History of the School

A school in Combe Down village has provided education for children of the area since the 1850s, when miners who worked in the local quarries around the village sent their children here. Girls were taught in the old school hall (now the Year 3 classrooms), whilst the boys walked along to the Schoolhouse on the corner of Church Road and Belmont Road. When classes were mixed in the 1950s, the Girls' School became the Infant School, and the boys' building became the Junior School.

The School today

The two parts of the school merged onto the current site in 1990, with the building of extra classrooms and a log cabin imported from Sweden. This was chosen for its lightweight structure, which suited the quarry situation of the site - Combe Down had a maze of tunnels and mineworkings beneath it, which have since been filled.

Space in the grounds has always been at a premium, due to the increasing numbers of children attending the school. However, we still enjoy a beautiful woodland setting, including a conservation area, cultivated spots for growing flowers and vegetables, and wooden playground equipment in the playgrounds.