Sir George Monoux College
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| Sir George Monoux Sixth Form College | |
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| Motto: | N/A |
| Established: | 1527 |
| Type: | Public (Independent) |
| Location: | London, England, UK |
| London Borough: | Waltham Forest |
| Website: | http://www.george-monoux.ac.uk |
Sir George Monoux College is a sixth form college located in Walthamstow, East London.
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[edit] Brief history
Sir George Monoux, the founder of the College, was born in or before 1465. In 1506 he was a Warden of the Drapers Company, in 1509 he became the Sheriff of London and later in 1514 he became Lord Mayor. Sir George Monoux was elected to Parliament as a Burgess for the City in 1523. He was a wealthy man who spent much of his time in Walthamstow.
George Monoux (alderman of London and local worthy) erected the Almshouses, associated school and feast ball for the poor of Walthamstow on a former parcel of St. Mary's Churchyard in 1527 in Walthamstow Village.
The Monoux School operated there for 353 years until moving firstly to West Avenue then to High Street, and finally to Chingford Road in 1927. The western end was rebuilt in 1955 following bombing in October 1940.
From 1527 to 1999 the school underwent many changes. From 1659 to 1968 it operated as a grammar school for boys. From 1968 to 1986 the school was a comprehensive, and in the late 1960s, it was ranked as the 11th best state school in the country[citation needed]. In 1986 the school became a sixth form college and girls were admitted for the first time. In 1993, Monoux became an Incorporated College, which is how it remains today.
[edit] Key events of the modern school
- 1527 - Founded
- 1927 - Main building (known as the "Old Building" opened by the Lord Mayor of London
- 1931 - Percy Dennis Goodhall appointed Headmaster
- 1939 - School evacuated
- 1941 - JF Elam appointed headmaster
- 1942 - School returned to Walthamstow
- 1948 - VJ Stirrup appointed headmaster
- 1968 - Movement to Comprehensive begins
- 1972 - Allan Brockman appointed headmaster
- 1988 - The co-educational 6th form college established.
[edit] Sir George Monoux Grammar School 1885-1968
The school was re-established in 1885 in Walthamstow. It moved to the present site in July 1927. There have been many additions to the buildings since then. In 1961, 1977, 1990, 2002 and 2004. The school was a selective boys grammar school until 1968 catering for boys aged 11-18.
[edit] Sir George Monoux Senior High School 1968-1986
During the years 1968 - 72 it gradually became a comprehensive Senior High School for boys aged 14-18 admitting most of it's pupils from the Junior High Schools Chapel End, William Fitt and one other. The last entry of boys was in 1988. They were not taught in the main building but in an "annexe" located in Brookscroft Rd in the old Chapel End School. This was closed in 1990.
[edit] Sir George Monoux Sixth Form College 1986-
In 1986 the school became a co educational sixth form college for students aged 16-19. It was funded and administered by the London Borough of Waltham Forest from 1986 to 1993 when under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 it was incorporated becoming in effect an independent body funded by the newly formed Further Education Funding Councilfor England. (FEFC) In 2001 the FEFC was replaced with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) The college driven by government growth targets increased in size from 600 students in 1986 to approximately 2000 students in 2006. The college offers A level and vocational courses. The college draws students from a wide geographical area of north and east London and from a very wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. At present over 80% of the students are from minority ethnic communities.
[edit] The Principals
Since 1986 the Principals of the college have been:
Mrs Corine Moffett 1986-1993
She was appointed as Principal of the new college, having previously been the Headteacher of Walthamstow School for Girls. Towards the end of her time as Principal the college was Incorporated and no longer controlled by the London Borough of Waltham Forest but by an independent governing body or "corporation". Incorporation took effect on 1 April 1993. The first chairman of the new Corporation was Brian Tierney. The first Clerk to the Corporation was Robin Jones. At the end of August 1993 Mrs Moffett retired.
