Aldworth School, Basingstoke

About Aldworth School

”Aldworth School is a secondary school, formerly Aldworth Science College, after Richard Aldworth Community School, in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.HistoryThe history of Aldworth school can be traced back to 1646, when the Blue Coat School was opened in Cross Street . It was due to an Alderman of the City of London named Richard Aldworth that the school was able to open, when he left £2000 in his will. The school provided education for ten boys from underprivileged backgrounds. The boys would be educated, clothed and fed from the age of 7 until they 16, when they would be found jobs or enrolled in apprenticeship schemes. The school got its name from the distinctive uniforms the boys wore.In 1811, the Blue Coat school was incorporated into the National Schools system and forced to share its building with National boys. The master at the time William Brown complained that it was not cost efficient to continue to educate the Blue Coat boys. In 1862, the school was rebuilt to accommodate 292 children, including girls who transferred from the National School in Church Square. However, standards in the school continued to decline and in 1876 the decision was taken to close the Blue Coat school after the remaining six pupil were placed in 1879. The building continued to be used as a school until 1896, when it closed due to bankruptcy and the building was leased to a shoemaker and eventually sold to the 'Aldworth Printing Works' in 1926. The building was demolished during the town development in 1966. In 1994, on the site of the old school, a statue of a 'Blue Coat Boy' was unveiled. This statue was cast from a mould of another statue at the larger Blue Coat School in Reading, also founded by Richard Aldworth. Read more

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