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PREVIOUS PAGE -At a time when some parents were even too poor to buy boots for their children, it was a great help for one of their family to earn a little money helping a farmer. Some people suffering from poverty would ask the Vicar for help. The clergy were much involved in the running of the school. Apart from helping with the teaching of religious studies, they were responsible for the building and furniture. In the early days of the school they were also concerned with the ordering of stock the curate gave some lessons in religious knowledge. For four days in Holy Week the boys were taken to church for religious instruction or catechising from 9.15am to 9.50am. A Drawing Examination was conducted by Morgan Graves. Esq., and by the two curates. The clergy examined the boys in the Old and New Testament, History, Arithmetic, Reading, Scripture, and Church Catechism.

The clergy visited parents sometimes to check on absentees and sometimes brought truants back to school! The Vicar was consulted when there was trouble with the Pupil Teachers and sometimes when there were problems with children or parents. Three clergy visited the school to verify the Admiralty Returns, which showed the number of children whose parents were employed by the Admiralty.

The Vicar arranged for the desk accommodation. In 1879 he called at the school to take the dimensions for a new desk for the classroom and a new Master's desk. A week later the new desk for the Master was placed in the principal room and the old one was placed in the new classroom. The Vicar went to see the Master about starting a Penny Bank for the children in 1876 and 50 boys and girls became depositors in the School Penny Bank a fortnight later. By 1878 it was considered necessary to raise the school fees and it was the Vicar who brought the printed notices to the school to he distributed to the children. These were to remind parents that after Whitsuntide the school fees would be raised to 3d. per week for each child.

A testimonial was presented to the Rev HA Veck in 1862 Dr Acheson, RN, made the presentation and in his address praised the way the Vicar had cared for the people of the parish. Amongst other things he said that the poor of the district had never appealed to the Vicar in vain for relief, nor had the afflicted for sympathy.  

The routine in the Girls' and Infants' Schools was very similar to that of the Boys' School. There was accommodation for 276 children in the Infants School in December 1872. The measurements were as follows:

Infants Room  60ft x 20ft x 17ft

Small Classroom 24ft x l8ft x l5ft

Large Classroom 24ft x 24ft x 11ft

A new Mistress had been appointed to the Infant's School in this year. She was not very happy about some of the visitors to the school. The visit of managers and others to the school were to be noted in the Log Book as well as occasions when managers examined classes. One day, part of the school was occupied by a number of ladies who were making decorations to prepare for a concert. On the Thursday of this week the children were given a holiday so that the school might be cleaned. The school building was probably used regularly for church or Sunday school activities but perhaps only once a year for a bazaar and a concert. It is not until 1876 that another similar complaint is made in the Log Book about the use of the school. The infants' prayers were late one morning (9.40am) because the room had been used the previous evening and the desks had not been put back!

There was rigid adherence to the timetable and even in the Infants' School movement of the children was restricted - unlike the freedom of movement and happy pursuits and activities of today. For instance one class was 'kept in' to read one day in 1876; the first half started doing home lessons, which is learning of tables and spellings. The children were promoted to a higher class by examinations; Lessons were very formal on subjects such as a Farm; a House Broom; a Candle; the Colour "Blue"; "A Knife"; a Train"; "A Boot" anal a "Set of Fire irons”.

Brief  reports were written each week in the Pupil Teachers and what they taught. Occasionally if the attendance was poor the Pupil Teachers were allowed to do some of their own work in school time - such as finishing their needlework for the examination.      NEXT PAGE