By Harry Mottram: Parents new to the area often wonder why in the Cheddar Valley there is an unusual state school system: infant and junior schools, middle schools and Kings of Wessex senior school – now known as Kings Academy. The reason is the complex history of education in the area and also a pragmatic use of the existing buildings left over from the old secondary modern and grammar school system as well as a hangover from the 19th century.
Former student of Kings of Wessex Dr Laura Carter lectures in British History at Université de Paris and has written at length about the school. She is the author of Secondary education and social change in the UK since 1945, for the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge and her new book Histories of Everyday Life: The Making of Popular Social History in Britain, 1918-1979 (Oxford University Press, 2021) is now out.
In part one of her account of the Cheddar senior school she sets out how education was presented in the early 19th century for average children – not the gentry. For the rich and privileged education had been available for centuries – but that was a tiny minority. For ordinary folk the idea of universal education was only a dream until a Christian evangelist in the form of Hannah More and her sisters decided to start schools in Bristol and Somerset in the early 19th century. They were met with opposition from farmers who employed children, the Church of England and employers in general – plus the idea held by many people that education would lead to social problems such as demands for equality created by the recent French Revolution. However, the type of education Hannah More planned to provide was not like what we would think of as a comprehensive curriculum. Essentially it featured an understanding and reading of the Bible and scriptures – but also for women in particular some basic housekeeping to help feed their families on a budget.
Dr Laura Carter wrote: “Cheddar’s educational history goes back to a series of schools founded by the evangelical Christian educationalist Hannah More to spread literacy amongst the working classes of the Mendips hills in Somerset. Three of the Hannah More schools, including Cheddar, were still operational into the 1820s and in 1834 the Cheddar school fell under the authority of the Church of England, finally becoming a senior mixed state school in 1937. Cheddar’s postwar, co-educational secondary modern school was essentially a continuation of this. It opened in the late 1940s on the same site. By 1950 the secondary modern school had 188 pupils on its roll, but attendance from the neighbouring villages (each within a 5–6-mile radius) was inconsistent and patchy due to transport problems. School meals were served on desks across the five main classrooms in the 1950s.”
Hannah More was born in 1745 in a different era – and was seen by some historians as ahead of her time. She wrote plays, was involved in the anti slave trade campaign but was not infavour of votes for women – when most men did not have the vote. But fired up with a Christian revivalism along with her sisters she had a dramatic effect in starting a form of limited education in the area.
Dr Laura Carter continues: “In addition to the main site at Lower North Street (long since converted into a block of flats, now known as Hannah More Court), the school had use of some huts and a building 600 yards away known as ‘Church House’ (a church property), which boasted a large hall with a stage.
“Cheddar Secondary School was designated a Voluntary Controlled Church of England school in 1949 and thus the local church provided material resources, as well as moral support. According to the logbooks, religion was indeed at the heart of school life via daily prayers, readings, and assemblies. The school received ‘Diocesan Inspections’ by a Reverend in the 1950s; in 1958 it was earnestly noted that ‘In keeping with the Authority’s Instruction, all leavers have been provided with an illustrated copy of the Holy Bible, a gift no doubt appreciated by parents’.
Today the school system has a number of feeder infant and primary schools to the middle schools of Fairlands in Cheddar and in Hugh Sexeys in Blackford – a name that predates Hannah More by centuries. After middle school students progress to KOW in Cheddar as many call it – now Kings Academy. Education has changed since the era of the eleven plus exam when children were seperated on the basis of the test – those who passed went to the grammar school and those that didn’t attended the secondary school from then on. In 1965 the Labour Government began to phase out the system which was seen as unfair to many children and created an ‘us and them’ set up and even overtones of a class system. The entire ethos has changed considerably with the ending of corporal punishment in 1986 although its use was very unusual in the later decades – but back in the 1940s and 1950s even girls were caned for being rude or using bad language – a form of punishment now consigned to history.
As a family we moved to Axbridge from Bristol in the late 1990s as we were unable to get our children into any senior school in the city – and were eventually offered Nailsea which was a long drive away. In the Cheddar Valley and most of Somerst children went to the local schools so it was a ‘no brainer’ to move house. Things have changed since then but all of our four children attended KOW – and Axbridge and Fairlands – making use of the unusual three stage school system in the valley.
For more on Dr Laura Carter visit https://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/people/laura-carter
For more on Kings Academy visit https://www.kowessex.co.uk/
For more on Hannah More’s life including her being jilted at the altar see my article at https://www.harrymottram.co.uk/publications/strawberry-line-times/features/jilted-bride/
Axbridge News is edited by Harry Mottram and is published for the interest of himself and fellow residents.
Harry is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube etc
Email:harryfmottram@gmail.com
Website:www.harrymottram.co.uk
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