Saltford Primary School has changed so much since its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century that no-one would recognise our modern school as its descendant! The one thing that has remained constant is the school’s close links with St Mary’s church.

Originally known as Queen’s School (and held in what is now St Mary’s Church Hall) children of all ages were taught in  the same class, until numbers rose to 108 and a second class was built – what we would call a Key Stage One and Key Stage two class. The records show that attendance was less than full-time, especially at harvest time when the children were needed for jobs in the fields – which must have been just as well for the teachers’ sanity!

The early curriculum included spelling, arithmetic, geography and grammar. Reading books were provided but were doubtless full of moral tales. Biff, Chip and Kipper were unheard of! During the second world war, the playground was dug up and used for vegetable growing, and whole afternoons in September were spent collecting blackberries!

Photographs from the beginning of the twentieth century show a uniform of pinafores for girls and Eton collars for boys. Much later, the school had a blue uniform with a swan swimming on the Avon as its symbol. Now, we all enjoy the cheerful red uniforms with the tree emblem.

By 1960, the numbers attending did not fit the rooms and so Infants were bused to Ellsbridge House, whilst Juniors were taught in the existing building. During this time, most of the present school buildings in Claverton Road were erected, ready for the children in 1962.

The new block was built in 2016 – 2017 and added six new classrooms to our site. The project was documented in a blog with photos and commentary which you can still see here.

As part of our celebrations to mark 60 years on the Claverton Road site, the school council delivered an engaging assembly on the changes to the school over time. 

You can see a further selection of old school photos in this PDF document and have a look at the wider history of Saltford, including pictures and notes about the school, in the Saltford Environment Group’s online museum.