Up To Date

 Well, education services have come a very long way since the arrival of Board schools in the 1870s and 1880s (see the early posts in this series).  There had been one all-purpose school in each parish, including the rural ones, and two or three independent.  These were broadly from the existing early 19th century British and National  establishments. At the last count St Albans contained thirty-nine schools (more if separate and privately-run nurseries are included).  For the purpose of these blogs I have excluded Harpenden although it is very much a part of St Albans District.

Courtesy Garden Fields JMI School

Courtesy Marlborough Science Academy

The story of our secondary schools reached the post-war period as designated by the Butler Education Act (1944) and had just about settled into a range of grammar, secondary modern and technical schools to add to the established independent schools.  Once the system had bedded in a report chaired by Sir John Newsom investigated how the system was functioning as the Act had intended.  In fact, the resulting report (Half Our Future, aka The Newsom Report) and published in 1963, had a rather narrower focus; its terms of reference were

'To consider the education between the ages of 13 and 16 of pupils of average or less than average ability who are or will be following full-time courses either at schools or in establishments of further education. The term education shall be understood to include extra-curricular activities.' 

Sir John Newsom was none other than Hertfordshire's former Chief Education Officer who had overseen some remarkable improvements to this county's educational provision.  Half Our Future was also a thorough review of the inquiry which had taken place and formed the basis of the next stage in the national advancement for post-eleven year olds.  Enter the new wave of comprehensive schools,  also referred to as all-ability schools).

Courtesy Oaklands College

Courtesy St Albans School

To say there were fireworks was an understatement.  These centred on the future role of grammar schools in a world without the tripartite network.  Over a period of time in the 1970s St Albans Girls' Grammar School (STAGGS which lost one G in the process), Francis Bacon Grammar School and St Albans County Boys' Grammar School, widened their admission criteria, and the latter also revised its name to Verulam School.

During the same period the former Secondary Moderns also widened their intakes.  During the planning for these changes the small-to-medium sized secondary model also required adaptation to avoid extra schools in a world of increased pupil numbers.  All the existing schools found spaces within their footprints for additional classroom blocks, facility buildings and administration wings. 

Even as the secondary modern schools were creating their own roles for the wide range of children unsuccessful at gaining places at a grammar school (from which the term failed the eleven plus gained momentum), it was recognised that secondary modern schools were often well on the way to becoming all ability by virtue of the shortage of spaces in grammar schools, and, in some cases the preferences expressed by a modest number of parents choosing a particular school for their children irrespective of designation.  Schools across the board were quick to promote a wide spectrum of GCE O and A Level results long before Newsom's report was on the table.

Courtesy Cunningham Hill Schools

Courtesy Beaumont School

The all-ability model still forms the basis of our learning environment, whether today it is called a school or an academy, or even a college.  It may be an all-through establishment, as in Samuel Ryder Academy, a specialist academy, as in Marlborough Science Academy; or a community school, such as Beaumont.  Federations of schools work together to make more efficient their respective Sixth Form offerings (Sandringham, Verulam and Beaumont, for example), and the Teaching School Hub principle (Sandringham) is similar to the early Pupil Teacher Training Centres (such as the former Central School).  Even primary schools are linked together or to secondary schools as a component of academy trust groups.  So, today's structure is complex.  

All schools are now in the same game of attracting pupils to join their environments.  The modern version of the front gate or open evening is the school website.  And the only password thought to be acceptable in the educational market place seems to be Outstanding! 

And I haven't even mentioned other specialist schools for the particular needs of small groups of children, for example Batchwood and Heathlands.  To complete this series of posts there follows a listing of what are believed to be all schools from all phases in and around St Albans.  If I have accidentally omitted an establishment, I hope a supporter will let me know.

Courtesy Mount Pleasant Lane Primary School

Aboyne Lodge

Alban City

Batchwood

Beaumont

Bernards Heath Infants

Bernards Heath Juniors

Camp

Colney Heath

Cunningham

Fleetville Infants 

Fleetville Junior

Garden Fields

Heathlands

High School for Girls

How Wood

Killigrew

Loreto College

Mandeville

Maple

Margaret Wix

Marlborough Science Academy

Mount Pleasant Lane

Nicholas Breakspear Catholic

Oaklands College

Oakwood

Park Street

Prae Wood

Samuel Ryder Academy

Sandridge

Sandringham

Skyswood

St Adrian's RC Primary School

St Albans

Ss Alban & Stephen Primary School

St Albans Girls

St Columba's

St John Fisher

Townsend

Verulam

Wheatfields Infants

Wheatfields Junior

Windermere