Richmond Park Academy is a
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
with an
academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
status in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...
. The school is part of the
Academies Enterprise Trust
Lift Schools, formerly Academies Enterprise Trust, is a multi-academy trust with 57 primary, secondary and special schools in England. One of the largest networks of schools in the country, it is a non-profit, educational trust, which sponsors s ...
academy chain.
Richmond Park Academy was formed in 2010 when academy status was granted to the predecessor Shene School. The academy is led by Nabila Jiwa, and is managed by the
Academies Enterprise Trust
Lift Schools, formerly Academies Enterprise Trust, is a multi-academy trust with 57 primary, secondary and special schools in England. One of the largest networks of schools in the country, it is a non-profit, educational trust, which sponsors s ...
.
In 2011 the academy secured almost £10 million of government funding for building improvements. Renovation and new building work was finished in 2015, with an official opening by
Dame Jacqueline Wilson.
Performance
As with other schools, latest exam results and related data are published in the Department for Education's national tables.
History
Richmond Park Academy is the most recent in a succession of schools that have occupied the location on Park Avenue and Hertford Avenue,
East Sheen
East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Its long High Street, high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic ...
.
Richmond County School
In the latter part of the 19th century there was no reasonable secondary education in
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
*Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
* Barnes, London, England
** Barnes railway station
**Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes High Stree ...
and
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
for miles around except for those who could afford private tuition or send their children many miles to school. In the most populous areas of
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, (e.g.
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
,
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
and Richmond) parents were for the most part obliged to be content to give their children an
Elementary
Elementary may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001
* ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007
* ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977
Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...
education. Richmond County was to be one of a series of new technical buildings erected or being erected by the County Council in the seven principal towns of the county.
[ (Dissertation for the Teacher's Certificate at the Department of Education, University of Exeter as part of Michael Shaw's Post-Graduate Course)] The school was opened on 2 July 1895 on land in Kew Road, Richmond and was fee paying. The buildings occupied a prominent site on the Kew Road at the corner of Selwyn Avenue. This building housed both the Technical Institute and secondary school. Pupils residing in Surrey paid £6 per year, whilst those from outside the county paid £10. The school began with a headmaster and five assistant masters, with visiting staff for the teaching of Art, Singing, French and German. Originally there were 50 boys between 11 and 16 and by 1901, when the new south wing was added,
numbers had increased. An extension comprising an assembly hall, four classrooms a gymnasium/drill hall and two workshops was opened in 1902. The first headmaster, A E Buckhurst, was succeeded in 1912 by T W Beasley who continued in office until the school's amalgamation with East Sheen County School for Boys in 1939. When the school merged with East Sheen County School for Boys in 1939 the school moved out of the Kew Road premises leaving the Technical Institute as sole occupants of the Kew Road site.
The Technical Institute continued up to the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
when it was put on a war-time basis and used as an
A.R.P and ambulance depot. It was revived as the Technical Institute and School of Art for Richmond and Barnes in 1947 and in 1954 renamed as the Richmond Institute of Further Education. In 1970 it became the Richmond Adult College and in 1978 transferred to the Parkshot site, vacant with the closure of
Richmond County School for Girls
Richmond County School for Girls (sometimes referred to as ''Richmond Grammar School for Girls'') was a school at Richmond in London that was once noted for having cricket in its curriculum; which resulted in the emergence from the school of a n ...
and as the Parkshot campus of
Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College
Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College is a further education college located in Richmond and Surbiton in Greater London. It was established in 2017 by a merger between Richmond Adult Community College and the specialist Hillcroft Colleg ...
remains at that site.
East Sheen County School for Boys
East Sheen County School for Boys opened on 18 January 1927 on ''Hertford Avenue''. The first headmaster was Mr H H Shephard, then aged 33. Ninety pupils gained entry via the Common Entrance Examination and fifteen boys were transferred from Richmond County Boys School. Provision was made for 20 county scholarship places and by 1928 the intake had risen to 210 boys.
Houses
Shepherd established use of the
house system
The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...
. All boys were members of one of four houses, each house name derived from the names of local roads.
The houses remained in use until the closure of the school in the 1970s.
