Christ Church CE Primary School

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1866 The school was opened in 1866 by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education in accordance with the principles of the Church of England. It is situated on the corner of Este Road and Batten Street, Battersea. The original schools in Este Road, built for 600 children in equal numbers of boys, girls and infants, served the area of Falcon Road. The initiative began with Christ Church’s vicar, Samuel Bardsley, in about 1864, with help from William Evill junior, purchasing a half-acre site and raising single-storey schools forming three sides of a quadrangle. The boys school faced Pearson Street (now Batten Street), the girls school faced Grove Road (now Este Road) and the infants school occupied the back, later facing Lubeck Street (now Shillington Park). E. C. Robins was the architect and Lathey Brothers were the builders. This was the school that the young John Burns attended in the late 1860s. Lithograph of Christ Church Schools 1872...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1870s   When the school opened, the headmaster was Mr F. Dugard and the managers included Dr Sharpe, Chief Inspector of Schools and Canon Evan Daniel, Principal of Battersea Training College. Several years after opening, the 1870 Education Act came into effect. This was the very first piece of legislation to deal specifically with the provision of education in England and Wales and this led to a number of voluntary schools losing their pupils and staff. Therefore in 1877, the managers felt unable to carry the school on and so they decided to close the school. ORDNANCE SURVEY MAP 1866 CREDIT: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND     The school was then transferred to the L.S.B, the school board for London, and the school was rechristened Falcon Grove School and was commonly referred to as the Grove School (Este Road used to be named Grove Road and Falcon Grove used to lead right up to the school entrance). The school was run as a stop-gap m...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1900s   In 1902, the new Education Act brought voluntary schools under the local County and Borough Councils and in May 1904, the powers and responsibilities of the L.S.B were transferred to The London County Council (LCC). The LCC began to subsidise religious schools and they demanded extensive structural alterations and improvements be made to schools to bring them up to a standard comparable with that of the Council schools. In May 1905, the LCC took over the school and amalgamated the different departments under the headmaster. A year after the LCC took over, they abolished school fees and the managers made the more cost-effective decision to completely rebuild the whole school.    ORDNANCE SURVEY MAP 1916 CREDIT: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND     In 1907, the whole school was rebuilt by A.H. Ryan-Tennyson as architect and W. Hammond as builder at a cost of £3600, with Rev. Edward Arthur Cartwright providing the money fo...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1944   On July 16th 1944 at 10:25am, a V1 Flying Bomb damaged parts of Batten Street, Duffield Street and Lubeck Street. BOMB DAMAGE MAP 1945 CREDIT: LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES BLACK:            TOTAL DESCTRUCTION PURPLE :          DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR DARK RED:     SERIOUSLY DAMAGED (DOUBTFUL IF REPAIRABLE) LIGHT RED:     SERIOUSLY DAMAGED (REPAIRABLE AT COST) The bomb sadly killed 29 people, destroyed 12 houses, seriously damaged 30 houses and left the school hall damaged beyond repair. Pupils at the school had to use the corridor for their morning services, assembly and other school events for almost 20 years after experiencing difficulties and delays associated with the school rebuilding. Events such as the traditional Christmas Nativity were performed in the church up until the new...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1964   In January 1964, a new school hall was finally opened and was dedicated by the Bishop of Kingston, the Right Rev. William Gilpin and the service was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Battersea (Cllr. and Mrs Jack Parker).   SCHOOL ASSEMBLY IN THE NEW HALL FEB 1964 CREDIT: GETTY/EVENING STANDARD/STRINGER     The school hall was built at a cost of more than £25,000 and had new climbing apparatus for children to use for physical training and an adjacent kitchen to provide hot meals. Previously, pupils had to go to Shillington Street School for their school dinners.       A P.E CLASS IN THE NEW HALL FEB 1964 CREDIT: GETTY/EVENING STANDARD/STRINGER         ARTICLE ON SCHOOL REMODELLING IN THE SOUTH WESTERN STAR FEB 1961 CREDIT: BRITISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE   ARCHITECT'S DRAWINGS FOR NEW SCHOOL HALL & KITCHEN APR 1961 CREDIT: WANDSWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL PLANNING DEPT

