| Administrative History | The Eckington Board School at Renishaw was erected in 1873 for 180 boys and girls, and for 80 infants. The average attendance was 170 boys & girls, and 69 infants. Although in the early years the weather tended to determine the attendance figures. During the late 1890s the Primary School was closed for long periods owing to necessary alterations to buildings. By Jan 1899 the heating had been rearranged and additional piping put in so that the school was heated by hot water. Although the system was still badly affected during severe cold spells.
Another major influence on attendance figures was illness. In May 1895 the school closed for three weeks because of an outbreak of measles. The attendance figures continued to rise during the late 1890s. This was also a time in which tuition fees were paid to the school. Although by the turn of the twentieth century, parents were being fined 5s for their children's irregular attendances.
The school would close for national celebrations, such as Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee on 22 & 23 June 1897.
In 1906 the school was six weeks late in reopening after the summer holidays because alterations including a window enlergement and the insertion of new floors. When it finally the school was so damp that parents refused to send their children.
By this time the school had transferred from being a Board School to a Council School. In August 1916, the infants school was amalgamated with the various Primary School departments to cater for children from infancy to the age of fourteen. During the Great War, Red Cross ambulances called to collect gifts, known as comforts for wounded soldiers. Following the cessation the violence in 1945, the school became one of the main focal points for the V. E. Day celebrations on 8 May.
In November 1925, the County Lending Library took up residence in school on Tuesdays between 6pm and 7pm. Then on Christmas Eve of that year school reports were first introduced for the older children. On 29 June 1928 the first annual school sports for the area were contested. In December 1932 a school football team was started. Their first match ended in a 3-1 victory against Camms Endowed School.
In September 1936 the school year was changed to coincide with the Secondary School academic year, giving a September start. In October 1937 milk in schools was inaugurated, with Clowne Co-operative Society supplying 55 one third pint bottles in the first week. In February 1938 the school was prepared for electrical lighting, with the Staveley Electrical Company Ltd. connecting the power supply on the 26th April of that year. On 27 February 1950 the G.P.O. installed the school telephone.
[Renishaw Then and Now (Renishaw History Group, 1991)] |
| Custodial History | These records were deposited by the school in October 2002. Two further accessions were received in November 2014 (see D5817/UL). |