Minchenden Grammar School Explained
Minchenden School
Minchenden Grammar School |
| Coordinates: | 51.6304°N -0.1295°W |
| Motto: | Robur durabit |
| Established: | 1919 |
| Closed: | 1984 |
| Address: | High Street |
| City: | Southgate |
| County: | London |
| Country: | England |
| Local Authority: | Middlesex (1919-1965)
Enfield (1965-1984) |
| Gender: | Coeducational |
| Lower Age: | 11 |
| Upper Age: | 18 |
| Colours: | Green |
| Website: | http://www.minchenden.org/ |
Minchenden School was a mixed secondary school situated in Southgate, North London, established in 1919 with 90 pupils.[1] It merged with Arnos School in 1984.
History
The school was established in 1919 in Tottenhall Road as a mixed secondary school. In 1924, it moved to Southgate House, where it remained until 1987.[2] The staff and pupils built an observatory.[3] From 1960 to the early 1970s, there was an annexe in the Fox Lane school, Palmers Green.[1] The annexe catered for the 1st 2 years of pupils. The school's English department was particularly strong. Head of English Douglas Barnes 1959-1966 introduced a series of important innovations in teaching methods. In 1967, Minchenden Grammar School was converted from a grammar school to Minchenden School, a comprehensive school, with the upper school in High Street and the lower school in Fox Lane.[1] It was merged with Arnos School in 1984 to form Broomfield School, after the Conservative council sold the extensive playing fields to a development company to build homes, with the original Southgate House protected as a Grade I listed building.
The building is now used by Durants School, having previously been used by Southgate College.
Former teachers
Notable alumni
- Graham Robert Allan, mathematician and an expert on Banach algebras, Professor of Pure Mathematics from 1970 to 1978 at the University of Leeds
- Neville Brody (born 1957), graphic designer, typographer and art director
- Prof. Harold Brookfield (born 1926), scholar of rural development, Australian National University
- Prof Peter Clarricoats CBE, Professor of Electronic Engineering from 1968 to 1997 at Queen Mary and Westfield, and vice-president from 1989 to 1991 of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (since 2006 the Institution of Engineering and Technology) Fellow of the Royal Society (1990)
- Nick Dunning, actor - credits include The Tudors, My Boy Jack, Alexander
- Judy Dyble (1949-2020), Singer songwriter and founder member of Fairport Convention
- Irving Finkel (born 1951), philologist and Assyriologist
- Professor Brian J Ford (born 1939), scientist, author, broadcaster and lecturer
- Lynne Franks (born 1948), public relations innovator
- Judy Fryd (1909–2000), political campaigner
- Hazel Genn (born 1949), legal academic
- Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born 1938), sociologist, Director from 1997 to 2003 of the London School of Economics
- John Hodge (1929–2021), engineer and NASA flight director
- Jana Jeruma-Grinberga (born 1953) former bishop in the Lutheran Church
- Peter Kellner (born 1946), journalist and political commentator
- William Orbit (born 1956), musician, composer and record producer
- Chris Pond (born 1952), Labour MP from 1997 to 2005 for Gravesham
- David Puttnam, Baron Puttnam (born 1941), film producer and politician
- Martin Rushent (born 1948), record producer
- Peter Sallis (1921-2017), actor
- Sir Peter Soulsby (born 1948), mayor of Leicester and former Labour MP for Leicester South
- Barry Took (1928–2002), comedian, writer and television presenter
- John Wimpenny (1922-2015), aerodynamicist and holder of the world record for man-powered flight for ten years from 1962, when he flew the Hatfield Puffin over a distance of 995 yards.
Further reading
- Minchenden School golden anniversary, 1919–1969, published by Minchenden School, 1969
- Douglas Barnes, Becoming an English Teacher (London: NATE, 2000)
External links
- Social Change and English, 1945-1965 - Minchenden is one of three schools in London that are included in this Leverhulme Trust-funded project about the teaching of English in the period 1945–1965. The project is collecting oral histories from former teachers and pupils at the school.
Notes and References
- Web site: T F T Baker, R B Pugh (Editors), A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton, Eileen P Scarff, G C Tyack . Edmonton: Education . A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 196-203 . British History Online . 1976 . 2009-11-24 .
- Web site: The High Street . A Walk in Southgate . Southgate Civic Trust . 2009-11-24 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100301233638/http://www.southgategreen.org.uk/misc/walk.php . 1 March 2010.
- Notes . The Observatory . 59 . 200 . June 1936 . 1936Obs....59..199. .