Arthur Harvey 1993-1996 After incorporation in 1993 the college entered a period of instability. Prior to becoming Principal, Arthur Harvey was Vice Principal of Sir George Monoux College from 1986-1993. He had previously been a deputy headteacher at Leyton Boys School. He was initially appointed Acting Principal for a period of up to two years which was later extended for a further year. The Chair of the Corporation and the Clerk to the Corporation held the same posts on the newly formed Waltham Forest college corporation and it was at one point proposed that the corporations of both colleges should move towards common membership. This proposal was rejected by the governing body of Sir George Monoux College. Although Tierney and Jones acted with the utmost honesty and integrity there was some concern about potential conflicts of interest given the fact that the colleges had a financial relationship. As a result of these concerns both the chair and clerk left office in 1993. At the end of the same year the college saw the departure of the finance director, Peter Ward. The first inspection under the new Further Education Funding Council Arrangements proved disappointing with many areas being awarded only a satisfactory grade. Arthur Harvey retired in 1996.
Stephen Grix 1996-2000
He was appointed Principal having previously been Vice Principal at Barking College. Relatively youthful at the time of his appointment (39) and unashamedly prolitarean in origin and demeanour (he had started his career as a bricklayer at the age of 15) he brought a modern managerial style to the college for the first time. His background had been entirely in the Further Education sector and he brought none of the experience or sentiment of the traditional school teacher. He used his builder's instincts to improve the fabric of the building to enormous effect, significantly enhancing the scope and quality of the accommodation. He also initiated a programme of management restructuring. Two of the senior managers left the college and all posts of responsibility were re-advertised internally. His interventionist management style reaped great rewards in the subsequent inspection. The general view of his Principalship is that he had "turned the college around" He left the college at the end of March 2000 to become the Head of Post Compulsory inspection at Ofsted.
John McMinn Acting Principal April-September 2000 He had worked at the college from 1986. He was initially the director of the foundation course before being promoted to a senior post in 1993. In 1996 under the Grix reorganisation he became Deputy Principal.
Richard Chambers 2000-2006
He came from Lewisham College where he had been a Vice Principal for nine years. He presented himself as a "thinker" and innovator and attempted to develop links with Higher Education institutuions, making formal associations with Middlesex University and Queen Mary College. He initiated and oversaw the construction of the Drapers building. It was also during his time as Principal that the Brockman building, a project initiated by Stephen Grix was completed. He left at the end of October 2005 to take up the post of Principal of Lambeth College.
John McMinn Acting Principal November-March 2006
Almost immediately after the departure of Richard Chambers the college was subject to an inspection under the new Ofsted inspection procedures. The outcome of the inspection was considered generally less favourable than recent FEFC inspections. The college being awarded a satisfactory grading in most categories where previously it had been considered good.
Ms Kim Clifford 2006-date
She was Director of Sixth at Exeter College before being appointed Principal in March 2006. Unlike her two immediate predecessors she came from an academic background and with relatively recent teaching experience, having taught Sociology.
