History

History of Sturminster Newton High School

Sturminster Newton County Modern School opened in September, 1960 with 430 children on roll. It replaced the Church of England Secondary Modern School at Sturminster Newton and the Stalbridge Senior School while it also catered for some children who formerly attended the all-age school at Buckland Newton.

At the time of opening, it provided secondary education for an area of almost 100 square miles of North Dorset and children attended the school from twenty-four parishes — namely, Sturminster Newton, Stalbridge, Hinton-St.-Mary, Manston, Child Okeford, Shillingstone, Hanford, Hammoon, Okeford Fitzpaine, Belchalwell, Ibberton, Woolland, Hazelbury Bryan, Fifehead Neville, Stoke Wake, Kingstag, Lydlinch, Mappowder, Holwell, Pulham, Stourton Caundle, Caundle Marsh, Purse Caundle and Bishop’s Caundle.

The two schools that closed (CofE Secondary Modern & Stalbridge Senior School) both have long and interesting histories.

The Church of England School at Sturminster Newton owes its origin to the Rev. Thomas Henry Lane-Fox, a most generous benefactor who was also responsible for the restoration of the Church. It was erected in 1817, Mr. W. Young being the builder. A very large oil painting in the Hall of the Church School showed the Rev. Lane-Fox surrounded by some of the early pupils. William Barnes, the Dorset poet, also had a close association with the School in its early days and spent some time there as a pupil teacher.

There were originally two separate schools, the girls and infants occupying the buildings facing the churchyard, and the boys the building in the school yard which later became the School Hall and Canteen. The School Log books are available from 1860 and they give an interesting insight into Victorian England, and a continuous record of the changing pattern in education from the days when children brought their pence to pay for their schooling, and the teachers were paid by results. The two separate schools were amalgamated as a Senior School under one Headteacher in 1925 when a new Primary School was opened. After the 1944 Education Act, the School became a secondary modern school and received the senior pupils of seven village schools.

The Stalbridge Senior School was founded in 1820 on the Principles of Dr. Bell of the National Society and was to be maintained by public subscription. Instruction was given to some fifty boys in a wooden hut twelve feet square at the west end of the church while the schoolmaster’s wife taught the girls in her own house. The combined salary of the schoolmaster and his wife in 1825 was £30 per annum.

Public subscription was not forthcoming and it was due to the generosity of the Lord of the Manor, Lord Anglesey and the efforts of the Curate, Mr. Luke that a sum of £300 was raised to build the existing building in 1832. By 1870 an inspector was able to say that it was a good school conducted with marked success.

The new Sturminster Newton County Modern School thus inherited a wealth of tradition and one hundred and forty years of Christian teaching and learning. This sense of continuity increased by the adoption of the school badge of the shield mounted on the wrought iron gates of the old School. This badge portrays “The whole armour of God”—the shield of Faith, the helmet of Salvation, the breastplate of Righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the belt of Truth, and feet shod with the Gospel.

Over the years, the school has grown and evolved. The original buildings have seen significant extensions to support specialist teaching in science, art, textiles, and sixth form provision. Despite these changes, the school’s distinctive facade has remained largely unchanged, preserving its historical character.

In June 2023, Sturminster Newton High School converted to academy status, joining the Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust. This transition marked a renewed commitment to collaboration, innovation, and excellence in education.

The school continues to serve students aged 11 to 18, offering a broad curriculum including GCSEs, BTECs, and A-levels through its shared sixth form with Shaftesbury School.

Today, Sturminster Newton High School stands as a proud institution rooted in tradition, yet forward-looking in its vision — committed to fostering ambition, belonging, and community for every learner.

ARCHITECT’S NOTES (taken from the Commemoration Day Programme – 1960)

The School has been built in the South West corner of the site as close as possible to the Bath Road to reduce entrance road costs. In this position it also permitted the flatter area to the north to be developed as playing fields. The building site slopes at a considerable gradient from the main road and the contours ruled out a southerly aspect for the classrooms. The three main blocks forming the school have been built along the contours and each classroom has a large window to the East and a high level window to the West. Full economic use of the natural falls in the ground has been made by placing the Assembly Hall, Classroom and Practical Blocks at different levels down the site and the main classrooms have been grouped on three floors to reduce site cover to the minimum.

The Assembly Hall is also the Gymnasium and has the changing rooms conveniently arranged on two floors immediately behind the fully equipped stage. The midday meal is taken in the small Hall and is prepared in the Kitchen fitted out to serve 350 meals per day.

The buildings are mainly framed in precast reinforced concrete with infill panels finished with a green mineral, and otherwise clad in greyish brickwork. The roofs are covered with an bituminous sheeting laid in large squares. Floors generally are finished with coloured thermoplastic tiles except in the Assembly Hall where Afrormosia strip was considered more useful for gymnastics, and in the Practical Block in which “Granwood” blocks have been adopted for workshop conditions.

The Contract sum for this project was £99,107 0s. 0d.