History of Pennington
Junior school written by Mr R Cruse, teacher at Pennington from 1946
- 1988
The first school in Pennington opened
in September 1852. The Lady of the Manor Mrs E Pulteney, had given the
site and contributed most of the cost of the building, about £1600
pounds. It was a Church of England School, and its architecture echoed
the Victorian Gothic style of the neighbouring parish church of St Marks.
The master lived in a three bedroom
house on the premises and, with monitors, controlled about 175 children
aged form 5 to 13 years,
As numbers rose a new school was needed
for the infants. Again this was provided by the Pulteney Family, and
opened in April 1887.
The two original buildings still stand,
but are now used for other purposes. The village clock on the earlier
school commemorates the coronation of King George V in 1911.
The 1944 Education Act raised the school
leaving age to 15, ended elimentary schools and introduced universal
secondary education throughout the country. A secondary morden school
for the lymington area was established in the original Grammar School
building in Brockenhurst (now the education development centre), but
before its opening in 1949 overcrowding and lack of facilities in the
old Pennington school caused the transfer of our over-elevens to Ashley
secondary.
Meanwhile Hampshire County Council bought
the Priestalands estate for Eductional use. The big House was first
let to a small private school next it should have been converted for
juniors, but as the managers considered it to be unsuitable it became
Pennington Infant school in 1952. Then Hampshire needed teacher's residential
courses so a new infant school was built on the estate and the old house
became the Gurney-Dixon Centre. The estate was also the site for Priestlands
school, which opened in 1956. The northwest corner was reserved for
a new junior school; but nothing was done about that for some time.
The 1877 building in South Street housed
one or two junior classes for eighteen years, as pupil numbers continued
to increase.
At last the county decided to start
work on a new two form entry junior school to a 1950's design. The first
two classrooms were built under the minor works programme (for projects
costing upto £20 000) and opened in March 1960. No permanent additions
were made for another 10 years, although three temporary wooden classrooms
were built to hold increased numbers. Eventually the authority completed
our present building in 1970.
During the 1960s the school raised over
£2000 for a swimming pool, and this was constructed by the school
builders in the summer of 1970.
By Christmas 1970 the Victorian buliding
ceased to be used as a school; the temporay classrooms were removed
in 1980. The only significant addition to the buildings in the 1980's
was the block of dual purpose changing room completed in 1981 and again
paid for by the school.
Currently the school is part of an on
going Landscape Project.
Over £20 000 was raised for phase 1 which involved landscaping
the grounds to provide an adventure playground and a social area, both
of which are enjoyed by the children. Phases 2 is now under way with
the filling in of the swimming pool to eventually make way for an ampitheatre.
Plans have already been drawn up to make the changing rooms into a drama
and music classroom.