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1966   In July 1966, the school celebrated its centenary. The celebrations included a special thanksgiving service in Christ Church conducted by the Lord Bishop of Kingston, a pageant put on by the pupils covering the main events of the past 100 years in the school hall and an open day where distinguished visitors were shown round the school.   ARTICLE ON CENTENARY JUL 1966 CREDIT: WANDSWORTH HERITAGE SERVICE The pageant included Queen Victoria’s reign, extracts from the works of Charles Dickens, events from the two world wars and readings of Churchill’s speeches .   CENTENARY PAGEANT: SUFFRAGETTES 1966 CREDIT: STEVEN LEADON   CENTENARY PAGEANT: NICHOLAS NICKLEBY 1966 CREDIT: STEVEN LEADON     "The biggest week in our history," was how the headmaster of Christ Church School, Battersea, Mr. Albert Funnell, described the centenary celebrations which are still continuing.   To mark the occasion...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1977   In 1976, work began for a new nursery building to be built. The completion of the Nursery cost £30,000 and the first child started on 9th May 1977. The official opening and dedication of the Nursery took place on 25th May 1978. The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt. Rev. Mervyn Stockwood dedicated the new Nursery. ARCHITECT'S DRAWINGS FOR THE NURSERY 1975 CREDIT: WANDSWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL PLANNING DEPT

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1991   In 1991, the school celebrated its 125th anniversary. The celebrations included the planting of commemorative trees with local MP John Bowis OBE, a thanksgiving service where each child was presented with a commemorative mug, a street party, a disco, an assortment of games and a special display describing the history of the school. The tree planting ceremony involved Class 3 acting out ‘The Story of The Oak Tree’, Class 1, 2 and 4 performing dances and Class 5 performing a Maypole Dance. COMMEMORATIVE MUG PRESENTED TO PUPILS 1991 CREDIT: LYNNE

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 1997   In 1997, work began on building new single-storey extensions to the school to provide additional teaching space and ancillary school facilities with a new school entrance on Batten Street. The dark green portakabin, which was erected in 1986 in the playground for use as an extra classroom was dismantled to make space for the new extensions and a new portakabin was installed for use as a music room opposite the main school building.   THE OLD PORTAKABIN SEEN FROM THE SCHOOL HALL 1996 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY THE MUSIC ROOM PORTAKABIN 2024 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY   In January 1999, the new extensions were officially opened and dedicated by the Bishop of Southwark alongside Revd Canon Peter Clark and consisted of a new Reception class, headteachers room, medical inspection room, office plus storage areas and toilets where the playground canopy was previously located. OFFICIAL OPENING AND DEDICATION OF NEW EXTENSIONS 1999 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY ...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 2001  PLAYGROUND EXTENSION In 2001, the school playground was extended to enclose a small section of the adjacent Shillington Street Open Space, locally known as Banana Park.   SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE PLAYGROUND IN 1999 CREDIT: GETMAPPING Part of the existing school boundary wall that was dividing the park from the school grounds had to be demolished, the existing chain link fence removed and a new high mesh weld fence was installed along the north-east school boundary.    THE SCHOOL BOUNDARY WALL AND FENCE THAT WAS REMOVED 1998 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY     SCHOOL LOCATION PLAN 2000 CREDIT: WANDSWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL PLANNING DEPT SCHOOL HALL MURAL In addition to the playground extension, in the summer of 2001, a mural was completed on the side of the school hall.  CREATION OF THE MURAL 2001 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY   Pupils at the school took part in creating the mural which consisted of the sun, a plant and the outlin...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 2010   In May 2010, the school took out a lease on an abandoned allotment between the houses of 18 and 29 Fownes Street. Then in July 2010, the garden was blessed by the vicar and the school was supported by another local parish, St Luke's, who helped the school to develop the garden.   THE SECRET GARDEN IN 2013 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOOL   This area of land became known as ‘The Secret Garden’ where Christ Church School, in partnership with The Royal Horticultural Society, could develop horticultural skills and use the garden to deliver the school curriculum.  RHS PRESIDENT ELIZABETH BANKS VISITS THE SECRET GARDEN CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOOL     The garden enabled the school to provide more opportunities for outdoor learning and inspired parents and the local community to get involved too.     COMMUNITY DAY AT THE SECRET GARDEN FEB 2012 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOO...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 2012   In February 2012, the front of the school was refurbished. This was the original entrance to the school up until 1999 when a new entrance and adjoining office was built on Batten Street.   FRONT OF THE SCHOOL IN 2008 CREDIT: GOOGLE STREET VIEW The area was resurfaced and redeveloped to be used as an outdoor learning space with a perfume garden that staff and pupils helped to design. A new brick wall was built to replace the broken railings, the concrete flower bed base which used to be the foundations of a second world war Wardens' Post was removed and the existing blue doors were replaced with new oak doors to both enhance the overall appearance of the school and provide secure access to staff and pupils using the new outdoor learning space. FRONT OF THE SCHOOL IN 2024 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY THE OAK DOORS AT THE OLD ENTRANCE 2024 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY     THE OUTDOOR LEARNING SPACE & PERFUME GARDEN 2024 CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY ...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 2016   In June 2016, the school celebrated its 150th anniversary. The celebrations included a Victorian day, a street party and classes learning about important events from each decade. THE STAFF DRESS UP FOR VICTORIAN DAY 2016 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOOL     STREET PARTY ON BATTEN STREET 2016 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOOL       PERFORMANCE IN THE SCHOOL HALL 2016 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOOL       PERFORMANCE IN THE SCHOOL HALL 2016 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOOL  

