Stannington Village -

Education in Stannington

In the Seventeenth Century, people in the village were on the whole poor and therefore didn't have an education. This was fairly common for the day. Usually if free schools existed in that time, they were provided by a local church or chapel. Education in those days was really only for the rich.

In addition to his grant of land to Underbank Chapel, Richard Spoone left a house to be used to educate the poor of the village. Thus in 1652 the Underbank Day School opened. It continued to be the only Day school in Stannington until the middle of the 19th century. By 1910, the local county council took over the running of the school and a new council school was built in the village (now Stannington Infants). Underbank Day School was closed and the head teacher took over the infants in the new school. The old schoolroom is still used by Underbank Chapel.

A school was started at around the same time as the Christ Church was built in 1830. Instruction was free. One of the reasons for its being built was to stop the spread of Unitarianism amongst the people of Stannington! (Underbank Day School) This continued in various forms until 1938.

The Council School still stands on the site of Stannington Infant School.

The newest school in Stannington was Nook Lane Junior School. This was built in 1971 as a result of population increase meant that the old school was no longer able to accommodate both the Junior and Infant Schools.