Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (November 2024) |
Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School | |
---|---|
Grammar school; Academy | |
Motto | Abeunt Studia in Mores (From study, character grows.) |
Established | 17 September 1931 |
Local authority | Bexley |
Department for Education URN | 137423 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Headmaster | Nigel Walker (2009–present) |
Gender | Mixed |
Age | 11 to 18 |
Houses | Davies Edlmann Lester Townshend |
Colour(s) | Purple |
Alumni | Old Sedcopians |
Website | http://www.csgrammar.com/ |
Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School is a
Founded as the Sidcup County School for Boys in 1931 to meet the lack of secondary schools in the newly urbanised town, it was initially opened at 27 Station Road, with the position of first headmaster being given to C. R. McGregor Williams. In 1935, the school began moving into a purpose-built site at Crittall's Corner, Footscray, being renamed Chislehurst and Sidcup County School in 1938. Damaged during The Blitz, after the culmination of the Second World War, reforms implemented as a result of the Education Act 1944 led to the local decision that the institution would become a grammar school and that it would relocate to a new, larger building on Hurst Road in the Lamorbey area of Sidcup, a move that took place after the resignation of McGregor Williams in 1954.
As a result of the government's Circular 10/65 in 1965, plans were implemented to merge Chislehurst and Sidcup with the neighbouring Hurstmere into a single comprehensive school, although these were opposed by the successive Conservative Party administrations of Bexley Council, eventually being scuppered under the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. In 1973 the school was made co-educational, admitting female pupils alongside the male, resulting in the adoption of its current name. The school rose to national headlines in January 1983 following the suspension of most of the school's sixth form for drinking alcohol at the preceding Christmas party. In 2004 it became a sports college and in 2011 an academy.
History
Foundation: 1930
Having been an agricultural village since the Late Middle Ages, the Kentish town of Sidcup began to urbanise following the opening of
Sidcup's dramatic population rise led to a strain on local schooling, with many boys having to travel several miles to
27 Station Road: 1931–1935

The red-brick site at 27 Station Road had been built in 1900 to house the Sidcup High School for Girls and Kindergarten, although additional office space was added in 1930 to convert it into the boys school. In July, the Secondary Education Sub-Committee began advertising to find a headmaster for the school, and in the following Spring appointed Welshman C. R. McGregor Williams (1889–1954), who had formerly been the headmaster of the recently closed
Williams chose the school's motto of "Abeunt Studia in Mores", which he had taken from Ovid's Heroides, in which it is proclaimed by the poet Sappho in her love letter to Phaon.[5] Williams also chose purple as the school's colour, supposedly because it was associated with war wounds and liturgical mourning, something that he and his wife considered appropriate following the death toll of the First World War.[6] It was agreed that the school would initially take in 62 boys, of whom 52 would be fee-paying, 8 of whom would have free-place scholarships and 2 of which would be "junior exhibitioners". Fee-paying residents of either Kent or London counties were charged £4 a term, while "outsiders" were instead charged £10. Half of the first intake of students lived in Sidcup itself, while the others mostly came from neighbouring districts such as Petts Wood, Chislehurst, Orpington, Foots Cray and New Eltham.[7] The school opened on Thursday 17 September 1931, with a dedication ceremony taking place on Friday 25 September.[8]
"Few people become legends in their own lifetime but C.R. McGregor Williams, over the twenty-three years of his leadership, can surely lay claim to that distinction. In the half century or so since his death his reputation may be said to have expanded into the realms of the epic, perhaps even the mythical, at least as far as Sidcup is concerned."
During its first year, the school began production of its own magazine, The Chronicle, while the house system was introduced in the spring term of 1932. Initially, there were only four school houses, known as A, B, C and D. In 1937, two more, E and F, were added. It would only be in 1953 that these houses were renamed.[10] In October 1932, the school first expelled a pupil, William Duck, as punishment for allegedly spitting at passers-by from an open-top bus.[11] Headmaster McGregor Williams was widely known for his scruffy appearance about the school. He was often stern towards the students, and implemented corporal punishment to punish disobedient pupils, beating them with a sawn-off cricket bat; he was twice prosecuted in court for using excessive force in this manner, but was acquitted on both occasions.[12]
This view of Macgregor Williams is not supported by all. Pupils attending in his years as head report that they witnessed no evidence of beatings or indeed that he was a scruffy individual.[citation needed]
A staunch supporter of the Conservative Party, he adored drama and took part in some of the school's early performances, as well as introducing the sport of lacrosse, of which he was a keen fan, to the school.[12] In July 1933, the school's first foreign trip went ahead, with McGregor Williams' taking pupils to the Rhineland in Germany. At the time under the control of the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler, the school continued taking pupils to the region in future years; in 1937 McGregor Williams and his pupils traveled the country wearing swastika armbands which they had been given by members of the Hitler Youth movement.[13]
Crittall's Corner: 1935–1954
The old building at 27 Station Road had always been intended as a temporary site for the school, with a larger, purpose-built building planned for construction at Crittall's Corner, just south of the town. The first wing of the new building opened on 11 November 1935 and for a while the school remained divided between the two sites, with students' often having to travel across Sidcup to get to different lessons. Construction of the building only came to an end in 1938, when the school was moved in its entirety to the new site.
In 1939, Britain entered the
In 1944, Conservative politician
The decision to move the school was deeply opposed by Headmaster McGregor Williams, who wanted his school to remain within the Crittall's Corner building, of which he was particularly fond; he wrote letters to Members of Parliament suggesting expansion at the present site, but to no avail.[27] He decided to retire prior to the move to the new site, stepping down in July 1953 and dying five months later.[28] Meanwhile, academic achievement at the school remained high in the post-war years, with a large percentage of pupils going on to gain university degrees.[29] Of note is that the July 1946 issue of The Chronicle contained several illustrations by a student, Quentin Blake, later to become a famous illustrator. Blake subsequently became the magazine's editor, a position he retained from 1949 to 1951.[30]
Hurst Road, Sidcup 1954-67

