Crawley New Town: Education

EDUCATION.

The master plan provided for nine secondary schools including a technical high school; they were to be placed in groups of three on campus sites surrounded by playing fields and other communal buildings at Hazelwick, Ifield, and Tilgate. There were to be an infant and junior school at each neighbourhood centre, with two in Southgate, and in each neighbourhood up to three nursery schools, including one at the neighbourhood centre; each was to provide 40 places. A Roman Catholic primary school and secondary school were to be placed together on a site in the north-east part of Southgate. (fn. 1)

In fact there were several departures from the plan. The nursery schools and the technical high school were not built. On the other hand, more Roman Catholic schools were eventually required, and they were scattered throughout the neighbourhoods. Only one Catholic primary school was built on the Southgate site. Several other primary schools were built away from neighbourhood centres, particularly in those neighbourhoods last to be built up. The comprehensive school at Gossops Green is not on a campus.

The development corporation was not an education authority, and responsibility for new schools fell on West and East Sussex county councils. West Sussex council in particular was at first criticized for slowness in providing primary schools, and local complaints culminated in an inquiry completed in 1953 by three county councillors representing Crawley. (fn. 2)

Primary schools. (fn. 2)

All schools were mixed unless otherwise stated.

Schools existing in 1947. Crawley and Ifield county junior mixed and infants school, Crawley and Ifield Church of England school, and Ifield Church of England school are treated under Ifield.

Three Bridges county primary school, North Road: infants school extended before 1953; pupils transferred to Worth county primary school 1953. New county junior school, Gales Drive, on site of North Road school: opened 1955; pupils transferred from Worth county primary school. Became middle school 1971; 238 on roll in 1984. County infants school moved to Gales Place between 1960 and 1971 when it became a first school; 181 on roll in 1984.

Worth Church of England elementary school: a mixed junior and infants school, successor to National school opened in 1852; in 1950 it became Worth secondary modern school. (fn. 4)

Schools opened since 1947. St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic junior and infants school: opened 1950; new school built 1956 in Southgate Drive; became first school 1971; 200 on roll in 1984.

West Green temporary school: opened 1951 on part of Crawley and Ifield Church of England school site; evidently replaced by West Green county junior and infants school in 1952-3.

West Green county junior and infants school: infants department opened 1952, junior 1953; 362 on roll in 1984.

Worth county primary school: opened 1953, in buildings of former Worth secondary modern school; closed 1955. (fn. 5)

Northgate temporary school: opened 1952, replaced by Northgate county infants and junior schools 1954.

Northgate county infants school: opened 1954; became first school 1971; 161 on roll in 1984.

Northgate county junior school: opened 1954; became middle school 1971; 209 on roll in 1984.

Langley Green county infants school, Langley Drive: opened 1954; merged with Jordans infants school c. 1979.

Langley Green county infants school, Martyrs Avenue: see Jordans infants school.

Langley Green county junior school, Langley Drive: opened 1954; 247 on roll in 1984.

St. Margaret's Church of England (Aided) junior and infants school, Ifield: opened 1955 as replacement for Crawley and Ifield and Ifield Church of England schools; 298 on roll in 1984.

Pound Hill county junior and infants school: opened c. 1955; from 1957 also took over buildings of former Worth county primary school; first and middle school from 1971; 260 on roll of first school in 1984, 476 on that of middle school.

Ifield county infants school: opened 1956; 162 on roll in 1984.

Ifield county junior school: opened c. 1956; 277 on roll in 1984.

Southgate county junior and infants school: opened 1956 with two departments; became first and middle school 1972 × 1975; 177 on roll of first school 1984, 338 on that of middle school.

Our Lady Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic junior and infants school, Langley Green: opened 1957; first school from 1970; 194 on roll in 1984.

Desmond Anderson county junior and infants school: infants school opened 1957, junior 1958; became first and middle school 1972 × 1975; 151 on roll of first school 1985, 326 on that of middle school.

Jordans county junior and infants school, Martyrs Avenue: opened 1958; c. 1979 merged with Langley Green infants school under that name on Jordans site; 144 on roll in 1984.

Gossops Green county junior and infants school: infants school opened 1958, junior 1959; 219 on roll of infants school 1984, 396 on that of juniors.

