Dick Sheppard School
Encyclopedia
Dick Sheppard School was a large school, originally for girls, at Tulse Hill
in the South London
borough of Lambeth
. It was founded as the sister establishment to Tulse Hill School
for boys and as the Comprehensive
alternative to St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls
. In the late 1970s it absorbed the remaining male pupils of nearby Strand School
and continued as a co-educational school until its closure in 1994.
in 1955. It was named after the Anglican clergyman, Dick Sheppard
, noted for turning St Martin-in-the-Fields
church into a social centre for the needy and destitute of central London. The name thus resonated with that of the local girls’ grammar school, St Martin-In-The-Fields High School. The school was at its inception well equipped and, like Tulse Hill School, was seen at the time as in the vanguard of comprehensive education.
In 1972 the Inner London Education Authority
proposed that Strand School be closed and its pupils transferred to Dick Sheppard. The Strand and Tulse Hill buildings, within close proximity of each other, were to form a single new comprehensive school. Margaret Thatcher
, at the time the Secretary of State for Education, approved the closure but not the alterations to Tulse Hill, or the proposed extensions to Dick Sheppard. Parents of Strand pupils chose to contest the closure in the courts. As a result, an injunction forbidding closure was granted in May 1972; and a second application to the minister, in July 1972, was turned down in January of the following year. Noting the objections of those who were particularly concerned to retain a local comprehensive school for girls, Thatcher stated in the House of Commons that to make the school a co-educational establishment would be to go against those wishes.
By the late 1970s, however, Strand School was closed down. Its remnants were merged with Dick Sheppard, resulting in its becoming a co-educational school after all. In 1981 Paul S. Farmer became Deputy Head, and subsequently Head Teacher aged only 33. and later described as the Inner London Education Authority
's (ILEA's) youngest head.
When Farmer was still deputy head the school had the first black chairman of governors within the ILEA, Janet Boateng (wife of Paul Boateng
) who, when ousted by her fellow Labour Party councillors in 1983, accused the school of "deep seated racism". Farmer's time as head coincided with widespread industrial action, and he presided over a turbulent period in the school's history. Dick North, a leading militant NUT member was Head of Maths. Farmer was reputedly and controversially the only ILEA head to discipline staff for taking unofficial strike action in not covering absent staff. The disciplinary action was not supported by his governors.
In 1984 Dick Sheppard was one of four schools in the country featured in a Daily Express enquiry into "Britain's failing comprehensive schools", and was later in the vanguard of schools engaged in 'non-competitive sport' which attracted national varied interest.
An unofficial walk-out by the staff produced the headline in The Daily Telegraph: Children 'ran wild in NUT walk-out', an occasion when discipline was described by Inner London Education Authority member Anne Sofer as "completely out of hand". It also featured in a House of Lords debate on 5 February 1986 by Lord Ritchie of Dundee (Hansard cc 1175).
There was positive press as well, such as during the visit by The Prince and Princess of Wales in January 1982. By 1987 The Observer described the school as a "ray of hope...now making strenuous efforts to improve itself, not without success", while The London Evening Standard in a 'fact file' on the area listed the school as "one of the best".
The school continued as such until it was itself closed down in 1994. Lambeth Council was quoted as saying that Dick Sheppard was closed because "like many other schools in the area, it was failing." The supposed "near bankruptcy" of the local education authority has also been suggested.
Of all four schools, the only one to survive the rigours of improvement and shifting education policy was St Martin-In-The-Fields. Tulse Hill closed in 1990. The site of Dick Sheppard School was sold by Lambeth Council in 1997 for £10 million to make way for luxury housing. This adds credibility to the thesis that it was the financial position of Lambeth Council rather than the perceived success or failure of the school that was behind the decision to close the school.
Tulse Hill
Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London, England. It lies to the south of Brixton, east of Brixton Hill, north of West Norwood and west of West Dulwich.-History:...
in the South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
borough of Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
. It was founded as the sister establishment to Tulse Hill School
Tulse Hill School
Tulse Hill School was a large comprehensive school for boys in Upper Tulse Hill, in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. The school spanned eight floors and had almost two thousand pupils. It opened in 1956 and closed in 1990. Notable alumni included Ken Livingstone, ex London...
for boys and as the Comprehensive
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
alternative to St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls
St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls
St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls is one of the oldest schools for girls in Britain. It was established in 1699 as a charitable enterprise by the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Its popularity and growth led to its relocation in 1928 on a larger site in Tulse Hill, in the South...