The new building had been constructed on land once belonging to the Medieval manor of
The new headmaster was Richard "Dick" Pedley (1912–1973); born in
"The School's aim is to encourage the pursuit of excellence and to develop the highest potentialities of that minority of children upon whom the health and wealth of this country in the future will depend."
In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 came into force, transferring Chis and Sid from the county of Kent to the newly created Greater London. Now part of the London Borough of Bexley, it lost access to three quarters of its former catchment area, which remained under the jurisdiction of Kent County Council.[40] Further change came under the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, whose Secretary of State for Education, Anthony Crosland, outlined plans to replace the country's tripartite system of secondary education with the egalitarian comprehensive school system.[41] The Labour-run Bexley Council agreed to this project, pushing ahead with plans to convert Chis and Sid into a comprehensive, as part of which it would be merged with the neighbouring Hurstmere in 1969.[42] Pedley was a vocal critic of the comprehensive system on both a national and a local level.[43] He fought the council's plans to convert the school and was supported by a unanimous resolution passed by staff and by a Parents' Association founded in 1966.[44] When the council nevertheless approved the plan in May 1967, Pedley resigned as headmaster in protest.[45]
Looming comprehensivisation and co-educational status: 1967–79
Pedley was succeeded by Michael Brown (b.1927), who had previously worked as Headmaster of

In 1971, Labour regained Bexley Council and pushed forward with the plan to merge Chis and Sid and Hurstmere into a single comprehensive,[52] although in May 1972 this plan was denied permission to proceed by the Conservative Secretary of State for Education, Margaret Thatcher.[53] As a step toward the ultimate establishment of comprehensive education throughout the borough, in 1973 the council announced plans to remove the words "secondary modern", "technical high" and "grammar" from all schools under their jurisdiction, resulting in protests from both staff and the parents' association at Chis and Sid.[54] In 1974, the Conservatives then regained the council, proceeding to effectively ignore Labour's 1976 Education Act that required the making comprehensive of all secondary education.[55] The chair of Bexley's Educational Committee, Brian Sams, insisted that the borough would not implement the legally required changes until every school in the area had the facilities capable of supporting a "curriculum adapted to the needs of pupils of all abilities".[56] In the 1979 general election, Thatcher was elected Prime Minister and the pressure for the making comprehensive of all schools, from central government, ceased, allowing Bexley Borough to continue using the grammar school system.[57]
On 4 May 1971, four home-made bombs were found in the woods adjoining the school. The authorities suspected that these belonged to the far left militant group known as
"Sozzlehurst and Hiccup": 1980–1999

In April 1977, John Sennett (b.1934) was introduced as the new headmaster. Born in
In December 1982, sixth formers held a morning Christmas party in the sixth-form centre, during which alcohol was consumed. One pupil fell over and was taken away by ambulance with minor injuries, while another pupil was sent home for being drunk.[71] During the ensuing Christmas holidays, Sennet decided that he should punish those who had been involved in the party. In January 1983, at the start of the spring term, he requested written confessions of guilt from those who had consumed alcohol, stating that this would result in a one-day suspension, with 160 pupils producing such confessions.[72] At this point he changed his mind, deciding that he would provide different degrees of punishment based on the quantity of alcohol that each student individually consumed. The sixth form body refused to accept this, deeming it to be a form of victimisation and so insisted that it be judged as a collective and punished accordingly. Sennet then suspended all 160 pupils for a day.[73]
Somebody had contacted a British tabloid,

