Although there had been a previous school in the village, Brampton Bryan National School started in the late 1850s. It is listed in an 1858 Directory of Herefordshire with Mr Dunkerton as the master, and Miss Dunkerton as the mistress. The school building (which survives today as a house) was built with the support of Jane, Lady Langdale, who was a Harley by birth.

It was a typical small rural elementary school, much influenced by the agricultural seasons and village events which took place all around it, with children kept away at harvest time to help at home for example. For most of its existence, the number of pupils hovered between 60 and 70, but this declined as the 20th century progressed.

Whatever the weather, all children walked to and from school, and many got soaked in the process in rain or snow. However there were many brighter moments, such as a school picnic in 1871.