St Richard's Church of England Primary School

Administrative and social records of St Richard's CE Primary School, Ham (previously St Richard's with St Andrew's CE Primary School), and its predecessor schools.

Ham National School for Girls was established by 1816 and expanded in 1817, when it occupied the same building as the almshouses on Ham Common. A boys school adjoining St Andrew's Church, Ham Common, was built between 1832-1834; the annex was also used as the church vestry room. At about the same time, the infants department, which had been part of the girls school, relocated to a building in Cutthroat Alley, which ran between Ham Street and Ham Avenues. By 1841, a purpose-built building for the girls school had been erected adjoining the almshouses. However, by 1876 this site had been deemed unsuitable by the Education Department and the building was demolished and rebuilt nearby. In 1890 new school buildings replaced those at St Andrew's Church and Ham Street, the girls school merging with the latter. At this time, the management of the school property and land was still vested with the Vicar, Churchwardens, and Overseers of the Poor. In 1933, Ham became part of the Borough of Richmond and in 1937 the school was reorganised under the local authority as a Junior Mixed and Infants School. By 1948, Surrey County Council were expressing concern about the suitability of the school buildings, but it was not until 1965 that the existing girls and boys departments were closed. The building at St Andrew's Church was converted into St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. The new mixed school site adjoined the newly built St Richard's Church in Ashburnham Road, and opened as St Richard's with St Andrew's CE Primary School on 5th January 1966. In 1968, Alan Dudeney became headmaster; he held the post for 20 years and founded the choir for which the school was to become well-known. In 1981 the Infants school, which had remained separate, merged with St Richard's with St Andrew's, and the Acorns Play Group joined the Ashburnham Road site in 1984. In 1997 a nursery school department was opened. The school's name was changed in 2011 to St Richard's CE Primary School. See 'St Richard's with St Andrew's School (Ham C of E School)' by Silvia Greenwood (S2/15/2) for more information about the school's history.

The St Richard's Church of England Primary School Collection is arranged into 17 series records:

• S2/1 Log Books, 1863-1986
• S2/2 Admissions Registers, 1869-2002
• S2/3 Class attendance registers, 1999-2012
• S2/4 Curriculum books, 1928
• S2/5 Punishment books, 1933-1972
• S2/6 Choir records, c1965-1988
• S2/7 Swimming pool records, 1970-1974
• S2/8 Events documents, c1965-1991
• S2/9 Class and group photographs, 1893-2006
• S2/10 Photographs of school life, c1960-c1980
• S2/11 Staffing correspondence, 1984-1993
• S2/12 Hiring of school facilities, 1966
• S2/13 Accounts records, 1969-1984
• S2/14 Building plans, 1902-1968
• S2/15 History of the school, c1966-1997
• S2/16 Monitoring by external organisations, 1952-1981
• S2/17 Governors' minutes, 1986-1987

Some records within this collection are open for access and can be viewed at Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive.
The opening times and address for Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive can be found online at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies
Please note that some records within this collection are closed and not currently available for research. For further information, please contact Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive through any of the contact methods listed at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies

A more detailed catalogue of this collection can be found online at https://richmond.spydus.co.uk/spydus.html

The Silvia Greenwood papers held at Richmond Local Studies Library and Archive contain several photographs and copies of school records not represented in the St Richard's CE Primary School collection.