St Matthew's Primary School
A non-denominational community primary on Norfolk Street, opened in 1963 on a site with schools since 1836.
St Matthew's is a mixed community primary school for ages 3 to 11 on Norfolk Street. Its website covers nursery and reception, and offers a breakfast club and after-school childcare. It is non-denominational.
A site with a long school history
The present school opened in 1963, but schools on this ground go back to 1836, when the Barnwell National Schools opened for boys, girls and infants. From the 1870s the new St Matthew's parish added schools in Norfolk Street, in York Street and in Sturton Street. These were reorganised in the 1930s, and the 1963 school replaced the old East Road secondary modern as well as the surviving junior and infant schools. The earlier Norfolk Street buildings survive as a private house.
Growth and archaeology
In 2012 and 2013 the school went from two to three classes per year group, with a new three-storey block facing East Road. Human remains turned up while builders were digging the foundations, and Oxford Archaeology East excavated them from the burial ground of a former Baptist chapel.
The school is one of the feeder schools for Parkside Community College.
Practical notes
The school's website has pages for joining the school, term dates, the curriculum and the Ofsted report, which is the place to check the current inspection findings. The main entrance is on Norfolk Street.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
