History of Beal Vale Primary School and our local history trail

At Beal Vale we are very proud of our heritage. We have developed a local history trail that centers around our school.

Beal Vale Primary School was opened at Easter 1975 and children and staff moved from the old St Paul’s Methodist school adjacent to St Paul’s Church on Rochdale Road in Shaw.

The site for the school had been used on 22nd October 1954 for a bonfire to celebrate the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Lilac Mill. The nursery remained in the old school, only moving to Beal Vale in 1999.

In 1973 workmen excavating for the school unearthed a Second World War air raid shelter, built to protect the residents of Shaw from possible German air raids. Years after the war local residents had many happy childhood memories of playing in the shelters. In 2016 the school planted 400 new trees to mark the end of the 40th anniversary of the new school.

If you are interested in taking the local history trail you can access the full details are below.

Beal Vale Leaflet