Melton Constable school was built by the Midland and Great Northern Railway in 1896 and opened in March 1897, intended for the children of the newly formed village of Melton Constable.
Land in Melton Constable, on which stands the Hall and Park, has been in possession of the Hastings family for centuries and derives its name from Mealton, who was Constable of the Estates after they had been presented to Arfastus, Bishop of Thetford by William the Conqueror and who signed his documents as Mealton de Constable.
The new village expanded and rows of houses of the terrace type were built on the South side of the main road, mainly using labour from Fakenham. Many of the workmen walked the 9 miles each way, night and morning, along the railway track. In addition to the school, the railway company also provided shops and a Railway Institute.
After the completion of the school, the post of Head Master and Mistress were advertised, and Mr. Alfred Haymer and his wife Mary Alice, were appointed at a joint salary of £80 per year. 85 children who had been attending neighbouring schools were admitted on the first day. The building soon proved to be inadequate and had to be enlarged three times. The last building being the classroom which was added to the northwest. The number of children attending in 1904 was 291 and the school had by then been taken over by the County Council.
In 1933, the school at Swanton Novers was closed and the children transferred to Melton Constable. However, in 1936, all the senior children were sent to the Melton Constable Higher Standard School and thus from that date the school became known as Melton Constable Junior.
In 1936, owing to the centralisation of the railways, the M&GN was absorbed into the L.N.E.R. and as a result the works, and sheds etc, were closed and the men and some equipment transferred to such depos as Stratford and Doncaster. This naturally resulted in the loss of several children, meaning the social activities of the village were greatly reduced by the enforced loss of the younger men and their families. For some years the proportion of elderly people was considerably higher than anywhere else in the County and indeed in one road of 24 houses there was, at one time, only one child of school age.
As could have been expected, the child population grew very little during the 10 years from 1936, and apart from an influx of evacuees during the war, when the numbers rose to over 150, they remained constant at just over 100. Gradually, as the elderly people and railway pensioners either died or left the village, younger families took their houses and industries such as Tarpaulin Sheet making and repairing, along with wagon repairing began to spring to life in the disused sheds and buildings of the old railway. This work employed over 100 people.
By the beginning of 1949,  134 children were attending the school and in November of that year, with the closure of the Church School at Thursford, the number rose to 160. It was anticipated that with the opening of the new housing estates at Swanton Novers, Woodfield and Melton Constable the figures would rise still further.
This was indeed the case, and by 1954 the numbers had risen to their peak of 182 and further accommodation was deemed necessary. In 1957, two modern classrooms with an additional corridor were built onto the northeast part of the school and these allowed two of the older classrooms to be thrown into one to form a room for dining and various other activities.
In 1963, with the closure of the railway and the wagon repair shop Melton once again began to decline and this was reflected both here and in the neighbouring villages by a corresponding decrease in pupil numbers. The only industry at present in the area is the Tarpaulin Sheet factory although Canning factories planned both in Melton and Briston might help in the future, and the fact that houses are cheaper here than anywhere in the County has already resulted in workers as far away as Norwich coming to live in the village. As far as can be foreseen, the numbers will probably be around 120 for the next few years.
As a matter of interest, the school had only two Headmasters in all its 76 years, a record for the county - 
Mr. Alfred Haynes, 1897 to 1928 and Mr. Edward N. Thorne, 1929 to 1967

The above was written by a villager in 1963 but since that time an industrial estate has been opened on the site of the old railway works. This has resulted in a few small but expanding industries coming to Melton Constable and a definite increase in the numbers of families in the parish. The primary school numbers are now probably in the region of 180.

Our education started at the very early age of three years and the first three years were spent in the care and teaching of a really delightful single lady named Miss Lock. Young as we were she had the tremendous responsibility in preparing us for our first journey into the educational world. As I remember she was a very gentle disciplinarian; a slap on the wrist and all was well.
After three years of gentle teaching we were moved into Class 1, where another gentle lady named Miss Miles in a rather strict but nice way started us on our really serious educational life consisting of the three Rs and recitals of children's poetry as the main subjects.
Then after one year of Class One and a satisfactory examination, we moved into Class Two where another single lady named Miss Toll had the responsibility of teaching a slightly more advanced standard of the three Rs, poetry and the first steps of national Geography and History to a class of 32 pupils. Looking back to this very important stage in our education I am certain that her very sound methods of teaching proved to be of immense value to us all. She was a very strict disciplinarian. The first excursion into the field of disobedience brought a very stern warning, the second, an exercise of correction after which one could hear the drop of a strand of thistledown. Her methods of correction although very stern proved to be of immense value to us all when we grew up. Sometimes I wonder what her reaction would be today with children who can neither add up, subtract or multiply without the use of a calculator, spell and whose writing is atrocious.
Then up to Class Three where the first male teacher named Mr. Warby came into our educational life, teaching advanced standards of all previously mentioned subjects. His teaching methods were excellent and he was nothing like as strict as the ladies. He was called up for overseas service in World War I. Unfortunately he was killed in action but his sacrifice is honorably recorded on the war memorial that stands in front of the school.
After Class Three we moved into Class Four, the last class in the school where our teacher was the Headmaster Mr. Alfred Hamer better known by us all as "Boss". Make no mistake he was "the Boss". A very strict master but an excellent teacher who brought our education up to a very high standard before we left for our further education at Melton Constable and Briston Higher Standard School. He always amused us when he said "luke" at your "buke" in the Mancunian dialect he spoke.
For all the various disciplines of our teachers they gave us all an excellent start to our educational life that was to stand us in good stead in our search for fame and fortune in our adult life.
Bob Loynes - M&GN Circle

I attended Melton Primary between 1959 and 1964. I would estimate this photo to be 1962 or 1963. I lived in Swanton Novers and whether there was no room on Groom's bus from Thursford or I was too young to travel unaccompanied, Mr Thorne, and his wife, who was the school secretary used to pick Angela Vout and myself up. We used to share the back seat of his Ford anglia, with his Labrador dog, who used to lay under Mrs Thorne's desk. His name was Dandy and all the kids adored him. “ Happy Days “ Mr and Mrs Thorne used to live in Queens Road Fakenham and did the journey daily.
Chris Page - 9th April 2026