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History

Codicote School dates back to 1857, when a grant was obtained from ‘The National Society for the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church’ (more commonly known as the ‘National Society’).   

Substantial donations were received for the new school from Joseph Busk of Codicote Lodge, and William Reid of the Node.  A corner of a field called Ley Close, facing onto the lane up to the Church was given by the Lord of the Manor, Lord Dacre of Kimpton Hoo.  Various other donations were received from parishioners.

Work started on Codicote School; unusually for that time, there were separate classrooms for boys and girls.  The cost of the building was £1,736, the furniture cost £86, and the bell, £2. When the old school building was made into houses in the 1970’s, the bell was promised to the school but was never received.  Heating was provided by a cast iron coke burning stove.

The school was under the charge of the Headmaster, Headmistress  and Governors.

The boys’ classroom was on the left, looking from Bury Lane.  This room later became the School Hall.  Next to this was the Headmaster’s House, next to that was the Headmistress’s House, and on the right was the girls’ classroom.  There were around 150 children attending school at various times.  In 1892 the boys’ and girls’ schools were formally combined, and another room, used as an infant classroom was installed in 1870.

In 1972, a new school was built in Meadow Way, to accommodate the increasing numbers of pupils.  Initially, the Junior pupils attended the new school, with the Infant pupils remaining on the Bury Lane site, until the early 1980s, when they also moved to the Meadow Way site. In 2001, an extension was built to further extend the school.

There have been twelve headteachers of the school to date:

Thomas Brode

1858 – 1875

Geoffrey Lamb

1925 – 1942

Frederick Batcheleor

1875 – 1882

A.Wesley

1942 – 1954

Arthur Gladman

1882 – 1885

Gwyn Griffiths

1954 – 1982

Alfred Bradbeer

1885 – 1896

David Keen

1982 – 1997

Clement Whitworth

1896 – 1900

Peter Browning

1997 – 2004

Edward Elliot

1900 – 1925

Liz Pollard

2004 –