The History of East Ham Grammar School

Part 11905-1972

• Boys 1905-55 and later: Girls 1905-32

• East Ham Grammar School was founded in 1905 as a mixed Boys' and Girls' school. In the early 1930s the Girls moved to a new, purpose built, school at Plashet Grove; the Boys remained behind in the 1905 building. The 50th anniversary of the Schools was celebrated in 1955 with, among other things, a Jubilee edition of the Boys' School magazine, The Esthameian. The details on these web pages are taken from that publication, with added post 1955 details.

• In 1951 new buildings, on a new site, were opened. The Boys moved to part of these in 1952. A few months earlier two new schools had been founded - Burges Manor and Thomas Lethaby Schools - and had moved into their own separate parts on the new site. Their pupils, both boys and girls, came from other schools, like Vicarage Lane and Napier Road , as well as many others around the borough - all the schools having become overcrowded at 11+. (The TL and BM schools did not exist before this).

• The three schools remained separate, although on the same site, until 1972 when all three were amalgamated under the name of Langdon School.

• The Girls' school also changed.

• In the 1950s a site across Plashet Grove from the Girls' Grammar School was developed as Plashet County Secondary Modern School for Girls. The building itself was strikingly modern - a distinct architectural contrast to the traditional 1932 Grammar School building.

• Simultaneously, the development of new building techniques and lighter materials enabled the Grammar School to expand upwards on its existing foundations. A new second floor was added, providing extra modern facilities.

• In 1972 the two schools were merged into one as the Plashet Comprehensive School and, in November 2000, the two buildings were linked by the Unity Bridge.

East Ham

circa 1840

East Ham 1968

JW Barker, B,Sc.,F.C.S.

The first Headmaster 1905-32

ET Andrews, B.A

Headmaster 1932-44

JL Whiteley, PhD, M.A.

Headmaster 1944-1970

SV Amstell MSc

Headmaster 1970-72

Photo circa 1953

Jimmy Lambert in his pre-war EHGS cap 2002

David Weisbaum/Weston in a post war Gainsboro’ prefects cap. 2001.

Coat Badge. Purcell House

The source of the EHGS badge

End of Part 1