Hackney Downs Grammar School
| Established | 1876 |
|---|---|
| Closed | 1995 |
| Type | Grammar then comprehensive |
| Founder | Worshipful Company of Grocers |
| Location |
Downs Park Road Lower Clapton Greater London E5 8NP England 51°33′06″N 0°03′43″W / 51.5516°N 0.0620°WCoordinates: 51°33′06″N 0°03′43″W / 51.5516°N 0.0620°W |
| Local authority | Hackney |
| DfE URN | 100276 Tables |
| Gender | Mixed |
Hackney Downs School was a comprehensive secondary school, located near Hackney Downs off the A104 north of Hackney town centre, in the London Borough of Hackney.
It was founded in 1876 as The Grocers' Company's School. On its transfer to the London County Council in 1906 the school was renamed Hackney Downs School (formerly the Grocers' Company's School).
Alumni including Nobel prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, fellow playwright and actor Steven Berkoff, 1960s tycoon John Bloom and nutritionist John Yudkin. Three current members of the House of Lords are former pupils: (Lord Levy, Lord Feldman and Lord Clinton-Davis). The school had 600 boys with a sixth-form entry by the early 1970s.
It voted to become comprehensive in 1969, and in September it became a comprehensive school. By the time of its closure, over 70 percent of the boys spoke English as a second language, half came from households with no-one in employment, and half the intake had reading ages three years below average.
Things came to a head in the 1990s, when the school made national news by being described by the then Conservative government as the 'worst school in Britain'. Eventually, as a result of direct government pressure, the school was forced to close in 1995.
The site of the old school is now occupied by Mossbourne Community Academy, founded by Sir Clive Bourne, which opened in 2004. The school buildings of both the original Grocers' Company's School and Hackney Downs School have gone.
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