Most residents of the village will be familiar with the Old School that sits on the High Street in the village. This was the village school up until the 1960’s and many of the current residents spent some of their school days at the old school. It may look quiet now, but it once it was at the heart of the community in the same way as St Helens’ school is today.
Recently some records were unearthed which inspired two contributors to the Heritage project to carry out further research in to the old day school.
Elaine Gebbie has written a fabulous article based on the Attendance Registers of the School dating back to 1899. A great read for all you current, past and future teachers out there. It takes a look at the contents of the registers and allows us to understand how there were as many rules for the staff as there were for the pupils. Entitled THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE ABSOLUTELY ABYSMAL, it’s really worth a read, interesting and amusing in equal measure.
David Gedye, has written a really interesting article on the history of education in Bluntisham entitled Revolution or Evolution – The arrival of Universal Education in Bluntisham-cum-Earith. It’s a detailed account of how education in the village developed, the stories behind the village charities and the people involved in bringing education to the village. Starting in the 1700’s all the way through to when St Helen’s school opened. A real history of education in the village and the physical building, including thought provoking details on the benefits of running water – you’ll need to read it to find out what I mean.
Both can be found by following the link at the top of the page. I hope that you enjoy reading them both as much as I did, thank you Elaine and David for your hard work.
Philippa 30.01.2022
