Pye Bank School, Sheffield - April 2016

degenerate · May 17, 2016

Pye Bank Primary School, one of the original Sheffield Board Schools, was designed by architects Innocent and Brown, and was opened in 1875. The buildings were unlocked on 1st December by Mrs Mark Firth in the presence of Sir John Brown, a British industrialist, and Viscount Sandon using a large golden key elegantly decorated with jewels. Over one hundred years later, Brian Bezant, a former teacher through the 1970’s to 1990’s, and headteacher from 1997, described the school as being “perched on a cliff like an eagle’s eyrie” and explained how it was initially divided into three distinct departments; one for infants, and two – which were separate – for male and female juniors. The school continued to grow alongside Sheffield’s industry as the population in Pitsmoor grew rapidly; even after it suffered severe damaged when it was bombed in December 1940. It only remained closed for five months and while the roof was repaired most of the teachers and pupils were evacuated to Lincolnshire. By the 1970’s the school had become extremely overcrowded, to the extent that mobile classrooms occupied much of the playground spaces, and several concerns were raised over the disappearing influence of the church. However, while Diocesan plans surfaced to re-establish a presence in the area, they were unsuccessful since the religious divide between pupils has already become too great. Although the Pye Bank never actually rejected its strong Christian ethos, before its closure it was reported that the school served a community that was almost entirely Muslim based.

Despite its long history, the school closed in 2003 when a new purpose-built site, which was constructed on the former site of St. Catherine’s RC Primary School, opened on Andover Street. Although the buildings are now Grade II listed, the entire school has remained abandoned since its closure, despite alleged plans to redevelop it into apartments. It is likely, if such rumours are true, that the hillside on which the school is located, which offers stunning views overlooking the city of Sheffield, helped to prompt this proposal.