Welcome to our centenary page.  Here you will find information about our centenary celebrations in 2011, but also interesting information about the history of our school.

A Brief History of Whitehall Junior School

Whitehall School has been serving the local community since opening its doors to 253 children on 27^th November 1911.  The school buildings have been extended and modified many times since this time, but when the school was opened it was regarded as a model of its kind.  The school was built to the highest standards of the time with lofty classrooms which were airy and well ventilated.  The main two storey building affronting Cowley Road contained six classrooms, two cloakrooms, the headteacher’s office and staffroom.  The school hall was positioned at right angles and to the rear of the main teaching block.

The children entered the building at the front by using the Boys’ or Girls’ entrances (the arches above these entrances remain).  They would leave their damp coats to air in the adjacent cloakroom (with heated pipes) and then proceed to their classroom on either the ground floor or go upstairs to one of the three on the first floor.  The building was designed to accommodate 320 children – 60 in each of the middle classrooms and 50 in the other four smaller ones.

The new school had central heating radiators fitted throughout to provide a more comfortable learning environment for the children.  During the winter months it was the task of the caretaker or his assistant to keep the coal fired boiler, near to the hall, operating effectively.  The boiler room is still in use today but the coal burning boiler has been replaced by an efficient gas boiler.  The radiators and pipe work are probably original but still provide good heating to the classrooms and corridors.

In contrast to the heated building, the unheated children’s toilets were outside on the edge of the tarmac playground on the Cowley Road side of the school.  One can imagine that a visit to use the toilet would have been an ordeal on a wintry day.  An adjacent covered shelter provided some escape on cold days.

The first Headteacher, Miss C S Ardren (November 1911 – March 1920) expresses in the School Log Book her concerns about school attendance and the number of children absent with measles, whooping cough and scarlet fever.  It was common practice for a doctor to regularly visit the school to inspect the health of the children.  At times, he or she would send sick children home from school.

During Miss Ardren’s time and beyond, the children were taught in large classes of up to 60 children.  The curriculum included: speech training, composition, reading, recitation, arithmetic, tables, history, nature study, music, drawing, needlework, physical training and drill.  Lessons were, of necessity, very formal with much rote learning and copying of facts and information.  One can imagine some children being neglected and getting a poor education in these large classes.

Miss Ardren often referred to the younger children as ‘the babies’ and extended playtimes when the sun was shining, especially during the colder months.  The older children had nature study lessons and the older boys gardened whilst the girls did needlework.

From the beginning, the school only had sufficient classrooms for the children up to Standard 2 (this is now called Year 4) and the older boys transferred to Cowley Road School and the girls to Belmont Road School.  However, by 1920 the roll had increased to 410 and two classes were being taught in the school hall.  Discussion on expanding the school accommodation began.

It is interesting to note that Empire Day (24^th May) was celebrated annually with the raising and saluting of the Union Jack and the National Anthem.  Patriotic songs were sung by the children and there was an address by a dignitary.  When news of the failure of Captain Scott’s expedition was known, the flag was flown at half mast and there were hymns and readings.

There is little mention of World War I in the School Log Book.  An air raid warning was sounded on 2^nd October 1917 but no enemy action occurred in the Uxbridge area.  However, earlier in 1915, a class of Belgian children attended the school for eight months.  In November 1917, the school sent 33 pairs of mittens, knitted by the children, to soldiers.  When armistice was signed on 11^th November 1918, the school closed for the afternoon.

In July 1918, the Headteacher mentions the first cases of influenza.  She notes many cases of the illness amongst children and staff for the next year.  Added to this were the on-going outbreaks of measles and whooping cough amongst the children. Miss Ardren left the school in March 1920.  Her successor, as Headteacher, was Miss D Royle.

A new two storey block was built on the rear part of the site with a corridor joining it to the school hall.  This building was to become Whitehall Junior School on 28^th August 1928.  It had ten classrooms in total.  There were two large and three smaller classrooms on each floor.  In addition, there was a headteacher’s office, staffroom and two children’s cloakrooms.  The existing hall was shared with the Infant School.

The new Junior School was heated by hot water radiators fed from a coal fired boiler situated in a basement under the Uxbridge end of the building.  Coal was delivered by chute to the storage area in the basement and the caretaker or his assistant now had two boilers to be kept going through the winter months.  In later years, the boilers were converted to burn fuel oil.  Now the school has modern efficient gas boilers that require little human intervention.

At the outbreak of World War 2, the safety of children and staff from bombing raids became an urgent issue.  Air Raid shelters were constructed in the Autumn of 1939.  There were three shelters on the playing field (where Whitehall Infant School now stands) and two double shelters at the rear of the building (where the Grove is located).  Raid drills were carried out but the first Air Warning did not sound until 16^th August 1940.  There were many raids during the rest of 1940 and into 1941.  Schooling was very disrupted with day and night air raids.  The children and staff spent many hours in the shelters (6^th September 1940 – 5 hours 38 minutes that week).  Attendance of children was especially affected by the night raids.  A few children were sent away from Uxbridge for their safety.  Sadly, one child, along with his parents, was killed during a raid on 27^th September 1940.

