Generations of children have been educated at the school since it opened in 1861 and we all have our special childhood memories of the school and will all be able to recall with great nostalgia teachers and pupils of bygone years.
The demolition and redevelopment of the site is a new chapter in the village’s history, although the loss of the old school buildings has been a difficult period for many people in the village. However, we must all remember that the education of their children was an important issue for generations of miners. The miners of the Victorian era appreciated that education enabled their children to escape the grinding poverty of the mines and new and exciting opportunities.
Mr Gilfillan and the staff at Burradon Primary School continue to nurture and protect the miner’s ethos and provide our children with an excellent formal and moral education and there is a great emphasis on caring for the pupil’s welfare in the school.
The preservation of the village’s mining heritage has been an integral aspect of the Forum’s work with the restoration of the Nurse’s Cottage and the 1860 Mining Disaster Scroll and the Pit Wheel Memorial.
The village website contains hundreds of photographs and memories and we will continue to develop the site to include further images and stories.
We hope to pursue and secure the funding to restore the Burradon Colliery Banner which will be displayed in a prominent place in the village.
