The History of Our School
and Celebrating 200 Years
In 1825, our school was founded by Edward Betts who put down some money for a school to help “educate the poor.” Now, as Dedham Church of England Primary School, we continue to keep this founding principle at the heart of what we do. “Guide each of us to be a light to the world” is our school vision, inspired by Matthew 5:14-16, and it encourages all at our school to be the best that they can be for the benefit of themselves and for the benefit of others.
2025 sees the 200th birthday of Dedham Church of England Primary School and as a school we are going to be celebrating this in many ways. From opening a pond on the school grounds, to communicating with Dedham in Massachusetts, from running 200 laps of the field, to exhibiting more than 200 portraits in the village, we certainly plan to make 2025 one to remember!
Dedham, Massachusetts
During the summer term, we were excited to be able to establish penpals with children on the other side of the Atlantic in Dedham, MA. Children in all classes wrote and received letters and some children also managed to negotiate the five hour time difference to be able to meet their penpals online!
New Pond
Thanks to a generous donation from Dedham Parish Council, the school now has a pond in the school grounds for children to use as part of the science and Forest School curriculum.
The History of Schooling in Dedham
As part of their history curriculum, Class 6 have been learning about the history of schooling in Dedham. They had a tour of the village with Richard Hopkins (our Chair of Governors and the Lecturer of Dedham) and they used the information that they had learned to write articles, some of which you can read below.
If you would like to learn more about the history of schools in Dedham, this article by Lucy Archer is an excellent read. https://www.dedhamparishcouncil.co.uk/assets/Historical-Dedham/Lucy-Archer-Articles/Dedham-Parish-Magazine-March-2022-School.pdf
