ST PAUL'S Primary School is one of Dorking's oldest schools, located high above the town, in St Paul's Road West.
Helen Wharmby, a parent of pupils at the school, has researched its history and compiled a recently-published book. She told Yesteryear:
"St Paul's School has changed dramatically over the years, It has expanded from its original two school rooms and small classroom to today's 14 classrooms, plus various specialist rooms such as a music room, teaching kitchen, ICT room and much more.
"The original Victorian school rooms were intended for 230 children, and they continue to be used as classrooms today, although now they accommodate just 30 children each.
"Over the years, St Paul's has grown significantly. In the 1870s, a new infants' classroom was added and at the start of the last century, two further classrooms were built and the interior layout remodelled, resulting in a total of seven classrooms and a central hall/corridor. Many former pupils of St Paul's will be familiar with this layout because the main school building was not remodelled again in any major way until 2002.
"From the 1960s, St Paul's expanded onto the other side of the public footpath. A new assembly and dining hall was built there, followed by more classrooms. Finally, in 2002, the school underwent a huge building project that brought the school to its present configuration, with room for 420 children.
"While the school buildings have grown, so too has the school's outside space. In the 1890s, a playground was added and in the 1920s a sports field: the Advertiser reported at the time that this was the 'first case of a voluntary school in the county doing such a thing'. In the 1960s, a wooded area to the east, known as The Copse, was annexed to the school site.
"Of course the story of a school is not just about its buildings, it's also about events. In November 1940, the school had a lucky escape when a German bomb landed just yards from the building, destroying the school's gardening shed and damaging windows and tiles. Thankfully, the bomb fell at night so no-one was injured.
"This, however, was not the only occasion when the school was damaged. In December 1970 a suspected arson attack destroyed a classroom on the edge of the school playground. This classroom may be remembered by some Yesteryear readers as the old school canteen."
A History of St Paul's is on sale now at St Paul's School, Dorking Museum and Waterstone's, priced at £7.99. Any profits will go to the school.
