Chancellor's School History

I thought that the 25th Anniversary of the opening of Chancellor's in 1964 was a good occasion to put together a background history of the School. For the purposes of my research I only used official papers and documents in order to create as accurate an interpretation as possible. This restricts the sort of story that emerges since many sources of information, possibly containing personal details, are not available under the thirty year rule. Also, I did not want to rely on peoples's memories.

To this end, I acknowledge the assistance of several members of staff of Hertfordshire County Council particularly Mr. Michael Tuck, Mid Herts Divisional Education Officer; Mrs. Shelagh Head and her assistants in the Local Studies Library; all the ladies in the County Records Office; Mr Alan Barley and Mr. Roger Brookfield in the Architect's Department; The County Planning and Estates Department; and Mr. Pritchard and Mr. T. Perry in the Education Department, many of whom came to my rescue when sources of material threatened to dry up. Mention must also be made of the kind co-operation of the John White Custodian Trust who are the successors in title to the executors of Mr John White.

I would also like to thank Mr. Pat. Clarke for giving me access to papers that would not be available elsewhere; Mr. Ray Harvey for assisting me with the preparation of plans and drawings; Mrs. Vera Freeman for designing the front cover; M. J. Yalden for photographs; Mr Keith Begg, Senior Assistant County Architect; Mr. Geoffrey Williams, Principal Assistant Education Officer; Dr. Peter Kingsford, Mr. Frank Maynard, Mr. George Shiells, Mr Cohn Evans, Mr Paul and Mrs. Alison Wormleighton for reading the manuscript and offering useful advice.

I am also delighted to include a List of Subscribers whose generous donations made the printing and production of this booklet possible. My thanks go to each one.

Lilian Caras, 1989

The Author

Lilian Caras, the author, has always been interested in historical research, particularly in relation to architecture and education. She began her career in local government in 1965 in the Architect's Department of the GLC, Voluntary Schools Section, moving to the Historic Buildings Division and subsequently working for several district councils. Mrs. Caras obtained a degree in Contemporary Studies at Hatfield Polytechnic, and over recent years has attended a number of courses on local history and architecture. A member of North Mymms Local History Society, she gives talks to schools and societies on local history topics. She is Assistant Editor of Chancellor's Community Newsletter and has also written a history of Brookmans Park Primary School and a building study of the BBC Transmitter Station. Resident in Brookmans Park since 1980, Mrs. Caras was elected a parent governor of Chancellor's in 1987 and again in 1988

Index
Foreword and details about the author
Chapter One - The search for a site
Chapter Two - What happened to the rural children 1944-1964
Chapter Three - Construction - The first instalment
Chapter Four - The Completion

Photographs
Aerial views of the site 1947, the school in 1968 and 1980 click here
The assembly hall and the main teaching block 1964 and sixth form block 1980
Form photographs 1964/65 and staff photo summer 1966
Library block under construction and completed 1967
Science block and mathematics block 1980

Note: The original book, written by Lilian Caras, had a number of other sections covering the teaching staff, first pupils and lists of head girls and boys, chairmen of governors, governors and chairmen of the PTA, but these parts of the book are not reproduced here.