History of All Saints Lower School

There has been a school in Clifton for more than 180 years.

From a report to Samuel Whitbread of Southill, it seems that the Rev. Daniel Oliver first established Clifton School in 1807

"at his own expense - The Person who instructs the Children is William Morgan
lately a Servant in the Clergyman's family".

About 60 of the 70 children were from Clifton and many spent much of their time making straw plaits, without which their families would hardly have survived, but they did learn to read and if they went in the evening, they learnt to write and do arithmetic too. The hours were 8am - 12pm, 2pm - 5pm and 6pm - 8pm. By 1863 when the first log-book begins, Clifton was a National School, under a rather irascible master, William Edward Hall, who seldom moved without his birch in his hand. The original school bell can still be seen at the school.

One of the first schools was at Holly Cottage in Church Street. Records show that the Victorian building was in use as a school in 1863. The school and house had been given to the village by Rev. Daniel Oliver, who was Rector of All Saints Church. The modern building was completed in stages between 1969 and 1981 when the new school was dedicated by the Archdeacon of Bedford on July 14th 1981. The first school took children of ages 5 - 14. In 1955 we became a Primary School for children aged 5 - 11 and in 1979 we became a Lower School for children aged 5 - 9. In 1997 a nursery was opened and it was dedicated by the Bishop of Bedford in April 1998.

The current school is a modern building with seven class bases, one of which being the Under-Five Unit. We also have a hall and a library. The school is set on an attractive site with large sports field, woodland area and nature reserve. We are fortunate to be able to attract squirrels, hedgehogs and a variety of birds. There is also a paved playground with play equipment and markings to encourage the children to use the space imaginatively. A feature of the school is the attractive internal courtyards, one maintained as a garden. The other was, until recently, used as a safe area for outdoor play for the Under-Fives class. This changed in 2003, when the Under-Five's moved into a new building on the school site.