The period between 1983 and 1994 witnessed a rapid array of initiatives introduced by the Conservative government, including
In 1986, corporal punishment was abolished in state schools, including at Chis and Sid.[79] That year, the school won its second Bexley Arts Council Award for its adaptation of Oh What a Lovely War, again directed by Hazelgrove.[80] In 1984 the school celebrated the first red nose day, raising £6000 for charities aiding Ethiopian famine victims,[81] while in 1990 it held its first non uniform day to raise money for charity, an event that became a regular institution in the school.[82] On 11 July 1992, one of the school's pupils, Rohit Duggal, was stabbed to death in Eltham, with a tree's being planted in his memory outside the dining hall.[83][84] In 1994, James 'Jim' Rouncefield (b.1951) was appointed headteacher. Born in
Since 2000
In 2004, Jim Rouncefield left his post as Headmaster and Dr Joe Vitagliano took over. The school soon gained joint sports college status with the neighbouring Hurstmere School and in 2004 the Jubilee Pavilion was built primarily for sports (it contained changing rooms and a dance studio).
By early 2006 the school crest was abolished and a new adaptation was introduced. [citation needed]

A few years later the Quentin Blake Block was built for £3.5 million for the Art and Design Departments, which contained within it the Curve Gallery, which has since held an annual exhibition of student art, along with various other exhibitions (including a retrospective of the work of local artist Bill Hudson, entitled "Routes").
On 1 October 2008, Mayor of London and former Conservative MP Boris Johnson visited the school to officially open the new sports centre. In 2009, Vitagliano left and Mr Nigel Walker, the former deputy head, took over his position.

