Christ's College is a
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
with
academy status in
East Finchley
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It has ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, United Kingdom. It falls under the
London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest ...
Local Education Authority
Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...
for admissions. Since September 2018, Christ’s College Finchley has offered outstanding education to both girls and boys joining Year 7. The school presently has 860 pupils and specialises in Maths and Sciences.
Motto and badge
The school badge since 1906 has been a combination of the three notched swords of the traditional county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
and a
finch
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
over an oak tree, the old unofficial arms of the Urban District of Finchley. The motto, since March 1976, is ''Usque Proficiens'' meaning "advance all the way".
When Christ's College Finchley (CCF) was a
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
, before it was merged with the lower achieving comprehensive, the badge for Christ's College Finchley only had the letters CCF. It was not until after the merger in the 1970s that the current badge was designed and the motto made up.
History
The history of the contemporary Christ’s College has its roots in two different schools:
* Chapel Street School, founded by Rev Watson in 1842, later Alder School
* Finchley Hall School, founded by Rev Thomas Reader White in 1857, later Christ’s College.
Alder School, Long Lane
A British School in Chapel Street, East Finchley was opened by local Congregationalists in 1842, but in 1876 fire destroyed the original building, and the new building became Finchley’s first Board School in 1881. East Finchley grew rapidly in the 1880s, and the Finchley School Board decided to build a new building in Long Lane which was opened in 1884, with the staff and pupils moving to the new premises at the end of that year.
In 1931, the school opened a secondary wing and was renamed Alder School, after a chairman of Finchley’s Education committee. It was organised into three school houses, Rangers, Archers, and Foresters. In 1944 it became a mixed Secondary Modern School, and an all-boys school in 1958. It was organised into four school houses, Rangers (Yellow), Archers (Red), Foresters (Green) & Rovers (Blue).
The school was seen as providing a necessary education for skilled workers in the light engineering works of Finchley, such as Simms Motor Units, Hendon and Barnet, and was well thought of. It was also host to Bob Cobbing, the Concrete Sound poet and Jeff Nuttall author of the best seller, 'Bomb Culture' during the 1960s. It was merged with Christ's College in 1978, and the buildings at Long Lane were demolished.
Christ's College, Hendon Lane
![Christs College old building on hendon lane](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Christs_College_old_building_on_hendon_lane.JPG)
In 1857 the Rev Thomas Reader White, Rector of St Mary’s Finchley, opened Finchley Hall School, in Hendon Lane (next to the church, on the site of what used to be Church End Library) in what had been a local inn, the ''Queen's Head''. The following year he had the stable block and the village "cage" removed and a new school built, to designs by
Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country ho ...
. The school was an Anglican School, intended to provide a public school education at a reasonable rate.
The school became popular, and a new building was constructed across the road in 1860, with money provided by White's brother who was a rich London merchant, and it was renamed Christ's College. The designs were by the architect Edward Roberts, and its main feature was a 120-foot tower, a local landmark. The school flourished as a private school during the 1860s and 1870s, when its Headmaster was the Rev T C Whitehead. It was under Whitehead that the school was first divided into four houses: North, South, East, and West.
With the loss of its founder, then the self-styled Warden, to a disorder of the brain in 1877, the school went into decline. In 1902, the school was taken over by
Middlesex County Council
Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965.
The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...
, as the first Middlesex County grammar school, but under John Tindal Phillipson, headmaster since 1895, attempts that were made to rename the school and change its character were resisted, and on the whole the transition was a smooth one. A rifle club was formed in 1904, which soon became a cadet corps. Until 1906 the school playing fields were directly behind St Mary’s church, but in 1906 new fields were acquired further down the hill, near to Dollis Brook.
In 1927, the school increased in size with new buildings, and ceased to be an Anglican institution. In 1972, a new annexe for design and technology was built on land in East Finchley. As a county grammar the school had a strong academic reputation, particularly in the sciences, with many pupils continuing their education at Oxford and Cambridge universities. In 1990 the Hendon Lane (Upper School) site was closed and the school moved in its entirety to the East Finchley site. For some time the building was unused and it was proposed as a venue for an arts centre, but eventually it was sold to a Jewish school (
Pardes House Grammar School
Pardes House Grammar School is a 10–16 Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish, secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Finchley, Greater London, England. It was established in 1976 and sinc ...
).
Christ's College, East End Road
With the foundation of the present school in 1978, the school was split into Upper school, which used the Hendon Lane site, and the Lower. The whole school moved to the new site in 1991, under the Headmastership of Brian Fletcher. In 2002, the then Headmaster Paul O'Shea expanded the sixth form, with the first intake of girls.
Christ's College has become a specialist
Mathematics and Computing College
Mathematics and Computing Colleges were introduced in England in 2002 and Northern Ireland in 2006 as part of the Government's Specialist Schools programme which was designed to raise standards in secondary education. Specialist schools focus on ...
, which means the school receives additional funds for investment in its Mathematics and Computing departments. The school's current headmaster is Mr Samson Olusanya.
