Hatherleigh Community Primary School

A school board was elected in Hatherleigh in 1870, and land was bought for a new, $2,000 building that would house 290 students and an adjacent master's house.
"Last day in the old National Schools, gave the children holiday in order to have the books, slates, and other items moved down to the New Schools," says an entry in the school log book on June 17, 1876.
Boys and girls above the age of six were taught in separate classrooms at the time, and although attendance was required for kids who lived within three miles of the school, many kids took unofficial days off to plant potatoes, assist with the harvest, or take care of ailing family members.
The school's heating arrangements were extremely inadequate, according to the Log Book, and in January 1880 the school was closed because the pupils were sobbing from the cold, the ink in the inkwells had frozen, and the burners were only providing localised heating.
Although the log book mentions object lessons on a variety of themes, including the Butterfly, Copper, Obedience, and a Kitchen Range, nothing is known about the lessons in those early years.
Hatherleigh stopped being an all-age school in 1956, and the older students moved on to Okehampton for their secondary studies.
From some perspectives, the school still seems like the same sturdy Victorian structure that it had for more than 130 years, yet inside, the students, staff, and instruction are firmly rooted in the twenty-first century.
taken from the Hatherleigh School 1876-1976 Centenary Souvenir booklet's part titled "From Slates to Ball Points."