Sparsholt Primary School is situated in the village of Sparsholt on the outskirts of the historic city of Winchester. It occupies an idyllic site surrounded by fields opposite the Parish Church.
Before the present school was built, there was a “dame school” in Sparsholt in a cottage, which was demolished in the 1950s. Prior to that, lads were taught their letters and numbers by craftsmen of the village. But it was in the 1850s, long before education was compulsory, that the Church of England set up the forerunner of the present school.
In 1850, the Vicar of Sparsholt, the Reverend Edward Stewart, acquired the present site by a deed of gift from the owner of Lainston House. The new church school in Sparsholt, built of brick and flint with a tiled roof, accommodated 60 children.
In 1874, the school building was enlarged in accordance with the requirements of the Education Department following the Forster Education Act, which made education compulsory for all children up to the age of 11 years. In 1876 the work on the brick and flint building was complete and the school was re-opened as the Sparsholt National School.
In 1926, the playground was enlarged again. Temporary buildings erected in the late ‘60s and ‘70s, remained until 1997. The school moved into its present surroundings in November 1997; the result of a long and determined campaign to replace temporary accommodation with extended, permanent facilities.
The original building has been wonderfully transformed into a spacious teaching area with a smaller area for craft resources and music room. An entrance to the school link the administration areas with the five classes; the brick and flint of the old, contrasting with the pale colour render of the new build. All classes in the new and old building have access to outside areas in addition to the use of shared internal resource areas. There is a computer suite equipped with personal computers and Apple iPads are available both loaded with educational software and applications.
The village hall, on the same site, is available to us throughout the day. It is a marvellous space with a sprung floor which we use for P.E., lunch and daily worship. We also have a sports field where the full range of winter and summer sports are enjoyed.