Bishop Bell junior and infants school, Tilgate: infants school opened 1958, junior 1959; became first and middle school 1972 × 1975; first department closed c. 1979; 358 on roll of middle school in 1984.

Robert May county junior and infants school: opened 1964; became first and middle school 1972 × 1975; middle department closed 1979; (fn. 6) 229 on roll of first school in 1984. Middle school buildings in use 1985 by West Sussex C.C. education department and as an outpost of the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education.

St. Andrew's Church of England (Aided) primary school: attached to St. Andrew's church; opened 1969; became first and middle school 1972 × 1975; 255 on roll of combined school in 1984.

Broadfield North county first and middle school: opened 1971; 586 on roll in 1984.

Southgate West county first school: opened 1969; 185 on roll in 1984.

Southgate West county middle school: opened 1970; 276 on roll in 1984.

Milton Mount county first and middle school, Pound Hill: opened 1972 × 1975; 342 on roll in 1984.

Broadfield East county first school: opened 1978; 231 on roll in 1984.

Bewbush county first school: opened 1978; 147 on roll in 1984.

Bewbush county middle school: being built 1982; (fn. 7) in use as an annexe of West Green school in 1985.

Waterfield county first school: opened in Bewbush middle school 1985; new buildings then under construction.

Secondary schools.

All schools were mixed unless otherwise stated.

Worth county secondary modern school: opened 1950 in buildings of former Worth Church of England school; closed 1953. (fn. 8)

St. Wilfrid's Roman Catholic (Aided) modern school, Old Horsham Road: opened in Oakwood house c. 1952; new buildings 1953, extensions 1958 and c. 1962; (fn. 9) became comprehensive 1967, and by 1970 a comprehensive for pupils aged 13 to 18, of whom 693 on roll in 1984.

Hazelwick county secondary modern school: opened 1953; new building added 1959; became bilateral modern and grammar school 1960-1; regarded as comprehensive by 1964, when there were further extensions; roll was 1,675 in 1984.

Ifield county grammar school: opened 1955; merged in 1966 with Sarah Robinson school, with which it had shared a campus and a close working relationship, (fn. 10) as Ifield comprehensive school.

Sarah Robinson county secondary modern school, Ifield: opened 1956 with pupils from Crawley and Ifield county school; merged in 1966 with Ifield grammar school as Ifield comprehensive school.

Thomas Bennett county school, Tilgate: planned as one grammar and two secondary modern schools sharing a campus; opened 1958 on comprehensive lines; (fn. 11) third block added 1960, when it was described as a bilateral modern and grammar school; officially described as comprehensive 1965, and was then the largest comprehensive school in Great Britain; (fn. 12) became community school c. 1979; roll was 1,323 in 1984.

Ifield school: county comprehensive formed 1966 from Ifield grammar and Sarah Robinson schools; 1,600 on roll in 1984.

Notre Dame Roman Catholic middle school, Worth Road: opened c. 1968 as girls' secondary school, almost immediately becoming middle mixed school; 330 on roll in 1984.

Holy Trinity Church of England comprehensive school: opened 1967, (fn. 13) officially by Queen Elizabeth II in 1969; in 1970 an 11-18 comprehensive; 965 on roll in 1984.

Holy Cross Roman Catholic middle school, Southgate West: opened c. 1970; roll was 368 in 1984.

Special schools.

Both were mixed.

Deerswood, Ifield Green: opened 1958 for slow learners aged 7-16; from c. 1983 for children with moderate learning difficulties; 157 on roll in 1984.

Catherington, Martyrs Avenue: opened 1971 for mentally handicapped children aged 2-19; from c. 1983 for children with severe learning difficulties; 61 on roll in 1984.

Further education.

Crawley College of Further Education, later Crawley College of Technology, in College Road, was begun by West Sussex county council in 1956. (fn. 14) The first stage opened in 1958, (fn. 15) and there were 1,800 students by 1959 and 3,200 by 1963. (fn. 16) The second stage, to include an assembly hall, lecture theatre, and offices, was approved in 1961, (fn. 17) was being built in 1965, (fn. 18) and was opened in 1967. It included a 10-storeyed tower block at the north end, workshops, and an apprentice training centre, and increased the total places for students to 4,240. (fn. 19) There were 4,400 by 1973 (fn. 20) and 5,500 by 1983. (fn. 21)