Local History Schools and Places of Education
One of the earliest centres of education in Wymondham was the Benedictine Priory founded in 1107 and raised to Abbey status in 1448, although this would have only served the monks resident there.
After the dissolution of the Abbey in 1538, a free Grammar School was founded by King Edward VI and endowed from lands and possessions formerly belonging to the Guilds and the Monastery. It was housed in Becket's Chapel. In 1574 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, founded a Scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, his old college, for a boy of the King Edward VI Grammar School who was born in the town and had studied in the school for two years or more, and was under the age of 15. From 1672 to 1835 the headmaster with his family and some boarders lived in a house in Chapelgate, near Becket's Chapel, left by Robert Dey. In 1826 a new scheme was sanctioned by the Court of Chancery allowing the Governors to admit at their discretion all boys between the ages of 8 and 13 in the parish of Wymondham on payment of an annual fee of £2. The boys would leave the Grammar School by their eighteenth birthday. In 1833 there were no boarders and only a few scholars. In 1835 an exchange of premises took place and the Grammar School, Headmaster and his family moved to larger buildings in Middleton Street to which a large Dining Hall and Dormitory were later added. By 1864, when the Revd Joseph Grisdale, BA, was Headmaster, there were 30 boarders paying from 25 to 30 guineas each per annum. By 1888 there were between 50 and 60 scholars and the school overflowed back into Becket's Chapel until the whole school closed down in 1903. The former Grammar School building in Middleton Street can still be seen today and is divided into flats for residential use. The Priory Gardens and land occupied by the Royal Mail Sorting Office on the opposite of the road were once used as playing fields. The Grammar School also used the Kings Head Meadow, now the Wymondham Town Football Club, for cricket and another field on the Norwich Road for football.
In the nineteenth century great efforts were made to provide some elementary education for children of the working classes. The Revd William Papillon, Vicar of Wymondham for nearly 50 years from 1788 to 1836, began in a small way to provide some instruction for the children of the parish. He provided a schoolroom in Church Street for boys and girls and another building in Lady Lane for infants. By 1834 about 200 children were receiving a basic education. The Abbey Schoolroom building in Church Street is still in use today by the Abbey Church as offices and a meeting room leased from the Revd William Papillon's Trust, a Registered Charity. The building in Lady's Lane has not survived.
In 1886 John Hare started the Commercial School for boys in rooms at the Congregational Church at Fairland, moving later to a house in Pople Street. The fees were 2 guineas a term. The number of boys on the roll was about 100 at its peak. The school closed in about 1898.
In 1847 the congregation of the Independent Chapel erected a brick Tudor-style school building in Fairland Street at a cost of £200.
In 1849 a small brick school building was erected at Norwich Common (where the garage is today), just north of Wymondham on the Norwich Road, for 40 children.
The Wymondham School Board, established in 1872, took over in 1874 the lease of the school on Norwich Common to provide education for 50 children. In 1874 also they erected a school at Spooner Row to provide for 130 children. The cost of the building and the attached school house was £1,223. Another school for 70 children was built at Silfield for £589 and a school house was added in 1880 for £165. The Silfield school was enlarged in 1895 to take 90 children. The Browick Road Schools were built in 1876 to take 180 boys, 180 girls and 200 infants, at a cost of £5,886. This included residences for a master and a caretaker. The Norwich Common school was closed in 1935. In 1948 the Spooner Row school had 70 children on roll, Silfield 30 and Browick Road 400.
Two new schools were built later, The Robert Kett Middle School, in Hewitts Lane, in about 1970 and the Ashleigh First School, in Sheffield Road, in 1972. With the education changes for age of transfer in September 2000, Browick Road and Ashleigh Schools are now for infants age 5 to 7 with Robert Kett becoming a junior school for ages 8 to 11. Silfield School closed, possibly in the 1960s or 70s.
In 1939 a new Senior Area School, Wymondham Central Senior Mixed, later called Wymondham Secondary Modern , was built in the Norwich Road for 320 pupils and had 201 on roll in April 1939. The first Headteacher was Mr W R Purchase, succeeded by Mrs Margaret Reeve in 1944.
The new Secondary Modern school in Norwich Road in 1939
By 1948 it had over 400 on roll, largely as a result of the raising of the school leaving age to 15 in the 1944 Education Act. The school was very well equipped with a fine assembly hall complete with stage, a gymnasium with showers, heavy craft workshop, domestic science department, science laboratory, a number of class rooms and a large playing field. In 1958 a new secondary school was built in the playing field opening onto Folly Road. This became the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Girls and the original mixed school in Norwich Road became the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Boys. The first Headteacher of the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Girls was Mrs Margaret Reeve whilst Mr P S Benson was appointed Headteacher of the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Boys.
View in 1962 from the Boys Secondary Modern school to the new Girls Secondary Modern. The horticultural area between the two schools was used in the boys' curriculum.
In September 1972 the two schools were amalgamated into a single Wymondham School under the Headship of Mrs Margaret Reeve, who stayed for a further three years until she retired in 1975. Mr John Sims was Headteacher from 1975 to 1989, during which time the school was renamed Wymondham High School in 1979. Mr David Walker took over as Headteacher in 1989. A sixth form was added in 1992. The school has continued to grow both in pupil numbers and in excellence. In September 2000 the number on roll was 1240. The school is now one of the top 200 state secondary schools in the country. Mr Walker retired in December 2004 and Mr David Brunton was appointed Headteacher in January 2005. The number on roll in September 2005 was 1400.Details of Wymondham Schools today.