. In the late 1970s it absorbed the remaining male pupils of nearby Strand School
Strand School
Strand School was a boys' grammar school in the Tulse Hill area of South London. It moved there in 1913 from its original location in the Strand...
and continued as a co-educational school until its closure in 1994.
History
The school was established by the London County CouncilLondon County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
in 1955. It was named after the Anglican clergyman, Dick Sheppard
Hugh Richard Lawrie Sheppard
Hugh Richard Lawrie "Dick" Sheppard was an English Anglican priest, Dean of Canterbury and pacifist....
, noted for turning St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Its patron is Saint Martin of Tours.-Roman era:Excavations at the site in 2006 led to the discovery of a grave dated about 410...
church into a social centre for the needy and destitute of central London. The name thus resonated with that of the local girls’ grammar school, St Martin-In-The-Fields High School. The school was at its inception well equipped and, like Tulse Hill School, was seen at the time as in the vanguard of comprehensive education.
In 1972 the Inner London Education Authority
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority was the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990.-History:...
proposed that Strand School be closed and its pupils transferred to Dick Sheppard. The Strand and Tulse Hill buildings, within close proximity of each other, were to form a single new comprehensive school. Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, at the time the Secretary of State for Education, approved the closure but not the alterations to Tulse Hill, or the proposed extensions to Dick Sheppard. Parents of Strand pupils chose to contest the closure in the courts. As a result, an injunction forbidding closure was granted in May 1972; and a second application to the minister, in July 1972, was turned down in January of the following year. Noting the objections of those who were particularly concerned to retain a local comprehensive school for girls, Thatcher stated in the House of Commons that to make the school a co-educational establishment would be to go against those wishes.
By the late 1970s, however, Strand School was closed down. Its remnants were merged with Dick Sheppard, resulting in its becoming a co-educational school after all. In 1981 Paul S. Farmer became Deputy Head, and subsequently Head Teacher aged only 33. and later described as the Inner London Education Authority
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority was the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990.-History:...
's (ILEA's) youngest head.
When Farmer was still deputy head the school had the first black chairman of governors within the ILEA, Janet Boateng (wife of Paul Boateng
Paul Boateng
Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first black Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury...
) who, when ousted by her fellow Labour Party councillors in 1983, accused the school of "deep seated racism". Farmer's time as head coincided with widespread industrial action, and he presided over a turbulent period in the school's history. Dick North, a leading militant NUT member was Head of Maths. Farmer was reputedly and controversially the only ILEA head to discipline staff for taking unofficial strike action in not covering absent staff. The disciplinary action was not supported by his governors.
In 1984 Dick Sheppard was one of four schools in the country featured in a Daily Express enquiry into "Britain's failing comprehensive schools", and was later in the vanguard of schools engaged in 'non-competitive sport' which attracted national varied interest.
An unofficial walk-out by the staff produced the headline in The Daily Telegraph: Children 'ran wild in NUT walk-out', an occasion when discipline was described by Inner London Education Authority member Anne Sofer as "completely out of hand". It also featured in a House of Lords debate on 5 February 1986 by Lord Ritchie of Dundee (Hansard cc 1175).
There was positive press as well, such as during the visit by The Prince and Princess of Wales in January 1982. By 1987 The Observer described the school as a "ray of hope...now making strenuous efforts to improve itself, not without success", while The London Evening Standard in a 'fact file' on the area listed the school as "one of the best".
The school continued as such until it was itself closed down in 1994. Lambeth Council was quoted as saying that Dick Sheppard was closed because "like many other schools in the area, it was failing." The supposed "near bankruptcy" of the local education authority has also been suggested.
Of all four schools, the only one to survive the rigours of improvement and shifting education policy was St Martin-In-The-Fields. Tulse Hill closed in 1990. The site of Dick Sheppard School was sold by Lambeth Council in 1997 for £10 million to make way for luxury housing. This adds credibility to the thesis that it was the financial position of Lambeth Council rather than the perceived success or failure of the school that was behind the decision to close the school.
Alumni
- Paulette RandallPaulette RandallPaulette Randall, is a British theatre director. She chairs the board of the Clean Break Theatre Company, and is former artistic director of the Talawa Theatre Company.-Projects:Royal Court Theatre* Directed Blest be the Tie by Doña Daley...
, actor and producer. - Tim RothTim RothSimon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
, actor, who joined Dick Sheppard on the closure of Strand School (see above).