Schools and Education

Bewbush County First and Middle School - Dorsten Square
The first school was opened in 1978 and the middle school in 1982. It later became Bewbush Community Primary School.
Bishop Bell Junior and Infants School - Loppets Road, Tilgate
The infants school opened in 1958 and the Junior in 1959. It became a first and middle school between 1972 and 1975; the first department closed about 1979. The school closed in 1997 and was replaced by The Oaks Primary School.
Boscobel Preparatory School - High Street
A private school extant in the late 1930s.
Broadfield East County First School and Broadfield East Middle School - Vulcan Close
The first school was opened in 1978, becoming an infants school in 2004 and the middle school opened in 1986, becoming a junior school in 2004.
Broadfield North County First and Middle School - Seymour Road
Opened in 1971, renamed Seymour First and Middle School School in 1998.
Brook First School - Salterns Road, Maidenbower
Opened in 1999 it became an infant school in 2004.
Buckswood Grange School for Boys & Girls - Horsham Road
Catherington School - Martyrs Avenue, Langley Green
Opened in 1971 for mentally handicapped children, and also for children with severe learning difficulties from about 1983. Replaced by Manor Green Primary School in 2004 following closure.
Central Sussex College
See Crawley College of Further Education.
Crawley and Ifield British School
In 1852 Sarah Robinson started collecting contributions for a new school, which opened in New Road (later Robinson Road) in September 1854. A master's house was attached to the school, and in 1857 an infant's room and staff room were added. The school was financed through public subscriptions and pupils paid one penny a week until 1890 when parliament introduced free education. The school was extended in 1878; a new infants' schoolroom was built in 1895, and a new infants' school in 1899. The school became a council school in 1903. In 1916 the master's house was demolished and a new school was built on land purchased for the purpose.
Junior and infants were transferred to West Green county junior and infants' school in 1953, and in 1954 students were transferred to Hazelwick, leaving the school as a county secondary. A booklet was published to commemorate the schools centenary in 1954. The school transferred to the new Sarah Robinson School in Ifield in 1956. The buildings were then used by the Workers' Educational Association before becoming an annexe of Crawley College. They were demolished in 1995 to make way for the Pegler Way-High Street Relief Road.

