Damaged during The Blitz, after the culmination of the Second World War, reforms implemented as a result of the Education Act 1944 led to the local decision that the institution would become a grammar school and that it would relocate to a new, larger building on Hurst Road in the Lamorbey area of Sidcup, a move that took place after the resignation of McGregor Williams in 1954.

[1] After the rail line's electrification following the culmination of the First World War, speculative builders bought up cheap farmland around the town and by 1930 its population had risen to just short of 12,000, and would treble within the next two decades.

This problem was exacerbated by the government's stated intention of raising the school leaving age to cut the number of unemployed in the midst of the Great Depression.

[4] Williams chose the school's motto of "Abeunt Studia in Mores", which he had taken from Ovid's Heroides, in which it is proclaimed by the poet Sappho in her love letter to Phaon.

Half of the first intake of students lived in Sidcup itself, while the others mostly came from neighbouring districts such as Petts Wood, Chislehurst, Orpington, Foots Cray and New Eltham.

Designed to house 660 students, more than were currently enrolled in the school, it was widely acclaimed both in architectural journals and in the popular press.

Students were expected to carry their gas masks around with them in case of chemical attack and during the ensuing Blitz – in which the German Luftwaffe began bombing London and the areas around it – the school was affected by a nearby landmine on 17 September 1940, destroying the glass of all the windows on one side.

[24] Deciding how to implement these reforms on a local scale, in 1946, E. V. Mills chaired a meeting of the Divisional Executive in which they suggested radically changing the schooling system in the area.

[25] This was partly to alleviate problems of overcrowding; the population of the local area had tripled since 1931 and the Crittall's Corner building was taking in more than the number of students that it had been built to accommodate.

[31] Chis and Sid's new building was designed by Howard C. Lobb & Partners of Gower Street, in conjunction with the Kent County Architects S. H. Loweth and E. T. Ashley Smith.

[32] As a result of post-war austerity, the building was constructed on a tight budget of under £300,000 and consisted of reinforced concrete and portal frames, with a brickwork finish.

[38] Opinions about Pedley among staff varied greatly, however, because his autocratic management style was criticised for achieving success for some pupils at the expense of others.

[38] "The School's aim is to encourage the pursuit of excellence and to develop the highest potentialities of that minority of children upon whom the health and wealth of this country in the future will depend."

Now part of the London Borough of Bexley, it lost access to three quarters of its former catchment area, which remained under the jurisdiction of Kent County Council.

[41] The Labour-run Bexley Council agreed to this project, pushing ahead with plans to convert Chis and Sid into a comprehensive, as part of which it would be merged with the neighbouring Hurstmere in 1969.

[43] He fought the council's plans to convert the school and was supported by a unanimous resolution passed by staff and by a Parents' Association founded in 1966.

[53] As a step toward the ultimate establishment of comprehensive education throughout the borough, in 1973 the council announced plans to remove the words "secondary modern", "technical high" and "grammar" from all schools under their jurisdiction, resulting in protests from both staff and the parents' association at Chis and Sid.

[55] The chair of Bexley's Educational Committee, Brian Sams, insisted that the borough would not implement the legally required changes until every school in the area had the facilities capable of supporting a "curriculum adapted to the needs of pupils of all abilities".

[60] The first girls arrived at the school in September 1973, representing the sixty female pupils who had the highest test scores from the local primary system.

[73] Somebody had contacted a British tabloid, The Sun, to inform them of the events and being a slow news day, they ran the incident on their front page, proclaiming "School Band 157 Boozing Pupils".

The journalist responsible, Robert Bolton, added fresh elements to the story, claiming that 5 students had had to be taken to hospital as a result of their drinking, while others had smoked marijuana.

[74] Soon, other newspapers had picked up on the story, with journalists offering £5 to students outside the school gates who could provide the most lurid and sensationalist accounts of the events.

Reporters from the BBC local news picked up on it, while the following day, The Sun returned to the story with an editorial cartoon by Franklin in which the school was referred to as "Sozzlehurst and Hiccup".

[75] The period between 1983 and 1994 witnessed a rapid array of initiatives introduced by the Conservative government, including GCSEs, the Baker Contract, AS levels, a national curriculum with key stages and attainment targets, local financial management, grant maintained status, SATs, OFSTED inspections, staff appraisal and coursework examination, all of which caused a great deal of disruption to the school and contributed to an increased turnover of new staff in this period, with many new teachers' swiftly exiting the profession.

[76] Wells suggested that this chaotic educational environment resulted in more difficulties for Chis and Sid than at any point in its history except during World War II.

[82] On 11 July 1992, one of the school's pupils, Rohit Duggal, was stabbed to death in Eltham, with a tree's being planted in his memory outside the dining hall.

Born in Redruth, Cornwall, Rouncefield had studied geography at Goldsmiths College and prior to getting the Chis and Sid job had worked as head of Chatham Grammar School for Boys.

[85] Shortly after he started his tenure, the school experienced its first OFSTED inspection, which criticised the condition of the building and endorsed a reduction in the staffing budget, resulting in subsequent staff being hired on lower wages but with higher workloads.

On 1 October 2008, Mayor of London and former Conservative MP Boris Johnson visited the school to officially open the new sports centre.

On 5 November 2009, a team composed of former students from the class of 2004 named "Sozzlehurst and Hiccup" competed on BBC Two quiz show Eggheads, losing narrowly in the final round.