East Sheen County School for Girls
In 1930 an area of the Hertford Avenue site was fenced off to build the girls' school which opened in 1931.
Richmond and East Sheen County School for Boys
A review of education in the county commencing in 1937 concluded that local population numbers were relatively stable so there were significant economies to be made by reducing the number of county schools in the borough from four to two. In addition the Kew Road site was inadequate in size, and pupil numbers in the county schools were declining due to increased school building in neighbouring boroughs and the effect of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. In 1939, despite local opposition, the boys from Richmond County School were merged with East Sheen County School for Boys at the Sheen site, continuing under headmaster Mr Shepherd. In the same restructuring, East Sheen County School for Girls was merged with Richmond County School for Girls at the Parkshot site. Although the Richmond girls' school retained its name, the Sheen school was renamed Richmond and East Sheen County School for Boys.
Seniors were based in the original boys' school building nearer Park Avenue, whilst junior boys (age 10–13) occupied the former girls' school site which was also used for laboratory science and, for the first time, to provide school meals. The school also retained use of the former Richmond school playing fields at Pesthouse Common, (now the site of
Christ's School).
Following the
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...
the School became known as Richmond and East Sheen County (Grammar) School for Boys.
Mortlake County Girls School
As Mortlake County Girls School lacked
air-raid shelters
Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...
, early during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the school moved to the then partially empty girls' school buildings on the Hertford Avenue site.
The school remained there as Hertford Avenue Girls School until the formation of the Sixth Form College.
G. P. Rawlings
In 1953 Mr H H Shephard retired after 25 years' service and assistant head, history teacher Mr Bacon, led the school for a brief period until the appointment of his successor, G P Rawlings.
Like his predecessors, Grahame Pryce Rawlings (1912 – 17 April 1993)
was educated at
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
where he gained his
MA in mathematics and represented
Hertford College
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...
at
Rugby Union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he joined the
RAFVR
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...
, became a
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
pilot, and rose to the rank of
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Wing commander is immediately se ...
. At the end of the war he was awarded the
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
.
After the war Rawlings remained in the Air Force, transferring to a commission as
Flight Lieutenant, Technical Branch, in 1948. Rawlings wrote several books; a training manual ''Electricity for Air Training'' published in 1941, and mathematics books covering
Trigonometry
Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics concerned with relationships between angles and side lengths of triangles. In particular, the trigonometric functions relate the angles of a right triangle with ratios of its side lengths. The fiel ...
, the
Slide rule
A slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for conducting mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog ...
and
calculus
Calculus is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations.
Originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the ...
. Prior to joining the school he was Director of Studies at the naval training establishment
HMS Worcester
Eight ships and a training establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Worcester'', after the English city of Worcester:
* was a 48-gun ship launched in 1651. She was renamed HMS ''Dunkirk'' in 1660.
* was a 50-gun ship launched ...
.
He joined the school in the summer of 1954. Outside of school, Rawlings also became a
JP.
Shene County Grammar School for Boys
The Jubilee of Richmond County School was celebrated in 1956 and a fund launched towards the building of a new Library, completed in 1958. Also in 1956 Mr Rawlings established the school motto ''Enrich the Time to Come'' taken from the last scene of Shakespeare's
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
.
In 1957, Richmond and East Sheen County Grammar School for Boys became known simply as Shene County Grammar School for Boys, using the Anglo-Saxon spelling of the name for Richmond previously adopted by the Old Boys' society.
(Informally, the school was more commonly referred to simply as Shene Grammar).
During 1957 a new laboratory, prep room and two classrooms were added and the school electricity supply changed from
DC to
AC. In 1961 a new dining area and kitchen were built at the rear of the Main Hall and a new Gymnasium built to the west of the site in 1967.
During this period, the sports facilities at
Barn Elms
Barn Elms is an park, open space in Barnes, London, Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, located on the northerly loop of the River Thames between Barnes and Fulham.
The WWT London Wetland Centre (105 acres of what were o ...
were used for rugby and cricket according to season, and use made of the county sailing and canoeing facilities at
Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...
.
