Greenford High School

History

Built in 1939, Greenford County School was originally a grammar school, for both boys and girls, serving the needs of a rapidly growing population on the western edge of the London Borough of Ealing. Two unusual aspects of its birth are worth noting. Firstly, the school inauspiciously opened during the first week of the Second World War. Secondly, the school’s name indicated the catchment it was built to serve rather than its actual location. In truth, we should now be called Southall High, as only the old iron gates, no longer used, stand in Greenford.

Greenford County School managed to survive the bombing raids, often aimed at RAF Northolt nearby, and flourished after the war. Early photographs show smartly uniformed boys and girls, sitting separately during an assembly. Its population was, of course, exclusively white, compared to the diverse multi-cultural nature of its current student cohort. The school was originally intended for 500-600 students, compared to the 1700-1800 it currently teaches, who studied in a two-storey, square shaped building surrounding a central courtyard. Our 1930s water tower, at the front of the old school building, was still a distinctive landmark up until its demolition in 2008. Other notable features were the dark oak flooring, the separate staff room for male and female teachers and the beautiful art-deco windows at the front. It closely resembled Lady Margaret Primary in its appearance.

Greenford High remained a county school until 1974, when Ealing changed to a comprehensive system and the school expanded to cope with the greater numbers of pupils. In 1992, the school moved away from direct local authority control and became Grant Maintained, due to the local parents’ desire to maintain a Sixth Form, and in the following year our intake increased when we admitted Year 7 students into the school for the first time. Over a 17 year period from this time, the school’s exam performance and reputation improved gradually, under the successful leadership of Mrs. Kate Griffin, who in turn became the president of the Secondary Heads Association and the International Confederation of Principles during the latter years of her headship. During this period the school became a Language College, after working on a project with Thames Valley University on language acquisition amongst our students. In January 2009, Mrs. Griffin was succeeded by one of her deputies, Mathew Cramer, on her retirement. Mr. Cramer had previously been the Head of English at the school, originally appointed in 1995.

GHS is now a Foundation school, a Business, Enterprise and Language College, with a completely new set of 8 buildings, built under the PFI scheme, which was opened for the academic year 2007-8 by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary. The school is now constructed in a modern "campus" style with seven blocks of buildings each housing a different faculty.

Our most celebrated ex-students include Tim Lott, author and journalist, Michael Elliot, MEP and Mayor (as well as a steadfast Governor of the school), Paul Merson, footballer and Sky Sports pundit, and Jermaine Beckford, prolific goalscorer currently at Leeds United.

The school has changed in many ways; originally a selective school for a white British intake, we are now a completely multi-cultural comprehensive. Our entry criteria is simple, we accept siblings of students in the school and those who live within a mile. We are a warm, welcoming and vibrant community, proud of our diversity and of the aspiration and ambition we inspire in our students.

For further information about 'old greenfordians' visit http://www.greenfordgrammar.co.uk/