----History of St. Mary's School---
Taken from the booklet published for the official opening of the present school in September 1965
In 1836 the small handful of Catholics in Malton, encouraged by the arrival of Father Robert Garstang, set about building themselves a church and a school. The Church of St. Mary was opened in Wells Lane in 1837, and to this church they built a penthouse. It measured twenty-eight feet by twelve feet, and was the first school for the parish. This served the children, until some years later the permanent school was built at the back of the church.
The earliest records speak of an able and exemplary schoolmaster who would reward the good attenders with a ha'porth of spice.
Records of 1863 speak of financing the school. The main burden was born by the Mission, but the scholars were expected to bring their school pence, which in that year amounted to £3 16s. 7d. In those days, of course there was no government aid, and no government inspection. The attendance was on average 25 - 30, and besides books, the furnishings were eleven benches, three maps, and twelve slates.
So was established one of the oldest Catholic voluntary schools in the Diocese, and in the North Riding. As the years went on, we read of the first government grant of £5, and the arrival of the first school inspectors, upon whose good reports the continuance of grant-aid depended. One inspector in 1882 threatened to withdraw the 1d. per child grant for needlework, unless the quality of the work improved!
By the end of the Century the school was very much part of the life of Malton, welcoming children of all denominations. With the Church of England and the non-conformist schools, it educated the children voluntarily, and laid the foundations for the efficient County and Voluntary Schools that care for the children to-day.
The school always had two teachers in the nineteenth Century, and often a “monitress”. With the Education Act of 1902 the financing of the school became less of a burden, and since that time the school has had a very settled course, as is perhaps shown by the fact that during all that time, there have only been four head teachers.
During the second war, we were hosts to evacuee children from Sunderland, and after the war, reorganisation under the 1944 Act lead to fears for the future of the school. In fact the school was too small, and we are indebted to the old senior school in St. Michael Street, to the Castlegate Youth Club, and to the Society of Friends, who accommodated our overflow after the war. As the numbers grew, the school became Group II with a unit total of over 100, and it was agreed between the Managers and L.E.A. that in the development programme a new school should be built for the children of Saint Mary's.
This new Primary School is now completed and we rejoice in the Official Opening. Our Senior children now attend the County Schools: the new school caters for the Infants and Juniors. So begins a new chapter in the story of one of Malton's oldest schools. |
