Wickhamford School

Wickhamford School – a proposal in the 1910s

In the period 1913-1915 there was a proposal to open a school for Wickhamford children, as Badsey School was becoming overcrowded.   In the event, nothing became of this suggestion, probably due to the intervention of the Great War.

Overcrowding at Badsey School

A return for the pupil numbers at Badsey Council School in 1913 showed that there were 297 children on the register.  At this time there were approximately two hundred older children in the Mixed Department and one hundred in the Infant Department.  Of these, forty-five came from Wickhamford and the remainder, apart from two from Bengeworth, came from Badsey and Aldington. The residents of Wickhamford were keen to have a school of their own, a suggestion which the Managers of Badsey School thought worthy of consideration in view of their overcrowding problem. In The Standard, of 21st February 1914, it was stated that Badsey School had accommodation for 188 Mixed and 88 Infants.  The average number of books for the year ending 31st March 1913 was 205 Mixed and 93 Infants and “It seems clear that before long extra accommodation will have to be provided.”

Wickhamford Elementary School proposal

The Local Education Authority held an Enquiry at Badsey School in December 1913 and a decision was made to build a school at Wickhamford.   Nothing happened immediately but, in 1914, His Majesty’s Inspector, Mr Cartwright, brought the matter to the attention of the Board of Education.  The Chief Education Officer for Worcestershire, Mr Priestly, was asked to submit a return to the Board of Education.   This gave the Board cause for concern as it highlighted the severe overcrowding at Badsey School.

In March 1915, the LEA issued a Public Notice stating their intention to provide a new Public Elementary School in the parish of Wickhamford (see below).  However, the war-time restrictions must have prevented the scheme from progressing any further.   Four months later, the Director of Education visited Badsey to discuss the issue of accommodation but there was no mention of the Wickhamford School proposal.  Also, because of the restrictions in place, no alterations could be made to Badsey School either.  As a temporary measure, no children were promoted from the Infant Department at the end of the year.

The Badsey School Committee

The Badsey School committee members 1913-1915 period were Julius Sladden, Charles Binyon, Walter Blake and William Mustoe from Badsey, George Agg from Wickhamford and Wilson Henry Butler from Aldington.

At the committee meeting of 5th March 1915 those present were Messrs Blake, Mustoe, Agg and Butler.  Regarding the proposal for a new school, a letter was read from the authority enclosing copy of Public Notice which had been issued by them under the provisions of Section 8(i) of the Education Act 1902, as to their intention to provide a new Public Elementary School for not more than 100 children in the Parish of Wickhamford.  The Authority wanted to know what, if any, works or repair would be required.  The managers did not make any suggestion or recommendation.  

Where would the new school have been located ?

The best information on the potential location for Wickhamford School comes from a newspaper report in 1915.  The Evesham Standard and West Midland Observer published on 21st August 1915, gave the following report:

SCHOOL ACCOMMODATION AT WICKHAMFORD
The General Purposes Sub-Committee reported that the public notice of the authority’s intention to provide a new school at Wickhamford for not exceeding 100 children had now been given for the required period of three months and no objection had been lodged against the proposal. They recommended that about half-an-acre of land (part of a piece of land offered by Messrs Lord and Parker on behalf of the owners) be purchased at a price of £100 per acre, subject to the following stipulations, made by Messrs Lord and Parker, viz., that the depth of the land from the high road be no less that the depth of the fence of the cottages on the south side (about two chains) and that the cost of the conveyance be paid by the County Council.

The Chairman moved that the matter be referred back on the ground that the site would not be suitable.  He said that the site was close to the Gloucestershire borders, and Worcestershire children would not go to it from the one side. They ought to have the school between Wickhamford and Badsey. The paragraph was referred back.

This was the last report found concerning Wickhamford School in the Newspaper Archives currently released.

One problem with the suggestion that the School be located more towards Badsey concerned land ownership.  Messrs Lord and Parker were acting on behalf of the Trustees of Estate of J.P.Lord, who owned much of the land in Wickhamford.  They owned the land to the south of Pitchers Hill, where the school was proposed, but the majority land along Manor Road and Golden Lane was not theirs to sell.  

What if …

If a decision had been taken by the LEA in 1915 to build a school in Wickhamford it is probable that land purchase and building could have been completed ready for opening in September 1916. 

By looking at the Badsey School registers for this period it is possible to construct a list of Wickhamford children who would have attended a school in the village.  The following table lists those chilldren born between 1900 and 1912 who might have attended a school in Wickhamford.  In addition, there were about ten children from Bowers Hill on the way to Willersey from Badsey, who could have made a shorter journey to a school in Manor Road via Burnt Road, from Francis Grave into Wickhamford.

The number of Wickhamford children attending Basdey School in 1913 was given as 45, but the list below comes to about 60.  This must be considered as a potential maximum and the actual number would fall somewhere between these figures.

Tom Locke, December 2015 (updated October 2023)