Villagers fundraising to buy former school

Anna Way said she was "worried sick" over the threat of the former school being auctioned

Residents of a Dorset village are trying to raise £320,000 to buy a former school to reopen it as a nursery.

The site in Winterborne Stickland was gifted for use as a school to the Diocese of Salisbury in 1859 by banker Carl Joachim Hambro.

When a day nursery on the site closed last year it triggered a clause which meant the whole site gets handed back to the benefactor's family.

Residents say they fear it could be redeveloped or demolished if sold.

Villagers fear the former school and pre-school could be redeveloped or demolished if sold

To try and buy the site villagers have set up a community interest company and started an online fundraising appeal.

Anna Way, who is leading the efforts, said she hoped reopening the school would be the "catalyst for really positive change as there's a terrible shortage of childcare in north Dorset".

She added she was "worried sick" over the potential sale of the building which she said just needed a "lick of paint and it'll be back and ready to go".

To highlight their battle hundreds of orange and red ribbons have been tied to the former school's fence to represent each former pupil that went there.

The Diocese of Salisbury the site's trustees said it was currently seeking clarity on the wishes from the family of the original benefactor

The diocese, which is currently holding the site as trustee, said: "This a complex legal issue.

"The legal process to trace descendants has recently finished and there is a valid claim. The diocese is currently holding the site as trustees and must seek the wishers of the claimant.

"We are currently seeking clarity on those wishes."

Stickleberries nursery opened in the former school building 2015 and closed on 10 August 2023.

Ofsted had suspended the nursery’s registration three days before its closure because inspectors believed children "may be at risk of harm".

The nursery resigned its registration the following day.

Winterborne Stickland First School closed on 20 November 2002