All Saints Church of England Primary School

Then… All Saints Church of England Primary School was first opened on 1 st May 1893. It was paid for the Bishop of Guildford and built on Church land. The Hampshire Chronicle reported: The schools occupy an exceptionally favoured site near the new church of All Saints on the eastern side of Highcliffe.

The building is of red brick with tiled roofs and the large windows are grouped under pointed arches. The convertible desks for the use of the children are a feature being made of Padang mahogany. The contractor of the building was Mr. Franklin, the amount of his contract being £1614.

The new school was intended for the children of Chilcomb, Highcliffe, Morn Hill, Bar End and Chesil Street. Looking East and South from the school the view was of open country, manly fields and allotments with just a house here and there. The school was organised into two departments each with its own head teacher.

Miss Chown was in charge of the Infants and Mr Whitfield had responsibility for the Mixed Department. On his retirement in 1919, he said that his aim had been to create an atmosphere of truth, honesty, love and goodwill. To begin with he had two teachers and a monitor to assist him. The official number on roll was 160 but he often had more than 200 children in two rooms.