ages of 5 and 13 and could even support local church schools, though in practice they replaced them, turning them into Board run schools (known as Board Schools). Naturally, and luckily for local historians, the Act required a questionnaire of local schools in 1870. This questionnaire recorded 81 children were in attendance at the school.
In 1866 James T Green, aged 30, took over as Schoolmaster, he was from Hethersett in Norfolk and his wife Sarah, from Wicklewood, Norfolk, was the Schoolmistress. By 1881 they had five of their own children attending the school; Mary, aged 15, Ellen, 12, Walter 10, Arthur 8, Edward 6. Sarah Green - mother of James - aged 73 was also living with them.After the continous service of the Greens, the school then had a series of different Headmistresses. The Bletsoe School Logbook of October 3rd 1892 records: "I Matilda Anne Wright opened this School as a School under Government Inspection. I have a Certificate of the Second Class. Miss Green appointed Assistant". Matilda Wright resigned on August 11th 1893, and was replaced on September 18th by Hannah Getley, who only stayed until December. Another temporary appointment followed, that of Dora Marion Draycow who started 8th Jan 1894 and finished in April, to be replaced by Louisa Reeve until September when Annie Jane Anderson took over. When James Tate inspected the school in May 1895 he noted that: "In spite of several changes of teachers there is considerable improvement in the work'" In 1899 the school was reported to be "Excellent".
A land mark Education Act was passed in 1902, coming into effect in 1903. It disbanded the School Boards and gave day to day running of education to newly formed Local Education Authorities, usually the county council, as in Bedfordshire. The old Board Schools thus became Council Schools whilst the old National, British and other non-Board schools became known as Public Elementary Schools, as did the school at Bletsoe.
Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service has a book containing School Inspector's reports for most schools in the county for a few years prior to the First World War then for the inter-war years [E/IN1/1]. The inspector at Bletsoe in 1911 found a school in good order with "fairly satisfactory" attainments, though arithmetic was weak and both PE and teaching as a whole needed to be more stimulating; the infants were "carefully and suitably taught and the children make creditable progress". Three years later it was found that the school was doing good work "it is well ordered and well taught".
Things obviously deteriorated during the Great War as the Inspector in 1921 noted "Under the present Head Teacher the School has made progress the Infant's Section is now doing well; and much of the work of the older children is satisfactory". By 1925 the school was organised as a junior school only, with just eleven children on the books and the school was doing quite well, though the speech of the children was "not good in its accent or aspiration, but special attention is being given to this" - obviously the Bedfordshire accent was not appreciated. It was also noted that whilst nine of the children sand nicely "the other two, who seem tone deaf, spoil the effect". The inspector noted with enthusiasm, if not political correctness: "It is particularly pleasant to note the improvement in a child who is certainly subnormal". By 1928 one child had obtained a scholarship to Bedford School and two had gone to Sharnbrook. The number had dipped down to seven but had been made up to nine in the previous week, it was noted that "The children whose short lives have been spent here are much more careful, and better grounded than those who have come from outside. The subnormal child referred to in the last report is now practically normal except in Arithmetic. Altogether this is a very kindly managed school where no one is neglected, where difficult children are looked after, and where children with more ability are kept up to the mark".
By 1932 there were twelve children on the roll but this was set to double as a family with thirteen children "it is said, may settle in the village". It was noted "As before, it is a family party", the work was very creditable and the teacher complimented. Even the aspiration, when speaking, was now "generally correct" with only one girl getting her vowels wrong (she was connected to "the subnormal child who, as previously reported improved so much"), the tone deaf children had moved on as singing was now "tuneful and enjoyed". The final report for 1936 noted a new headteacher who was doing very good work - the roll was now 21 so evidently the large family had, indeed, moved to the village, the inspector concluded "It is a pleasant school to visit".
In 1939 children from St Josephs Roman Catholic School in London were evacuated to Bletsoe. There is an attendance register for these children [Ref. E/PM/1/4a]. The school logbook [Ref.SD Bletsoe 2] notes on September 11th 1939: 'Owing to evacuation on account of the political situation, fifty five children from London have to be catered for. Provisional arrangements have been made and various working schemes are being tried with a view to adoption. The 55 evacuees are Roman Catholics so Religious Instruction is taken each morning in Church for Bletsoe children. Mr J Green, Head Teacher of St Joseph's School, and Mr Standfield, Assistant Master, are in charge of the London children.' On November 17th it was noted that the majority of the London children left for Cromer in Norfolk, with eight evacuees remaining.
The third of the great Education Acts was that of 1944 which established the principle of County Primary Schools for children up to the age of 11, at which time they took an examination to determine the nature of the secondary school they would attend until they were 15, the most academically able going to grammar schools, the rest to secondary or secondary modern schools. The act also created two types of successor to the public elementary schools - the Voluntary Aided and Voluntary Controlled schools. Voluntary Aided schools are those in which the Local Education Authority funds the school but the governing body is independent, they are usually Anglican or Roman Catholic schools. Voluntary Controlled schools own their own buildings whilst the staff are employed directly by the governors. Bletsoe Public Elementary School school became a Voluntary Controlled County Primary School and closed in 1962 and there is now no school in the parish; the former school buildings are now a private house.
Former Bletsoe School in March 2007
Sources
- P36/5: expenses for Bletsoe school: C18-19th;
- P36/5/3-5: churchwardens' accounts including references to school: 1822-1935;
- Bedfordshire Times: surplus money raised for a school in Riseley to go towards one in Bletsoe: 25 Nov 1848;
- P36/8: Vestry minutes including references to school: 1852-1922;
- AD3865/7: plans for school and teacher's house: 1852;
- P36/29/1: conveyances of school site: 1853;
- CRT130BLE6: letter with information on schoolteachers 1859-1868;
- P36/29/2: printed notice for raising subscriptions and school fees: 1879;
- SDBletsoe1: school logbook: 1892-1935;
- SDBletsoe3: admission register: 1892-1962;
- Z50/18/8a-b: photographs of schoolchildren: late C19;
- Z50/18/9a-b: photographs of schoolchildren: c.1900;
- E/SA3/1/2: managers' and inspector's reports: 1903;
- SDBletsoe4: school managers' minutes: 1903-1962;
- E/TE5/3: details of teachers: 1904-1908;
- E/TE5/4: details of teachers: 1908-1912;
- E/IN1/1: inspector's reports: 1911-1936;
- Z50/142/281: small photograph of schoolchildren: 1922;
- SDBletsoe2: school logbook: 1935-1962;
- E/PM3/1/4A: evacuee attendance register for St.Joseph's Roman Catholic School, London: 1939;
- SDBletsoe5: headteachers' reports: 1942-1962;
- Z50/18/27-28: photographs of former school: 1984