Winterbourne Boys' Academy

51°23′58″N 0°06′53″W / 51.3995°N 0.1147°W / 51.3995; -0.1147InformationTypeAcademyMottoVincam (I will conquer)Established1906Local authorityLondon Borough of CroydonDepartment for Education URN140683 TablesOfstedReportsExecutive headteacherTony AhmetHead of SchoolEmma LarkhamStaffc. 25GenderBoysAge7 to 11Enrolmentc. 225Websitehttps://www.winterbourneboysacademy.com/

Winterbourne Boys' Academy (formerly Winterbourne Junior Boys' School) is a junior school in the London Borough of Croydon for boys aged between 7 and 11 years. Along with its sister Girls' School, the schools are the last remaining single-sex, state-funded junior schools in the UK.^[1]

General information

The school is on Winterbourne Road in Thornton Heath. The Local Education Authority for the school is the London Borough of Croydon, however the school converted to academy status in April 2014. The school caters for pupils from Year 3 to Year 6. The uniform of the school is a grey jumper with the school logo, white shirt and grey or black trousers (a sweatshirt with the school logo is also available, as is a fleece jacket). There are approximately 250 pupils on roll (as of February 2011) with a maximum of 30 pupils in each of 8 classes (2 classes per year group). From September 2007, there has been an additional class in the morning sessions: from September until April (when the Year 6 SATs take place) this consists of some pupils from each of the two Year 6 classes, and from April until July this consists of some pupils from each of the two Year 5 classes.

History

The school was opened in 1906 as a combined Boys, Girls and Infants school on 27 August 1906, but became three separate schools on 6 January 1907. It was originally called Winterbourne Road School.

The following information is based on the publication printed for the school's centenary "Winterbourne Times 1907-2007" ^[2]

At the turn of the 20th century, it was decided that a school was needed in the locality, as the nearest school was Ecclesbourne. The Board of Education in Whitehall purchased land in Winterbourne Road, and initially decided to call the school "Winterbourne Road Board School". The new school (with three departments: Boys, Girls, Infants) would cater for 1200 pupils.

At first, owing to the large numbers awaiting admission to the school, one department was opened in August 1906 as a temporary mixed school with accommodation for 540 with two classes of 50 pupils in the school hall.

In January 1907, the school was finally completed as follows:

• Boys Department:
  Accommodation for 408 Pupils
  Headmaster: Mr. J. Potter
• Girls Department:
  Accommodation for 408 pupils
  Headmistress: Miss J.E. Cash
• Infants Department:
  Accommodation for 444 pupils
  Headmistress: Mrs G.L. Fowles

War memorial

There was a war memorial in the building commemorating two former Masters and 50 old boys. The first pupils of the school were just of an age to serve in World War I. Although the memorial itself is now lost, the inscription is known (links are to known entries at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website):

"Lest We Forget"
To the honoured Memory of the Masters and
Past Scholars of this school who laid down their lives
in the Great War 1914-1919
Charles S. Marshall			Geoffrey C. Foster
Sidney Allen		Albert B. Francis		Lawrence Page
Albert G. Baker		William F. Frohock [listed as W.E. Frohock at CWGC]		Walter S. Peters
Cecil L. Bearman		Leslie A. Green		Cyril E. Ridley
Fred J. Boxall		Frank Hagley		Gerald A. Stocker
Gordon E. Benham		Herbert J. Hatcher		William A. Smith
Henry J. Baker		John W. Hemmings		Basil T. Treffry
Otho J. Braddon		Hedley Hawken		Richard H. Treffry
Eric L. Crofts		Frank H. Johnson		Archibald Turner
Eric J. Coppard		Walter Knight		Albert A. Taylor
Raymond Cole		Harold D. Mitchell		Charles A. Woolger
Cyril P. Cozens		Gomez B. Morris		William H. Whisson
William Comber		Percy Money		William Whide
John H. Checker		Donald F. Neill		Richard Whibley
Albert S. Denning		John H. Nealon		Christopher Winchester
George Evans		Edward H. Nash		Harold E. Wootton
Harry Ease		Stuart Nightingale		Sidney A. Walker
Eric Evans		Arthur J. Phillips

Centenary celebrations

In the summer of 2007, the schools on the site joined in celebrations to mark the centenary of the schools' opening.^[1] This culminated in the unveiling of a plaque by the Mayor of Croydon in front of the pupils of all three schools, followed by the mass release of balloons.

• Photographs of the Centenary Celebrations (taken on a mobile 'phone)
• 
  The Centenary Banner
• 
  Unveiling of the Centenary Plaque by the Mayor of Croydon
• 
  Release of the balloons by children from all 3 schools!

Conversion to an academy

A consultation was held (ending in Spring 2014) about the conversion of the school to an academy with Platanos Trust. The conversion to an academy occurred 1 April 2014, in line with the date proposed for this conversion by the Department for Education.^[3] The school was later renamed Winterbourne Boys' Academy.

Headteachers

The headteachers of the boys' school have been:

From	To	Headteacher
27 August 1906	31 October 1922	James Potter
1 November 1922	31 December 1928	Arthur W. McLeod
1 January 1928	31 August 1936	Joseph Vaughan Williams
1 September 1936	20 May 1945	David Bartlett Robinson
21 May 1945	31 August 1945	Interregnum
1 September 1945	31 December 1954	John 'Jock' Frame
1 January 1955	5 April 1974	Roger Alan Smith
23 April 1974	31 August 1974	R. S. Hunt (Acting)
1 September 1974	31 August 1990	Peter Clements
1 September 1990	31 December 1990	Mrs G. Whiting (Acting)
1 January 1991	31 August 1991	Marjorie Archer (Acting)
1 September 1991	31 August 2011	Jonathan Barker
1 September 2011	31 August 2013	Jonathan Barker (Executive Headteacher) and Emma Larkham (Co-Headteacher)
1 September 2013	4 April 2014	Tony Ahmet (Executive Headteacher) Emma Larkham (Head of School)
4 April 2014	Current	Charmaine Henny (Acting Headteacher)

References

External links

• Official Website
• Performance Tables
• The school's official description of itself
• Croydon local studies library where many of the school's documents from 1906 to present are now held