The average number of children on the register was now 135. The Education Act of 1902 opened a new chapter in the history of English education. Local Authorities had the power to co-ordinate elementary and higher education and to provide what was described as 'the ladder from the elementary school to the University' because it made possible the award of scholarships for promising pupils from elementary schools. The entry in the log for 30th September 1903 reads, 'Last day under the old management tomorrow, 1st October, the school will be connected with the Derbyshire County Council Education Committee in accordance with the New Act.' In the years that followed promising pupils from Norton Free School were entered for the Minor Scholarship Examination tenable at a Secondary School. The Master examined the children quarterly at this time and their results were posted in the schoolroom which was an incentive to greater effort.
It must have been a great day at Norton Free in 1899 when water was laid on to the school toilets from the Sheffield Water Company's main, and at the suggestion of the Inspectors and in consultation with the Managers, further improvements were made to the school premises. In addition to the new partition, a lightning conductor was attached to the building and a new heating apparatus installed. A new stove containing an oven 'for the benefit of teachers and scholars who remain for dinner' was provided in the infant room. New hopper and swing windows were installed in the building in 1914 after the Inspector's visit when he found the ventilation in the classroom to be quite inadequate.
The school curriculum continued to expand now that the era of 'payment by results' had come to an end. Drill was included but in 1906, the most notable addition to school activity was the introduction of gardening for boys between the ages of 11 and 14. A professional gardener was the instructor and he was assisted by Mr. Atkin who took over the instruction completely six years later. Prizes were offered by the Norton Agricultural and Horticultural Society for the best cultivated plot. An ex-pupil remembers her brother helping in the Master's garden. Another said that the Master was a very cruel man as her brother had scars on his back from a beating. Other children in her family helped in the Master's house and one of their jobs was to turn the mangle for his wife. An ex-pupil's daughter whose mother had 6 brothers and sisters and lived on a farm, said that they had to walk 4 or 5 miles to school.
School life did not always run smoothly as there seems to have been a fire on the school premises in 1906. The cellar doors were destroyed and gardening lessons were suspended for a while until the tools damaged by the fire had been re-handled. Four years later the school was broken into and sewing materials and lead pencils were stolen.
Inspectors' reports on gardening suggest some integration between that subject and others in the curriculum. The new venture also caused a certain amount of co-operation between schools. Mr. Atkins visited Cutthorpe School to view the boys' gardens a few weeks after lessons had begun at Norton. The head teacher of Totley National School visited Norton to look at the garden as he was considering including the subject in his school curriculum. Schools were encouraged to take up gardening during the First World War because of the national food shortage.
Another sadness for the school was the death of Mrs. Bagshawe in Cairo on 3rd March 1905. She was buried in the English cemetery there and a memorial service was held in Norton Church on the same day. Her elder daughter, Muriel was married in 1907 to Mr. Bradshawe-Isherwood of Marple Hall, Cheshire and Bradshawe Hall, Lancashire. She was known as Mrs. Isherwood-Bagshawe and so kept the family name.
The first World War was the cause of many disruptions in schools through changes in staff. Increasing numbers of men were needed in the armed forces and some women teachers obtained leave to serve in nursing units or in the women's services. This was reflected in the many staff changes at Norton Free School during the period October 1912 to July 1917 when some stability returned to the situation. Nationally there was a trend towards the employment of retired teachers, married women who had been teachers prior to marriage, clergy and others who had sufficient educational attainments, to help in the emergency.
On Empire Day, 21st May 1915, and again in June, the children brought gifts to school which were distributed to the wounded soldiers at the St. John's Ambulance Hospital at Abbeydale. After the June collection, the children performed a 'May Day Revel' under the direction of Mrs. Bessie Burgess assisted by the other teachers. The playground was packed with parents and friends who appreciated everything they saw. Mrs. Burgess had been appointed as an uncertificated teacher in May 1914 and in November 1915 she was reported to be in a state of collapse. 3 days later, she went to London to visit her husband who had just arrived from the front and she subsequently was released from her duties to join him in the south of England.
In the 1916 Christmas vacation, entertaiments were given in the schoolroom to raise money for Lord Roberts Disabled Soldiers and Sailors Fund, and a concert was given by Mrs. Isherwood-Bagshawe and Miss Welby to entertain members of the Royal Flying Corps who were stationed in the parish.
From 1916-1918 boys were given leave of absence to do agricultural work owing to a shortage of labour as a direct result of the war. This practice was discontinued in May 1919 when the Education Committee ruled that no child could be exempted from school for agricultural work but the autumn 'potato picking' holiday continued for many years.
The shortage of food was evident towards the end of the war. Mr. Atkin was appointed to the Local Food Economy Committee in 1917 and in February 1918, many children were kept at home from school while their mothers went into queues for food. A month later, the school was closed while the teachers distributed rationing cards.
There was a rather intriguing entry in the log book in September 1917 when 'Mrs. Bagshawe visited the Master and asked for the garden boys to go in her park to gather horse-chestnuts to be sent to the Minister of Munitions.'
The children were given a holiday on 30th June 1918 to commemorate the signing of the Peace Treaty. On 11th November 1919 the Armistice Anniversary was observed. 'The King's letter to his people was read to the children prior to the service of silence and remembrance. The ceremony concluded with the Lord's Prayer and salute.' This was the first of the Armistice Services held at Norton Church and it was attended by the teachers and children from Bradway and Greenhill schools as well as Norton. They continued until 1938 and the children were given a half holiday in the afternoon. If llth November fell on Saturday or Sunday, the occasion was commemorated on the previous Friday.