Haggerston School (previously Haggerston Girls' School) is a 900-place school in Weymouth Terrace in

Haggerston Haggerston is a locale in East London, England, centred approximately on Great Cambridge Street (now renamed Queensbridge Road). It is within the London Borough of Hackney and is considered to be a part of London's East End. It is about 3.1 mi ...

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, England. It is a Community School and from September 2010 became a co-educational school with its own sixth form. The school is also noteworthy as a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, built in 1964-65 by

Ernő Goldfinger Ernő Goldfinger (11 September 1902 – 15 November 1987) was a Hungarian-born architect and designer of furniture. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and became a key member of the Modernist architectural movement. He is most prom ...

, the celebrated modernist architect.

Architecture

Haggerston School is the only English secondary school to be designed by internationally regarded architect,

, who studied under

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Goldfinger's work is unique in Britain in that it combines the influences of Perret, one of the first architects to develop the use of concrete aesthetically, with detailing and forms derived from

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. Goldfinger knew both architects personally. The elevations of the school follow the mathematical proportions of the

Golden Section In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0, where the Greek letter phi ( ...

and it includes a double-height circulation spine with balcony. The school is distinctive for the large amount of timber used in the construction and contains some of Goldfinger's boldest and most handsome public interiors including bush hammered concrete and coffered ceilings in the entrance and hall block. On the same site is the School House (1964–65), and it shares a Grade II listing. The School House was designed by

as an integral part of the school itself. The House illustrates Goldfinger's skill for adapting his interest in the use of tough materials, like dark brick and concrete, and refining them for use on a domestic scale with skilful use of proportions.

Notable alumni

* Ivorian Doll *

Patsy Palmer Julie Anne Merkell (''née'' Harris; born 26 May 1972), known professionally as Patsy Palmer, is an English actress and DJ, known for her roles as Natasha in the children's drama series ''Grange Hill'' (1985–1987), and Bianca Jackson in the ...

References

Dept. of Culture press release 2003
accessed 6 Dec 2006 * Warburton, Nigel. ''Ernő Goldfinger: The Life of an Architect'' (Routledge, 2004) .

External links

Haggerston School website
{{authority control Modernist architecture in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hackney School buildings completed in 1965 Secondary schools in the London Borough of Hackney Grade II listed educational buildings Ernő Goldfinger buildings Community schools in the London Borough of Hackney Haggerston 1965 establishments in England