A History of St. Stephen's Church of England Primary School
By Peter Waterhouse

Peter Waterhouse's father Stan, was headmaster at the school for many years. The following pages were written by Peter in 1981 as part of a dissertation.

Introduction

St. Stephen's C.E. (C) Primary School was first opened in March 1880, and known as Springfield St. Mary's after the parish of St. Mary’s in which the original building was situated, but to outline a history of this school, it has been necessary to give a brief history of primary education on a national scale, and in more detail, primary education in Wolverhampton. For the latter, great use has been made of the published work of local historians, particularly those of Dr. George Barnsby and Frank Mason, former Borough Librarian.

Thus, this study is divided into three major sections. It begins with a study of Primary education on a national scale and is followed by a study of primary education in Wolverhampton; both up to the year 1880. The third section includes information from both these areas, but deals mainly with the historical development of the present St. Stephen's C. E. (C) School, Wolverhampton.

Particular emphasis has been placed upon the influence of national decisions, as interpreted through the pages of the school log books.

The old school building in Grimstone Street.

The story is told in the following parts: