Alconbury ES History
Opened: 1955
OPEN
RAF Alconbury is located in Cambridgeshire, primarily a farming and light industry area. The nearest large towns nearby are Huntingdon, Peterborough, St. Ives and Cambridge.
The first dependents’ school in the Alconbury area was opened at RAF Molesworth in 1951. Students in grades one through nine were enrolled. The RAF Molesworth School closed in June 1974 and its activities were relocated to the present site at RAF Alconbury. Alconbury Elementary School opened in 1955, and has since been supporting students through sixth grade, until the Alconbury Middle/High School became a 6-12 facility for the 2008-2009 school year. Students whose families are stationed at RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth, and other stations nearby, attend the Alconbury Schools Community.
Alconbury Elementary school was housed in four modern, one-story buildings. It is now in three one-story buildings on one site with a limited playground. The buildings contain classrooms, a library and a cafeteria.
During the 1981-82 school year there were 580 students in grades kindergarten through six with twenty-five staff members including teachers in the special areas of reading, learning development, speech and physical education. Later the staff increased to thirty-five staff members with additional teachers for art, music, gifted education, Sure Start, PSCD, foreign language, and host nation. Preschool classes were added to the school offerings. During the later years of the 80s, there were about 400 students in grades K–6 with a staff of twenty-five.
Thirty-four staff including teachers in special areas of reading, special education, compensatory education, speech, physical education, art, music, talented and gifted and host nation provided educational services to the approximately three hundred kindergarten students through six graders in the mid-nineties.
By the 2021–22 school year, the professional learning community included twenty-four classroom teachers and ten support personnel. The school served students in Preschool through fifth grade. There were about two hundred students enrolled in the school. The current enrollment supports civilian and military dependents whose sponsors work at Royal Air Bases Alconbury, Molesworth and Wyton.
Since opening, Alconbury Elementary School had a proud history of drawing upon its unique community, diversity and staff to build a community of learners. The school had a thematic “Go Green Team” approach towards Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) initiatives, which included the Cambridge environmental services, PTA and base engineers. Students were provided with hands-on building experiences with recycled materials, Read Across America activities, Amazing Reading Race, AES/AMHS STEAM Night, Digital Robotics Competitions. Additionally, a mentor program that involved military parents and volunteers and the use of guest speakers and volunteers within the community provided an enriching and motivating educational experience for the students. In addition to the curriculum elements, students at Alconbury Elementary School studied British culture and participated in partnerships with base community support.
Activities at the school have included a strong drama program, annual Talent Show, Dr. Suess Day, Destination Imagination, Math Olympiad, Geography Bee, Spelling Bee and an Artist in Residence program. Extracurricular activities have and still include choir, math club, science club, recorder club, a video club and student council.
The school’s mascot is the dragon with school colors of yellow and gold. The school is currently open.
Information from school website, yearbooks and DoDDS School Information Guides