Education
William Plasterer, by will
proved 1711, bequeathed £20 to teach poor
children to read, and Henry Alnutt, by will
dated 1724, left the residue of his estate at
Goring to teach, clothe, and apprentice boys
from Cassington and four other parishes. (fn. 87)
There was a schoolmaster in Cassington by
1729, and throughout the 18th century a small
school for four boys was maintained by Alnutt's
charity. (fn. 88) The number of boys was increased to
six c. 1824. (fn. 89)
By 1808 about 30 other children paid to
attend the school, but in 1815 only 12 children,
8 boys and 4 girls, attended, and a further 12
attended another school. (fn. 90) In 1818 it was reported that the poor of the parish lacked sufficient means of education; there was only the
charity school for four boys and a Sunday school
for c. 80 children. (fn. 91) Before 1831 the vicar established a day school attended by 29 children,
including 6 boys supported by Allnutt's charity
and 2 girls by Plasterer's. (fn. 92) By 1833 the number
of charity boys had been increased to 10, but
total attendance had fallen to 20, compared with
a total of 44 children attending the Sunday
school. (fn. 93)
In 1853 a new school and master's house were
built jointly by the parish, Christ Church, and
the Alnutt trustees. The site, in the centre of the
village, was given by the duke of Marlborough. (fn. 94)
In 1854 the school was attended by 25-30
children in addition to the charity children;
there was also a school for 15-20 children kept
by a dissenter, presumably a Methodist, (fn. 95) but it
was not recorded again. An evening school,
supported by the vicar and the duke of Marlborough, was started in 1859 and in 1867 was
attended by as many as 30 children who were
taught reading, writing, geography, and scripture. (fn. 96)
The day school, described as a National
school in 1866, received a parliamentary grant
from 1867, when average attendance was 57
although there was accommodation for only
47. (fn. 97) In 1871 the school was still overcrowded;
although accommodation had been increased to
62, average attendance was 69. (fn. 98) It was enlarged
in 1876 for 84 children, but by 1890 the opening
of a school at Eynsham had reduced Cassington's numbers to 52. (fn. 99)
Cassington school was reorganized as a junior
school in 1926, the older children going to
Gosford Hill school in Kidlington. A new
school was built in 1973, and in 1983 the roll was
69. (fn. 1)
The income from the Alnutt charity was 40s.
throughout the 18th century, but had risen to £6
by 1825 as a result of the inclosure of Goring in
1809. In 1825 each of the six boys educated by
the charity also received a suit of clothes at
Easter and, if appropriate, an apprenticeship
premium of £20. (fn. 2) The number of boys benefiting from the charity was increased to 10 c. 1833. (fn. 3)
A Scheme of 1877 for all the Cassington charities provided that up to £40 might be used to
pay or supplement the school fees of deserving
children or for scholarships of up to £5 a year,
and £20 might be spent on apprenticeships. In
1905 the educational charity was separated from
the other Cassington charities; it then consisted
of £10 a year to the school managers, £40 for
scholarships, and up to 3 tons of coal for heating
the school. (fn. 4)
About 1806 £3 was added to the capital of
Plasterer's charity, but only 10s. of the income
was used to educate one girl, the remainder
being applied to other charitable purposes. (fn. 5) By
1831 20s. was being spent on the education of
two girls. (fn. 6) In 1870 the capital was used for the
repair of cottages belonging to Peachman's charity, and the educational charity was lost. (fn. 7)