Kingsbury High School
Encyclopedia
Kingsbury High School is a large High School in Kingsbury
, London
, England
notable for a number of reasons including its national reputation for Mathematics, its many eminent alumni and for the fact that the Upper School site at Princes Avenue, NW9 London, is recognisable to many British adults because it was used as the set for one of the original series of the popular children's drama series Grange Hill
for its first two series in the late 1970s.
It is also notable because of its 'high' exam results and is 'heavily' 'over'-subscribed. It was also attended by founding members of the popular music group Sugababes
.
Although there are reports of a school being kept in the area in c.1530, by John Bishop the curate of Kingsbury, there is no more evidence until the nineteenth century of schooling in Kingsbury. Schooling is mentioned in 1819, and in 1822 a day school was opened. This school was situated near the junction of Kingsbury Road and Roe Green, which itself is looked at open by the current Kingsbury High School. This school has closed by 1876. Other schools existed in the area as well, with nearly all children in Kingsbury said to attend one school or another by 1847. Kingsbury School Board was set up in 1875 following a damning report as to the cramped premises of the British School at the Hyde end of Kingsbury Road, itself an 1870 replacement of an infants' school that had been built in 1861 to the Congregational chapel in Edgware Road. Kingsbury Board School on Kingsbury Road, opened by the Kingsbury School Board in 1876, was to accommodate 130 pupils. In 1903 this became Kingsbury Council School. In 1922 this became the first senior mixed school in the area after its infants had been transferred to the new Kenton Lane Council School in 1922. This school operated as a junior school after 1928 until it was bombed in the Second World War.
as it often referred to) on the Edgware Road opposite Colindale Avenue. The building had been adapted to take 380 pupils. The first Headmaster was Mr Tracy. He had a staff of eight teachers, five full time and three part-time. As the population of the surrounding increased due to the attraction of workers to the aircraft industry, so did the roll of the school and in 1929 a new school was built in Princes Avenue by John Laing and Co at a cost of cost £43,638.
Government passed the Butler Education Act
in 1944 a Tripartite System
was established dividing Secondary schools into three categories, Grammar schools, Technical schools
and Modern Schools
. The grammar school was deemed the place of education for the academically gifted (as determined by the eleven plus
exam) and Kingsbury County School was selected to became the grammar school at which point the school changed its name to Kingsbury County Grammar School. The headmaster, Dr Payling (who had succeeded Mr Tracy after his retirement in 1949) saw the beginning of extensions in 1954.
At this point in time, Kingsbury was also being served by a second mixed secondary school which was chosen to become the area’s Secondary Modern School after the 1944 Act was passed. The increase in the population of Kingsbury had continued unabated and building had started on a second mixed secondary school at a site in Bacon Lane in 1939 but this was not finished, mainly to do with constraints placed in the continuation of the building by the Second World War. In the meantime, Kingsbury Secondary Modern School began operating from the converted ex-Airco
building, which had been vacated by Kingsbury County School in 1931. In 1952, what were to be Tyler's Croft county secondary schools, were opened as separate boys' and girls' secondary modern schools, and the pupils from the mixed Kingsbury Secondary Modern School were transferred to the new schools on Bacon Lane.
Mr Jones, who had succeeded Dr Payling back in 1954, faced the task of managing the School’s transition from being a grammar school to a comprehensive school. The Bacon Lane site was designated by the head as the Lower School under the management of a Head of Lower School, with the buildings of the former Kingsbury County Grammar to be used for the upper years. Three years after this huge reorganisation Mr Jones retired and the governors appointed Mr C. Mitchell in 1970. Mr Mitchell served 18 years as Headmaster and was responsible for a series of important developments. In Mr Mitchell’s era, the ethnic makeup of Kingsbury began to change with the growth of a large Asian community. In this time the school roll increased to 1750 and the proportion of ethnic minority children in the school increased apace. After Mr Mitchell retired in 1988, the former head of neighbouring Preston Manor High School, Philip Snell, was appointed to succeed as Headmaster.