Crawley and Ifield (Church of England) School - Ifield Road
The school originated as two Sunday schools for boys and girls (one of which was built in 1843) and was called Ifield National school. The building was enlarged in 1871 and reopened as an elementary school, and was enlarged again in 1907. After bomb damage during the Second World War the school was transferred to Little Deerswood. It closed in 1955 and the pupils were transferred to St. Margaret's school.
Crawley and Ifield Charity School
See The National School.
Crawley College of Further Education - College Road
Officially opened on 9th June 1958 by HM The Queen, the first principal was Theodore Siklos. An assembly hall, lecture theatre, offices, workshops and ten-story tower block opened in 1967. It was later renamed Crawley College of Technology.
On 1st August 2005 Crawley and Haywards Heath Colleges combined to form Central Sussex College, with six main campuses at Crawley, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, East Grinstead Central, East Grinstead The Birches and Horsham. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, came to Crawley on Thursday October 13 2005, to officially open Central Sussex College. Two new buildings, including the Longley Building, were opened in 2006. On 1st August 2017 the college merged with Chichester College and was renamed Crawley College.
Deerswood School - Ifield Green
Opened in 1958 for slow learners, and also for children with moderate learning difficulties from about 1983. Replaced by Manor Green Primary School in 2004 following closure.
Desmond Anderson County Junior and Infants School - Canterbury Road
The infants school opened in 1957 and the Junior in 1958. It became a first and middle school between 1972 and 1975.
Discovery New School - Broadfield House
An independent Montessori state funded primary academy located at Broadfield House and which opened in September 2011. Following an OFSTED inpsection in May 2013 the school was rated as inadequate and placed under special measures, and Department for Education terminated its funding agreement at the end of the 2014 spring term.
Glenmore School - 55 Brighton Road
Private school extant in the early 1960s for 2 -13 year olds.
Gossops Green County Junior and Infants School - Kidborough Road
The infants school opened in 1958 and the Junior in 1959.
Hazelwick County Secondary Modern School - Hazelwick Mill Lane, Three Bridges
Hazelwick School opened in 1953 as a Secondary Modern. A new building was added in 1959. It became a bilateral modern and grammer school in 1960-61 and a comprehensive by 1964, when new buildings were added. Hazelwick became the town's first trust school in 2009, making its own staffing decisions and admission arrangements, and managing its own land and assets. Following a decision by the Education Secretary from 1st August 2011 Hazelwick became an acadamy - the first West Sussex school to do so - directly funded by central government and independent of West Sussex County Council.
Hilltop Primary School - Ditchling Hill, Southgate West
Replaced Southgate West County First and Middle School following their closure in 2004.
Holy Cross Roman Catholic Middle School - Southgate West and Ifield
Opened about 1970, then moved to new buildings in Ifield in the early 1980s. It closed in 1996.
Holy Trinity Church of England Comprehensive School - Buckswood Drive, Gossops Green
Opened in September 1967, but the school was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II during her Royal Visit on 17th December 1969. The Queen addressed the school and unveiled a plaque, then visited class-rooms, including the home economics department where she had tea with some of the pupils. In September 2005 the school was awarded specialist status in Science and Mathematics
Ifield County Junior and Infants School - Rusper Road and Ifield Drive
The infants school opened in 1956 and the Junior school at about the same time. Became a first and middle school in 1985 when the middle school moved to Ifield Road, the first school following in 2001. Closed in 2004 and replaced by The Mill Primary School
Ifield County Comprehensive School - Crawley Avenue
Ifield Grammar and Sarah Robinson Schools were amalgamated in May 1966 to form Ifield Comprehensive School, renamed Ifield Community College in 1986. The two original buildings were joined and refurbished.
Ifield County Grammar School
Ifield Grammar School opened in September 1955 along side Sarah Robinson Secondary Modern School. Ifield Grammar and Sarah Robinson Schools were amalgamated in May 1966 to form Ifield Comprehensive School.
Jordans County Junior and Infants School - Martyrs Avenue, Langley Green
Opened in 1958 the school merged with Langley Green County Infants School under that name on the Jordans site in about 1979.
Langley Grange School for Boys - Langley Lane, Ifield
Langley Green County Junior and Infants School - Langley Drive
Opened in 1954. The infants school merged with Jordans County Junior and Infants School in about 1979.
Maidenbower First and Middle School - Harvest Road
The first school opened in 1992 and the middle school in 1999. In 2004 they became infants and junior schools respectively.
Manor Green Primary School - Lady Margaret Road, Ifield
A special school opened in 2004 following the closure of Catherington and Deerswood schools.
Manor Green College - Lady Margaret Road, Ifield
A secondary school for children with learning difficulties.
Mill Primary School - Ifield Drive
Opened in 2004 following the closure of Ifield First and Middle School.
Milton Mount College
The school, built on a hill in the village of Milton, near Gravesend, opened on 16 April 1873 for the daughters of Congregational ministers. From 1902, as well as minister's daughters, other girls were admitted, whose fees were not subsidised. From 1915, following a bombing raid on Gravesend, the school rented the Royal Agricultural College, Chichester until 1920.
Not wishing to return to Milton they bought Worth Park mansion for 31,500. The school opened to pupils on 21 October 1920 and was officially opened by the Prime Minister's wife, Dame Margaret Lloyd George, on 23 June 1921. The mansion was requisitioned for Canadian troops in June 1940 until June 1945 and the school moved to the Imperial Hotel in Lynton, North Devon, returning in May 1946.
However, the poor state of the house, financial problems and the growth of Crawley New Town led to the schools closure in July 1960. Some of the pupils transferred to Wentworth College, Bournemouth, and when it became clear that Milton Mount College would not be re-opened it merged with Wentworth College. The house and gardens were sold to Crawley Borough Council in 1963. The proceeds from the sale where used to set up The Milton Mount Foundation in 1967, providing bursaries for the education of Congregational ministers' daughters.
Former pupils included Mary Baldwin (1916-2018), who became the wife of the former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, leaving in 1932, and Mary Brenchley (1924-2000) who married the jockey and author Dick Francis.
Headmistresses: Miss Anne Askew Woodall, 1910-1926; Mrs Dorothy Margaret Henman, 1926-1939; Miss Marion Louise Farrell, 1939-1960
Sources & Further Reading
Hadland, Selina, Annals of Milton Mount College (1889)
Harwood, Hilda, The History of Milton Mount College (1959)
Farrell, Marion L, The History of Milton Mount College 1946- 1962 (1963)
Schoolgirl Days at Milton Mount College 1920-1960 (The Miltonian Guild, 2016)
Milton Mount First and Middle School School - Grattons Drive, Pound Hill
Opened in 1972, it became a primary school in 2004.
National School
The Crawley and Ifield Charity School, in Ifield Road, was founded in 1831 by Sarah Robinson, who raised the funds to build it. James Clitherow, Lord of the Manor of Crawley, donated the land. The building consisted of a central schoolmaster's house with two classroom wings. At first it was open to all children, but by 1851 was restricted to children whose parents attended the Anglican church. Mrs. Robinson disagreed with this policy, the deeds were transferred to the church, and she went on to found the British School. Due to the poor condition of the school in 1878 a new school house was built on adjacent land and the original building refurbished. By this time the school had become The National School.In 1914 a new infants' school opened and the juniors took over the old infants' building.
The National School later became known as Crawley and Ifield Church of England School. The school was bombed during a raid in February 1943. The infant school and school air raid shelter were left in ruins, closing the school for weeks. The school was finally closed on 24th February 1955, transferring to St. Margaret's Church of England School, Ifield.
Sources & Further Reading
The National School C of E School Crawley. Nadine Hygate (2011)
Crawley & District Courier, 29th February 1984
Crawley News, 5th September 2001; 26th September 2001; 12th May 2004
Crawley Observer, 24th July 2002; 9th October 2002
Northgate County Junior and Infants School - Barnfield Road
A temporary school was opened in 1952 which was replaced by the County school when it opened in 1954. It became a first school in 1971.

