See also the new school
 < The old school, circa 1963.
The school was founded by John Scott who was a brother of the Duke of Buccleuch, the date was unknown. In 1919 the Duke of Buccleuch sold all the property in the village apart from the school and the two school houses. The school was put into a trust and was registered as an Eccelsiastical Charity in 1919, the two houses were apparently left in the ownership of the Duke of Buccleuch.
In 1923 the school houses were purchased by the School Managers for the benefit of the school. The money for the purchase, £465, was advanced by Thomas Chalmers of Lawford Lodge. The villagers themselves repaid most of the loan through various fund raising events, it was finally repaid in 1939. In 1940 the two houses were registered as an Ecclesiastical Charity, the trustees were the Coventry Diocesan Trustees who were also looking after the school charity set up earlier. The Trustees appointed the school managers as the local administrative managers. This arrangement contined until 1952 when the school's status changed and it became a C.E. controlled school, whereupon the Parochial Church Council took over local administration.
Warwickshire County Council bought the land for the new school from Mr. Clarke, and it was opened on 18th of February 1964. The old school and school houses were not sold until February 1970. They were sold for £3,934.9.6, of this £1,895.14.0 was deemed attributable to the part of the site occupied by the old school and was paid to W.C.C., the remainder (£2,038.15.6) became the property of the school houses charity. The terms and conditions of the charity were not decided until 1980 : there was a strong feeling that the village people should be the beneficiaries, while the Coventry Diocesan Trustees wanted to extend it to a much wider area. The actual wording is "...the Managing Trustees shall apply the clear income of the Charity in furthering the religious and other charitable work, including the educational work, of the Church of England in the said ecclesiastical parish and the neighbourhood thereof.". The original sum of £2,038 had grown to £3,450 by this time. |
