The School House
Following the opening of the new school in June 1895, the Badsey School Board bought a further piece of the field called Stockey, known as the Rickyard to allow for the provision of a school house for the headmaster. The first occupant was Mr John Henry McDonald, who was appointed on a salary of £100 a year, plus £10 in lieu of a house. He remained there until his death in June 1913. His successor was Mr Frank Amos, who was head until 1945.
By the time Mr Ronald Henry West was appointed head in 1944, the house needed some updating, as shown by this extract from the letter he wrote before he was prepared to part with the rental of £26 per annum. After asking for redecoration of the house, he continues:
“I think it is usual for a copper to be provided… If it is possible to have a gas copper, by far the best position would seem to be in the small outhouse where the gas stove now is. I should very much like to have the gas stove fitted in the kitchen in any convenient position provided no light from the window is obstructed, as there is need for all light available at the sink in its present position.”
He finishes by complaining about the safety of the wiring.
The Old School House in 1968
The house continued to be used by the headmaster until the 1980s when it was sold, and the money used to form an educational charity to supplement the education of pupils which still exists today.