Sutton Valence Primary School,
North St, Maidstone, Kent ME17 3HT

01622 842188

office@sutton-valence.kent.sch.uk

Sutton Valence Primary School

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Our mission is to ensure we all participate in the constant quest of knowledge, learning and adventure so that each individual can build upon their core strengths to aspire to make a real difference.

The History Of Our School


Our school is situated on the edge of the village of Sutton Valence, overlooking the Weald of Kent. It serves the three Suttons - the villages of Sutton Valence, Chart Sutton and East Sutton, along with the nearby villages of Hawkenbury and Langley.
 

The 'old school' was built in 1914, on a site adjacent to the A274, almost completely surrounded by orchards. The children, aged 5 to 14 years, were catered for in 5 classrooms. A wooden partition separated two of these rooms which could be opened to create one larger room/hall. Remnants of the partition can still be seen at the back of the current Year 5 classroom. The present toilet block next to year 6 formed the fifth classroom.

 

During the Second World War an air raid wardens' post was built at the southern end of the playground. The shelter for the school was situated at the other end of the playground on the site now occupied by Year 1. Children from London were evacuated here during the war, and the school worked part time sessions to accommodate everybody.

 

In the 1950s the two classrooms, now Years 3 and 4, were constructed, closely followed by the dining hall, kitchens, and assembly hall. The brick shelter and an old wooden canteen/kitchen had to be demolished for these new buildings.

 

The present Key Stage 1 area was built in the 1960s to replace two mobile classrooms, which had been erected on the bank alongside the hall. Later, a swimming pool was constructed alongside this new building in the early 1970s. At this time, the children had to cross the main road to use the recreation ground for sports and games, or use the small area of grass remaining on the north side of the site. It was not until the early part of the 1990s that the kitchen closed and became a work room (now the headteacher's office). A library was established at the opposite end of the dining room. The nature garden/pond area was developed at about the same time. In April 2007 our office block was completed linking the original 1914 building to the rest of the school. This meant that the school library could be rehoused into the old office and a small family and small group work room set up.

 

In September 2007 the school was granted planning permission to renovate the remaining Air Raid Warden Post into a family/community room. The room provides a permanent home for our wraparound service.

 

In 2016 we installed a school Forest area. We started small with a shed to keep our tools in. This has grown into a larger area that includes our chickens, covered area for studying, and a fire pit. We have also developed an area for our school allotment. We use all of our outdoor space including the making of dens in the forest tree area. 

 

In 2021 we expanded our Forest area further with the introduction of a purpose built cabin near our allotment. This has enabled the pupils to have access to an indoor space that is set up specifically for activities related to Forest and the teaching of certain skills. As well as this, we developed a multi-purpose technology room within the school. Pupils can take part in cooking/ food technology lessons using the kitchen as well as use the space for art, DT and computing lessons. Practical science lessons also take place in this room.