The Wilderspin School

This has been our busiest year to date with a record number of visitors, school groups and organisations using the premises for meetings and classes. Over 30,000 people have visited or used the premises since opening in 2009. Highlights of the year have been the Civic Society’s Victorian Day in July, Barton Arts Week and Barton Open Gardens, and the Heritage Open Days in September. This year, with the help of pupils from Castledyke Primary School we had the chance of performing Wilderspin lessons with over sixty children – no mean feat, but still only half the number of pupils the room was designed for!

We are most grateful to Smith & Walker Optometrists for sponsoring the 2011 Handwriting Competition which attracted entries form each of the town’s primary schools. The winning entries are displayed at the School and the winners were awarded certificates and small cash prizes at a special award ceremony in September. The winners were:

Infant
1st Megan Harness
2nd Louise Edwards-Radley
3rd William Clarke
Highly Commended
Jacob Daley Daniel Knapton

Years 3/4
1st Lily Jobber
2nd Phoebe Rae
3rd Joshua Stanley
Highly Commended
Cyrus Aston Sophie Loader

Years 5/6
1st Phoebe Knights
2nd Lucy Peck
3rd Stefan Cressey
Highly Commended
Robert Petherbridge
Megan Jobber

OrKidz Pre School, based in the School, has continued to grow and helps recapture some of the atmosphere of the original infant school with the sound, once again, of children playing.

“ Scholars”, the new coffee shop, has enabled the School to offer visitors a more consistent, quality service and is an important part of the Preservation Trust’s fund-raising efforts to maintain the School. Our volunteers still help with refreshments at special events and are gearing up for A Taste of School Dinners on Friday 9th December. Why not join us for light-hearted reminiscence of school dinners and bring your friends to share quizzes, games and memories of puddings like “frog spawn” and spotted dick. A quality “school dinner” will be served in the unique setting of the Wilderspin “Dining Room”. Tickets are only £6 per head in support of the continuing restoration of the former Church School. Telephone (01652) 635172 to book.