School continued despite the dangers, the occasional staff absences (due to air raid warnings) and the smelly toilets in the Air Raid Shelters.  It must have been a huge relief when VE Day was declared on 8^th May 1945.  The school was closed for two days to celebrate this much awaited, happy occasion.

The Air Raid Shelters were then blocked up, except for one that was used as a storeroom. After some years, it was decided that they needed to be removed.  All Air Raid Shelters were demolished in 1964.

When the school opened in 1911, the site was small compared with today’s site.  The whole school was situated on what is now the Junior School site and playgrounds.  The local council (Middlesex County Council) purchased the current Infant School site in two pieces in 1936 and 1949.  When the rear building was completed to house the Junior School, the children’s playground was restricted; after 1949 the current Infant School site was the school field.

The purchase of the current school field from the British Transport Commission was made in 1969.  This allowed the Infant School to be built in 1973 without decreasing the children’s play area.

Whitehall Infant School was officially opened on 12^th December 1973.  This allowed the Junior School to expand into the front six classrooms and have exclusive use of the hall.  The school had been using huts as classrooms up until this time but these were demolished as they were redundant and took up valuable playground space. Although the two schools were in separate buildings, they continued to work together to provide educational opportunity for the local children.

January 1987 saw the appointment of a new Headteacher, Mr R Macdonald.  The local authority had plans to modernise the building and facilities.  A total re-wiring of the school, lasting several months, started almost immediately.  In February, the Caretaker’s Room was moved and the School Office was relocated to a more accessible location at the front of the building.  Children also benefited from the old school office being made into a cooking room.

Just when the school was getting over the previous works, a much-needed children’s toilet block was built on the end of the front building in 1988.  This meant that for the first time since the school was opened, all the children’s toilets were heated and accessible without going outside. During the next few years, the Studio was created and classrooms were modernised and decorated.  In 1994, following a fire safety survey, the fire alarm system was updated and smoke doors fitted throughout the building.

Whilst much modernisation was progressing, so too was what was being taught in schools.  In 1989 the National Curriculum was born and over the next few years teachers were trained to teach this new curriculum.  SATs were introduced for 7–11 year olds, along with targets, tick sheets and the reporting of results.

Whitehall, along with every other school, was being judged by the results the children achieved in Year 6 SATs.  However, the school remained committed to giving the children a broad curriculum and continued lessons in cooking, pottery, art, design & technology and music.  The children also enjoyed dance, gymnastics and physical education lessons.

In the later 1990s Grove End was built at the rear of the school.  These three new classrooms provided much needed additional teaching rooms.  On completion of this new teaching block three small rooms upstairs in the back building were made into two much larger classrooms.  The children and staff now enjoyed working in these more spacious classrooms. 

Although the school was being modernised and enlarged, there came the time when having stand-alone PCs in the classrooms was not providing for the needs of the children.  Consequently, a classroom was converted into an ICT Suite and the whole school was network wired. The 16 (later 30) PCs installed in the suite provided new, exciting teaching and learning opportunities for the children. The next step in using modern technology came when over time, interactive whiteboards were installed in all teaching areas. 

It was also very exciting in the late 1990s, when the school learnt that the old hall (116m²) was going to be replaced by a new hall almost twice the size (200m²).  The staff eagerly looked forward to moving out of their very cramped staffroom into the new spacious one built above the old hall.  The one remaining outside toilet block and attached shelter was demolished to compensate for the loss of playground area where the hall was erected.

The other effects of the building project were that there would, once more, be school meals cooked on the premises. Completion of this large project meant that children were happy using the new hall and were eating better hot dinners.  Staff were also pleased when they moved into their new staffroom.

To celebrate the new millennium, each child contributed towards their class’ time capsule.  The twelve capsules were placed together into a chest which was hidden in a loft area ready to be discovered in the distant future.  The school had other celebrations, including an outdoor party.

In January 2007, Mrs J Nightingale became the new Headteacher.  In March of this year, the school was visited by an OfSTED Inspector who judged Whitehall Junior to be an ‘outstanding’ school.  Governors, pupils, parents and staff were delighted that all of their hard work and effort was publicly recognised.

As it was now 20 years since the office had been moved to its location fronting the Cowley Road (back in 1987) it was time for it to be re-modelled to 21^st century standards.  The work took several months to complete and was ready for use in September 2009. 

The school now had an attractive entrance lobby and reception area.  All office staff had spacious work areas and the Headteacher had a roomy office where meetings with pupils, parents, staff and governors could be held.  A well-equipped medical room provided a space for care when pupils felt unwell.

In September 2016, new headteacher, Mrs A Moloi was appointed. It was during Mrs Moloi’s leadership that the school supported pupils and families during the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. The school suddenly felt much quieter as pupils carried out remote learning from home whilst some continued to attend school (in much smaller groups) throughout the entirety of the pandemic. The school was praised for its excellent provision during this time.

Photo donated by Janice Plummer (Howell)