Burston Strike School facts for kids
The Burston Strike School was a special school started because of a school strike. It became part of the longest strike in British history, lasting from 1914 to 1939. This happened in the small village of Burston in Norfolk, England. Today, the building is a museum that tells the story of the strike. Every year, many people gather for a rally to remember this 25-year-long protest. It was all about supporting two teachers, Annie Higdon and her husband, Tom Higdon.
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How the Strike Started
The strike began when the teachers at the village's Church of England school, Annie Higdon and Tom Higdon, were fired. This happened after they had disagreements with the school's managers. The students, led by a girl named Violet Potter, went on strike to support their beloved teachers.
With encouragement from the community, the Higdons decided to open their own school. At first, 66 out of their 72 former students joined them. The school started in a large tent on the village green. Later, it moved to a local carpenter's workshop. Eventually, a new school building was built with money donated by workers' groups. The Burston Strike School continued to teach local children until shortly after Tom Higdon passed away in 1939.
Why the Strike Happened
Annie Katherine Schollick (also known as Kitty) married Tom Higdon in 1896. Tom was the son of a farm worker. They first lived in London before moving to Wood Dalling in Norfolk in 1902. Around this time, a new law called the Education Bill was being discussed. It aimed to provide education for working-class children.
Kitty became the headmistress at Wood Dalling School, and Tom was an assistant teacher. They supported the local farm workers, which caused problems with the school managers, who were mostly farmers. The Higdons complained about the cold and unhealthy conditions at the school. They also protested when farmers took children out of school to work on the land. Because of these issues, the Norfolk Education Committee offered the Higdons a choice: be fired or move to another school. They chose to move and arrived at Burston School in 1911.
At Burston, the Higdons found similar problems. The new church leader, Reverend Charles Tucker Eland, became the chairman of the School Managing Body. He wanted to regain control that the church had lost. He expected everyone to respect his authority. Reverend Eland had a good salary and a comfortable home. This was very different from the farm workers and their families, who earned much less and lived in poor cottages. The farmers, who often rented land from breweries, naturally sided with the rector.
In 1913, Tom Higdon successfully ran for election to the parish council, getting the most votes. Reverend Eland, to his surprise, did not get elected. Even though the rector and farmers lost the parish council election, they still controlled the school. They decided to use this power against the Higdons. Since arriving in Burston, the Higdons had complained about the school's conditions, like dampness, poor heating, and bad ventilation.
The managers looked for a reason to act. They accused Kitty of lighting a fire without permission to dry the clothes of children who had walked three miles in the rain. They also said she was rude when she was told off for this. Kitty was also accused of hitting two girls from a children's home. Even though she believed in peace, the school managers said there was "good reason" for the complaints. They demanded the Higdons be moved to another school.
Tom and Kitty asked the Norfolk Education Authority Committee to investigate. Annie was sick and could not attend. Her lawyer from the National Union of Teachers did not call any witnesses to defend her. Despite this, the accusation of hitting the girls was not proven. Only the accusation of being rude to the managers was accepted. This was enough to give the Higdons three months' notice that their jobs would end.
The Strike School Opens
The Higdons were officially fired on April 1, 1914. As the authorities took over the school, children could be heard marching and singing. Out of 72 students, 66 went on strike. They marched around the village waving flags. None of them returned to the old school. Instead, they had lessons on the village green. This new "school" had good supplies, a full schedule, and kept attendance records. Parents fully supported it.
The authorities did not like this defiance. They took 18 parents to court and fined them for not sending their children to school. But money was collected outside the court to pay the fines. Since parents were sending their children to the school of their choice, the authorities soon had to give up.
News of the strike spread quickly. It became a big topic for workers' unions and school reformers across the country. Supporters and speakers visited often. When winter came, the school moved into empty workshops. The authorities tried to scare people by having farmers fire workers who supported the strike. This also meant families lost their homes, which were often tied to their jobs. However, during the First World War, there was a shortage of workers, so they had to be hired back.
Families who rented land from the rector to grow food were evicted, and their crops were destroyed. The village's Methodist preacher, who held Sunday services for the Strike School families, was criticized by his church.
After the first year of the strike, the lease on the old workshops was ending. An appeal was made to raise money for a new school building. By 1917, a national appeal had raised £1,250. Donations came from miners' and railway workers' unions, Trades councils, Independent Labour Party branches, and Co-operative Societies. The new school officially opened on May 13, 1917. Violet Potter, who led the 1914 student protest, declared, "With joy and thankfulness I declare this school open to be forever a School of Freedom."
The Burston Strike School continued until 1939. Tom Higdon died on August 17, 1939. By then, Kitty, who was in her seventies, could not continue alone. The last eleven students transferred to the council's school. Kitty moved to a nursing home and passed away on April 24, 1946. Both Tom and Kitty are buried together in Burston churchyard.
What Happened Next
In 1949, the National Union of Agricultural Workers (NUAW) helped make The Burston Strike School a registered charity for education. Along with Sol Sandy, a remaining trustee of the school and a member of the NUAW, three more trustees from the union were appointed. These trustees are responsible for managing the school. They work to develop it as a museum, visitor center, educational archive, and a place for the village.
In the early 1980s, the NUAW joined with the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Around this time, the Strike School was turned into a museum. An annual rally to remember the school and the longest strike in UK history was started again. This rally has been held on the first Sunday in September every year since 1984. It is organized by the trustees and members of TGWU (now Unite the Union), with help from other workers' unions.
About the Story on Screen
Television Show
The story of the strike was made into a TV show by the BBC in 1985. It was called Screen Two: The Burston Rebellion. The show starred Eileen Atkins as Kitty Higdon and Bernard Hill as Tom Higdon. John Shrapnel played Reverend Charles Tucker Eland, and Nicola Cowper played Violet Potter. It was shown on February 24, 1985, after a documentary about the strike the day before.
Movie
In 2015, it was announced that a movie about the strike would be made. It was planned for release in 2017. The film is called Burston. The producers now aim to film in summer 2017 and release it in 2018. George Moore, a director from Norfolk, is directing the film. The screenplay was written by Alice Instone-Brewer. The cast includes Jasmine Fretwell as Violet Potter, Niklass van Poorvleit as Tom Higdon, and Robert Clement-Evans as Rev. Eland. The filmmakers are working closely with the Burston Strike School Museum to make sure the movie tells the story accurately. They have hired many actors and crew members from Norfolk to show the local roots of the story.
