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St Johns' School started as a Sunday School. During 1830 and 1831 a church committee was discussing the possibilities of building a school, in 1831 a committee was formed for this purpose, and decided to build two school rooms and to raise money by holding a 'fayre'. A 'fayre' was held and the Duchess of Kent came to open it. Princess Victoria visited the St- John's Sunday School and gave £5 cowards the new building. In l832 the  National  Society  for  Promoting Religious Education  contributed the sum of  £80 towards the escalated cost  of £300 for building a schoolroom 60 feet by 20 feet to accommodate 200 children. At a meeting of the committee of subscribers on 20th March 1832 it was resolved that the building should be begun as soon as possible.

St. John's Schools owe their origin to the initiative or the first vicar "Parson Veck" as he was familiarly known. The first stone of the New School Rooms was laid by the Rev. H.A. Veck. M.A., Incumbent of the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist on 8th May 1832. A great  number of people attended the Service of Thanksgiving in St John's Chapel, when £7. 4s. 0d. was collected.

The new school rooms were opened on 1^st October 1832. The  choristers  sang  ‘Non Nobis Dominie’, ‘The Hallelujah Chorus, and ‘The Coronation Anthem’,Handel, after which a bazaar was opened, and £80. Os. Od.  was added to the building fund.

The committee for the building of the Sunday School Rooms met on the 23rd October 1832 and resolved that Mr Veck should draw the £80 granted by the National Society and that he be authorised to accept the builder’s offer of paving the ground in front of the School Rooms for £5. 0s. 0d. with stone fatteners and that he obtain from the builder estimate for building two privies. Those who had collected the annual penny subscriptions were asked to continue doing so for another year.

The new building was finished and divided into two rooms for boys and girls in 1833. It was filled to capacity on Sundays and 60 boys attended the day school.During l833 three more events were held in aid of the building fund. One, a concert of sacred music realising the sum of £22.9.6d. Two, a Bazaar which raised £4l.9.0d. On this occasion a Military Band attended on the green and choristers sang some songs. The third event was another performance of sacred music by 90 performers, vocal and instrumental. The profit of £20.1.1d. included a donation of £5 from H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent. The concert was under the patronage of their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria.

At a meeting of the building committee on 15th October 1833 it was stated that the profit from the concert on 1st October was sufficient to pay the whole of the remaining debt for the building of the schoolrooms. Every bill was now paid and within twelve months of the opening of the schools!

Between 1846 and 1847, 75 boys, 40 girls and 37 infants attended school on weekdays and Sundays. Over and above these numbers another 40 boys and 23 girls attended on Sundays only They were taught by a master and a mistress with a joint salary of £45 per annum. The total cost of maintaining the school was about £95 per annum, which was raised by the children's pence and subscriptions.                      

When the Rev Aubrey Veck laid the first stone of the new manse (vicarage) near the church  on 3rd October 1848 the choristers sang Psalm 118 and all the school children had a bun and a glass of lemon and water. There were then 72 boys and 58 girls. In 1861 the boys and girls’ schools were built and the existing premises were reorganised for infants only.

The boys' school suffered cramped conditions in 1869. Five or six boys were squashed together on a desk. Blackboards were propped on easels and slates and slate pencils were used  The cane was the punishment for being late or for truancy. School apparatus included desks, forms, chairs, a master's desk a music board and lessons on cards in iron frames for scripture and history. The curate gave bible lessons to he first class, the master took rehearsals for the school concert. The person who was master of the school at this tine had been trained a Winchester Diocesan Training College in 1854.

One of the older boys was appointed as monitor to work towards becoming a pupil teacher. One of his duties was to sweep the school. The day after he was appointed monitor he began lessons.  NEXT PAGE