History of the school

St Cecilia’s School was opened on 10th January 1938 with 153 pupils, Mr Byrne was the headteacher and there were four other teachers. There were five classrooms: two infants and three juniors. From its earliest days St Cecilia’s school was used as a mass centre on Sundays with priests coming from St Matthias parish. There was a substantial debt on the new
school building which was paid off in the early 1940s. In less than two years, in September 1939, the Second World War started.

During the war, mass-goers and pupils would sometimes see aerial combats taking place above the school. In September 1943 the school attended Mass at St Anthony’s [the nearby hospital, opened in 1914] for a National Day of Prayer. The school got through the war years relatively intact. It survived at least one unexploded bomb, but lost windows and a few statues during mortar drops and a doodlebug [a flying bomb] which dropped in neighbouring Clarkes Avenue. In 1944 the school closed for a period while the remaining children were evacuated. In 1945 a concert was held at Christmas to raise funds to buy some wirelesses [radios].

St Matthias church had been opened in 1906 and in the early 1930s the parish priest bought land that would later be used for St Cecilia’s school and for St Cecilia’s church, as well as a presbytery and new church for St Matthias. In 1946 Fr Duprez, a teacher at Purley’s John Fisher school, was appointed as parish priest in Worcester Park with the specific aim of building a new St Cecilia church. This was opened in 1957 and after nearly 20 years the school was no longer needed as a mass centre. In 1961 St Cecilia’s became a separate parish from the very large St Matthias parish, each with its own parish priest.

In June 1951 for the feast of Ss Peter and Paul, the school closed for a day trip to Climping [near Littlehampton]. A seaside trip on this holy day of obligation continued throughout the 1950s with up to three coaches being used to carry classes 1,2,3 and 4 [years 6,5,4 and 3] to a seaside resort for the day.

The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 was marked by a trip to the Granada cinema [where The Nonsuch Inn is now located] to see a film of the ceremony. The school participated in the district sports where both the boys and the girls won the Coronation Shields.

In 1954 Mr Flynn became headteacher until 1972, followed by Mr O’Flanagan then Mr O’Callaghan, Mrs Rickard, Mrs Mayhew [a former pupil] and Mr Burke [present head].

During the1950s there was no school kitchen, and all the children had to cross the London Road to have their midday meal in a canteen where Wilsons Van Centre is now located. Also in the 1950s, the boys used to walk once a week to the London Transport Sports Ground for football in the winter and cricket in the summer. This large playing field is now where the Sainsbury’s supermarket stands. In January 1954 the wooden “hut” classes were added. More “temporary” classrooms were added in the 1960s some of which still exist today, and a kitchen was added to enable the children to have school dinners on site.

In 1959 Richard Challoner secondary school was opened and became the destination for many St Cecilia boys. Since the implementation of the1944 Education Act all primary school pupils in
England sat an 11 plus exam to ‘select’ which secondary school they would attend. In the 1950s and early 1960s this meant that pupils were separated into boys secondary schools (eg Richard Challoner), boys grammar schools (eg Wimbledon College), girls secondary schools (eg Holy Cross) and girls grammar schools (eg Ursuline Convent School). All of these were
single sex schools.

When the school had first opened it was on a site that was significantly smaller than today. There was a wide grass verge outside the school fence along the line of the London Road. This was to allow for the planned widening of the A24 and all buildings were set back from Morden Park to the north as far as Nonsuch Park to the south. In due course this verge became part of the school site and made the front playground about 10 metres wider. Another addition was that the current outdoor area where the nursery playground and green playground now stand was a stone mason’s yard. Adding this to the site increased the frontage by about 30%.
In the 1980s two further classrooms were added to the existing building. In 1995 these were extended by two more which linked up some of the earlier buildings. These were built over the old marble playground – so-called because children used to play marbles there. There were also times when they had dancing and dance-related games there. A nursery was also
added.

A new block replaced the old huts and gave additional classes for the Year 5 and 6 pupils in 1999. Later the Learning Resource Centre was added incorporating the library and computer suite in 2002/03.

St Cecilia’s school maintains many traditions that have existed for decades
and former pupils would recognise and welcome the fact that this modern, forward-looking school does not forget its heritage. There are numerous examples to illustrate this legacy:

St Cecilia is the patron saint of music, and it is therefore important that music and dance are evident in many of the school activities. There is a choir and orchestra, and the children participate in musical afternoons, singing, drama and dance festivals; regular productions take place involving music, acting, dance and drama. These often include staff as well as pupils art and DT exhibitions
Many theatre groups visit the school; there are themed days when everyone dresses up (Pirates, Tudors, Romans, Ancient Greeks, Victorians, Space etc.) as well as for charity fundraising
Visits take place to local farms and the Fire and Police service are regular visitors.
Christmas is always a special time marked by the Nativity and carol services in the school. A special Nativity is presented at nearby St Raphael’s Hospice.
At Easter a moving service of the Stations of the Cross takes place
Visits take place over the years to places such as the Snuff Mill, Bird World, Kew Gardens and to the galleries and museums in London. In 2010 a party from school attended the mass said by Pope Benedict on his visit to England
One of the biggest annual celebrations in school is First Holy Communion. This used to be school-based and after Mass, the First Communicants had a special breakfast (essential when they had fasted from midnight!) Today the preparation is very much based in the parishes, but it is still a big annual occasion for the school
Other celebrations have included marking national and local anniversaries such as the 50th anniversary of VE day; retirements of various members of staff after long service; royal weddings and anniversaries (silver and golden); an Olympic Torch Ceremony in 2012; and in 2017 a re-union of about 40 former pupils to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the school with a mass in St Cecilia’s church and a tour of the school.
Sporting involvement and prowess continues, including being winners of Borough sports, football and netball trophies!