Moorfield Close

The High School opened in October 1931 as the area school for pupils from five to fourteen. Pupils over eleven from surrounding parishes were provided with Council owned bicycles. Kesgrave pioneered this scheme and in those early days it was quite a talking point. The School’s first head teacher was Captain RF Harrison, MC who was previously at Trimley. So we have Harrison Grove. After two years the school role had increased from 183 to 350 so it was necessary to expand. Captain Harrison ran the school much like a military operation even down to the school caretaker, ‘Skipper’ Terry, blowing the trumpet to call the pupils to class. Captain Harrison was responsible for constructing the original village sign, a cedar tree with the name Kesgrave underneath. Unfortunately it rotted away and disappeared about 1964 from a site alongside what is now Doranda Carpets, originally Browns the Chemist.

In 1940 Captain Harrison retired and the headship was taken over by Mr Sidney Reeve. Mr Reeve worked haiti at the school and in the village. He was chairman of the Parish Council from 1946 to 1958 and had great interest, and participated, in the planning and setting up of the first Community Centre. Mr Reeve was head of the Area School from 1940 to 1959 when it became the Modem School for Secondary Education. He continued as Head until his retirement in 1964, after seeing major building programmes. Thus we have Reeve Gardens.

Following on from Mr Reeves was Mr T Scopes who saw yet more expansion, hence Scopes Road. He was succeeded by Mr Brian Talboys in 1981 until retirement in 1986 and so we have Tallboys Road.

Meanwhile a new Primary school had been built in 1954 in Bell Lane with head mistress Miss B Moorfield. The village was very pleased to have Benjamin Britten perform the opening ceremony. In 1962 the Primary school was split into two schools on the same site with Miss Moorfield as Head of the Juniors and Miss Jewell as Head of the Infants. When Miss Moorfield retired in 1970 the school once again reverted to one and became the largest Primary School in East Suffolk. In 1988, after twenty six years, Miss Jewell retired and is really thriving on it. So we have Moorfield Close and Jewell View.