Adlington Primary School formerly known as the National School was built in 1839 on a site off Park Road given by Sir Robert Clayton of Adlington Hall. It was known as the National School because it was founded by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education. It was linked with Christ Church on Church Street.
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| Adlington National School c1900 - source unknown but probably M.D Smith - About Adlington. |
In 1841 there was an inspection on the new school. On that particular day, there were 16 boys and 32 girls who attended. There were two teachers who were husband and wife aged 33 and 29 respectively. The mistress taught the infants, and sewing lessons for some of the girls, and the master taught the older pupils. Boys and girls were taught together unlike some schools where boys and girls were kept separate. Boys and girls would probably have sat separately though.
By 1851, the school master and mistress were Charles and Maria Budge, aged 23 and 25. They were there in 1856, when the school was enlarged. During 1866 the average attendance was recorded as 115 pupils.
By 1869, Christopher Speight was the school master there. There were also a few pupil teachers, who were young people who would help with lessons, and in return the school master would give them extras lessons to help them become teachers themselves. Mr Speight and his family lived in the school house next door. He was there for many years.
In 1870, Parliament passed the Forster's Education Act, requiring all parts of Britain to provide schools to children aged 5 to 12, and it was compulsory to attend until at least 10 years old. However, not all these school were free so many could not afford the 'school's pence' each week and some children still didn't go to school. They worked and earned money for the family instead.
In 1885, Adlington National School was dragged into the news when one its pupils committed suicide. The child's name was 13 year old Elizabeth Forshaw, the daughter of a dairyman from Adlington. She attended school half of the time, and spent the other half of the day working at a Springfield Mill up Babylon Lane. On this certain day, she left school and conducted her lunchtime housework, and instead of going to the mill, went in a nearby field and drowned herself in a pit.
It was suggested that this was because her school master had struck her with his hand on her face because she did not know her lessons. The assistant master, Mr Pollitt, denied this accusation, but two schoolboys deposed that he struck her as was alleged.
However Adlington National School was described as an excellent and well-conducted school, and no blame at all was attached at all to them. Her companions stated that "she had complained of the harsh treatment received from the woman who employed her at the factory, and that she had threatened to drown herself 'rather than go on working for that woman.' "
The infants' mistress was Miss Mason in 1895, and Miss Elizabeth Atkinson in 1905. The average attendance was now between 400 and 500 pupils.
Mr Speight left after this, and by 1918, the new master was called Matthew Chadwick, and Miss Lavinia Evans was the infants' mistress. Mrs Nellie Boswell was the infants' mistress in 1924.
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| Standard 6 at Adlington National School c1907. The teachers are Mr Chadwick (probably left) and Mr Morris. - source unknown but probably M.D Smith - About Adlington. |