Combined Cadet Force
The first instance of
cadet
A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
activity at Christ's College was in 1864, when a Cadet Corps attached to the 14th (Highgate) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps was formed at the school. This was disbanded in 1867, and few records remain.
The present Cadet Unit was founded in 1904 with the formation of a Rifle Club. Although mainly a rifle club, its members carried military ranks and took part in regular training days. The transformation to a true Cadet Unit took place in 1911 when No.2 Company, 1st Cadet Battalion,
The Middlesex Regiment
The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Ref ...
(as it was officially called) was started at the school. In 1938 the unit was temporarily badged
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
as 'C' (Cadet) Battery of the 61st (Finsbury) Anti-aircraft Brigade. By 1942 the Unit had rejoined the 1st Cadet Battalion wearing the badges of the Middlesex Regiment. When the 1st Cadet Battalion was disbanded in 1948, The Unit became Christ's College Contingent, Combined Cadet Force, a self-administering unit, which it remains today.
In 1952, the Unit was presented with its own Colours, in memory of those members of the Contingent who fell in battle during the Second World War. The school's
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...
(CCF) is among the tiny handful in the country to carry colours. The last major change was in 1969 when the affiliation to
the Middlesex Regiment
The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Ref ...
ceased and permission was given for the Contingent to wear the badges of
the Parachute Regiment. From 2020, The unit has become Coldstream Guards.
Rugby union
The school has made contributions to the sport of rugby union. The
scrum cap
The scrum cap is a form of headgear used by rugby players to protect the ears in the scrum, which can otherwise suffer injuries leading to the condition commonly known as cauliflower ears. Although originally designed for forwards they are now wo ...
was invented at the school and first worn by the school's 1st XV. Three alumni went on to make notable contributions to the sport:
*
C. J. Monro (at Christ’s College 1867–69), introduced rugby to New Zealand
*
R. W. Shepstone Giddy
R. or r. may refer to:
* ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler.
* '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King
* ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen
* or , abbreviat ...
(at Christ’s College 1871–74) and later Solicitor General, Cape Colony, was one of the men who introduced rugby to South Africa
*
W. P. Carpmael, who was at the school from 1876 to 1883, founded the
Barbarian Football Club
The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...
, the team that by tradition plays the last match in a tour of the UK by Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.
Notable former pupils
*
David Bernstein,
FA Chairman
*
Peter Bonnington
Peter Bonnington (born 12 February 1975), often known as Bono, is a British Formula One engineer. He is currently the senior race engineer for Lewis Hamilton at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One team.
Career
Bonnington started hi ...
, British
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
engineer. He is currently the senior race engineer for
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
at
Mercedes-Benz in Formula One
Mercedes-Benz, a brand of the Mercedes-Benz Group, has been involved in Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1954. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, which is based in Brackley, England, and possesses ...
from 1986-1994
* Sir
Arnold Burgen
Sir Arnold Stanley Vincent Burgen Royal Society, FRS (20 March 1922 – 26 May 2022) was a British physician, pharmacologist, academic and university administrator. He was Master of Darwin College, Cambridge, from 1982–89, Deputy Vice-Chancel ...
, President of the
International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology
The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate ''Better Medicines through Global Education and Resear ...
1972-5 and of
Academia Europaea
The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences.
The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...
from 1988–94
*
Leslie Burgin
Edward Leslie Burgin (13 July 1887 – 16 August 1945) was a British Liberal and later Liberal National politician in the 1930s.
Biography
Born to Edward Lambert Burgin, a solicitor, Burgin studied law at the University of London, graduating w ...
, Liberal MP for
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
from 1929–31
*
Richard Desmond
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According to the 2021 ''Sunday Times Rich List'', Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom. He is the founder of North ...
, Publisher and proprietor of the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
''
*
Frank "Lofty" England,
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
'
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
-winning team manager and later company CEO
*
Nick Fudge
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Fudge studied at Goldsmiths College, London, as a member of the YBA ( Young British Artists) generation along with Damien Hirst, Sarah Lu ...
, painter, sculptor, and digital artist
*
Harvey Goldsmith
Harvey Goldsmith (born 4 March 1946 in Edgware, Middlesex) is an English performing arts promoter. He is best known as a promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and more recently the Teenage ...
, Entertainment promoter
*
Demis Hassabis
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Computer game designer, artificial intelligence programmer, neuroscientist and world-class games player
*
Izrael Hieger
Izrael Hieger DSc (London) (13 June 1901 – 14 October 1986) was a biochemist whose work focused on carcinogenesis. He discovered the first known organic carcinogenic compound. In 1937 Hieger, with colleagues Ernest Kennaway and J. W. Cook, wa ...
Biochemist who discovered the first known organic carcinogenic compound
* Professor
Anthony Hollander Anthony Hollander (born 4 February 1964) has worked at the University of Liverpool since June 2014, starting out as the Head of the Institute of Integrative Biology, he was then appointed as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Impact in August 2 ...
