Shalfleet School History
In 1849 a new vicar, the Revd Thomas Cottle, arrived in the parish of Shalfleet. Cottle was a man of considerable wealth and he decided to buy, and live in, Ningwood Manor, that is, a mile from Shalfleet Church.
At the time of his arrival the religious bodies, both Church of England and Non-Conformist, were building schools all over the nation. Generally speaking the Island lagged behind the national movement, but the parish of Calbourne had opened a school about 1840, and nearby Brighstone had one as early as 1837. Cottle was determined that his parish would not be left behind and he prodded the local worthies into action.
Mary Nash, the widow of the famous architect John Nash, lived at Hamstead and she was persuaded to donate a small plot of land. Money was raised and William Way of Dodpits Farm provided stone, probably from a quarry that once existed in front of the house.
Plans were drawn up and Shalfleet School was opened in 1850. It comprised of a schoolhouse for the master and a large single room that could be partitioned. Interestingly the school does not stand in the village of Shalfleet, but just a few hundred yards from Ningwood Manor where Cottle could keep his eye on things. Census returns also reveal that, at the time, many more people lived in Ningwood than in Shalfleet village.
The first headmaster was James Monk. Sadly, James Monk drowned in 1855, he had been giving pupils a swimming lesson in nearby Ningwood Lake.
In 1870, as a result of the Forster Education Act, School Boards were created to build and run schools where none existed. This act had little impact on Shalfleet, where the church was responsible for the cost of the school and the teachers. The financial burden was a problem because the parish of Shalfleet was extremely poor and sparsely populated. The state did provide grants, calculated on the basis of attendance and proficiency in the three R’s, a poor Victorian joke that stood for Reading Writing and Arithmetic.
In 1902 a major Education Act was passed. As a result the 1870 School Boards were abolished and Local Education Authorities were given overall responsibility. The L.E.A. now required that drastic improvements should be made to the run down buildings, a requirement that led to much dispute between the local vicar and the authority. Improvements were made and many of the buildings defects rectified. The church did, however, retain some financial responsibility for the buildings.
The land next to the school had been made available to the children, but during the 1914-18 war food production took priority over the needs of the children. However, post war, in 1924 the L.E.A. was able to purchase the field.
Harry Lock (headmaster) and children at Shalfleet School 1915
War was again declared in 1939 and between 1940 and 1942 dogfights in the skies above and German bombers passing overhead often disrupted the children’s education. During the night of May 4/5th 1942, a major raid took place on Cowes, and only 10 children managed to make their way to school on May 5th.
Whilst the war was still raging the Government passed the landmark 1944 Education Act. This act led to a major educational re-organisation over the nation. Locally the Act had a considerable impact. First, the church gave up “all” financial control of the school. Second, children were to leave the school at the age of 11 and older children were now bussed to Freshwater. Third, economies of scale were required and the schools at Locks Green and Calbourne were closed and the majority of the pupils transferred to Ningwood.. A prefabricated canteen was erected in 1949, meals were cooked in Yarmouth and delivered to the school. Between 1958 and 1961 there was another phase of building, a new hall was constructed as was a purpose built kitchen. The old 1949 canteen was converted into classrooms.
Shalfleet Church of England Primary School 1965
In 1970-1971 the Isle of Wight opted for a Middle School system, meaning that children now left Shalfleet Primary School at the aged of 9. The school at Freshwater became a middle school, and older children were served by a High School at Carisbooke.
Between 1997 and 1998 there was another phase of building. The 1949 canteen was demolished, the old school masters house was converted to office accommodation and the school we see today was formally re-opened on 20th November 1998.
At the time of writing, the Middle School system is about to end and children will once again stay at Shalfleet Primary School until a transfer at the age of 11.
Ian R Broad 2009, author of ‘Calbourne & Shalfleet Parish Schools, The History of the Buildings, Teachers, Pupils and Life from Victorian Days to the Present’. Available from the school office, profits from which will benefit Shalfleet School.
Heads of Shalfleet School
| Monk | James | 1850-1855 |
| Stafford | William John | 1855-1859 |
| Jenkins | John | 1859-1860 |
| Faulkner | Harriet | 1860-1864 |
| Faulkner | James | 1864-1868 |
| Board | Baruch | 1868-Circa 1875 |
| Pyne | Henry | Circa 1875-1885 |
| Bend | William George | 1885-Circa 1888 |
| Rogers | Alfred | Circa 1888-1892 |
| Mann | B. | 1892-1899 |
| Deeth | Thomas | 1899-1902 |
| Clark | ? | 1902-1905 |
| Warner | Percy | 1905-1913 |
| Lock | Harry | 1913-1935 |
| Taylor | E.J. | 1935-1941 |
| Welch | Florence May | 1941-1945 |
| Ivy | Watson | 1945-1947 |
| Minns | Kathleen | 1947-1950 |
| Robson | R.T.J. | 1950-1976 |
| Smith | Cynthia | 1976-1977 |
| Penfold | Joan | 1977-1991 |
| Hobson | Carol | 1991-1995 |
| Collins | Vivienne | 1996-2008 |
| Nicolson | Lisa | 2008- |