The school catered for around 530 girls and boys aged 11-16 and was managed by the Southwark Diocese Board of Education Multi Academy Trust.

[3] The boys' grammar school was founded in 1685 in the crypt of St Martin's in the Fields and relocated in 1871 to Leicester Square (to a site previously occupied by the Sabloniere Hotel).

The original classroom was a room in the church, and the school provided free education for poor local boys so they could prepare for trades, employment and university.

Archbishop Tenison’s Library and Grammar School formed the centre section of the large parish Workhouse buildings facing Castle Street.

[9] By the end of the 19th century the inspectors noted that classrooms were cramped, and the playground was a small courtyard surrounded by high buildings.

The war years introduced new challenges and direct damage to the building, but by the 1960s the school was once again flourishing and invested in annexes and extensions to accommodate a growing number of boys.

In 1969 Harold Macmillan (former Prime Minister) opened the ‘Hinton Wing’ extension to the original building, with departments for biology, geography, history and music, a sixth form suite, improved staffrooms, and a metal workshop.

[12] St Martin in the Fields Girls School was a close historical neighbour for many years, at the Leicester Square site, before also moving to Lambeth in the 1920s.