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Society School - history

Society Primary School is one of the Educational Institutions constructed on two large sugar Plantations owned by a wealthy sugar planter called Christopher Codrington 111. He inherited this fortune from his father and grandfather Christopher Codrington 1 and 11. Society Primary School does not have an origin of its own but its history is intrinsically rooted in the history of the Plantation.

The plantation which is called Society and College Estates is divided into two sections The Upper Estate is called Society and the Lower Estate College. These two Estates are well over six hundred acres. On the upper Estate are the Lodge School and Codrington High School, Society Primary School and Holy Cross Church. On the lower estate are Codrington College and St Mark's Anglican Church.

In 1703 Christopher Codrington 111 was going off to war to fight against the French in the island of Guadeloupe. He was a colonel in the army, Vice Admiral of the Caribbean Seas and Governor of the Leeward Islands. As most soldiers do, he sat down before he left and made his will.

He left some valuables bequest to some of his friends and to his old College All Souls Oxford. Then he thought of his sugar plantations in Barbados and wondered to whom he should leave them. After some thought, he left his tow Plantations in Barbados to the Society for the propagation of the Christian Religion, in foreign parts. This is later to be know as t he S.P.G. It was also his desire to have the Plantations continued nd three hundred negro's at least kept always thereon. In short he wanted to find a College for training medical missionaries to be paid out of the profits of the two sugar plantations.

In 1717, the foundation stone was laid and Codrington College was begun, However it was not until 1830 that the College could function as a real Theological College as was set out in the will.

In 1821 Holy Cross Chapel was built to provide Religious Teaching for the workers on the estates, It was called Holy Cross in remembrance of the fact , that on Good Friday Christopher Codrington died. In the early 18t century, St Mark's Chapel was constructed and in 1824 the boys who attended the College were moved to the Chapel's Lodge on the Upper Estate where it still is today. It began to be referred to as The Lodge School.

In the early 19th Century other buildings were erected on the Plantations The Rawle Training College for Men teachers in 1913 and a similar one for women in 1914.

A school for boys and girls was situated where Codrington High School is presently located. Classes were conducted there for children of the plantation laborers. They were given instructions on religious Education and the three r's.

In 1914 when Bishop Anstey became Principal of Codrington College a small school was built next door The pupils were transferred to this school which became know as Society Boys and Girls School. The other building was then remodeled and opened its door in 1915 as Codrington High School.

Society Boys and Girls School after it opened in 1914 have had approximately twelve Head teachers. This building, along with the others which were constructed in the early 19th century were made possible by a legacy of 16,500 pounds left to it by the owner of one of the estates.