Langley Park School for Boys

Langley Park School for Boys (also known as Langley Park Boys' School) is a boys' comprehensive secondary school in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley, with a mixed-gender sixth form. The school currently has just over 2000 pupils. The headmaster is Robert W. Northcott.

Langley Park is one of the few state schools that play hockey. Having competed in the last four national finals, they are in the top three schools in the country. Outstanding coaching and a continued demand for quality is the order of the day. The new build for the school will provide the hockey facilities that are required to continue the dominance of Kent and South East hockey. Other sports include cricket tennis and rugby.

The school's motto is Mores et studia which translates as "character and good learning". The school's code of conduct is Courtesy, Common-sense & Co-operation. The school uniform consists of a maroon blazer and tie, both with the school crest on, and dark trousers. Students are allowed to wear suits, if female, smart clothes, in the sixth form. Students studying their last year of GCSEs are permitted to wear black blazers as opposed to the maroon blazers of younger students and with parental consent are allowed off school property for break and lunch.

History

The school originally started life as Beckenham Technical Institute, opening in 1901 and situated in what is now the Studio, Beckenham. The school went through a baffling variety of name changes in its early days: the Technical Day School, Beckenham; Beckenham Secondary School; Beckenham County School for Boys; Beckenham and Penge County School for Boys; in 1944 it was the Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School under headmaster L.W. White, MA (Cantab). By 1954 it was called Beckenham and Penge Grammar School for Boys. An increase in size meant the school moved to new buildings in High St, Penge in 1931. It moved from Penge to its present location in Eden Park, Beckenham in January 1969, at which point it adopted its current name.

Headmasters

Five terms after the school relocated to its current site Mr Raeburn retired, he was replaced by Mr B.A. Phythian, MA, B.Litt. (Oxon). He owned an afghan hound named Yorick which he often brought to school. This dog tended to sit under the desk of one of the secretaries, although he was often to be found walking the hallways, especially during classes when he had the common areas to himself. Due to an incident at a primary school, the London Borough of Bromley banned dogs from all state schools in its area. Other members of staff such as Mr Tyler (physics) also took their dogs to school before the rule change.

In December 1989, Phythian was succeeded by R.V.P. Sheffield, who was in post until 1999. Mr Sheffield left the school under a cloud. [http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/misc/print.php?artid=312676] The deputy headmaster, Mr Keith McGregor, BA (Cantab), took over as acting headmaster until the appointment of Mr Robert Northcott, MA.

New Buildings

In early November 2006 Bromley Council granted Langley Park Boys a sum of £32.3-million as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme for a complete rebuild of the school. It will be built on the site of the current rugby fields and construction should commence in early 2008 and be completed by 2009, ready for the new academic year in September.

Rob Northcott, Headteacher of the school, said, "The rebuilding of our facilities will bring real benefits to the whole community. Future and current pupils will obviously gain immensely from this project, but we want to ensure that the benefits are felt even more widely."

The current buildings shall remain in use until the end of the 2008/09 academic year.

Notable alumni

* Rory Allen former Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth F.C. footballer
* Carey Blyton Composer of "Bananas in Pyjamas"
* Harold Sydney Bride Wireless operator on the RMS "Titanic"
* Norman Hunter Writer, creator of "Professor Branestawm"
* Robert Key Kent and former England cricketer
* Henry Mee Artist
* John Tyndall extreme right-wing politician, and writer
* Derek Underwood Kent and England bowler (known as 'Deadly' by the Australians)
* Bill Wyman Musician, ex-member of the Rolling Stones
* David Case, Air Commodore, Highest ranking black officer in the British Forces

See also

* Langley Park School for Girls

External links

* [http://www.lpbs.org.uk/ Langley Park School for Boys website]