HISTORY OF NEWTON BLUECOAT SCHOOL  

Newton Bluecoat School was founded in 1707 by a bachelor yeoman farmer, John Hornbie, who had lived in a farm house at the Scales end of Newton since 1640 - on the site where the current school stands.

John’s objective was “to provide a stable Christian home and education for children whose home would be insecure through poverty.”  However, a building was needed. John made plans and appointed trustees for the new school, but sadly, he died before his plans came to fruition.

John left the majority of his estate to the establishment of a school at Newton and in his will, dated 24^th May 1707, were details for an additional building to be added to his farmhouse to provide such a school.  On 26^th December 1707, permission was granted. 

This was a sensible move; here was a house with several acres of land attached, in a suitable place, so the school was built onto the farmhouse and the farmhouse was modified to become the headmaster’s house.  The brick work and building materials for the new school amounted to £9. 18s. 8d (£9.93) plus labour of eleven shillings (55p).  The cost of converting the farmhouse was £10.13s.6d.  A two-storey timber building was also erected at the back of the farmhouse.

John wished to raise and maintain a school in Newton according to the following criteria / regulations:

• • A sober man should live in the house for ever thereafter to instruct such poor girls and boys within the said township until they reached 14 years of age, for the benefit of the church and ministry there.
  • Scholars should leave the school suitably equipped for their journey into life after school. 
  • Each leaver must be suitably attired in appropriate clothing. 

During their time at school, the religion that they were to be instructed in was to be the Protestant (Church of England) religion.

Each Sunday, the scholars should be taken to Kirkham church or some similar place of divine worship.

Thanks to the trustees, the two-storey school, made of brick and slate roof, was completed in October 1708 and officially opened on June 14^th 1709. The school allowed children to board and be fully maintained, which must have been a considerable relief to their parents, who would have been very poor.  Initially, there were 10 boys fully maintained and 6 girls attending as day students.  The boys also learnt a trade and agricultural skills.  The girls learnt sewing and housekeeping. Charitable schools were known as “Bluecoat schools” (sometimes spelt “Blewcoat”) which were set up for children from deprived backgrounds.  The colour blue was traditionally the colour of charity.  Cloth was bought to provide clothing free of charge for the students and to make their “blue coats”.  Dinners were provided each day during the week for day students.  Children started school at 6 years old and left to be apprenticed with a £5 premium and a suit of clothes at 14.  Girls wore bonnets and boys wore caps. 

The first schoolmaster at Newton Bluecoat School was a Mr. Parks, whose salary was £20 per annum, but he also had the income from the farm as well to boost his money.  In addition, a school Dame, who since 1708 had been teaching twenty poor children, received £4 per annum.

Until around 1790, the fully maintained children were between 12 and 16 in number.  After this, numbers rose and in 1824, 30 children were resident and 13 day pupils attended.  In 1870, the Elementary Education Act came into effect and although it did not establish free or compulsory education, it paved the way towards this end.  Before this date, school holidays amounted to five weeks a year.  After the Act, they increased to follow the usual pattern of holidays for primary schools.  In 1880 a further Education Act finally made school attendance compulsory for students between the ages of 5 and 10.  By 1892, sixty pupils were registered at the school and new dormitories were built in the attic to accommodate them.

In 1945, a small, old brick building opposite the school was purchased to house the growing numbers of children at the school.  Although there was a good fireplace in the classroom, (which made it warm and snug in winter) there were no toilet facilities and children had to cross the road to use the outside toilets behind the headmaster’s house.

The National school in the next village of Clifton closed its doors in 1933 and students were transferred to Newton.  In order to accommodate the growing number of students, a decision was made at a governors’ meeting in 1946, to build a new school, but it was not until a resolution was passed in 1955 that serious consideration was given to the new school.  In 1955, the school catered for 118 pupils aged from 4 to 15.  Three sites were proposed.  After much debate, it was finally decided to build the new school behind the old school. 

In 1957, Carr Hill Secondary Modern School in Kirkham was opened; seniors transferred from Newton Bluecoat School and then the Bluecoat School became a primary school.   A three year building programme for the new school began in1962.  In 1966, Phase 1 of the current Bluecoat School was completed and was officially opened by Mrs. Grace Tomlinson in March 1967.  There was a kitchen, a staffroom and two classrooms; one for infants and one for lower juniors. The upper juniors had their lessons in the assembly hall, which also served as a dining room.  When pupils first went into the school they were not allowed to wear outdoor shoes; they had to change into plimsolls.

When Mr. I.S. Nichol was appointed as Headmaster in September 1967, he was obliged to move from the farmhouse which was very run down with extreme dampness everywhere. Consequently, the farm buildings were demolished along with the old school in March 1969. However, it was not long before Mr. Nichol moved into a newly built “School House” next to the new school.

Extensions and modifications were added to the school over the years.  By the 80’s, an additional five classrooms and toilet facilities were built; the kitchen, staffroom and Governors’ room were improved and a splendid library of considerable size was provided by the Hornbie Trust.  A pavilion was also built in 1982 on the edge of the school playing field. 

In September 1991, there were 272 students on roll. 

In 1997, the pre-school nursery group “Little Blues” opened to serve the community.  In more recent times, Breakfast and After school care clubs became established.  The school is constantly evolving; further classrooms and facilities have been added over time to suit the needs of the students.

Today the Bluecoat school continues as a Voluntary aided C of E school that continues to have a close relationship with the church of St. John the Evangelist at Lund.

The Hornbie Trust continues supporting the welfare of well-being of staff and students at the school.  John Hornbie must have been a far-sighted man; his kindness in providing a school for the local children was certainly an enormous help in those far off days when few ordinary working people could neither read nor write. 

 

(Anne Horne Dec 2024)