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL 2019   In 2016, it was decided that the garden in the playground needed to be improved, so pupils wrote to award winning landscape designer Cleve West asking for his help to design a new garden. In 2018, the school won The Royal Parks’ Grand Bug Designs competition and the new garden dream began. The garden would consist of a puppet shed theatre and seating, fruit trees and raised flower beds, a compost and wildlife area, a raised pond and a greenhouse. The Bee Kind Garden officially opened on 27th September 2019.  Father Geoffrey (The Revd Geoffrey Owen from Christ Church and St Stephen), Cleve West, Jules Pipe (deputy mayor for planning and regeneration in London) and the Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun all attended the opening.    OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE BEE KIND GARDEN 2019 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE PRIMARY SCHOOL       THE BISHOP OF SOUTHWARK BLESSING THE BEE KIND GARDEN 2019 CREDIT: CHRIST CHURCH CE ...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL THE CLOSURE OF THE SCHOOL In December 2023, the future of the school was put in doubt when the governors of the school decided to initiate a consultation process on the proposed closure of the school in Summer 2024 in response to the declining number of pupils across the borough of Wandsworth and the impact this has had on the financial stability of the school. In September 2023, only 95 places were taken out of a possible 210.   In February 2024, the results of the consultation were published and notice was given to discontinue Christ Church CE Primary School in Battersea.   On 18th April 2024, the Children’s Committee met at Wandsworth Town Hall and considered the proposals and they unanimously supported the recommendations for the discontinuance (closure) of Christ Church School with effect from 31 August 2024.   The full council Executive then met on 22nd April 2024 and they agreed to adopt the reco...

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL EXTRA POINTS OF INTEREST The school did not get electric light until 1955 In 1977, the chimney to Room A or (Year 3) was taken down In 1983, the school's original boundary wall was found to be unsafe and so was demolished In April 1988, Room E's roof was found to be unsafe, so the class used a room in the Shillington Building whilst a new roof was put on the school (Room E was the Reception class in the 90s and then Year 2 in the 2000s) From October 1989 to September 1990, the Shillington Building was temporarily used whilst the school was being rewired and completely redecorated In 2002, pupils had their classes in the corridor whilst classrooms were redecorated and new floors and carpets were laid In 2003, the school hall and kitchen was refurbished and the whole school was rewired In 2020, all of the classroom doors and surrounding windows were replaced     1993-4 SCHOOL PROSPECTUS COVER CREDIT: ADAM MUNDY

  HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH SCHOOL HEADTEACHERS Over Christ Church CE Primary School's 158 year lifespan, there have been 15 known headteachers who have managed the school.  MR F DUGARD 1866      -      1869 MR H BROWN 1869     -     1871 MR WILLIAM WESTON 1871     -     1883 MR WILLIAM J MAYWOOD 1883     -     1890 MR HARNER 1890     -     1894 MR FRED T CHAMP 1894     -     1899 MR BURR 1899     -     1902 MR THOMAS ARTHUR HUMPHREYS 1902     -     1934 MR THOMAS SLATER PROOM 1935     -     1957 MR G E T HOLLOWAY 1957     -      1962 MRS READ 1962     -     1963 MR ALBERT C J FUNNELL 1963     -     1972...