[edit] The Corporation
Chairs since 1993. Brian Tierney, Peter Brierley, Derek Harris, Peter Leighton
Clerks to the Corporation since 1993. Robin Jones, David Ranger, Roy Smith, David Ranger
[edit] Vice Principals and Senior Postholders
- Arthur Harvey 1986-1993
- Roy Smith 1986-1996
- Jeanette Murch 1986-1995
- John McMinn 1993-
- Geoff Skewes 1993-1996
- Peter Ward 1992-93
- Michael Higgins 1993-
- Sarbdip Noonan 2007-2008
- David Ball 2007-
[edit] Departments
[edit] AS/A Level departments
- Art & Design
- Biology/Human Biology
- Business Studies
- Chemistry
- Computing - This subject is no longer taught at the college due to improper teaching methods and extremely low grade attainment. In 2006, the lowest grades ever were received, which prompted the move to cease teaching this subject, and students were given a choice to either continue studies at leyton sixth form or to be given an opportunity to stay an extra year at Sir George Monoux to make up for the missing A-level. Fact|date=May 2008}}
- Dance (AS only)
- Economics
- English Language
- French
- Gardening
- General Studies
- Geography
- Government & Politics
- History
- Information Technology
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Physics
- Urdu
- Punjabi
- pascal
- delphi
- C++
and many many more
[edit] GCSE Department
- Maths
- English
[edit] ESOL
- English for Speakers of other languages
[edit] IT Support Department
Sir George Monoux has one of the most stable IT infastructures in Further Education around London. Working hard and around the clock to keep all IT Equipments up to scratch, are the dedicated IT Support team. They are as follows:
- Harvey Baxter - IT & Network Manager
- Jude Ndu - Senior IT Technician
- Alan Harradence - Senior IT Technician
- Rapture Orafu - IT Technician
- Grace Adedotun-Oqundeji - IT Technician
- Ali Khan - VLE & Web Developer
[edit] Virtual Learning Environment
In May 2007, Sir George Monoux have moved from using Blackboard VLE to Moodle (an open source VLE). The transition was successful and teachers and students have used and found Moodle to be beneficial in teaching and learning. Moodle is one of the most popular Virtual Learning Environment in Britain and around the world mostly because of its funtioanalities and features. Harvey Baxter (IT & Newtwork Manager) who saw this to be an opportunity to add ILT and interactive learning into lessons and has masterminded the recommendation and transition of Moodle.
On May 22nd 2007, Ali Khan (VLE & Web Developer), was appointed to develop SGM's Moodle and since the start of the academic year Moodle has had a positive impact on the college.
[edit] Notable students and alumni
Teddy Sherringham, former star of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, attended Monoux in the 1970s. Sherringham left in 1982. [1] Fred Pontin, the founder and Managing Director of Pontins Holiday Clubs, attended Monoux between 1918 to 1922.
NATO spokesman Jamie Shea, in the news during the Kosovo crisis, attended Monoux from 1965 to 1972.
Robert Barltrop, writer, attended Monoux from 1933 to 1938. Barltrop wrote many books relating to the area, including "My Mother's Calling Me" which is about growing up in North East London between the wars. Dr Chris Pond (1949-), another prolific local author and historian, wrote the history of the school in 1977 and updated it in 2002.
Johnny Dankworth, jazz musician, attended Monoux from 1937 to 1944. Although his career certainly hit a great tune, records at Monoux refer to his "perverted but genuine interest in swing music"! Dankworth officially opened the new Student Centre in April 1990 and he said "coming back to one's old school and walking around the building makes me feel like an archaeologist dating finds."
Doug Insole, who played for England's cricket team, attended Monoux from 1937 to 1944. During his time at Monoux, Doug was Captain of Monoux cricket and football teams. The records at the College praise his captaining and suggest that he was in a class of his own, being described as "outstandingly brilliant". "His batting was attractive, his fielding was faultless and he did not tire easily". The records show that not only was he Vice-Captain of tennis and table tennis, but he was also Assistant Editor of Monovian, the School newspaper.
Who is the legendary Mr Chips character in the famous book Goodbye, Mr Chips? The school's records suggest that he was probably Monoux' Deputy Head from 1919-1924, Mr Prowse. A letter to The Times suggested that the author was a student at Monoux whose father, Mr Hilton, taught at Chapel End School. The letter states that Mr Hilton would have sent his son to the 'best local school, Monoux Grammar School'. Therefore, it is likely that the author based his book character on Mr Prowse, who served the school during the first world war and seems strongly reminiscent of Mr Chips.
Jason Burt, attended Monoux from 1979 to 1981. He signed up for the army's Parachute Regiment straight after leaving school, aged only 16. He was killed in action in the Falklands War on 12 June 1982, still a boy at the age of 17. Jason is one of the youngest soldiers to have died for his country.
Professor Sir Alan Fersht is currently teaching at the University of Cambridge. Sir Alan is famous in his field for pioneering a new chemical approach to protein engineering.
[edit] External links
- Sir George Monoux College website
- Sir George Monoux VLE
- School history
- Old Monovians
- Monovian extracts
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