>The living area for the boys is known as the computer room and staff room.
>The old storage sheds are now known as the teachers and visitors car park.
>The old playground had been replaced with bike sheds.
>The old physics block has been knocked down and a new sixth form block has been produced.
>The chapel near the headmasters house was torn down and art rooms were placed on the grounds where it use to lay.
Another source that helps us investigate about our school is a questionnaire. We asked four people who have worked here longer than twenty years or more. Mr Jarman, Mr Kingston, Mr Mawdesley and Mr Hawley a number of different questions from the year of 1999 about the school (centre site) but the only different questionnaire was Mr Jarmans as we asked him in the year of 2000. Not all of the teachers that we asked the questions to took a rough guess as they did not know the correct answer. Mr Hawley for instance, he made estimates before he had even came to the school, he answered when were the science blocks put up? He replied between 25-30 years but he only came to the school 21 years ago. Mr Kingston gave exact years when most things changed but he only missed one question but Mr Mawdesley only could answer a few questions because he didn’t actually go to the school he only played badminton here. Mr Jarmens answers were alot more detailed than the other teachers answers.
I think that the questionnaires are not reliable but I think the most reliable source about the school is paper articles this is because they tell you the exact changes and what date they were done. In July 1922 the there was a paper that was produced it was about the new chapel that had been built. The magazine records the dates of it being started and when it finished ( the 4th of April till the 5th of May ) but since the chapel has been built it has never been knocked down since. The paper which was produced in March 1953 was about the new dormitory and changing rooms and ablutions block, they were all built in the Christmas holidays. The dormitory is still there but has a different purpose totally it is now a computer room and staff room. The war memorial still stands after all these years next to the 6th form block.
STUDENT TIMELINE MAIN CHANGES
1908 original schoolroom made into a chapel
1913 the gymnasium was built
192 First World War memorial was made
1960 science and kitchen blocks were built
1972 the hall and art block were also built
1988 RE terrapin was knocked down
1992 Swimming pool was filled in
I have labelled the pictures 1-4
- Here is a picture of one of the old King Alfred’s class in 1920. As you can see they look alot different compared to our school uniform. In the picture there is a building behind the class and I think that this building is the school offices and therefor they haven’t been knocked down do they are still here today.
2. Here is the picture of the junior dormitory. This would of been used by the students that attended King Alfred’s boarding school. The room has not changed much over the years apart from maybe a bit of paint , but the room is used for a totally different purpose. The room is now used for computers and in the rooms behind there is a staff room but the main change is that they have knocked a hall through one of the walls and have put a little office for the man who runs it and a couple of computers .
- Here is a picture of the Norman arch and the sixth form room. The arch was built around about a hundred years ago. The arch was from the old school that stood next to the Wantage church it would have been run by the priest. The arch is known as a listed building this means that the building and the arch cannot be knocked down.
This concludes my history GCSE coursework on King Alfred’s school and it’s changes.
Written by Luke Adams