On 5 November 2009, a team composed of former students from the class of 2004 named "Sozzlehurst and Hiccup" competed on
The school converted to academy status on 1 September 2011.
After conversion to academy status the school underwent various building and renovation projects. During the summer holidays of 2012 the school driveway was renovated with the inclusion of gates and railings to separate students from the road. The new gates were designed by pupils through a competition run by the school.[95] The following academic year the windows in the main building were all replaced with double glazing to improve efficiency and comfort. In 2013 the school bought the BMW Group Pavilion Building, which stood in the 2012 London Olympic Park, for £1. The building became the new site for the Sixth Form and Marlborough Special Needs School, as well as the Business, Economics and Psychology departments.[96] Construction of the building began in the summer of 2014 and it was officially opened on 3 March 2016 by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.[97] After opening the building the old study centre was converted into the Learning Support Room. The library was also closed, with the study area being converted to a classroom, and the library being refurbished with new furniture.
From mid-2014 until late-2016 improvement works took place throughout the majority of the school to replace an ageing pipework and central heating system. This was funded by £1.5 million from the Community Improvement Fund. Pipework was replaced in the main building, humanities block, and the music block.
In December 2014 the school acquired planning permission for a new performing arts centre, to be built on the site of the existing Marlborough School classrooms. The proposed building was to include classrooms and performance areas for drama and music students. Also included in the planning application are supplemental projects to extend part of the existing Jubilee Pavilion, and demolish an existing drama classroom to expand the canteen.[98] However, new permission was granted in 2016 for a single story building, to provide two drama studios and 4 general classrooms. This superseded the previously granted planning permission.[99] Work on these projects began in January 2017.[100] These works were completed by September and in use at the beginning at the school academic year.
Notable students and staff
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2015) |
- Colin Bennett (actor), former assistant on Take Hart[101]
- Air Commodore David Best OBE. MOD Chief Test Pilot, NATO Air Operations Director, Entrepreneur (Founder, Nova Systems Europe). Head of School 1978-1979.[101]
- Keith Beven FRS, hydrologist[citation needed][101]
- Peter Birks, Regius Professor of Civil Law from 1989 to 2004 at the University of Oxford [citation needed]
- Quentin Blake, illustrator, opened the Quentin Blake Building, the new Art and Technology block, in 2007.[102][103]
- Matthew Brimson, cricketer[citation needed]
- Ian Button, musician[citation needed]
- Grahame Clinton, opening batsman[101]
- Matthew Collings, art writer, married to Emma Biggs[101]
- Yorkshire Coast College[101]
- Air Vice-Marshal OBE.[104]
- Karl Glazebrook, astronomer[101]
- Morris Gleitzman, writer of popular stories for young people, attended the school from 1964 till his family emigrated to Australia in 1969.[101]
- Peter Hambly, animal welfare expert and climate change campaigner[citation needed]
- Eddie Harvey, jazz trombonist and pianist[101]
- Steve Hillier, internationally successful songwriter and record producer attended school from 1980 to 1987[101]
- Will Hutton, economics writer and columnist, was a pupil during the 1960s[105]
- Henry Kamen, historian[101]
- David Masser FRS, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Basel.[106]
- Sittingbourne and Sheppey
- Phil Méheux, cinematographer[101]
- Billy Mitchell (footballer, born 2001), First team footballer at Millwall F.C.[citation needed]
- Beric Morley, architectural historian[107]
- Tim Page, war photographer who studied at the school from 1955 to 1961, being expelled during his final week for refusing to submit to a caning.[81]
- Mark Philp, political philosopher and historian.[108]
- Richard Quinn, Fashion designer awarded inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. Richard Quinn shows at London fashion week and is known for his floral prints.[101]
- Jeffrey Jon Shaw OBE, parasitologist, best known for his work on Leishmania[101]
- Stanley Simmonds, painter (art teacher 1949–1983)[109]
- Sam Smith, founder and chief executive of FinnCap[101]
- Julian Spalding, art critic, curator and broadcaster[110]
- Nigel Warburton, philosopher[101]
- Nigel Williamson, former Times journalist[111]
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Wells 2002, pp. 1–2.
- ^ a b c Wells 2002, p. 3.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 3–5.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 7, 22.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 10.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 11.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 21, 29.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 28.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, pp. 9–18.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 14–15, 32.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 38, 43.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 44–46.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 37.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 34, 44.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 39.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 15.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 49–56.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 64.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 87.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 67–69.
- ^ Wells 2002. p. 71.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 91.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 72–73, 84.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 87, 91.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 74–76.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 74–76, 81.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 99.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 96.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 97, 99.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, p. 101.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 90.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 93.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 93–94.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, pp. 93, 94.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 111.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 110.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 111, 117.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 95–96.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 112–113.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 114.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 117–118.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 118–120.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 120.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 122.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 122–123.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 146.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, p. 126.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 128.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 133.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 135, 159.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 160.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 161.
- ^ Bombs listed as being possibly the result of the Angry Brigade Archived 28 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Wells 2002, p. 132.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, p. 139.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 147, 148–149.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 154.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 152–153.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 155.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 142.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, p. 234.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, p. 180.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 161–162.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 171–173.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 174.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 175–177.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 177.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 177–178.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 178–179.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 182.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 183–184.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 184.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 202–203.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 189.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 189–190.
- ^ a b Wells 2002, p. 194.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 200.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 208.
- ^ Macpherson, William; Cook, Tom; Stone, Richard; Sentamu, John (February 1999). The Stephen Lawrence Enquiry (PDF). p. 61. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 217–219.
- ^ Wells 2002, pp. 219–220.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 224.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 226.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 229.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 230.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 231.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 244.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 243.
- ^ Eggheads Series 10 Episode 96, first aired 5 November 2009
- ^ "Sidcup and Chislehurst Grammar School pupils design new school gates". Newsshopper. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ MacFarlan, Tim (24 July 2013). "Olympic legacy brings twin Sidcup schools new sixth form centre". Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ Griffiths, Josie. "Boris Johnson makes it to Sidcup, hair intact, despite Southeastern delays". News Shopper. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ^ "14/01957/FUL".[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Erection of a single storey detached building to provide 2 x drama studios and 4 x classrooms". pa.bexley.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2017.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Chair of Governors' Update". csgsnews.com. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
We have secured £1.5 million of CIF funding to build a new Performing Arts block and work is starting on this in the New Year.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Alumni: Hall of Fame". Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar School. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Quentin Blake's Biography Archived 23 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Surnames beginning with B". bexley.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ "Air Vice-Marshal John Ernsting: Commandant of the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine". The Times. London. 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ Wells 2002, p. 124.
- S2CID 125645112.
- ^ Society of Antiquaries of London Online Newsletter, Salon: Issue 330 (12 April 2015)
- ^ "Mark François Edward Philp". People of Today. Debrett's. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ^ Moncrieff, Elspeth (2013). "A short biography of Stanley Simmonds". stanleysimmonds.com. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Julian Spalding". People of Today. Debrett's. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ^ "Nigel Williamson". People of Today. Debrett's. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
Bibliography
- Wells, Charles (2002). Past Purple: A History of Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School. London: Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School.