| Administrative History | The 'Herbert Strutt' School was opened on 7 May 1909. It had been built and equipped entirely by the generosity of Alderman George Herbert Strutt, JP, DL (1854-1928). Alderman Strutt also funded extensions to the school premises in 1914 as the school flourished. At the beginning of its history the school was a selective higher elementary school and pupil-teacher centre. The teacher-training element had disappeared by the 1920s. The school become a secondary school in 1913, taking fee-paying and scholarship pupils of the age of nine and above. It was successful in sending many pupils on to higher education, and became a Grammar School following the 1944 Education Act.
For the first fifty years of its existence the school was administered by just two headmasters, Mr W W Tunnicliffe (1909-1936) and Mr G Ducker (1936-1958). Mr Tunnicliffe initiated the policy of insisting that all pupils remain in school until the age of 16, an idea before its time which undoubtedly contributed to the school's academic success. Sports and the arts also played a large part in the life of the school as can be seen in the records in this collection.
In September 1973, following educational reorganisation in the Belper area, 'Strutts' became a middle school for pupils aged 9 to 13. Since September 1986 the school has operated as a school for infants and juniors.
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| Custodial History | Acquired by Derbyshire Record Office in 2000 |