In the early years of Pembroke Dock there was no compulsory education system in place in the United Kingdom. Private education was available for those who were wealthy enough to pay for it and reformatories and industrial schools took care of the criminal classes, but there was as good as no provision for the children of ordinary mainstream families. Although the Dockyard workers were as willing to volunteer to build schools as they were churches, people seeking to build schools still had to raise the necessary money to pay for materials themselves. In Pembroke Dock, launchings were a good opportunity for fundraising activities. In September 1842, on the launching of the Superb, a fete was held in the Dockyard to raise funds for the building of a National School in Victoria Road. The National School, run by Francis and Maria Allen, opened in 1845 and quickly gained a very good reputation. In addition to its standard curriculum the National School was also, until 1877, the home of the Dockyard Class for boys wishing to enter the Dockyard as Apprentices.

No longer a school, but the building is easily recognised.