Nettlebed has been settled since before Roman times, and lies on a spur of the Chiltern Hills, among beech woods. Windmill Hill, its highest point, is 696 feet above sea level.   The village is on the Oxford to London road, not far from the ancient Ridgeway track. Apart from farming, the main  industry was the making of bricks and pottery.  One brick kiln still survives although no longer in use.  The village also includes Joyce Grove, a mansion now used by the Sue Ryder Foundation.

The earliest school in Nettlebed was a Dame school, held in one of the houses in the High Street.

A school building was erected in 1847, and housed an Elementary School for children aged 5 to 15, with a roll of about 150.  This building is currently being sold and will become a private dwelling.

The next school building, containing three classrooms, was built in 1928. It became a County Primary School in 1959.  A hall and library were added in 1972, and a swimming pool in 1976.  A fourth temporary classroom was added in May 1996.  This building is due for demolition and there are plans to build houses on the site.

The current school building, occupied since February 2006, was built through a close alliance between the LEA (OCC), the District Council (SODC) and the local community.  It is a fine building with the advantages of modern design and construction.

The closure of several small village schools in the area has meant that children from Assendon, Bix, Cookley Green, Nuffield, Park Corner, Russells Water and Swyncombe also attend the school.

The new school at Nettlebed was a community-led project.  Oxfordshire County Council funded most of the project by disposing of the schools' previous premises, which dated from the 1920s. The rest of the funding came from South Oxfordshire District Council and the local community, which is selling the original Victorian school building it has used as a community centre since 1928.   

The new school is a modern, single-story building designed to complement its woodland setting and provide level disability access throughout. The building housing the primary school includes a purpose-built pre-school room, four classrooms, an IT suite, two resource areas for artwork and cookery, a special needs room for teaching small groups, offices, a staff room and a fully equipped school kitchen where pupils' meals are prepared from scratch. The school hall has a folding wall so that it can be partitioned to provide flexible space that the community can hire for social events and club meetings.

The foyer and library area features a locally produced stained glass window depicting nettles and other wildlife. The window is set into the curved flint and brickwork wall at the school's entrance, and was specially commissioned from local artist Lyn Clayden following a grant from the Swyncombe Educational Trust.

Outside there is a pre-school play area, a playground, and an all-weather multi-purpose sports pitch available for community use outside school hours. A quiet garden area will commemorate Mrs Rosemary Moore, the school's previous headteacher, who initiated the replacement school project but died in post before she could see it realised.

The new school building, which was completed in February 2006, has four classrooms but in addition has the following facilities: