Primary schools in Dacorum
This article gives brief information on schools that cater for pupils up to the age of 11 in the Dacorum district of Hertfordshire, England.
[1] Before the mid-20th century, the area contained a scattering of villages, with places such as Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring on the Gade and Bulbourne rivers.
[2][3] Schools across Hertfordshire were used as billets for soldiers during World War I, greatly disrupting their work.
After a review of primary places in the town, the county council decided to amalgamate 3 pairs of schools in 2008.
The original flint built buildings still stand on Belswains Lane, adjacent to the modern site.
In World War II, evacuees from the cities increased the school roll and a double shift system was introduced to manage the numbers in the existing space.
The original building with its Victorian stained glass window remains in use for communal purposes with modern classrooms added in the 1960s.
The school field borders the Grand Union Canal and encloses a section of the River Bulbourne.
[2][13][14] Gaddesden Row JMI School was established in 1876 to meet obligations imposed on the community by the Education Act 1876.
Hertfordshire County Council acquired the property in 1957 and improved it, creating a modern two-room school in unspoilt farmland.
[15] Little Gaddesden CE Voluntary Aided Primary School was initially held in a large room at the Bridgewater Arms, moving to a new building in 1858.
[2] Long Marston Voluntary Aided C of E Primary School was rebuilt in 1951 after the original building was destroyed by a bomb in World War II.
[16] St Bartholomew's C of E VA Primary School, located in Wigginton, was founded in 1854 by the local vicar, the Reverend Gaisford, to provide children within the parish with full-time education.
The present school building was dedicated on 15 March 1969 by the Bishop of St Albans, Michael Gresford Jones.
[2][17] St Paul's VA C of E Primary School is centrally sited in Chipperfield, close to the church and village green.
In 1973 the school moved from flint cottages opposite the church to a new building with an unusual circular plan.
[18] A number of independent schools in the area also take children of primary age.
The School was founded in 1912, and is situated in John Dickinson's house in 76 acres (31 ha) of parkland on the southern edge of Hemel Hempstead.
The school provides vocational training in dance, drama and musical theatre as well as a secondary level academic curriculum.
