Bicester ES History
Opened: 1973
Closed: 1984
Bicester American Elementary School was part of the Upper Heyford school complex. The school was located five miles from the military base at RAF Upper Heyford and served the families living on two local housing areas. The school had students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The school consisted of modern, purpose-built, open plan one-story buildings. Each classroom had its own outside entrance as well as access to other rooms. Close ties were maintained with the English community through the host nation teachers who introduced the children to English culture through classes, field trips, and exchange visits with English schools. In addition, several student teachers from local colleges were active in the school and share their knowledge and culture. There were sixteen classrooms, a multi-purpose area, a library and teachers’ lounge. The school did not have a cafeteria. The rather limited hard-top play area was compensated for by a spacious field for sports activities containing some climbing apparatus and other equipment.
During the 1981-82 school year there were 230 students enrolled in grades Kindergarten through five. The school utilized the services of a guidance counselor, a learning disabilities teacher, a reading improvement specialist, a host nation teacher and a librarian. The last two years there were twenty staff members with two classes per grade except for a single class for fifth grade.
School administrators included T. Cavanaugh, Dr. Ray Smith and Dr. W. Defrig Evans.
According to the first yearbook, Shakespeare was more than just a work. It was the name of a playwright who used to live up the road, so to speak.
Information from school yearbooks and DoDDS School Information Guide