HWCS HWCGS HWGS HWJC Weald College
Harrow College HCUC
What’s in a name? Which were you?
All of these titles have been explained, over the years, in News and Views, but often with the emphasis on one particular iteration of Harrow Weald, at the time of a change. There remains some confusion about what we were called, and when, and why – and Old Wealdens have been known to state with some passion that “Harrow Weald was always a grammar school!” “Fee paying?! Never!” Was this you?! (Ed. was me!)
Well, Keith Mayes 1963, asked some while ago if it might be possible to have a once and for all summary of our titles and forms, and at last, here it is, gleaned from previous Harrow Weald publications, with particular thanks to Volume no.84 of the Weald Chronicle, January 1974, where are comprehensively described and commented on the changes from 1933 to then.
HWCS 1933 – 1944 Harrow Weald County School
A ‘special place’ school, entry by Common Entrance Examination.
Fees payable according to means, but provision made for no fees required ‘if circumstances warranted.’
HWCGS 1944 – 1964 Harrow Weald County Grammar School
The 1944 Education Act abolished Public Elementary Schools and County Schools.
Why then, did we continue to have ‘county’ in our name? It was there to identify what sort of ‘secondary grammar’ school we were, in the new system of:
Primary Secondary Grammar Further
Secondary Modern
Secondary Technical
It is confusing; but presumably at the time it made sense to show that this was one of those new grammar schools that had emerged from the ‘old’ County schools.
The leaving age was raised to 15, fees were abolished, and the ’11 Plus’ replaced Common Entrance.
HWGS 1965 – 1974 Harrow Weald Grammar School
With changes to Local Government, Middlesex disappeared administratively, and the school’s Local Education Authority became the London Borough of Harrow.
HWJC 1974 – 1987 Harrow Weald Junior College and
HWVIFC Harrow Weald Sixth Form College
With two exceptions (does anyone know which?), schools in Harrow were divided into High Schools - entry at 12, new leaving age of 16 - and Junior Colleges from 16 – 18. The ’11 Plus’ was abolished, as schools became Comprehensives.
Harrow Weald had taken in its last First Years in 1972 (see the account of one of these pupils, further through); and so by autumn 1977, only the two years of the Sixth Form College remained.
1987 – 1999 Weald College
Within Harrow Borough’s new tertiary education provision, Harrow Weald became Weald College.
1999 – 2017 Harrow College
Weald College merged with Greenhill College, to become Harrow College.
HCUC 2017 – present
Harrow College merged with Uxbridge College, to provide a practical set of initials again. ‘News from Brookshill’, often in News and Views, keeps us up to date with our bit of that merger, housed on the fields we used to run around on; with our old building now housing the new and growing primary school.
NB Don’t rely on the logo on the front of your old Chronicles to tell you which ‘you were’. HWCS continued well after it should properly have had the G inserted. It shows how little the name did really mean at that stage. What it meant to be ‘at Harrow Weald’ hadn’t changed. If you’d like to read some personal accounts of what it felt like to be there during the changes, join us and get Issue 46 as a welcome!