By Richard Bryant and Janet Bishop, Lindfield History Project Group

This article looks at Lindfield School between 1900 and 2000. The 20th century saw many changes in the school’s management, structure, composition, name, location and, not least, significant developments in the approach to educating children. Since formation in 1881 it had been managed by the Lindfield School Board controlled by central Government. Two years into the new century responsibility for elementary education passed from government to East Sussex County Council, beginning a long period of local government control. Throughout all the changes the schools DNA continued to reflect the founding principles.

An early change arising from the County Council taking control was that drilling of school children should be done by the teaching staff and not a military drill instructor. The school said goodbye to Sgt James who had been drilling the boys for ten years; during which time it was reported that ‘it was not an uncommon thing to see the lads slouching along before Sgt James took them in hand, but now they were quite smart in appearance and in their movement’.

Life in the village school continued largely unchanged until the coming of the Great War in 1914. With teachers volunteering or being conscripted, including the headmaster, staffing became a problem necessitating the return of married women. Sadly, two teachers died in action. Pupils were expected to contribute to the war effort in a number of ways. The boys were taught gardening as part of their syllabus and maintained a thriving school garden, winning the County’s Challenge Spade in 1917 for best school garden. Their skills were put to use tending gardens of men away on military service, providing their families with potatoes and vegetables. Girls put their sewing skills to use darning and sewing for wounded soldiers at the Red Cross Hospital. The War Office supported a scheme to collect donated new-laid eggs for every wounded soldier and sailor in hospital. A national Children’s Week’s collection in 1916 received 183 eggs from pupils. Near the war’s end, in June 1918 the structure of the school changed with the amalgamation of the Boys’ and Girls’ School creating Lindfield Mixed School; the Infant School remained separate.

Without its own sports field, good use was made of the Common for sports that were becoming an increasing feature of school life. The first major success came in 1921, winning the East Sussex and Lewes Schools Football League final against Turners Hill School. The match, held at Ardingly Recreation Ground, was attended by over a 1,000 spectators; the Mid Sussex Times reported ‘practically all the inhabitants of Lindfield’ seemed to have attended. The thrilling match ended with Lindfield winning 3-0. On their return, the Ardingly Scouts Band led captain Les Wood, holding the trophy high, and the team down a cheering High Street.

The Mixed and Infant Schools merged into a single entity in 1933, providing education to all children aged five to 14. Further changes occurred in 1938 with pupils aged over 11 being transferred to the newly built Haywards Heath Senior School (now Oathall) at Scrase Bridge. At this time a new kitchen and dining hall opened in the main building, replacing the Reading Room which had been rented for this purpose since 1929. Perhaps more surprisingly, it was not until 1939 that electric lighting was installed into the Lewes Road buildings to replace the old gas lights.

Peace was again shattered when World War II was declared. Immediately schoolchildren from areas deemed vulnerable to enemy bombing were evacuated to the countryside. Lindfield received the Henry Fawcett School from Kennington, London, with 200 pupils on its roll, doubling the number of children to be educated in Lindfield. The schools were taught separately by their own teachers but shared facilities using the school buildings, Reading Room and King Edward Hall at various times of the day. With invasion imminent, 70 more evacuees from Romney Marsh schools arrived in August 1940. Gradually as enemy bombing eased many of the children, with their teachers, returned home. Those that remained were merged into Lindfield School.

From 1940 instructions required children to be kept in their classrooms and only proceed to the air raid shelters in the playground if danger appeared imminent. When flying bombs necessitated rapid evacuation, these shelters were abandoned and instead children were instructed to take shelter under their desks on the command ‘Rabbits’. To help fund the war effort the Government encouraged everyone to save in the National Savings Schemes. The school formed a Saving Association so that each week children could save a few pennies collecting a total of £2,321.10s.6d. Immediately after the war, a new canteen was built; and, following the passing of another Education Act, the school was renamed Lindfield County Primary School. This heralded the start of a period of stability.

Arising from a meeting of parents and teachers called by headmaster Mr McQueen, in the autumn of 1954 a Parent Teacher Association was formed, which has made significant contributions to the school ever since. A major contribution in June 1967, was to donate a prefabricated outdoor swimming pool that was positioned close to the Reading Room.

The County Council in 1958 purchased the Reading Room (aka the Social Centre), finally uniting what, in the past century, had been the National schoolroom with the current school to provide much needed additional space.

A major change occurred in January 1968 when the infant classes transferred to a new school built in the grounds of Beckworth House creating Lindfield County Infants School. This was the first time since 1883 that the schools operated from different sites. The Junior School continued at Lewes Road in its aged and increasingly unsuitable facilities. Four years later three teachers and their classes transferred from the Junior School to the newly opened Blackthorns School. By the late 1980s the Junior School buildings were deemed no longer suitable for current educational needs. A working party was established to find a way forward, with the option being to redevelop the Lewes Road site and build a new replacement Junior School either off Newton Road [today the Limes site] or at Beckworth. The latter was chosen and plans prepared for a two storey Junior School to be built in front of the Infant School. This was scheduled for 1992/93 but for various reasons the scheme did not go ahead.

It was 1998 before revised proposals were developed and approved, to replace the Junior School with new accommodation next to the Infant School, amalgamating the two schools to provide a single ‘all-through’ primary education for four to 11 year olds. This required building eight new classrooms, changes to the existing building, remodelling the grounds and the demolition of Beckworth House. Work was swiftly commenced and ready for occupation in 2000.

At the end of Summer Term 2000, Lindfield Junior School and Lindfield Infants closed. They reopened in their new state-of-the-art facilities as Lindfield Primary School; ushering in a new era for education in Lindfield to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Contact Lindfield History Project Group via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/ or 01444 482136.

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