Shene Grammar School for Boys (formerly Richmond County and East Sheen School for Boys; and East Sheen County School for Boys)

Scope and Content

Administrative records of Shene Grammar School for Boys, and its predecessor schools, Richmond County and East Sheen School for Boys, and East Sheen County School for Boys.

Administrative / Biographical History

Richmond County and East Sheen School for Boys was formed by the amalgamation of Richmond County School for Boys and East Sheen County School for Boys in 1939. East Sheen County School for Boys had been opened by Surrey County Council in January 1927 on a site in Hertford Avenue, Sheen, with Mr H.H. Shepherd as headmaster. He continued as headmaster when the schools were merged, and the new school remained on the site in Hertford Avenue. The School changed its name to Shene County Grammar School for Boys in 1957. With the end of selective education, the grammar school took its final intake of boys in September 1972, and the sixth form expanded to become Shene College in 1973. Richmond and East Sheen County School for Girls merged with the final intake of grammar school boys in 1974. When the final cohort of grammar school pupils reached sixth form in 1977, Shene College merged with Thames Valley College and the Technical College in Twickenham to form one large tertiary college, Richmond upon Thames College, on the site of the Technical College off the Great Chertsey Road. The Shene College site became the site of Shene Comprehensive School.

Arrangement

The records of Shene Grammar School for Boys are catalogued with the records of its predecessor schools. East Sheen County School for Boys, which opened in 1927, amalgamated with Richmond County School for Boys in 1939, and was renamed Richmond County and East Sheen School for Boys. East Sheen County School for Girls opened on the same site in 1931, with its own teaching staff, but sharing a governing body with the boys' school. The girls' school closed in 1939, and all its administrative functions ceased at that point. The records of Richmond County and East Sheen School for Girls, and its predecessor schools, East Sheen School for Girls, and Richmond County School for Girls, have therefore been arranged in a separate fonds (ref: S8), although the Governors' Minutes for the joint East Sheen Schools are catalogued at S7/5. The administrative functions of East Sheen County School for Boys carried on, and many of its records remained in use in the new school. In 1957, the name of the school was changed to Shene County Grammar School for Boys, with no changes in administration or functions, so the records for Shene County Grammar School are catalogued with the earlier records. There was a change of function in 1973 with the end of selective education, the expansion of the sixth form, and the merger of Richmond and East Sheen County School for girls with the final grammar school intake of Shene County Grammar School for Boys, but Local Studies holds no records for this period, or for Shene College, or the colleges that it merged with to form Richmond upon Thames College, or Shene Comprehensive School, which opened on the Hertford Road site in 1977, apart from a sales book with occasional entries concerning sales of woodwork to 1977.

The Shene Grammar School for Boys collection is arranged into 8 series records:

  • S7/1 - University of London Annual Reports, 1929-1934
  • S7/2 - Inspection Reports, 1929-1938
  • S7/3 - Admissions Registers, 1928-1945
  • S7/4 - Staff Registers, 1927-1953
  • S7/5 - Minutes of Governors' Meetings, 1926-1949
  • S7/6 - Sales Books, 1965-1977
  • S7/7 - Log Books, 1946-1969
  • S7/8 - School Magazines, 1969-1970

Access Information

Some records within this collection are open for access and can be viewed at Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive.
The opening times and address for Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive can be found online at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies
Please note that some records within this collection are closed and not currently available for research. For further information, please contact Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive through any of the contact methods listed at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies

Other Finding Aids

A more detailed catalogue of this collection can be found online at https://richmond.spydus.co.uk/spydus.html

Related Material

Records for this school of The Board of Education and Predecessors: Secondary Education, Institution Files are located at The National Archives, ref: ED35/6107. Surrey County Council Managers' Minutes 1926-1938 for this school are located at Surrey History Centre, ref: CEM/179. The building agreement for the school is located at Surrey History Centre, ref: CC115/1/162a-162b.

Personal Names