Early History
In September 1700, Sir Walter St John, 3rd Baronet (1622–1708), of Battersea and of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire, signed a deed that established a charity to form a school to "teach twenty poor boys of said parish" (Battersea). This was the start of Sir Walter St John's School, which was to survive for 286 years. By 1750, 83 boys and 5 girls were given instruction at the school. Battersea at the start of the 18th century was a village of some 200 dwellings containing about 1500 inhabitants. The rapid expansion of the London area during that and the following centuries, meant that there was a need of education for many more boys. A document of 1800 shows that the operation was based on the rules laid down by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and much of the curriculum was centred on the Bible.
Read more about this topic: Sir Walter St John's Grammar School For Boys
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