Littleover (1966-1989)
The first headmaster 'Norman' Elliott and deputy headmaster W. O. Butler of Derby School at Moorway Lane, both transferred from the St Helen's House site. Mr Elliott retired in 1979 and passed away late July 2012.
On arrival at the new school in 1966, its playing fields were found to be still full of stones, so in the beginning the boys were bussed across town to Parker’s Piece, off City Road at Chester Green, for sports.
The traditions of the older boys, uprooted from St Helen's House, influenced the new boys. The running of the school was still steeped in history, with praepostors and monitors, and with the houses still competing for the Cock House trophy. Latin remained an important subject. Masters (never called teachers) still dressed in suits, with gowns and mortar boards, and used corporal punishment, sometimes publicly after lessons. There was a strict dress code, and sixth formers could wear boaters on summer days. Lockers did not need locks. Older boys expected respect and obedience from younger boys, although not fagging. Praeposters and monitors could administer punishment. They also had their own rooms, and later the use of the Pavilion, off limits to masters and the lower forms. The new school even had purpose-built Fives courts, where gloved fights between boys with grudges were tolerated as a gentlemanly way of settling disputes.
Things begin to change many of the masters took the opportunity to retire. Theft, which was said to have been unthinkable at St Helen’s House, arrived. The house system began to lapse, the dress code was relaxed, and long hair was tolerated.
The school continued as a single-sex grammar school until 1974, when it was taken over as a maintained school by Derbyshire County Council, which converted it into a co-educational comprehensive school and greatly increased its size, in buildings and pupils. At this point, it was still Derby School. However, in 1989 the County Council took the decision to close Derby School and to make the headmaster redundant. A new school called Derby Moor Community School, now known as Derby Moor Community Sports College Trust, was opened in the Moorway Lane buildings, with a new head and governing body but with many of the old school's staff and students. In terms of legal identity, this was not the same school, but in some ways it was its successor.
The entrance hall to Derwent building, the "old" Derby School, features a floor mosaic depicting the Derby School badge. However, in October 2010 a huge redevelopment scheme began to expand the college and buildings to connect the two parts of the college. It has been proposed to remove the mosaic to another part of the building.
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