Dick Sheppard School
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| Dick Sheppard School | |
| Established | 1955 |
| Closed | 1994 |
| Type | Secondary Comprehensive |
| Location | Tulse Hill Lambeth London England |
| Gender | Girls then Mixed |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
Dick Sheppard School was a large school originally for girls in Tulse Hill, in the Borough of Lambeth in South London. It was originally established as the sister school of 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 the Strand School and continued as a mixed school until 1994 when it was closed down.
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[edit] History
Dick Sheppard School for Girls was established by the London County Council in 1955 as a comprehensive school in Tulse Hill, South London [1] at the same time as its neighbouring male counterpart, Tulse Hill School for Boys. It was named after the English Anglican clergyman, Dick Sheppard who was also famed for turning St Martin-in-the-Fields into an accessible social centre for all those in need. The name of the school therefore had much resonance with the local girls’ grammar school, St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls. Also in its vicinity, was the Strand School acting as the Grammar School for Boys. Dick Sheppard was well equipped and like Tulse Hill School was seen as being at the vanguard of comprehensive education.
In 1972 the Inner London Education Authority proposed that the Strand School should be closed and have its pupils transferred to Dick Sheppard School. The Strand School and Tulse Hill School buildings, standing side by side, were to be used to form a single new comprehensive school. Margaret Thatcher, at the time the Secretary of State for Education, approved the closure but not the alteration to Tulse Hill School or the proposed extensions to Dick Sheppard School. The parents of pupils at Strand chose to contest the closure in the courts. As a result of that, an injunction forbidding the closure was made in May 1972 and a second application to the Minister in July 1972 was turned down in January 1973. [2] The Secretary of State made the point in a speech on the matter that there were objections from those who particularly wanted to retain a girls' comprehensive school and changing to a co-educational school would have been to go against the wishes of many parents of children at the school. [2]
However, by the late 1970s, the Strand School was closed down, its remnants merging with Dick Sheppard Girls’ School which from that point became a mixed school. It continued in this fashion until it was closed down in 1994. Lambeth council have been quoted as saying that Dick Sheppard was closed because like many other schools in the area, it was failing. However, the near bankruptcy of the LEA has also been suggested.[3]
Of the four Tulse Hill schools, the only one that remains open today is St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls with Tulse Hill School for Boys having already closed in 1990.
[edit] The Buildings
The site of Dick Sheppard School was sold by Lambeth Council in 1997 for £10 million to make way for luxury housing. [3]
[edit] Alumni
- Paulette Randall - actress and producer
- Tim Roth - actor (joined when Strand School closed and boys absorbed into Dick Sheppard. Often wrongly attributed as going to Tulse Hill School).
