ABOUT US

William Cawthorne founded Cawthorne’s Endowed School in 1674 for the free education of the children in the parish of Over Wyresdale. Since 1963 it has been a primary school and boys and girls aged 5-11 now attend. It is a voluntary aided, non-denominational Christian faith school. The aiding body of the school is the Cawthorne’s Trust.

The current building was built of local stone in 1857. It was extended in 1974 to form a separate classroom and incorporate modern facilities. The building will be undergoing numerous changes this year. The 1974 classroom will be extended, the kitchen will be turned into a staff room, the office will be turned into a kitchen and the entrance porches will be converted into offices. Handicap toilet facilities will be installed. The front playground will be extended to enable all to access the school.

After school hours the school serves as the community centre for the parish.

The children use a leased large playing field across the road from the school for P.E. and other curricular activities.

A booklet outlining the history of the school was published in 1974 to commemorate its tercentenary. This booklet is presented to each child when they leave the school, along with a Bible.