Mr Snell retired in 2003 and was succeeded by the previous head, Mr C Chung, who, in common with a number of his predecessors, is a former teacher of the school. The school currently takes on more than 300 pupils a year culminating in just under 2,000 students (including sixth form
)
The school's motto, Spectemur agendo
, (meaning Let us be judged by our acts) has remained consistent from the school's foundation being that of the original Kingsbury County School in 1925. The badge has altered over time although there are still elements of consistency. Both the original and current badges have a crown in the centre of the badge. The original badge had the crown sitting atop three drawn sabres arranged horizontally on top of each other, reducing in size from top to bottom. The current badge has the crown sitting atop a triangle which has replaced the sabres but is representative of the shape the sabres formed. The current badge has also lost the top portion of the original badge which represented two turrets of a battlement.
There were also many notable alumni from the previous schools, including:
Kingsbury
Kingsbury is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London. The name Kingsbury means "The King's Manor".-History:Kingsbury was historically a small parish in the Hundred of Gore and county of Middlesex. Until the nineteenth century it was largely rural with only scattered settlements....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
notable for a number of reasons including its national reputation for Mathematics, its many eminent alumni and for the fact that the Upper School site at Princes Avenue, NW9 London, is recognisable to many British adults because it was used as the set for one of the original series of the popular children's drama series Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
for its first two series in the late 1970s.
It is also notable because of its 'high' exam results and is 'heavily' 'over'-subscribed. It was also attended by founding members of the popular music group Sugababes
Sugababes
The Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
.
History
Kingsbury High School is the result of the 1967 merger between Kingsbury County Grammar School and the two former Secondary Modern Schools, Tyler’s Croft Girls and Tyler’s Croft Boys.Pre-1925
Kingsbury County Grammar School was established on 15 September 1925 as Kingsbury County School. Prior to the establishment of the school the area had been served by a number of schools, which in keeping with the future history of Kingsbury County School had been subject to the prevailing changes in population and politics of the area.Although there are reports of a school being kept in the area in c.1530, by John Bishop the curate of Kingsbury, there is no more evidence until the nineteenth century of schooling in Kingsbury. Schooling is mentioned in 1819, and in 1822 a day school was opened. This school was situated near the junction of Kingsbury Road and Roe Green, which itself is looked at open by the current Kingsbury High School. This school has closed by 1876. Other schools existed in the area as well, with nearly all children in Kingsbury said to attend one school or another by 1847. Kingsbury School Board was set up in 1875 following a damning report as to the cramped premises of the British School at the Hyde end of Kingsbury Road, itself an 1870 replacement of an infants' school that had been built in 1861 to the Congregational chapel in Edgware Road. Kingsbury Board School on Kingsbury Road, opened by the Kingsbury School Board in 1876, was to accommodate 130 pupils. In 1903 this became Kingsbury Council School. In 1922 this became the first senior mixed school in the area after its infants had been transferred to the new Kenton Lane Council School in 1922. This school operated as a junior school after 1928 until it was bombed in the Second World War.
The establishment of Kingsbury County School
When Kingsbury County School was opened in 1925, it was originally housed in a building that once belonged to the Aircraft Manufacturing Company, (or AircoAirco
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited was established in 1912 by George Holt Thomas at The Hyde in Hendon, north London, England.-Geoffrey de Havilland:...
as it often referred to) on the Edgware Road opposite Colindale Avenue. The building had been adapted to take 380 pupils. The first Headmaster was Mr Tracy. He had a staff of eight teachers, five full time and three part-time. As the population of the surrounding increased due to the attraction of workers to the aircraft industry, so did the roll of the school and in 1929 a new school was built in Princes Avenue by John Laing and Co at a cost of cost £43,638.
After The Butler Education Act of 1944
When the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Government passed the Butler Education Act
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. This Act, commonly named after the Conservative politician R.A...
in 1944 a Tripartite System
Tripartite System
The Tripartite System was the arrangement of state funded secondary education between 1944 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 to 2009 in Northern Ireland....
was established dividing Secondary schools into three categories, Grammar schools, Technical schools
Secondary Technical School
A Secondary Technical School was a type of secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed in the mid-20th century under the Tripartite System of education. For various reasons few were ever built, and their main interest is on a theoretical level....
and Modern Schools
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
. The grammar school was deemed the place of education for the academically gifted (as determined by the eleven plus
Eleven plus
In the United Kingdom, the 11-plus or Eleven plus is an examination administered to some students in their last year of primary education, governing admission to various types of secondary school. The name derives from the age group for secondary entry: 11–12 years...
exam) and Kingsbury County School was selected to became the grammar school at which point the school changed its name to Kingsbury County Grammar School. The headmaster, Dr Payling (who had succeeded Mr Tracy after his retirement in 1949) saw the beginning of extensions in 1954.