North House School - 117 High Street
John Owen Conlan opened a school in Crawley in 1888. He filed for Bankruptcy in 1913.
Sources & Further Reading
Sussex & Surrey Courier, 30th August 1913, 27th September 1913
Notre Dame Roman Catholic School - Worth Road, Pound Hill
Opened as a girls' secondary school in 1968, by 1970 it became a middle mixed school. It closed in 1996.

Oakhaven Nursery and Preparatory School - 48 Brighton Road, 55 Brighton Road; Oakhaven School 58 Brighton Road
Private school extant in the early 1950s and early 1960s for 3-8 year olds.
The Oaks Primary School - Loppets Road, Tilgate
Replaced Bishop Bell and Robert May schools following their closure in 1997.
The Oaks School - London Road, Northgate
A private school established about 1937 and extant in the early 1960s for 5-11 year olds. It was owned by Miss Florence M. Parker.
Oriel High School - Maidenbower Lane
Opened in 2004.
Our Lady Queen of Heaven (Roman Catholic) Junior and Infants School - Hare Lane, Langley Green
Opened on 11th September 1957 by two nuns, Sister Marie and Sister Marie-Odile, it became a first school in 1970.
Parker, F.M. Kreepi, London Road
A Preparatory school extant in 1951.
Pound Hill School
Pound Hill School, which was nicknamed cobweb college , is now used as an annex to Pound Hill Middle School.
Pound Hill County Junior and Infants School - Crawley Lane
Opened about 1955, from 1957 it took over the the buildings of the former Worth County Primary School. It became a first and middle school in 1971.
Robert May County Junior and Infants School - Furnace Green
Opened in 1964, it became a first and middle school between 1972 and 1975; the middle department closed in 1979. In 1985 the middle school buildings were used by West Sussex County Council's education department and the West sussex Institute of Higher Eeducation. The school closed in 1997 and was replaced by The Oaks Primary School.
Roser, Margaret - 52 Springfield Road, Southgate
A private school extant in 1913.
Saint Andrews (Church of England) Primary School - Weald Drive, Furnace Green
Attached to Saint Andrew's Church, the school opened in 1969. It became a first and middle school between 1972 and 1975.
Saint Francis of Assisi (Roman Catholic) Junior and Infants School - Southgate Drive
Opened in 1950 in Three Bridges Road, a new school was built in 1956 in Southgate Drive. It became a first school in 1971.
St. John's Lodge School - 33 Three Bridges Road
Extant between the late 1930s, when it was a preparatory school, and 1960s. A private school for 5-10 year olds.
Saint Margaret's (Church of England) Junior and Infants School - The Mardens, Ifield
St. Margaret's, which as a church school had its origins in the National School in Ifield Road, opened on March 1st 1955.
Saint Wilfrid's Roman Catholic School - Old Horsham Road, Southgate
Opened in Oakwood House about 1952, moving to new buildings in 1953, opened on 9th September 1953 by the Earl of Lytton. Extensions were added in 1958, about 1967 and 1970. It became a comprehensive in 1967.
Sarah Robinson County Secondary Modern School
Opened in 1956. Sarah Robinson and Ifield Grammar Schools were amalgamated in May 1966 to form Ifield Comprehensive School.
Seymour First and Middle School School - Seymour Road, Broadfield
Opened in 1971 as Broadfield North County First and Middle School before being renamed in 1998. Became a Primary school in 2004.
Southgate County Junior and Infants School - Barrington Road
Opened in 1956 with two departments. They became first and middle schools between 1972 and 1975.
Southgate West County First and Middle School
The first school opened in 1969 and the middle school in 1970. Closed in 2004 and replaced by Hilltop Primary School.
Thomas Bennett County School - Ashdown Drive, Tilgate
Opened in 1958 as a bilateral modern and grammar school. A new block was added in 1960. It had become a comrehensive by 1965 and a community school by about 1979. It moved into new buildings in 2005.
Three Bridges County Junior and Infants School - Gales Place and Gales Drive
A new infants and junior school opened in Three Bridges in autumn 1938 in what is now Gales Place. Three Bridges county primary school in North Road transferred to Worth County Primary school in 1953. A new county junior school opened in Gales Drive in 1955, and children transferred from Worth County Primary school. It became a middle school 1971. The County infants school moved to Gales Place between 1960 and 1971 when it became a first school.

Waterfield County First School - Waterfield Gardens, Bewbush
Opened in January 1985, temporarily in Bewbush Middle School, and moved to a new building in September 1985. It became a primary school in 2004.
Wentworth (Roman Catholic) School - Three Bridges Road
A private school extant in 1951.
West Green County Junior and Infants School - West Green Drive
A temporary school was opened in 1951 on part of the site of Crawley and Ifield Church of England School, but was replaced by the County Infant and Junior School in 1952-3. The County Infant school opened in 1952 and the County Junior school in 1953.
Worth County Primary School
Worth Church of England Elementary School
A successor to National school opened in 1852 it was a mixed junior and infants school. It became Worth Secondary Modern school in 1950.
Worth County Secondary Modern School
Opened in 1950 in buildings of the former Worth Church of England School, it closed in 1953.