The history of Shinfield Infants School
Shinfield
According to a tablet on the front of the school:
'This school was built by Richard Piggott, cutler and citizen of
The purpose of the school was to educate twenty poor pupils, of either sex, at no charge; according to records only boys appeared. Other fee paying pupils were allowed to attend at the Master's discretion. The curriculum was limited to reading, writing, learning accounts and singing psalms. Unfortunately many pupils were 'absent' when the bean or corn harvests were being gathered!
Every year, just before Founders Day on May 30th, the children were to be given a free outfit of clothing. Clothed in their new garments they were marched up to church for the service, which is still celebrated by the pupils today.
Thanks to several bequests, the school continued to expand and the number of pupils attending rose steadily. By 1858 the accounts were strong enough to pay for a bun and a glass of wine for each child on Founders Day, a tradition now discontinued!
By 1969 the number of pupils attending warranted a larger building, a junior school was built on a site at Chestnut Crescent and the original building became
In 2001 the Council agreed to partially cover the cost of the renovation of two upper floors of the former School House which had become unsafe. These were converted into a staff room, kitchen, workroom and office area. The room, on the ground floor, which had previously been a staff room was converted into a History Room. It was named after Gwen Hutson, a much loved past chairman of the Governoring body, who had influenced life at the school for many years. The History room is flourishing, thanks to the determined efforts of a few supporters and is well worth a visit. Included in the historical exhibits about past life in Shinfield is a book called “Shinfield C of E School” by J E Jackson, should you wish to learn more about the school’s history.
Shinfield Infant and Nursery School and Shinfield St Mary's CE (VA)