 It closed as such in 1940, before the introduction of under the Education Act 1944 and the Tripartite System.An earlier private school, which was endowed by a Mr John King in 1678 and funded from rents on houses, was established for "educating, apprenticing and supplying with religious books the poor inhabitants of the parish".By 1882 this endowed school was listed as being for the education children of the Chipping Ongar and Shelley parishes, and had been reorganized in 1869 and enlarged in 1873 to meet requirements of the Elementary Education Act 1870.