Around 1859 Salway Ash (Netherbury)
Church of England Voluntarily Aided School was founded near its present
site, in the Teacher's House. When education became compulsory in 1872
this proved too small and the school was moved to its present premises –
a building which had been erected as a chapel-of-ease to Netherbury
Church for the convenience of the people of Bowood and Salway Ash in
1832. It continued to be used as a chapel on Sundays and as a school on
weekdays until 1890 when the church across the road was consecrated.
In 1962 the school was
completely redesigned internally into two classrooms and a hall, it was
connected to main services and a modern toilet block was built. To the
north of the building half an acre was purchased from the Gollop Estate
to provide a playing field.
When Netherbury School was
closed in 1974 a temporary classroom was erected as a third classroom to
accommodate the increased pupil numbers. In 1988 as the first of a
two-phase programme, a hall/activity area was built with a library and
administration offices. In 1993 a small craft, design and technology
unit was converted from an existing structure.
1996 saw phase two of the
1988 programme completed with a new classroom, loggia and additional
toilet facilities to replace the “temporary” 1974 mobile classroom.
During the summer of 1999 a conservatory-style extension was added to
the classroom for Years 3 & 4. This measure has been taken to
accommodate the expanding school population.
