In 1892 Longton School Board erected new buildings the Girls' and infants' departments were opened in the December of 1892. 

Grafton Infants merged with Queen's Primary in Fenton in 2004 to form Clarice Cliff Primary. The schools initially operated from both sites before moving to a new site in Goldenhill in February 2008. 

The Grafton School building in Marlborough Road has remained derelict since then. In October 2010 it was subject to an arson attack. 

Victoria History of the County of Stafford
Sentinel Newspaper

"I was born in Wood Street, Longton, 87 years ago and spent many years in the area at the time before the war.

My family all lived in one of five one up, one down houses that had a water tap on a wall outside. We all had to bathe in a large zinc tub on the hearth in front of the fire – if we had got any coal to put on it. Coal was only 10p old money, 1 CWT (50.8kg) for nuts and slack.

Holly Lane was the very best quality coal at 1/6 per CWT. We had a communal toilet for us and four other families and we had to carry our own water there. And of course our toilet paper was the good old Sentinel. We couldn't afford to buy soft paper.

I was educated at Grafton Road and Woodhouse Schools until my folks were lucky enough to get a council house in Meir Square and then we went to Leason Road, Meir.

By that time my mother had nine children – four boys, five girls. My dad was on the dole most of the time as he was an ex-miner and had poor health, but we were a happy family.

Where we used to live in Wood Street was demolished and on the spot was built the New Ashwood Hotel. The war came along and then we went on our own separate ways.

My eldest brother joined the RAF and spent the rest of the war mostly abroad. I had a spell on munitions and then had to go into the army when my age group came along. We all did our share."

Sentinel Newspaper