Shene College
A major reorganisation of education and the end of
selective education
A selective school is a school that admits students on the basis of some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems and is the opposite of a comprehensive school, which accepts all s ...
in the borough in the early 1970s caused the demise of the school. Shene Grammar took in its final intake of pupils in September 1972.
From 1973 the former grammar school sixth form was expanded and the school became Shene College, predominately a
sixth form college
A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...
but, due to the remaining grammar school pupils, not entirely so. Mr Rawlings left to become Mathematics Advisor for the borough. Mr Eric Healey was appointed as principal, with Mr R Friggens, former Deputy Head of the boys' school assisting administratively, Mrs K Kulisa, Headmistress of the Richmond County Girls taking charge of academic affairs and Mr R Smith (from outside the borough) leading on pupil matters. As part of the conversion of the school a new technical block was built to the east of the main hall.
With dwindling pupil numbers and some staff increasingly sharing roles across Richmond and Shene sites, the remaining pupils and staff of Richmond County School for Girls merged with the remainder of the boys' school at the Shene site in 1974.
In a further borough education reorganisation in 1977, with the final cohort of grammar school pupils reaching the sixth form, Shene College was merged with the borough's other sixth form college,
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley is an area in South East England that extends along the River Thames west of London towards Oxford. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub on the M4 corridor, with a high concentration of technology companies ...
, and the Technical College at
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
. Together they formed one large
tertiary college
In England and Wales, a tertiary college is a type of further education (FE) college that offers both academic and vocational courses to both teenagers and adults, combining the main functions of an FE college and a sixth form college. Unlike a si ...
,
Richmond upon Thames College
Richmond upon Thames College is a large college of further and higher education located on a single site in Twickenham. It provides education and training to 16- to 18-year-olds and adults from across the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames a ...
, on the Technical College site off the ''Great Chertsey Road''. The Shene site became the Shene Comprehensive School.
Shene Comprehensive School and Shene School
Shene School was formed from the amalgamation of Barnes School (Barnes) and Gainsborough School (Kew) in 1977. It was a state secondary six-form entry school with a multi-cultural pupil roll of just over 900. Uniform was mandatory. The school retained its predecessor's motto: “Enrich the Time to Come” and the school crest was a deer surmounted by a globe.
In August 2010 Richmond upon Thames Council announced that the
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...
had approved the proposal to grant the school status as an Academy.
Shene School closed and in September 2010 Richmond Park Academy opened on the same site.
Historical performance
As a result of unsatisfactory attainment over several years, an
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...
report in September 2007 gave Shene School Notice to Improve. However, under the new headship of Lesley Kirby and her leadership team, the school's overall examination results improved by 12 per cent, meeting Ofsted targets and lifting the school above the Government's floor targets for 5 A* – C. A subsequent Ofsted re-visit showed that the school and its pupils, described as a capable pupil body, were satisfactorily on course to achieving further improvement. Both the leadership team and the governing body were deemed strong by the Ofsted inspectors.
An
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...
monitoring inspection conducted in December 2011, 15 months after the school re-opened as an Academy, noted that the school had 'made good progress in raising standards' and that 'Teaching is improving, with an increasing proportion that is good or outstanding'.
According to Ofsted, the 'strong and clear leadership of the headteacher has galvanised self-belief in staff and pupils. The capacity of leaders to drive improvement has been developed at all levels'.
Notable alumni
Shene School
*
Fara Williams
Fara Tanya Franki Merrett (born 25 January 1984), known professionally as Fara Williams, is an English former Women's association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. A consistent goalscorer and set-piece specialist, Williams was co ...
, English football player for
England Women and
Reading WFC
* Calvin Smith, drummer of
the Safety Fire
The Safety Fire were a British progressive metal band formed in London in 2006. The Safety Fire first made a name for themselves in the UK scene with the release of their critically acclaimed EP "Sections" in 2009 and their reputation as a powe ...
*
Saul Dibb
Saul Dibb (born 18 August 1968) is an English director and screenwriter. His father is the documentary maker Mike Dibb.
Born in London, England, Saul Dibb is a graduate of the University of East Anglia. He is best known for co-writing and direc ...