At this point in time, Kingsbury was also being served by a second mixed secondary school which was chosen to become the area’s Secondary Modern School after the 1944 Act was passed. The increase in the population of Kingsbury had continued unabated and building had started on a second mixed secondary school at a site in Bacon Lane in 1939 but this was not finished, mainly to do with constraints placed in the continuation of the building by the Second World War. In the meantime, Kingsbury Secondary Modern School began operating from the converted ex-Airco
Airco
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited was established in 1912 by George Holt Thomas at The Hyde in Hendon, north London, England.-Geoffrey de Havilland:...
building, which had been vacated by Kingsbury County School in 1931. In 1952, what were to be Tyler's Croft county secondary schools, were opened as separate boys' and girls' secondary modern schools, and the pupils from the mixed Kingsbury Secondary Modern School were transferred to the new schools on Bacon Lane.
Adoption of the Comprehensive System
In 1967 with the local authority Brent Borough Council having adopted the comprehensive system of education, Kingsbury County Grammar and the two Tyler’s Croft schools were amalgamated to form the giant Kingsbury High School.Mr Jones, who had succeeded Dr Payling back in 1954, faced the task of managing the School’s transition from being a grammar school to a comprehensive school. The Bacon Lane site was designated by the head as the Lower School under the management of a Head of Lower School, with the buildings of the former Kingsbury County Grammar to be used for the upper years. Three years after this huge reorganisation Mr Jones retired and the governors appointed Mr C. Mitchell in 1970. Mr Mitchell served 18 years as Headmaster and was responsible for a series of important developments. In Mr Mitchell’s era, the ethnic makeup of Kingsbury began to change with the growth of a large Asian community. In this time the school roll increased to 1750 and the proportion of ethnic minority children in the school increased apace. After Mr Mitchell retired in 1988, the former head of neighbouring Preston Manor High School, Philip Snell, was appointed to succeed as Headmaster.
Grant Maintained Status and the Growth of Computing
In 1993 a majority of parents voted for the School to gain Grant Maintained Status which meant that the School was to benefit financially with an expanding budget and was also able to take control of its own admissions. During the subsequent period the school’s reputation from computing also began to grow and flourish. This has been attributed largely to Mr Snell’s interest in curricular advances and new information technology and the resultant building of the first computer based Open Learning Centre in Princes Avenue with a special link for weather forecasting. When Her Majesty the Queen, chose the School for her launch of the royal web site this both enhanced and highlighted the school’s reputation for computing excellence.Mr Snell retired in 2003 and was succeeded by the previous head, Mr C Chung, who, in common with a number of his predecessors, is a former teacher of the school. The school currently takes on more than 300 pupils a year culminating in just under 2,000 students (including sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
)
Maths specialism
The intake of pupils into KHS, shows the pupils to be of average ability(by KS2 score), but the schools results are way above what would be expected.- Durham University has rated the KHS A level Maths results, as being in the top 5% achieved by any institution in the country (VA/Alis).
- In 2007 at KHS, 66% of A level Maths students gained an A grade.
- KHS has highest number of pupils taking Maths as an A levels in Brent and one of the highest in the country (approx 200 students)
- In 2007 the A level results were 96% A – C, 88% A – B, the best in Brent. (5 years ago A-C was below 50%, Clarmont who have the same entry requirements for A level Maths as KHS were 61% A-B)
- The most able students take a full AS level in Maths in year 11, the only school in Brent to do so, with 75% gaining A - C last year
- For 2007, 78% of KHS students gained A* - C (GCSE) the schools highest ever, they were predicted to get 60% (Yellis). Last year 36% gained an A*/A grade.
- In a recent survey KHS students put Maths as their favourite subject (work experience questionnaire 2007, Art was second).
- At KS3, Maths was ranked in the top 2nd & 12th percentiles for all schools in the country (last two years, CVAContextual value addedContextual value added is a statistic used by the government of the United Kingdom to assess the performance of schools.The statistic is intended to show the progress children have made whilst attending a particular school...
, Raise online) - The most able students start their Maths GCSE in year 9 and take their exam a year early, in year 10. Of those year 10 students, 94% achieved an A*/A in 2007.
- The Top 100 pupils start working on A level topics in year 8 and year 9. All these pupils would have covered the 1st year of A level Maths by year 11.
- Students gaining level 5+ for last four years were in the 85 to 89% range.
