2. The Yelverton House Era
The Avenue Road premises had from the beginning been regarded as a stop gap; in fact in 1880 Lady Fullerton had proposed the acquisition of Yelverton House which could be adapted to provide larger and more satisfactory premises. The house was obtained largely through the generous help of Mr. Fullerton, husband to Lady Fullerton, who gave £1,000 towards the cost.

The balance of the purchase price, amounting to another £3,000, was met by a mortgage and a bank loan. The total sum of £6,000 also covered the cost of furnishing the school. At a later period the debt was paid by two donations.

During 1885 it was decided to move the School to Yelverton House, which was in Yelverton Road. Mother General of the Sisters visited the House in September 1885.



After the Christmas holidays, the School re-assembled in the Yelverton Road premises on 11th January 1886 which were blessed by Father Birch, the Superior, the number on roll being 51.

Whilst Mother Hustler was away at a convent in France for an extended period from September 1885 until May 1886 Mother M. Field was in charge. On 21st June 1887 the children took part in the local celebrations for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

These included a procession through the centre of the town; each child was given a Jubilee medal, and they had dinner; which was followed by an entertainment.

During the second half of 1887 the Religious of the Cross decided to move to Boscombe, but the Sisters continued to take charge at St. Walburga's School. Most of the children were taken to Boscombe on 6th September 1888 for the laying of the Foundation Stone of the new Convent there.

The Religious of the Cross finally retired from St. Walburga's School at the end of the summer term 1889. The convent in Branksome Wood Road had been taken over by Sisters of Mercy, from London, on 27th August 1887, and they re-established St. Joseph's Home there. The original Home in Lansdowne Road had languished after the death of Lady Fullerton in 1885. The Sisters of Mercy took charge of St. Walburga's School from August 1889, one of the nuns becoming Head Mistress.

Building work commenced almost immediately during the course of which the interior was extensively remodelled.

Negotiations were opened with the Department of Education to obtain recognition of the school and plans of the building were submitted to the Department on 1st August 189J. On 5th December the Department indicated the improvements which would be required to obtain the recognition, in accordance with an outline plan previously submitted by the Managers.

Final plans were forwarded to the Department on 7th March 1894 by Messrs. H.E. Hawker and Mitchell, the architects to the Managers. These were approved on 15th March, and the work put in hand immediately. Whilst this work was in hand the, classes were transferred to the Windsor Cottages from 1st March. School buildings were re-opened on 28th June 1894.

The School was recognised for payment of government grant from 1st March 1894. On that same date the school fees were abolished.

On the 12th February the number on roll had been exactly 100, with a teaching staff consisting of the Head Mistress, Sister Catherine Butler, and two assistant teachers. When the School re-assembled after the summer holiday on 20th August the number on roll was 103.

The first of the Government annual inspections took place on 26th November 1894 when 101 children were present. In general terms the Inspector's Report was very satisfactory. During the winter attendance was much reduced at various dates due to wet or severe weather, a circumstance which frequently occurred in most schools at that date, and indeed for many years to come.

A development in June 1895 was the employment by the School Managers of Sergeant Major R. Hall to take the children for drill, periods of this "being held each Tuesday and Friday at 10.JO a.m. The Inspector's Report for October 1895 gave unqualified praise to the conduct of the School and to the behaviour of the children. He mentioned that it was difficult for one teacher single-handed to maintain order in three classes of infants.

By the end of October 1896 the average attendance was 92, and a third assistant teacher had been appointed. The year 1897 was fairly uneventful; the number of children on roll dropped slightly, so that when one teacher left she was not replaced. Very severe weather at the end of February 1898 caused the School to be closed for four days.

At the beginning of the Autumn Term 1899 a third assistant teacher had again been appointed. The annual report for the year continued praise for the standard of teaching and the excellent organisation of the School. It is interesting to note that in February 1900 a grant of £9.10s.6d. was received for the purchase of a piano for the infants' room.

On 12th March 1900 the School was closed for the morning in connection with the formal opening of the newly extended Church of the Sacred Heart.

Another half day's holiday was given on 2nd May in connection with the Bournemouth celebrations of the Relief of Mafeking.

There is no reference in the records to the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, but in June 1902 the School was closed for a week's holiday in celebration of the Coronation of King Edward VII, whilst a children's treat was held on 23rd July.

Although the Coronation itself had to be postponed at the last moment owing to the serious illness of the King, these events took place as scheduled, the actual Coronation ceremony being held in August after the King's convalescence.

The Education Act 1902 resulted in the new Bournemouth Local Education Authority coming into being on 1st July 1903. Under this Act Church Schools become known as non-provided schools, which meant that the Church owning the school remained responsible for the building of the premises and the maintenance of the outside, whilst the Education Authority met the day to day running expenses.

Before finally accepting responsibility for the upkeep of the inside of the buildings, the local authority arranged for the Borough Engineer and the Chief Sanitary Inspector to report on their condition. In the case of St. Walburga's the report mentioned defects to the stucco on the outer walls, to repairs necessary to the roof, to dampness in some of the interior walls, to a number of other defects. The playground was unsurfaced.

In the annual return for the School for the year ended 31st March 1905 the Managers stated that the building had been thoroughly repaired - floors, windows, roof, staircases and cloakroom. New lavatories had been added, and the existing one remodelled. The playground had been drained and gravelled. Incandescent gas lamps had been installed.

Pupils on roll had settled down to about 110 at the time when the Education Committee was formed. The local authority arranged for the provision of cookery classes for the girls, a class of 18 from St. Walburga's starting attendance on 1?th November at the Lansdowne Council School in Madeira Road.

Although the general school holidays were shorter at that period than they have been in more recent times, there were many half-day and day closures - for - example the following are mentioned in 1904 -

14th January Children's Tea and Tree
19th April Naval Demonstration
15th June Horse Show in Meyrick Park
1Jth July Temperence Pete
28th September Children's Sports.

For many years all local schools were closed each Wednesday afternoon in July to allow pupils to attend various Sunday School outings.

During 1907 the number on roll started to rise quite considerably, and by the end of the year there were over 130 on the books.

The Mayor paid a visit to the School on 26th June 1908, when the children were given a half-day's holiday by him. The following entry appears in the School Log Book - "A very nice School, beautifully kept.
G. E. Bridge, Mayor"

King Edward died in May 1910; on the day of the funeral, 20th May, the children assembled in the morning to hear an address given by Fr. Kopp, S.J., on the life and death of the King, after which the School was closed for the rest of the day.

The Bournemouth Centenary Celebrations were held in July 1910, when all the schools were closed for two weeks from the fifth of the month.

Numbers at the School continued to increase and the organisation for October 1910 was: Class No. of Pupils

Infants - 24
Stds. I and II - 46
Stds. Ill and IV - 34
Stds. V to VII - 29
Total:- 153