EDUCATION.

There was no school in the Churcham half of the parish in 1818 when the poor were said to desire the means of education. (fn. 69) In 1825 a church Sunday school was started and it had an attendance of 24 in 1833, when there was also a Wesleyan Sunday school with an attendance of 30. In 1833 there was also a boarding school where 22 children were educated at their parents' expense, (fn. 70) and the parish had a number of small dame schools in 1847. Plans for a parish school at Churcham were under consideration in 1847, (fn. 71) but it was not until 1856 that one was established to serve both Churcham and Bulley; (fn. 72) it was situated in Bulley and its history is reserved for a later volume.

From 1808 Sir William Guise was paying an annual salary to a woman for teaching children at Highnam, (fn. 73) and in 1833 that part of the parish was served by a small day school with an attendance of 24 children, half of whom were paid for by Sir William and the others by their parents. (fn. 74) In 1850 a National school was built at Highnam by Thomas Gambier Parry; (fn. 75) in the early 1850s its income came from voluntary contributions and pence. An evening school was then being held in conjunction with it. (fn. 76) In 1885 the school had an average attendance of 59, (fn. 77) in 1910 of 62; by 1922 it had fallen to 22, but there was an increase to 33 by 1936 (fn. 78) and to 77 by 1970. (fn. 79) The stone school building was designed in the Gothic style by Henry Woodyer and stands by the Newent road to the north-east of the church.

Footnotes