Distinguished in its heyday for its contribution of young men to the civil service, it finally closed its doors in 1979 after hotly contested attempts by the education authorities from the early 1950s onwards to turn it into a comprehensive school.

Former pupils included a leader of the Greater London Council, figures prominent in the world of entertainment, and the scientist and environmentalist James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia hypothesis.

The teaching of evening classes commenced there in 1848; under Alfred Barry, principal between 1868 and 1883, these were "considerably extended":[1] The Civil Service Department, as it was known in the early years, started with an intake of 172 men: it did not yet constitute a school for boys.

Examinations on offer had by this time increased beyond those of the civil service as such, to include telegraph learners, assistant surveyorships, as well as those for customs and excise appointments.

Though its priority had been to prepare candidates for the civil service, it went on to offer courses leading to the Ordinary and Advanced level GCE examinations.

Extra-curricular activities included a variety of sports such as football, cricket, swimming, athletics, boxing and fives.

[6] The school suffered a major tragedy on 17 April 1936 when a hiking party of 27 were caught in a blizzard in the Black Forest, near Freiburg, Germany, and five boys froze to death.

Initially commended for his courage by the London County Council's committee of enquiry,[9] subsequent investigative reports, including a 2016 article in The Guardian highlighted the negligence of the master in charge.

The school in 1944, via its then-headmaster Leonard Dawe, was involved in what became known as the D-Day Daily Telegraph crossword security alarm.

So in 1972 the ILEA again proposed that Strand, described by Labour's Roy Hattersley as a "small maintained boys' grammar school in an elderly building," be turned into a comprehensive; its pupils were to be transferred to Dick Sheppard, with the Strand and Tulse Hill buildings merged to form a single new comprehensive school.

Margaret Thatcher, at the time Secretary of State for Education, later approved the closure, but not the Tulse Hill School alterations.

Thatcher turned down this application in January 1973, saying that the change of heart was because she had "listened to the parents and watched their fight to save a small school which provided an opportunity for anyone who got there on a basis of merit, whatever his background.

[17] Elm Court is a special educational needs school with capacity for 100 pupils at key stages 3 and 4,[18] "aged 9 to 19 years who have learning difficulties with associated social and communication needs.

[18] The buildings near the southern end of Elm Park were built by the London County Council between 1912 and 1914 under the direction of the chief architect W.E.

[20] Other features of the school were its main hall with its war memorial to pupils and former pupils who died in the First and Second World Wars, in the form of a large organ bought by public subscription, the gymnasium at the rear of the main building, and, on the top floor, what were laboratories and the dining hall.