One of the earliest centres of education in Wymondham was the Benedictine Priory founded in 1107 and raised to Abbey status in 1448, although this would have only served the monks resident there.
After the dissolution of the Abbey in 1538, a free Grammar School was founded by King Edward VI and endowed from lands and possessions formerly belonging to the Guilds and the Monastery. It was housed in Becket's Chapel. In 1574 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, founded a Scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, his old college, for a boy of the King Edward VI Grammar School who was born in the town and had studied in the school for two years or more, and was under the age of 15. From 1672 to 1835 the headmaster with his family and some boarders lived in a house in Chapelgate, near Becket's Chapel, left by Robert Dey. In 1826 a new scheme was sanctioned by the Court of Chancery allowing the Governors to admit at their discretion all boys between the ages of 8 and 13 in the parish of Wymondham on payment of an annual fee of £2. The boys would leave the Grammar School by their eighteenth birthday. In 1833 there were no boarders and only a few scholars. In 1835 an exchange of premises took place and the Grammar School, Headmaster and his family moved to larger buildings in Middleton Street to which a large Dining Hall and Dormitory were later added. By 1864, when the Revd Joseph Grisdale, BA, was Headmaster, there were 30 boarders paying from 25 to 30 guineas each per annum. By 1888 there were between 50 and 60 scholars and the school overflowed back into Becket's Chapel until the whole school closed down in 1903. The former Grammar School building in Middleton Street can still be seen today and is divided into flats for residential use. The Priory Gardens and land occupied by the Royal Mail Sorting Office on the opposite of the road were once used as playing fields. The Grammar School also used the Kings Head Meadow, now the Wymondham Town Football Club, for cricket and another field on the Norwich Road for football.
In the nineteenth century great efforts were made to provide some elementary education for children of the working classes. The Revd William Papillon, Vicar of Wymondham for nearly 50 years from 1788 to 1836, began in a small way to provide some instruction for the children of the parish. He provided a schoolroom in Church Street for boys and girls and another building in Lady Lane for infants. By 1834 about 200 children were receiving a basic education. The Abbey Schoolroom building in Church Street is still in use today by the Abbey Church as offices and a meeting room leased from the Revd William Papillon's Trust, a Registered Charity. The building in Lady's Lane has not survived.
In 1886 John Hare started the Commercial School for boys in rooms at the Congregational Church at Fairland, moving later to a house in Pople Street. The fees were 2 guineas a term. The number of boys on the roll was about 100 at its peak. The school closed in about 1898.
In 1847 the congregation of the Independent Chapel erected a brick Tudor-style school building in Fairland Street at a cost of £200.
In 1849 a small brick school building was erected at Norwich Common (where the garage is today), just north of Wymondham on the Norwich Road, for 40 children.
The Wymondham School Board, established in 1872, took over in 1874 the lease of the school on Norwich Common to provide education for 50 children. In 1874 also they erected a school at Spooner Row to provide for 130 children. The cost of the building and the attached school house was £1,223. Another school for 70 children was built at Silfield for £589 and a school house was added in 1880 for £165. The Silfield school was enlarged in 1895 to take 90 children. The Browick Road Schools were built in 1876 to take 180 boys, 180 girls and 200 infants, at a cost of £5,886. This included residences for a master and a caretaker. The Norwich Common school was closed in 1935. In 1948 the Spooner Row school had 70 children on roll, Silfield 30 and Browick Road 400.
Two new schools were built later, The Robert Kett Middle School, in Hewitts Lane, in about 1970 and the Ashleigh First School, in Sheffield Road, in 1972. With the education changes for age of transfer in September 2000, Browick Road and Ashleigh Schools are now for infants age 5 to 7 with Robert Kett becoming a junior school for ages 8 to 11. Silfield School closed, possibly in the 1960s or 70s.
In 1939 a new Senior Area School, Wymondham Central Senior Mixed, later called Wymondham Secondary Modern , was built in the Norwich Road for 320 pupils and had 201 on roll in April 1939. The first Headteacher was Mr W R Purchase, succeeded by Mrs Margaret Reeve in 1944.
The new Secondary Modern school in Norwich Road in 1939
By 1948 it had over 400 on roll, largely as a result of the raising of the school leaving age to 15 in the 1944 Education Act. The school was very well equipped with a fine assembly hall complete with stage, a gymnasium with showers, heavy craft workshop, domestic science department, science laboratory, a number of class rooms and a large playing field. In 1958 a new secondary school was built in the playing field opening onto Folly Road. This became the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Girls and the original mixed school in Norwich Road became the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Boys. The first Headteacher of the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Girls was Mrs Margaret Reeve whilst Mr P S Benson was appointed Headteacher of the Wymondham Secondary Modern School for Boys.
View in 1962 from the Boys Secondary Modern school to the new Girls Secondary Modern. The horticultural area between the two schools was used in the boys' curriculum.
In September 1972 the two schools were amalgamated into a single Wymondham School under the Headship of Mrs Margaret Reeve, who stayed for a further three years until she retired in 1975. Mr John Sims was Headteacher from 1975 to 1989, during which time the school was renamed Wymondham High School in 1979. Mr David Walker took over as Headteacher in 1989. A sixth form was added in 1992. The school has continued to grow both in pupil numbers and in excellence. In September 2000 the number on roll was 1240. The school is now one of the top 200 state secondary schools in the country. Mr Walker retired in December 2004 and Mr David Brunton was appointed Headteacher in January 2005. The number on roll in September 2005 was 1400.Details of Wymondham Schools today.