Records indicate that there was a school established in Pluckley in the mid 18th century. Opinions vary as to its location. Some say it was in an unheated room in the Rectory, others in the house adjoining what is now the butcher's shop - maybe at various times it was both. The school was established in its present location in 1850 when Sir Edward Dering gave a parcel of land 'containing one rood and thirty-eight perches' to the rector and churchwardens to enable the building of a school within the terms of an education act of 1840 to 'provide for the education of adults and children of the labouring, manufacturing and other poorer classes.' The school badge, a modified fleur de lis, is taken from the crest of John Folet, a Saxon knight who, on being given the village in return for military aid, added 'de Pluckley' to his family name. There has always been an element of Church control of the school, although this has greatly diminished over the years to the present time where the school has only two governors appointed by the Church; the remainder being appointed by the county council, the parish council, the parents and the staff. At the time of its establishment there were 53 children on the school roll. School records start in 1883 when head teachers were required to keep a diary of events. From this we learn that children paid a weekly fee of three pence and that there were 95 children on the roll. At the start of World War I there were 200 children enrolled. This number varied widely on a day-to-day basis as children were employed on such tasks as haymaking, hop-stringing and fruit picking. The school closed from August to October for hop picking. The log contains some interesting snippets: in June 1891, the then headmaster was castigated by the school board for administering over-zealous corporal punishment and forbidden under any circumstances to so punish the girls. In 1927 the RAOB (The Royal and Ancient Order of Buffaloes) arranged for each child to be presented with an orange and sweets. The roll dwindled after the Second World War to 51 and today is 115. It was decided in 1994 that the school with the support of the community should embark upon an ambitious fund‑raising campaign to build permanent classrooms to replace the mobiles and assorted outbuildings. Over £90,000 was raised and they were awarded New Deals for Schools money from the Government and Kent County Council and in February 2004 new office accommodation and three new classrooms were officially opened by HRH Duke of York. The last Ofsted Inspector reported in 2007 that Pluckley School was “A secure, happy and harmonious learning environment ensuring that pupils feel very safe and greatly enjoy school" |