, Head of the Institute of Integrative Biology,
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
from 2014 to present
*
Stanley Kalms, Baron Kalms
Harold Stanley Kalms, Baron Kalms (born 21 November 1931) is the life president and former chairman of Currys plc (formerly DSG International plc, Dixons Group, Dixons Carphone). Currys plc owns Currys, as well as the now phased-out brands "PC ...
* Sir
John Kingman
__NOTOC__
Sir John Frank Charles Kingman (born 28 August 1939) is a British mathematician. He served as N. M. Rothschild and Sons Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Director of the Isaac Newton Institute at the University of Cambridge from ...
, Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
from 1985–2001
* Sir
Peter Lachmann
Sir Peter Julius Lachmann (23 December 1931 – 26 December 2020) was a British immunologist, specialising in the study of the Complement system, complement system. He was emeritus Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Immunology at the University of ...
, Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Immunology at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
from 1977–99
*
Roger Lyons
Roger Lyons (born 14 September 1942) was the General Secretary of the MSF trade union from 1992 and re-elected leader of the union in 1997. When the union merged with the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union to form Amicus in 2002 he sub ...
, General Secretary of
Amicus from 2002-4, and of
MSF from 1992–2002
*
Louis Marks Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis (d ...
, television screenwriter and producer
*
Parry Mitchell, Baron Mitchell
Parry Andrew Mitchell, Baron Mitchell (born 6 May 1943) is a British businessman and Labour member of the House of Lords. On 10 May 2000, Mitchell was created a life peer as Baron Mitchell, of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, and ...
*
Stanley Mitchell
Stanley Mitchell (12 March 1932, in Clapton, London – 16 October 2011, in Highbury, London) was a British translator, academic, and author, noted for his English verse translation of Alexander Pushkin's Russian verse novel ''Eugene Onegin''.
...
, UK academic and Russian scholar
*
Edward Warner Moeran
Edward Warner Moeran (27 November 1903 – 12 December 1997) was a British Common Wealth Party politician who later joined the later Labour Party. He stood as a Parliamentary candidate on five occasions, but won only once.
Moeran first stood fo ...
, Labour MP for
South Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.
Creation
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a gen ...
from 1950-1
*
Charles John Monro
Charles John Monro (5 April 1851 – 9 April 1933), sometimes also referred to as Charles Munro in accordance with his clan name, is credited with introducing rugby union to New Zealand.
Early life
Monro was born on 5 April 1851 in Waimea West ...
, introduced Rugby Union to New Zealand
*
Ray Park
Raymond Park (born 23 August 1974) is a Scottish actor and stuntman. He is best known for physically portraying Darth Maul in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'', along with a motion capture performa ...
, actor
*
David Pentecost
David John Pentecost (born 1940) is a British composer, videographer, writer, a retired information technology specialist, and a retired British computer industry history researcher. He is a Certified Information Technology Professional, a Life ...
, composer, writer, retired I.T. specialist
*
Steve Richards
Steve Richards (born 6 June 1960) is a British TV presenter and political columnist, who has written columns for the ''Guardian'', ''Independent'', ''New Statesman'' and ''Spectator''. He regularly presents Radio 4's ''Week in Westminster'' and ho ...
, political correspondent and GMTV presenter
*
Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest a ...
, advertising executive and art collector
* Daniel Sabbagh, Associate Editor at The Guardian newspaper
*
Sir Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain
*
Will Self
William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Sel ...
, novelist, journalist, broadcaster
*
Jon Sopel
Jonathan B. Sopel (born 22 May 1959) is a British journalist, television presenter and a former correspondent for BBC News. He was formerly the BBC's North America editor; chief political correspondent for the domestic news channel BBC News; a ...
, BBC journalist and former presenter of ''The Politics Show''
*
Michael Stern, Conservative MP for
Bristol North West
Bristol North West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Darren Jones of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
The seat covers northwest parts of Bristol, extending to the Severn Estuary. ...
*
Sir Peter Strawson, philosopher
*
Alfred Wilkins
Alfred Daulton Wilkins (1856 — 21 October 1920) was an English first-class cricketer and an officer in the Imperial Forest Service.
The son of Alfred Wilkins senior, he was born in 1856 at Kotri in British India. Wilkins was educated in Eng ...
, cricketer
*
Sir William Tritton
Sir William Ashbee Tritton, JP, (19 June 1875 – 24 September 1946) was a British expert in agricultural machinery, and was directly involved, together with Major Walter Gordon Wilson, in the development of the tank. Early in World War I he ...
, co-invented the tank
*
Eric Williams
Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation", having led the then British Trinidad and Tobago, British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to m ...
, writer
*
David Young, Baron Young of Graffham
David Ivor Young, Baron Young of Graffham, (27 February 1932 – 9 December 2022) was a British Conservative politician, cabinet minister and businessman.
Early life
David Young was born into an orthodox Jewish family in London. His father w ...
*
Prof Graham Zellick, CBE, QC,
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
,
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
1997-2003
Notes and references
Further reading
School WebsiteOfsted datafor this school,
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
website.
{{authority control
Academies in the London Borough of Barnet
Boys' schools in London
Educational institutions established in 1906
Secondary schools in the London Borough of Barnet
1906 establishments in England