150 Years Celebration

Whilst the schools of the Haberdashers’ Company date back to the late 17th Century, it was under a Charity Commission scheme of 1873 that Hatcham Boys’ School and Hatcham Girls’ School were initially proposed, with each being established on company owned land in Hatcham between 1875 and 1876. The schools were initially sited on Pepys Road, before an area of land was purchased and developed on Jerningham Road, with the girls’ school opening at this location in 1891.

The two schools became grammar schools under the Education Act of 1944, before assuming comprehensive status in 1979. The two schools were combined in 1995 under a single headteacher, Dr Elizabeth Sidwell, with the boys’ and girls’ sites reorganised in 2002 to facilitate coeducational teaching for the first time. With this change, the lower-school and upper-school system still in place at Hatcham was first established.

Over the past 150 years, Haberdashers’ Hatcham College has played an active role in the local community, as well as having an important impact upon the wider world. During the exhibition, please take the opportunity to enjoy the archival materials displayed on site, which chart just a few of the array of trips, events, societies, visits and individuals that have helped to define the school’s history. Pupils from Key Stage 3 who have conducted research into these archival items will be on hand to discuss them, as well as speak about their experiences as Hatcham students in 2026. Below is a brief overview of some of the archival items on show today.