, film director (''The Duchess'')
*
Jem Godfrey
Jeremy "Jem" Godfrey (born 6 October 1971) is a British music producer, keyboardist and songwriter.
In the early 1990s he was a producer at BBC Radio 1, before going back to Virgin Radio (where he had had his initial break) to head up the prod ...
, British music producer, keyboardist and songwriter
*
George Groves, super middleweight boxer
*
Simon Hayes, sound engineer
*
Leo Woodall
Leo Vincent Woodall (born 14 September 1996) is an English actor. He gained recognition with his roles in the second season of the HBO satirical anthology series '' The White Lotus'' (2022) and in the Netflix romantic drama miniseries '' One Day ...
, British actor.
Shene County Grammar School
*
Robin Bextor
Robin J. Bextor (born 11 October 1953) is an English film and television producer and director. He is the father of the dance-pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. (Short biography of Robin Bextor on p.9)
Early life and education
After his education ...
, Head of Arts at TWI and TV director
*Prof
Michael Branch CMG, former director of the
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a University College London#Faculties and departments, school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and South-Easte ...
*
Richard Drummie
Richard Paul Drummie (born 20 March 1959) is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. Drummie and Peter Cox are the founding members of musical group Go West.
Early career and Go West
Drummie was born in London. He began writing with ...
, singer with 1980s band
Go West!
*Prof
Paul Lewis Hancock (1937–1998), Professor of
Neotectonics Neotectonics, a subdiscipline of tectonics, is the study of the motions and deformations of Earth's crust (geological and geomorphological processes) that are current or recent in geologic time. The term may also refer to the motions/deformations in ...
at the
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
*Prof
Paul Luzio
J Paul Luzio FMedSci (born 15 August 1947)[LUZIO, Prof. (John) Paul](_blank)
''Who's W ...
, Professor of Molecular Membrane Biology since 2001 at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and Director since 2002 of the
Cambridge Institute for Medical Research
Richmond and East Sheen County School for Boys
*
Raymon Anning
Raymon Harry Anning (Chinese language, Chinese: 顏理國, 22 July 1930 – 20 December 2020) was a Commissioner of Police (Hong Kong), Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong. In the early 1970s, he was a Commander#British police rank, commander ...
CBE,
Commissioner of Police
A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...
of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force from 1985–89
* Prof
John Carey,
Merton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford from 1976–2001
*
Henry Haig
Henry Haig (9 February 19306 December 2007) was an English abstract artist, painter and sculptor but notable predominantly for his stained glass work.
Early life and education
Born in Hampstead in 1930, Haig's talent was recognised and encourag ...
, stained glass artist
* Prof
David Martin, Prof of Sociology at London School of Economics. Fellow of the British Academy
* Sir
Robin McLaren
Sir Robin John Taylor McLaren (14 August 1934 – 20 July 2010Leung, Ambrose (23 July 2010). "OBITUARY – Robin McLaren, 1934–2010: The diplomat who helped smooth a path for Hong Kong's handover", ''South China Morning Post'') was a British d ...
CMG, ambassador to China and to the Philippines
*
Jack Parker, British Olympic hurdler at Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956
* Dr
John Wymer
John James Wymer, (5 March 1928 – 10 February 2006) was a British archaeologist and one of the leading experts on the Palaeolithic period.
Biography
Born near Kew Gardens in Surrey, Wymer was introduced to archaeology by his parents who would ...
, archaeologist
Richmond County School
*
William J. Field, Labour MP for
Paddington North
Paddington North was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington in London which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post vo ...
from 1946–53
Notable teachers
*
Giselle Mather (née Prangnell), English rugby union international and coach, won 34 caps for England, part of the
1994 Women's World Cup winning side, first woman to achieve level 4 coaching status from the RFU, first woman to coach a male rugby union side, first coach of the Women's Barbarians and from 2024 coach of the Great Britain Women's rugby union sevens squad. Taught PE at the school until 1996.
[The Richmond and Twickenham Informer, Feb 09, 1996, Page 30]
References
External links
Shene Old Boys
{{Authority control
1895 establishments in England
Academies Enterprise Trust
Academies in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
East Sheen
Educational institutions established in 1895
Secondary schools in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames