Our History

The school's history began in 1864 so there is much to write about.  

The school was established 1864 to provide education for the children of Bentley, Pilgrims Hatch, and Coxtie Green. Like many schools of this era, it was founded as a "National School" by the Church of England to ensure children received both a basic education and religious instruction.

During WWI and WWII, the school remained a community hub. Local records indicate it served as a site for community collection efforts and sheltered children during air raids in the Brentwood area.

In 1964, under the leadership of Headteacher George E. Taylor, the school celebrated its 100th anniversary. Mr. Taylor wrote the definitive history of the school's first century, which remains the primary source for historians today.

The school history since 1964 is less well documented so we have had to use photographs and memories to record it. 

The photograph on the left is dated 1965 and shows the school house next to the school building.

The  photo on the right is undated and shows that the school house has been demolished to make way for the new school hall.

The photo on the left shows ex-headteacher Mrs Muir helping dancers at the 1989 school fete.  In that year the 125th anniversary of the school was celebrated with a service at St Paul's church followed by tea at the school. Pupils and staff, both old and current, were invited.

There is a gap in the information available during the next period but in 2005/6 more work was carried out to remove the now unused school kitchen and replace it with a new staff room.  The previous staff room became the school office, the old school office became the Headteacher's room and the previous Headteacher's room became the pupils' teaching kitchen.

In 2007 a new reception classroom was built and classrooms 1 and 2 were extended.

The requirement for a new reception classroom had been stated in a previous Ofsted inspection report and in 2008 a new Ofsted inspection graded the school as OUTSTANDING.

Since then, the school  added a second ICT room, an all-weather sports pitch and some additional rooms for small-group teaching. Following a government requirement that schools provide school meals to their infant pupils, a new school kitchen was installed in 2014.

A full inspection by Ofsted was in February 2018 when the school was graded GOOD in all areas.

In 2023, the school joined Mid - Essex Anglican Trust, joining with other local Church of England schools whilst maintaining its distinct Bentley identity. Since joining the trust our ICT room has made way for a new library and 30 laptops replaced the computers.