"Eastling, a hamlet of delight in the high country of the North Downs, every year at the beginning of May the shingled spire of the church stands like a ship's mast, rising from a sea of foam. All around are cherry trees."

  That's how Arthur Mee saw Eastling in 1936, and old pupils of Eastling School remember it thus, even further back into the 1890'. Alas, the cherry trees are gone, and hedgerow have been uprooted to give more acreage for potatoes and cabbage., but for all that, Eastling is still a hamlet of delight and the church and the school .till proudly stand as a reminder of the past, while being very much a vital force in the present life of the village.

The church started its life, over a thousand year ago, and the school, by that standard, is a comparative new­comer. This year, 1981, it celebrates a hundred years of education in Eastling, and many hundreds of children have passed through it, and from the scores of accounts I have received, either by letter or word of mouth from ex-pupils, schooldays at Eastling were the happiest days of their lives.

  Way back in January 1880, plans were put before the School Board for a school building to house 120 children, the ground having been donated by Lord Harris of Belmont, a great sportsman and one-time president of the M.C.C.

  The architect was Benjamin Atkins A.H.I.B.A., who was the Faversham Borough Architect and Surveyor in the latter half of last century. The plans were approved and the building began apace.

  The school was finished by Christmas 1880, except for the school house. The building work was executed by John Seager of Borden, at a cost of £1076. Soon everything was ready and the first headmistress, Bessie Higham, moved in, to begin the daunting task of uplifting the mainly farm working children to intellectual heights hitherto undreamed of.