- At the end of KS3, 252 pupils were performing above expectations, with only 10 below ( 2007 SALSA report).
- On a scale of one to seven the DCSF have rated us as a ‘number one’ department for converting KS2 level 3 & 4 pupils into level 5+ at KS3
School Motto and Badge
Spectemur agendo
-Source:It comes originally from Book XIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses where it is attributed to the hero Ajax:Denique spectemur agendo! which most literal translations render as...
, (meaning Let us be judged by our acts) has remained consistent from the school's foundation being that of the original Kingsbury County School in 1925. The badge has altered over time although there are still elements of consistency. Both the original and current badges have a crown in the centre of the badge. The original badge had the crown sitting atop three drawn sabres arranged horizontally on top of each other, reducing in size from top to bottom. The current badge has the crown sitting atop a triangle which has replaced the sabres but is representative of the shape the sabres formed. The current badge has also lost the top portion of the original badge which represented two turrets of a battlement.
Head Teachers
- Of Kingsbury County and Kingsbury County Grammar School
- Mr Tracy (1925 to 1949)
- Dr Payling (1949 to 1954)
- Mr Jones (1954 to 1967 - when school merged with Tyler's Croft Schools to become Kingsbury High School)
- Of Kingsbury High School
- Mr Jones (1967 to 1970)
- Mr Mitchell (1970 to 1988)
- Mr Philip Snell (1988 to 2000)
- Mr C Chung (2000 to 2009)
- Mr Jeremy Waxman (2010 to present)
Notable alumni
- George MichaelGeorge MichaelGeorge Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
- Mutya BuenaMutya BuenaRosa Isabel Mutya Buena is an English recording artist who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-platinum albums. After leaving the group in December 2005, she released her...
, pop singer, founding member of SugababesSugababesThe Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London... - Keisha BuchananKeisha BuchananKeisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan is an English singer-songwriter and was a founding member of the BRIT Award-winning girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buchanan had six number one singles and two number one studio albums, making the Sugababes one of the most successful British pop acts...
, pop singer, founding member of SugababesSugababesThe Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London... - Courtney PineCourtney PineCourtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...
OBE, jazz saxophonist - James Lombard, better known by his stage name FuzzFuzz (musician)James Robert Lombard, OBE , professionally known by his stage name Fuzz, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, actor, record producer and composer noted for being the frontman of the band Inferno....
- Ekow EshunEkow EshunEkow Eshun is a British writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Until November 2010 he was the artistic director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, leaving before the end of his six month notice period. He is a contributor to BBC2's Friday night arts programme Newsnight Review and a...
, Artistic Director of the Institute of Contemporary ArtsInstitute of Contemporary ArtsThe Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch... - Julie RogersJulie Rogers (singer)Julie Rogers is an English pop singer. She is best known for her multi-million selling song, "The Wedding".-Career:...
, pop singer - Dhiren BarotDhiren BarotDhiren Barot is a convicted terrorist from the United Kingdom.-Background:...
, convicted terrorist bomb plotter
There were also many notable alumni from the previous schools, including:
- Charlie WattsCharlie WattsCharles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
, the Rolling Stones drummer
- Often wrongly attributed:
- Stuart PearceStuart PearceStuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...
, from Kingsbury, but did not attend Kingsbury High School. - James HanrattyJames HanrattyJames Hanratty , a petty criminal with no history of violence, was the eighth-to-last person in the United Kingdom to be hanged after being convicted of the murder of Michael Gregsten at Deadman's Hill on the A6, near the village of Clophill, Bedfordshire, England, on 23 August 1961...
, although born in Bromley, Hanratty did grow up in Kingsbury (living in Sycamore Grove), however, he attended a local Catholic school (St James') and did not attend Kingsbury High School. - Shirley EatonShirley EatonShirley Eaton is an English actress.Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and achieved notability for her performance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger...
, of Goldfinger (film)Goldfinger (film)Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
fame attended Roe Green Junior School, on Prince's Avenue. Although close to Kingsbury Secondary Modern School, Eaton won a place at the Aida Foster SchoolAida Foster stage schoolThe Aida Foster School was founded by Aida Foster in 1929 as a hobby to teach dancing. It expanded over the years to become one of Britain's foremost stage schools. Many of the 20th-century stage and film personalities obtained their professional education from the school, and many their first...
, a specialist drama school, and remained there until she was sixteen.
- Stuart Pearce