WHEATLEY COUNCIL GIRLS SCHOOL, BECKETT ROAD, RECORDS

Comprising: log books 1897-1928

This school opened on 10 May 1897 as Wheatley Board School, Mixed Department, built by Wheatley School Board in Beckett Road. The minute books of Wheatley School Board which was superseded by the Wheatley Education District Sub-Committee (under the West Riding County Council) are catalogued under references SB/16 and SD/11 respectively. Newspaper clippings reporting the opening of the new Wheatley Board School Mixed and Infants Departments are pasted in the first minute book of Wheatley School Board (reference SB/16/1 page 75).

School Boards were abolished by the 1902 Education Act which meant that in April 1904 this school was transferred to the authority of the West Riding County Council Education Committee and managed locally by Wheatley Education District Sub-Committee. As a result of this administrative change the school altered its name to Wheatley Council School, Beckett Road. In 1907 a new school built by the Committee and called Wheatley Park School, Beckett Road was opened. The overcrowding at the existing school and consequent need for new premises was discussed by the Committee on 21 June 1904 (reference SD/11/1 page 3) and decided that the proposed new school would take Standards 4-7 while the existing Wheatley Council School, housed in the original board school premises, would become a junior mixed school for Standards 1-3. It was also decided that this school together with the infants department would be known as Wheatley Beckett Road Schools (reference SD/11/1 page 91).

In 1914 Wheatley was incorporated into the borough of Doncaster and a note on 5 December of that year in the log book (reference SR27/1/2 page 58) records that the name of the school was changed to Doncaster Beckett Road Council School. From May 1915 (reference SR27/1/2 page 64) the school existed as a girls school for Standards 1-7 while the boys were all transferred to the Wheatley Park School. As a result the school was known by the names Wheatley Council Girls School and Beckett Road Girls School.

The school continued as a girls school until the Hadow reorganization scheme was implemented in 1930. From September 1930 the 1897 premises housed Wheatley Council Junior Mixed and Wheatley Council Infants schools. The 1907 school became Wheatley Council Senior Boys School and a new school was built and opened in 1930 as Wheatley Council Senior Girls (see AB/EDUC/1 Doncaster Education Committee yearbooks). No records at all for the senior Boys School or after August 1928 for Wheatley Council Girls School have been deposited at Doncaster Archives. Records of Wheatley Council Senior Girls are listed under reference SR86.

Formerly:

1. Wheatley Board School, Mixed Department (10 May 1897–31 March 1904)

2. Wheatley Council School, Beckett Road (1 April 1904–March 1907)

3. Wheatley Beckett Road Schools, Junior Mixed Department (April 1907–1914)

4. Doncaster Beckett Road Council School, Junior Mixed (1914–May 1915)

5. Wheatley Council Girls School, Beckett Road, or Wheatley Beckett Road Girls School (May 1915–August 1928)

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